The RoundHouse | 1/13/2018 12:20:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Coach Gregg Marshall, sitting in the front row of the 30-seat charter jet, taps "Tulsa Time" by Eric Clapton on his phone, turns up the volume and holds it aloft for everyone to hear.
 
"Love Eric Clapton," Marshall said, and looked at radio broadcaster Mike Kennedy. "You should play this during the game."
 
Wichita State basketball is on the road, traveling the American Athletic Conference for the first time.
 
Kennedy is way ahead with the local-music theme and the radio broadcast featured James Taylor and Al Jolson singing Carolina-related songs on Thursday when Wichita State played at East Carolina. The conference opener at Connecticut featured Aerosmith's "I live in Connecticut."
 
The first American trip sent the Shockers to Hartford, Conn., the longest of the conference season (1,515 miles). The second trip, a leg-cramping swing from Wichita to Greenville, N.C. to Tulsa, kept the Shockers on the road from Wednesday until Saturday night.
 
Moving a party of around 30 over and around the country is rarely without complications – a mechanical issue with the charter delayed the trip to UConn and cost the Shockers a chance to practice at the XL Center. On Friday, a mix-up (not of Wichita State's making) delayed departure from Greenville for two hours, leaving the Shockers sleeping in the airport waiting room and coaches on the phone trying to get answers.
 
The goal is to avoid self-inflicted delays and director of operations Dominic Okon tries to research, plan and double-check his way to invisibility on a trip.
 
Unnoticed means confirming the bus driver knows the route to the hotel. Unnoticed means quietly telling Marshall plans for the meal so Marshall can relay them to the team. Unnoticed is pulling up to Subway and picking up boxes of sandwiches and chips with little delay. Okon carries copies of identification for the traveling party in case someone loses or forgets a driver's license. When breakfast starts at 8:15, Okon is at the restaurant at 7:45 to hand out vouchers. He relies on several managers to move equipment and uniforms and keep the travel organized.
 
"I'm as invisible as possible, behind the scenes," Okon said. "That's my goal. There's a lot of behind-the-scenes people who help."
 
Weather happens. Mechanical delays happen. The ultimate goal of all Okon's work is to deliver the Shockers to the arena on time for the game. Their thoughts on game-day should remain focused on the game, not travel issues.

Okon makes a practice run to the arena in an empty bus when Wichita State plays in new places – such as Hartford - to make sure the driver delivers his passengers on time.
 
"Eliminate distractions," Marshall said. "Eliminate delays."
 
Before trips, athletic trainer Todd Fagan checks in with Okon to ask his stress level. The answer is always "10." Each time a plane sits ready on the tarmac, each time a meal is delivered and each time a hotel has the key cards ready when the Shockers enter the lobby, his stress level drops.
 
"(Marshall) wants to go from A to B," Okon said. "Most of my work is done before I get there. I try as much as possible to know my way around and make it as smooth as possible."
 
Okon's role as tour guide started in June when the American announced the list of opponents, providing a list of cities on the schedule. The planning took on more urgency when the schedule of dates and times came out in mid-September. He talked to his counterparts at other American schools – especially Tulsa's Dave Reiter – for advice. The travel standards remained largely the same as in the Missouri Valley Conference – hotels must handle a large party with late checkout, suites and meeting rooms. On Wednesday, the traveling party ate at an Italian restaurant in Greenville. On Friday, a steakhouse in Tulsa.
 
Membership in the American opens up new possibilities for food in cities such as Philadelphia, Houston and Memphis. Due to the American's unbalanced schedule, Wichita State won't visit Tulane (New Orleans) or South Florida (Tampa) this season.
 
 "At least now we have more options," Marshall said. "I'm 54-years-old and this is my 33rd year as a coach, 20th as a head coach. The newness of the places we get to go has me interested. Philly and Orlando. I've been to Philly and Orlando, but it's always been recruiting and in and out."
 
Game times for the American's TV package presented some challenges. The Shockers play three 11 a.m. games, which likely eliminates the usual pre-game practice. Thursday's 9 p.m. (Eastern) start caused Okon and Marshall to reevaluate their plans for the East Carolina-Tulsa trips. Instead of returning to Wichita late Thursday/early Friday after playing at East Carolina, the Shockers flew to Tulsa on Friday morning. They will bus to Wichita after Saturday's game.
 
"More time to rest," Okon said.
 
The routine on travel day is usually class, film, practice, depart. That can change during semester break. Travel distance can alter the routine – the Shockers didn't watch film on Wednesday before flying to Greenville. In general, however, the parts move the same way they did in the Missouri Valley Conference.
 
Okon came to Wichita State in 2007 with Marshall. After 10 seasons navigating Peoria, Evansville and Springfield, he has 11 new cities to navigate.
 
"He knows what we like to do and how we like to travel," Marshall said. "He's very dependable. You know he's going to take care of all the details and knock out little glitches before they become problems."
 
The Shockers appear comfortable on the road, one of their defining characteristics. Their streak of 10 consecutive road games matches Middle Tennessee State as the nation's longest. They are 45-6 on the road over the past five seasons.
 
"Road games are road games," Wichita State center Rauno Nurger said. "New places and new teams. I like seeing new places, but other than that, It's just another road game for us."
 
Talent and coaching matter on the road. So does arriving on time and eliminating the distractions.
 
"(Okon's) done a great job being organized and keeping things the same," Wichita State senior Rashard Kelly said. "When things go wrong, he takes the blame. He's a reason why we have so much so much success and keeps thing going smoothly."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.