AfterShocks | 6/24/2021 11:52:00 AM

 
Wichita State basketball coach Isaac Brown views the AfterShocks as more than a basketball team, more than an alumni reunion and more than a chance to showcase Shocker fans.
 
The AfterShocks and The Basketball Tournament can serve as a networking and career fair for the current Shockers. In mid-July, Shocker basketball alums will return to campus. A few will play on the AfterShocks and more will come back to see old friends and join the reunion.
 
Brown wants his Shockers to soak up all the knowledge and experience from past generations. They can offer advice on navigating athletics, academics and post-college life, whether it's professional basketball or the business world.
 
"Those guys are the reason these young kids came here," Brown said. "They built the program. Even the ones that are not playing basketball, they're still successful. The young kids on our basketball team need to see that."
 
In 2019, the AfterShocks debut in TBT, former Shockers such as Joe Ragland, Tekele Cotton and Toure Murry returned and did not play. General manager Zach Bush and general manager Ron Baker are making a bigger effort in 2021 to bring Shockers back. They started with a list of around 280 former Shockers and began the invitations. They declined to list names of people expected to return, because of the unpredictable nature of the event, but they say they are encouraged by the response.
 
"I think fans will be excited with who we think will be in attendance, playing or not playing," Bush said. "We really value that brotherhood and wanting that legacy to continue. When you're a part of this family, we want family to be forever. We want guys who are here now to know the former guys."
 
Bush and Baker plan to build TBT to grow into an annual reunion. During games, the former Shockers can gather in the Champions Club. They want to help Brown's program by showcasing the tradition and fan support to current Shockers and recruits.
 
"Word of mouth has been good," Baker said. "This is huge for, not only ex-players to come back, but this huge for Coach Brown, showing people throughout the country what Wichita State is about. That's kind of the reason why Zach and I wanted to do the family reunion-type environment."
 
Brown envisions relationships growing between current Shockers and past ones. The veterans can explain the ups and downs of college basketball and how their experiences at Wichita State paid off. For Shockers who arrived in 2020 or 2021, TBT also gives them a chance to get a taste of Koch Arena's feel with fans.
 
"All those former players have been through that stuff," Brown said. "Everything our guys think they're going through – whether it's weights, playing time, academics, whatever it is – former players have been through it."
 
Koch Arena became one of the stars of TBT in 2019. The first game drew 7,184 fans, busting TBT's previous high of around 2,500. Over four days, around 20,000 fans visited Koch Arena. Wichita State planned to host again in 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the event to down-size to 24 teams at Columbus, Ohio.
 
"It goes to show you the city of Wichita is a basketball city," Brown said. "There's some teams in some of these power conferences that don't get (7,000) during the regular season. It goes to show you all the love they have for former players and basketball in this city."
 
This summer, TBT is a 64-team, single-elimination field with a $1 million prize at stake. Beginning on July 16, four regional sites will send eight teams to Championship Weekend, beginning July 31, in Dayton, Ohio. Games are broadcast live on ESPN networks.
 
The second-seeded AfterShocks open the tournament at 8 p.m. July 16 against 15^th-seeded Ex-Pats, a team of Patriot League alums. The winner plays the winner of Kansas State's Purple & Black and Creighton's Omaha Blue Crew.
 
Tickets for all TBT game days and events are on sale now at goshockers.com/tickets.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.