‘One last ride’: Clevin Hannah to play for Wichita State alumni AfterShocks in TBT

When Clevin Hannah agreed to return to the AfterShocks for a third run in The Basketball Tournament this summer, the 34-year-old told head coach Zach Bush he would be on the sidelines as an assistant coach.

Hannah couldn’t even make it to his first practice with the team on Monday before the urge to play with a different generation of Shockers at Koch Arena in front of Wichita State fans one more time was too much for him to deny.

After making a handful of key shots at Koch Arena and helping the AfterShocks make a run to the TBT quarterfinals last summer, the 5-foot-11 floor general believes he can still help the Wichita State alumni team win.

So when the AfterShocks open TBT play with Friday’s 8 p.m. game against We Are D3, Hannah will be in uniform once again for the AfterShocks, he informed the team before Monday’s practice.

“This is my home and I love these guys and I love this school,” Hannah told The Eagle on Monday. “Just being around these guys, it’s an honor for me and a privilege to come back and help these guys however I can, even if it’s just for five or 10 minutes. Whatever I can do to help these guys, that’s what I’m here to do.

“Plus, you can never get enough of playing at Koch Arena. It’s an unbelievable atmosphere to be able to come back 13 years later and play in that gym and still get the same kind of love. It’s just crazy to me.”

Hannah, who last played for the Shockers in 2010, graduated at least eight years before the other former WSU players on the team (Conner Frankamp, Rashard Kelly, Zach Brown, Darral Willis and Shaquille Morris are 2018 graduates, while Markis McDuffie and Samajae Haynes-Jones are 2019 graduates).

He’s the oldest player on the AfterShocks’ roster by at least three years, but Hannah brings a reliable track record of averaging at least 12 points with three assists the last three seasons in Spain’s Liga Endesa, one of the top professional leagues in the world outside of the NBA. He scored 33 points in a game last October.

His experience and wisdom are assets to the younger players on the AfterShocks and Hannah wasted no time on Monday taking guards like Haynes-Jones under his wing.

“You don’t really notice it until you get back to practice and then you realize what Clevin brings is just immeasurable,” Bush said. “From his leadership to the way he plays the game to the way he understands it. He’s just a veteran who is able to talk to the guys, be a floor general and communicate effectively. And he’s still a great player. There’s a reason why he’s still playing in a really great league.”

Hannah told Bush that he was thinking about playing again earlier on Monday, but was undecided entering the practice. Once he arrived, Hannah’s mind and heart agreed.

“I don’t think there was any way he could give it up when he got back around the guys,” Bush said. “We’re excited to get one last ride with him.”

When he informed the team, which had every player on the roster in attendance except for Willis, who is expected to arrive by Wednesday, Hannah’s announcement was met with applause and smiles.

Even though they are separated by eight years, the former Shockers who came after him still have formed a bond with him through TBT runs in 2019 and 2021.

“I couldn’t not play with these guys,” Hannah said. “It’s going to be a lot of fun to play with them and it’s just a lot of fun to play in the TBT. It’s an amazing tournament.”

After winning the Wichita regional and coming three wins away from the $1 million prize, Hannah believes this could be the best version of the AfterShocks yet.

Not only do mainstays like Frankamp, Kelly, McDuffie, Brown and Haynes-Jones have another year of professional experience under their belt, the AfterShocks should benefit from the debut of Willis as a stretch big and also a talented trio of non-Shockers.

James Dickey, a 6-foot-10 springy big who played at UNC Greensboro, gives the AfterShocks a vertical threat they haven’t had before at the center position, while Tyrus McGee (Iowa State) is a natural scorer who has experience playing with the group from last summer and James Woodard (Tulsa) is another sharpshooter on the wing.

And now the team has a veteran point guard it knows it can trust in the fold.

“I was really impressed with the group,” Hannah said after the practice. “We’ve made some big additions with (Woodard and Dickey). The big guy is going to be a big piece for us. He’s agile and you can throw alley-oops to him and he’s got a lot of energy, which is good for us. We’re going to have to follow that energy and I think we will.”