Wichita State Shockers men's basketball

Wichita State Shockers
2011–12 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team
File:WuShock.png
University	Wichita State University
Head coach	Gregg Marshall (5th season)
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Arena	Charles Koch Arena (Capacity: 10,506)
Nickname	Shockers
Colors	Black and Yellow
Uniforms
Home Away
NCAA tournament Final Four
1965
NCAA tournament Elite Eight
1964, 1965, 1981
NCAA tournament Sweet Sixteen
1964, 1965, 1981, 2006
NCAA tournament second round
1964, 1965, 1981, 2006
NCAA tournament appearances
1964, 1965, 1976, 1981. 1985, 1987, 1988, 2006, 2012
Conference tournament champions
1985, 1987

The Wichita State Shockers basketball team is the NCAA Division I men's basketball program of Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas. They currently compete in the Missouri Valley Conference. The team last played in the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament in 2006, where they beat the #10 seeded Seton Hall Pirates from the Big East, and upset the #2 seeded Tennessee Volunteers from the SEC to reach the Sweet Sixteen. The Shockers were upset in the Sweet Sixteen by the George Mason Patriots. The Shockers then made it to the College Basketball Invitational tournament after the 2008-09 season, their first post-season appearance since their NCAA tournament run in '06. The Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team plays their home games at Charles Koch Arena (10,572). The Shockers are currently coached by Gregg Marshall, who replaced current Maryland coach Mark Turgeon before the 2007-08 season. Under Marshall, the Shockers have one College Basketball Invitational appearance, two back-to-back NIT appearances (2010 & 2011), with an NIT championship in 2011 and one NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament appearance in 2012.

History

Wichita State, then known as Fairmount College, first took the court in 1906 under head coach Willis Bates. During this time, the sports teams were known as the "Wheatshockers". The first official game was held in the basement of Fairmount Hall. Fairmount lost to Washburn University by a score of 37-10. During this inaugural season, the Wheatshockers only won two games.

Fairmount acquired a permanent home when Memorial Gymnasium was opened on January 15, 1921 in a game against the American Legion of Wichita. The gym was later renamed Henrion Gymnasium in 1926. That same year, the newly renamed Municipal University of Wichita (popularly known as "WU") joined the Central Conference in athletics.

WU first gained notice outside of Wichita in 1927. Led by First-Team All-American Ross McBurney and Second-Team All-American Harold Reynolds, the Wheatshockers finished the 1927 season with a 13-1 record and a second-place finish behind conference champions Pittsburg State University.

Coach Ralph Miller Era

Shocker basketball gained huge success with the arrival of Coach Ralph Miller and Cleo Littleton in 1951. Littleton averaged 18.2 points per game as a freshman, a school record that still stands today. Te first player west of the Mississippi to score 2,000 points in a season and is one of only four Wichita State players to have his number retired. He was also one of the first African-American players in the Missouri Valley Conference, which it joined in 1945. Littleton averaged 19 points per game during his career and he still owns 7 school records. Due to this success, Wichita State decided to construct a new home for the Shockers. Through appropriated money by the WU Board of Regents, Wichita State was able to construct a new field house for the men's basketball team, costing $1.4 million. On December 3, 1955, the Shockers played their first game in WU Field House in front of more than 9,000 fans.

After the departure of Cleo Littleton, Wichita State lost some national prominence, yet still remained highly-respected by teams across the country. Dave Stallworth entered the program in the 1961-62 season. Nicknamed "The Rave", Stallworth became the Shockers' first consensus All-American in 1964. He finished with a career scoring average of 24.2 points per game and was second on the all-time scoring list with 1,936 points. During his 13-year stint at WSU, Ralph Miller became the winningest coach in Shocker basketball history, collecting 255 victories. Miller is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and currently ranks as the eighth-winningest coach in college basketball history.

Gary Thompson Era

The 1964-65 season was the most successful in Shocker history. On December 14, 1964, Gary Thompson led Wichita State to its first-ever No. 1 ranking. The 19-7 Shockers won the MVC and earned a berth into the Midwest Regional. After defeating Southern Methodist and an Oklahoma State team led by Henry Iba, the Shockers headed to the Final Four in Portland. There, the Shockers were matched against the defending national champion UCLA Bruins. After a hard-fought game, the Shockers were defeated 108-89. The Shockers played a third-place game against Princeton University, losing 118-82. The rest of Coach Thompson’s career at WSU would be a struggle, and the Shockers would not see a national ranking for 15 years, but Thompson would coach one of the most versatile players in WSU history. Around this time, Warren Armstrong played for the Shockers and made big contributions throughout his career. During his sophomore season, Armstrong set two school records, averaging almost 12 rebounds a game while setting a Shocker single-game assist mark with 12. Blessed with superior leaping ability and an uncanny ability to see the whole court, Armstrong was a team player who would rather pass to an open teammate than take his own shot. Warren Armstrong would later enjoy a productive career in the ABA, but only after becoming a three-time all-Valley performer from 1966-1968. Armstrong holds four of WSU’s 10 triple double games (double-figure points, rebounds, assist, or blocks).

During the next 10 years, Shocker basketball did not enjoy quite the same amount of success that it enjoyed in the 1960s.

Despite this lack of success, the Shockers faithful witnessed the play of Terry Benton, then the best rebounder in school history. From 1969-1972, Benton, from Wichita High School East, would simply dominate opposing teams on the boards.

Harry Miller Era

Wichita State went 97-90 from 1970 to 1978 under Harry Miller. They had several notable players during those years including Rich Morsden, Cheese Johnson, Cal Bruton and Bob Elmore. They made it to NCAA tournament in 1976 and lost by one point in the first round despite outplaying eventual national runner up Michigan. It was a memorable performance by Cal Bruton the 5-9 sparkplug of the Shockers who held first team All-American Ricky Green to only 5 points.

Gene Smithson Era

In the 1970s success returned under Coach Gene Smithson, who wanted to instill both mental toughness and extra effort to his team. On February 6, 1971, Benton pulled down a school-record 29 rebounds in a game against North Texas State. During his junior season, Benton snatched 20 or more rebounds in seven games. With a career 16.8 rebounds per game, Benton once grabbed 69 rebounds in a three-game conference stretch. Earning all-MVC honors in 1971-72, Benton finished his career with 1,003 points and 963 rebounds. Another terrific player at this time was Lynbert "Cheese" Johnson.

Former Missouri Valley Conference logo

Johnson was a top 10 recruit as a senior out of New York’s Haaren High School. Recruited by Coach Harry Miller, Johnson began his stellar career at WSU in 1975, averaging 11.2 points a game and shooting almost 52 percent from the field. Smithson enjoyed the presence of Cheese his first full season with the Shockers in 1978-79. Johnson’s senior season would be one remembered for many years to come. He averaged 22.2 points while playing 35 minutes a contest. A fan favorite, Johnson played his last game in front of the Shocker faithful on February 17, 1979. With family and friends in the stands, Cheese poured in 27 points and added 13 rebounds, distinguishing him with WSU’s basketball immortals.

In 1980, Wichita State was placed on two-year probation which was a shame since the 1981 team had three future NBA players on it - Xavier McDaniel, Cliff Levingston and Antoine Carr.

Xavier McDaniel came to Wichita with an attitude and determination that would eventually make him one of the greatest players in WSU history. Four years later, X had posted 2,152 points placing him second in all-time scoring behind Littleton, while setting the school record with 1,359 rebounds.

“X” had arguably the best season ever by a collegiate player, becoming the first NCAA Division I player to lead the nation in scoring and rebounding by averaging 27.2 points and 14.8 rebounds a game, while shooting 55.9 percent from the field.

In 1986, allegations and declining support by the school and city forced Gene Smithson out as head coach. In nine seasons, Smithson collected 155 wins, placing him second behind Ralph Miller on the WSU all-time list. He averaged almost 20 wins a season, and was the first coach to guide WSU to back-to-back 20-win seasons.

Scott Thompson Era

At a press conference on March 24, 1992, Scott Thompson was hired as the new WSU basketball coach. Regarded as one of the brightest young coaches in the game, he had spent 10 years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame, Iowa, and Arizona before taking over the program at Rice, and building it into a 20-game winner in five years. Although Thompson’s years as coach at WSU did not produce winning records, he did have two transfer guards and a young forward who excelled. Jimmy Bolden transferred to WSU for his senior season from St. Mary’s College and averaged a team best 13.4 points a game in 1992-93. L.D. Swanson then stepped in at point guard during his senior season, and was known as the “go-to” guy.

During the 1994-95 season, Swanson made three game-winning shots at or near the buzzer to bring a brief frenzied atmosphere back to Levitt Arena. Playing almost the entire game every night, Swanson averaged 14 points and a WSU career record 38.4 minutes per game, and led the Shockers to a 13-14 record, best in six years. Also in 1994-95, sophomore Jamie Arnold became the first Shocker to lead the MVC in rebounding since Xavier McDaniel in 1984-85. Arnold also led the MVC in field goal percentage that season with 51.3 percent, and was the first Shocker to do so since Neil Strom shot 59.0 percent in 1974-75. He also became WSU’s 30th player to score more than 1,000 points in his career despite missing 23 games from his sophomore to senior seasons for injury and suspension.

Even though a few individual performances were outstanding, Thompson did not bring a winning season to Wichita.

Gregg Marshall Era

Gregg Marshall is the current Wichita State Shockers men's basketball coach and is currently in his fourth season with the Shockers. Marshall previously coached at Winthrop University for nine seasons. In his first season (2007–08) the team finished with a record of 11-20. In his second season they posted a 17-17 record, complete with a run to the second round of the 2009 CBI Tournament where they lost to Stanford University. The following season (2009–2010), the Shockers went 25-10 culminating with an NIT tournament appearance. The invite was due in large part to their strong 16-1 home record. Their only loss at home that year was in the NIT against Nevada. In the 2010-11 season Wichita State culminated a season of 29-8, finishing second in the Missouri Valley to Missouri State, by an NIT championship, beating the University Of Alabama 66-57. In the current 2011-2012 season, they continue to improve under Marshall's guidance. Entering the 2012 MVC tournament, they were 25-4 overall and have reached a ranking of #14 in the coaches poll and #15 in the AP poll. In 2012, the Shockers qualified for their first NCAA tournament in 6 years.

NCAA Tournament Results

The Shockers have appeared in 9 NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 8–10.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1964	Second Round* Elite Eight	Creighton Kansas State	W 84–68 L 94–93
1965	Second Round* Elite Eight Final Four Third Place Game	Southern Methodist Oklahoma State UCLA Princeton	W 86–81 W 54–46 L 108–98 L 118–82
1976	First Round	Michigan	L 74–73
1981	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen Elite Eight	Southern Iowa Kansas LSU	W 95–70 W 60–56 W 66–65 L 96–85
1985	First Round	Georgia	L 67–59
1987	First Round	St. John's	L 57–55
1988	First Round	DePaul	L 83–62
2006	First Round Second Round Sweet Sixteen	Seton Hall Tennessee George Mason	W 86–66 W 80–73 L 63–55
2012	Second Round	VCU	L 59–62

• In 1964 & 1965 there were first round games in their regional but the Shockers had a bye to the second round.

NIT Results

The Shockers have appeared in 12 National Invitation Tournaments. Their combined record is 8–11.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
1954	First Round	Bowling Green	L 88–64
1962	First Round	Dayton	L 79–71
1963	Quarterfinals	Villanova	L 54–53
1966	Quarterfinals	NYU	L 90–84
1980	First Round	UTEP	L 58–56
1984	First Round	Michigan	L 94–70
1989	First Round Second Round	UC Santa Barbara Michigan State	W 70–62 L 79–67
2003	Opening Round	Iowa State	L 76–65
2004	First Round	Florida State	L 91–84
2005	Opening Round First Round Second Round	Houston Western Kentucky Vanderbilt	W 85–69 W 84–81 L 65–63
2010	First Round	Nevada	L 74–70
2011	First Round Second Round Quarterfinals Semifinals Championship	Nebraska Virginia Tech College of Charleston Washington State Alabama	W 76–49 W 79–76 W 82–75 W 75–44 W 66–57

CBI Results

The Shockers have appeared in 1 College Basketball Invitational. Their combined record is 1–1.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result/Score
2009	First Round Quarterfinals	Buffalo Stanford	W 84–73 L 70–56

See also

• Wichita State University
• Wichita State Shockers
• Charles Koch Arena
• Gregg Marshall

External links

• GoShockers.com Wichita State Athletics official website