The RoundHouse | 12/8/2017 4:13:00 PM

By Paul Suellentrop
 
Wichita State sophomore Austin Reaves walks by Rashard Kelly and Kelly asks "Austin, what kind of animal are you?"
 
The answer is embedded in the team DNA. It is shared on social media and texts and, perhaps, soon to catch on with fans in a manner similar to "Play Angry" on the way to the 2013 Final Four and coach Gregg Marshall's numbers reveal during the 35-0 run through the 2013-14 season.
 
"Hyena," Reaves said, before walking to the locker room after Friday's practice.
 
"That's my boy," Kelly said.
 
The sixth-ranked Shockers (7-1) play at Oklahoma State (7-1) on Saturday (3 p.m., ESPN2). While the Shockers are a nationally ranked team with a national reputation, they are more comfortable identifying with the hyenas than the lion.
 
"It's a pack," Kelly said. "We're not a one-man show out here. We're not a big school. We're not one of them blue-blood schools. We're not considered a king of the jungle. We might as well hunt."
 
The Shockers grabbed the hyena theme after hearing Eric Thomas, known as "ET, the Hip Hop Preacher," speak to the team in the fall. He wore a T-shirt emblazoned with a picture of a hyena attacking a lion. He told the Shockers that lions fear a pack of hyenas.
  
"He said they're not the prettiest animals, they're not the strongest animals,'" Shocker senior Zach Brown said. "But they're grinders. They really come together. He basically said they're the toughest ones, they're the real dogs of the jungle."
 
A few facts about hyenas: They are carnivores who feed on carrion. They also hunt and bring down larger animals as a pack. There is, in fact, a hyena-lion rivalry because the species compete for food. Hyenas are intelligent and their powerful jaws make them a fearsome predator, especially in packs.
 
That is the attitude Kelly wants.
 
"The hyenas hunt the lions," he said. "Everybody wants to be the king of the jungle."
 
The Shockers share photos of hyenas on social media. They text each other pictures on game day. The background on Brown's phone is a picture of a hyena. If asked, they can imitate the distinctive high-pitched barking of a hyena.
 
"We took it to heart," Kelly said.
 
The most hyena-like game of the season happened in the opener of the Maui Invitational. The Shockers rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat California 92-82. They forced 12 second-half turnovers and their full-court press turned the game. Wichita State outscored the Bears 52-26 over the game's final 15 minutes, 27 seconds.
 
"After the Cal game, we were like 'Dang, that was some hyena stuff right there,'" Brown said. "After that, we for real took it that we were some hyenas."

Fun with words is not new to Shocker basketball.
 
In 2013, former Shocker Antoine Carr told the team to "Play Angry" before a game and it became a slogan that defined the Final Four trip. In 2013-14, coach Gregg Marshall researched and assigned numbers as the winning streak grew as a way to deflect pressure and embrace the fun of the moment. He told the Shockers that win No. 18 stood for quarterback Peyton Manning's jersey number. No. 23 honored Michael Jordan. He pegged No. 29 to the Wichita-produced Boeing B-29 Superfortress during World War II and gave a short lecture on the history of that airplane and its connection to Wichita.
 
Slogans can help lighten the mood during the six-month grind.
 
"It helps the mind recharge," Marshall said. "It's a long season. Some of these kids have been three and four years already. Just to have new stimuli is good."
 
Last season, Oklahoma State walked out of Intrust Bank Arena as the king of that game, a 93-76 win over the Shockers. The Cowboys led by 18 in the first half and the Shockers didn't get closer than 13 points in the second half.
 
"They big-boyed us," Kelly said. "We've got to go get our lunch money back."
 
Oklahoma State is a different team, although its pressure defense remains a trademark. Coach Brad Underwood went to Illinois and assistant Mike Boynton replaced him. Guard Juwan Evans, who scored 22 points, is in the NBA with Los Angeles Clippers. Forward Jeffrey Carroll, who made 8 of 10 shots and scored 22 points in last season's meeting, is back.
 
The Shockers don't need to be reminded.
 
"For some reason, we thought that was going to be a game we could walk through," Brown said. "They smacked us in the mouth. We've still got a bad taste in our mouth. That was the longest game of my career."
  
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.