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Jaron Pierre Jr.

MBB Preview: Hall of Fame Classic (Nov. 21-22)

11/20/2022 9:00:00 AM

WICHITA STATE (2-1) vs. GRAND CANYON (3-1)
Monday, Nov. 21 | 2 p.m. CT
Kansas City, Mo. | T-Mobile Center
Hall of Fame Classic Semifinals
Winner to Championship / 1 p.m. Tuesday vs. UNI/San Francisco Winner
Loser to 3rd Place Game / 10:30 a.m. Tuesday
 
TV: CBS Sports Network
Radio: KEYN 103.7 FM / GoShockers.com/Listen
Series: First Meeting
Live Stats: ShockerStats.com
 
 
TICKETS / TOURNAMENT CENTRAL:
For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit the tournament's official website: halloffameweekend.com.
 
WHERE TO WATCH:
Tournament games will air on CBS Sport Network with Chick Hernandez (PxP) and Chris Walker (Analyst) on the call. In the Wichita area, find CBSSN on Cox Communications (channel 260), AT&T U-Verse (channel 643), DIRECTV (221), DISH Network (158), SKT (58) or on streaming services such as AT&T TV, Fubo TV, Hulu and YouTube TV. With a valid cable/satellite subscription, get online access to CBS Sports Network's original programming, news, videos, and game recaps at CBSSports.com or through the CBS Sports App.
 
SHOCKER RADIO:
Listen live on KEYN 103.7 FM and online at GoShockers.com/Listen. Mike Kennedy (pbp) is in his 43rd season as Voice of the Shockers, and Bob Hull serves as analyst. Pregame coverage begins one hour before tipoff.
 
PREGAME PARTY IN KC:
Shocker fans in the Kansas City area are invited to a pregame tailgate party from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday at Chicken-N-Pickle (1761 Burlington St., Kansas City).
The event is co-sponsored by the WSU Foundation and Alumni Engagement and the WSU Athletic Department. The restaurant has reserved two rooms for Shockers fan on a first-come, first-served basis, and food and drink will be available for purchase.
 
 
OPENING TIPS:
  • Wichita State is set for two games in two days in Kansas City, Mo. as part of the 2022 Hall of Fame Classic at T-Mobile Arena.
  • The Shockers open at 2 p.m. CT Monday against Grand Canyon. The winner meets either Northern Iowa or San Francisco in Tuesday's 1 p.m. title game, while the losers play for third place at 10:30 a.m. All games air on CBS Sports Network.
  • This is WSU's third appearance in the event (formerly known as the CBE Classic) and first since 2013 when they took the title. Ron Baker (MVP) and Fred VanVleet represented the Shockers that year on the all-tournament team and wins over DePaul and BYU were Nos. 6 and 7 in a historic 35-0 start.
  • WSU has never faced GCU but has long histories with the other two schools. WSU and UNI were conference mates for 26 years in the Missouri Valley (1991-2017) and have split 56 meetings all-time. The Shockers are 5-4 against USF in a series that stretches back to the 1950s and the days of All-Americans Cleo Littleton and Bill Russell. The schools last met during the 2005-06 season when WSU completed a home-and-home sweep in San Francisco.
  • 11 of the 13 Shockers who have seen action this year are newcomers. That group includes two redshirts and nine transfers. Craig Porter Jr. and sophomore big man Kenny Pohto are the only returners who clocked minutes last year.
  • Porter – a fifth-year senior point guard and the team's lone returning starter – leads the team in points (14.0), rebounds (7.3), assists (3.3) and steals (2.7) while shooting 58% from the field.
  • Jaykwon Walton – a 6-7 junior wing who started his career at Georgia – averages 13.7 points and 2.5 steals.
  • Alabama grad transfer James Rojas (9.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) and sophomore Southern Miss transfer Jaron Pierre Jr. (6.3 ppg, 4.3 rpg) both made their first starts at Richmond.
  • It's been an up-and-down November for the Shockers, who fell at home to Alcorn State on Nov. 12 but bounced back Thursday with an impressive 56-53 road win over a Richmond team that advanced to the second round of last year's NCAA tournament. The trio of Walton (career-high 20 points), Rojas (15 points) and Porter (11 points, nine rebounds, five steals) combined for all but 10 Shocker points.
 
 
A SHOCKER SEMIFINAL WIN WOULD….
... Make them 3-1 with back-to-back wins.
... Move them into Tuesday's championship game at 1 p.m. CT against the winner of UNI/San Francisco.
... Make them 1-0 against GCU.
... Give them their sixth MTE title game appearance since 2012.
... Make them 4-1 all-time at T-Mobile Center with four-consecutive victories.
 
A SHOCKER SEMIFINAL LOSS WOULD….
... Drop them to 2-2.
... Put them in Tuesday's 10:30 a.m. consolation game against the loser of UNI/San Francisco.
... Make them 0-1 all-time against GCU.
... Be less good than a win.
 
 
ABOUT THE HALL OF FAME CLASSIC:
This is the 22nd installment of the Hall of Fame Classic (formerly known as the CBE Classic).
  • The event is organized by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) as part of its National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Weekend.
  • Sunday evening, the hall of fame will induct its Class of 2022. The group includes players Richard Hamilton (Connecticut), Larry Miller (North Carolina), Frank Selvy (Furman), and the late Jimmy Walker (Providence), along with coaches John Beilein, Jerry Krause and Lon Kruger. In addition, championship coaches Roy Williams and Jim Calhoun will be formally honored after initially being recognized as part of the founding class in 2006.
  • Arkansas defeated Cincinnati 73-67 in the 2021 title game on its way to an eventual Elite Eight appearance.
 
 
WSU IN THE HOF CLASSIC:
  • This is WSU's third appearance in the event and first since winning the 2013 title.
  • The Shockers are looking to join a list of two-time champions that includes Creighton (2002 & 2004), Kansas (2012 & 2016), Missouri (2001 & 2011) and Texas (2005 & 2009).
  • 2013: 2-0, Champions: 12th-ranked WSU secured the title by taking down DePaul (90-72) and BYU (75-62)… Ron Baker topped 20 points in both games to earn MVP honors and was joined on the all-tournament team by Fred VanVleet… The victories were Nos. 6 and 7 in a historic 35-0 start… Shocker great Xavier McDaniel was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame on the eve of the tournament as part of its Class of 2013.
  • 2009: 1-1, 3rd Place: Playing without starting point guard Clevin Hannah, WSU fell 68-55 to Pittsburgh in the semifinals. Hannah returned the following night to deliver six assists in a 74-57 stomping of Iowa in the third-place game. Toure' Murry and Garrett Stutz scored 18-each for the Shockers, who shot 57% from the field and made 11-of-21 threes. WSU went on to win 25 games that year and hosted an NIT home game.
 
 
THE SHOCKERS IN KANSAS CITY:
  • WSU teams are 3-1 at T-Mobile Center (formerly the Sprint Center). All four games are tied to this event.
  • WSU is 17-12 all-time in Kansas City.
  • 18 of the 29 KC games were played in during the first half of the 20th Century. The Shockers traveled four times to KC for AAU national tournament appearances in the 1920s and earned bids to the 1945 and 1946 NAIA tournaments at Municipal Auditorium.
  • WSU went nearly 40 years without a game in KC before facing 11th-ranked Kansas at Kemper Arena during the 1984-85 season. Hall of Famer Xavier McDaniel finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds, but a KU squad that included future Shocker head coach Mark Turgeon came from behind to win 90-83.
  • The Shockers returned to Kemper in December, 1985 for the BMA Holiday Classic, defeating Arizona State in the semifinals before falling again to sixth-ranked Kansas in the title game.
  • Between 1994 and 2009, WSU split four road games against UMKC at Municipal Auditorium.
 
 
WSU IN MTE's:
  • The Shockers are search of their first title at a Multi-Team Event since winning the 2012 Cancun Challene and the 2013 CBE Classic in consecutive years. They've been runner-up three times since then: 2014 Diamond Head Classic (Honolulu), 2017 Maui Invitational, 2019 Cancun Challenge.
  • The 2012 Cancun title was WSU's first at a neutral site event since winning the 1963 All-College tournament in Oklahoma City.
  • Shocker teams have won a total of 15 regular season tournaments in the modern era, with 10 of those coming on their home court.
  • WSU was scheduled to take part in the 2020 Battle 4 Atlantis, but the event was canceled due to COVID-19. A replacement event took place in Sioux Falls, S.D. with many of the same teams, but the Shockers had to withdraw when two players tested positive during a pre-tournament COVID screening.
  • WSU took third-place in the 2021 Roman Main Event in Las Vegas. Both games had memorable finishes. Against an Arizona team that would eventually go on to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, WSU rallied from 16 down in the second half before falling in overtime. The Shockers staged a similar second-half comeback against UNLV in the consolation game. Down a point, Tyson Etienne drew a foul near midcourt with 3.5 seconds remaining and sank two game-winning free throws.
 
 
SHOCKERS WITH K.C. TIES:   
  • Freshman walk-on Trevor McBride is from the nearby town of Basehor, Kan.
  • Past Shocker standouts from the KC area include Landry Shamet  (2015-18), a Park Hill South graduate amnd current Phoenix Sun.
  • Garret Stutz (2008-12) a 7-footer out of North Kansas City High School was a first team All-MVC selection in 2012 for a Shocker team that earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament.
  • Three-time MVC defensive player of the year and Pizza Hut Shocker Hall of Fame inductee Jamar Howard (2001-05) starred at Bishop Miege.
  • 1,000-point scorer John Cooper (1987-91) attended Rockhurst High.
  • Robert Gray (1974-76) out of KC Wyandotte was leading scorer on WSU's 1976 MVC title winner.
  • WSU's home radio analyst since 1980, Dave Dahl (1968-71) graduated from Shawnee Mission West.
  • One of the all-time Shocker and Kansas City area greats,  Warren Armstrong Jabali (1965-68) played his high school ball at KC's Central High School and was the 1969 ABA Rookie of the Year.
  • Another Shocker Hall of Famer, Ernie Moore (1960-64) played at Sumner High School.
 
 
LAST TIME ON SHOCKER BASKETBALL:
Nov. 17 in Richmond, Va. | WSU 56, Richmond 53
  • A new-look roster delivered a vintage Wichita State road performance.
  • Helped by a stout defensive effort and Jaykwon Walton's career-high 20 points, the Shockers notched their eighth consecutive non-conference road victory.
  • Richmond, which had won 18 of its last 19 non-conference home games, shot just 38% from the field against a mixture of man-to-man and zone defense.
  • The Shockers used an early 10-0 run to take control and led 28-19 at halftime.
  • Richmond got its offense on track midway through the second half, sinking six straight shots. Isaiah Bigelow (16 points, 11 rebounds) capped a 10-0 run with a dunk and three-pointer to give the hosts a 45-39 lead with 9:35 to play.
  • Playing with four fouls and a split lip, Craig Porter Jr. rallied the Shockers with consecutive baskets to spark a 12-2 counterstrike. He finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and five steals.
  • Walton went 6-of-13 from the field and converted 6-of-8 free throws while playing all but two minutes.
  • James Rojas made his first start as a Shocker and matched his Alabama career scoring high with 15 points to go with six rebounds.
  • Jaron Pierre Jr. also moved into the starting lineup and logged over 37 minutes.
  • WSU shot 41.7% and won the rebounding battle, 36-29
  • This was the first-ever meeting between the programs. Richmond makes a return trip to Wichita in 2023.
 
 
SCOUTING GRAND CANYON:
  • Head coach Bryce Drew led Grand Canyon to an NCAA tournament in his first year and followed it up with a 23-8 finish in 2021-22 (the program's highest win total in nine seasons at the Division I level).
  • The Lopes are favorites to win the WAC this year, earning eight of the 13 first-place votes in the preseason coaches' poll.
  • Three starters return, led by WAC preseason player of the year Jovan Blacksher Jr. The 5-11 junior guard is averaging a team-high 13.0 points along with 2.3 steals.
  • The Lopes have a couple of frontcourt pieces in 6-7 junior forward Gabe McGlothan (9.5 ppg, team-best 8.0 rpg) and 6-9 Yvan Ouedraogo (5.5 ppg, 5.8 rpg).
  • That core is joined by a group of four Division I transfers:
  • 6-4 guard Ray Harrison averages a team-second 10.3 points after arriving from Delaware, where he was the 2021 Big South Freshman of the Year and a 2022 second team All-Big South pick.
  • Josh Baker (UNLV) tops the assists chart (4.0 apg) and has a 2.4 assist-to-turnover ratio.
  • Grad transfer Noah Baumann made 59 threes on over 40% accuracy last season at Georgia.
  • The Lopes are out to a 3-1 start with wins over Montana State (60-54), NAIA San Diego Christian College (101-50) and Grambling State (81-48). Their lone loss came on the road at Nevada (46-59).
  • GCU ranked among the top-10 nationally in opponent field goal percentage last season, and that trend continues in 2022-23. The Lopes are holding foes to 58.0 points on 33.0% shooting (24.5% from deep).
  • The Lopes have launched an average of 29.0 three-point attempts-per-game, including 38 in Friday's win over Grambling.  They've connected on 31.0% of their tries.
  • GCU is shooting 43.6% overall from the field but that number dips to 38.5% in the three games against Division I competition.
 
 
MATCHUP MASHUP:
  • This is the first of two games this weekend against members of the WAC. Saturday afternoon, the Shockers play host to Tarleton State (picked 10th out of 13 teams in the league's preseason poll).
  • Per KenPom, WSU has played it slow this year. Its 67.5 possessions-per-game rank 314th out of 363 schools. GCU, has played it even slower (66.1 vs. D1 foes; 344th). One of these two schools can look forward to a clash of styles Tuesday against San Francisco (74.2; 20th).
  • GCU's Josh Baker faced the Shockers in last year's Main Event in Las Vegas while playing for UNLV. He scored eight points in 19 minutes off the bench. The junior guard started his college career at Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College near Wichita.
  • Logan Landers also faced WSU last year while playing for Kansas State. He grabbed one rebound in three minutes.
  • Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. Monday, but for Lopes coach Bryce Drew, the long-game started years ago. Drew spent the 2019-20 season under deep cover, calling seven Shocker telecasts for the ESPN family of networks while patiently gathering intel. Notably, WSU was 3-4 in those contests, compared to 20-4 the rest of the year. Coincidence? Probably.
 
ABOUT NORTHERN IOWA:
  • Defending Missouri Valley Conference regular season champion UNI (20-12 last year) lost its top three scorers but still has experience in the backcourt with third-year players Nate Heise and Bowen Born (the 2022 MVC Sixth Man of the Year).
  • A potential Tuesday matchup would be the first between the former Missouri Valley Conference rivals since the Shockers' move to the American Athletic Conference.
  • The teams have split 56 meetings all-time. All but one took place between 1992 and 2017.
  • The series has been as evenly-matched as the record suggests. There have been just five streaks of 3+ wins in either direction, and neither side has won more than four-straight.
  • WSU is 13-11 against 17th year UNI coach Ben Jacobson. Dana Altman (currently at Oregon) is the only active Division I head coach who has faced the Shockers more (38 times with Kansas State and Creighton).
 
 
ABOUT SAN FRANCISCO:
  • WSU has faced USF nine times in a series that stretches back to the 1950s and the days of Cleo Littleton and Bill Russell. The Shockers won the most-recent installment (Dec. 6, 2005 in San Francisco) to take a 5-4 series lead.
  • The Dons won 24 games last season and made the NCAA tournament.
  • Chris Gerlufsen takes over as head coach after Todd Golden's departure for Florida.
  • USF is out to a 4-0 start and is coming off a road victory at Fresno State.
  • Washington State transfer Tyrell Roberts is averaging a team-best 15.3 points on 10-of-23 three-point shooting.
 
 
TRENDING:
  • WSU has had a different leading scorer in each of its first three games. Craig Porter Jr. put up 22 in the season-opening win over Central Arkansas, Kenny Pohto had 13 against Alcorn State, and Jaykwon Walton busted loose for 20 at Richmond.
  • WSU has held its three opponents to 58.0 points on 37.0% shooting, including 24.4% from three, but has struggled to score on the opposite end. The Shockers have converted just 14 three-pointers and rank among the bottom-10 nationally in three-point accuracy (.226).
  • WSU has led at halftime in all three games this year.
  • In the first half, the Shockers have collectively outscored (100-68), out-rebounded (64-31) and out-shot (.446 to .314) their three foes.
  • Opponents have turned the tables in the second half, besting the Shockers in 106-92 in points, 64-51 on the glass, and .421 to .398 by percentage.
  • WSU is a combined 6-of-35 from beyond the arc in the second half (.171), compared to .296 in the first.
  • Per KenPom, the Shockers rank among college basketball's bottom-50 in minutes continuity (just 18.8% of the team's minutes have been played by returners, 316th nationally). The roster ranks 276th in D-1 experience (1.44 years).
  • In parts of three seasons under Brown, WSU is 21-4 when outshooting its foe from the field and 21-5 when finishing with a higher three-point percentage.
  • The Shockers are also 22-1 when scoring at least 70 in regulation and a perfect 8-0 when they make it to 80.
 
 
ONE POOR BEAR RICHER:
  • WSU's front court got a lift last week when Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler received a 4-4-4 transfer waiver from the NCAA granting him immediate eligibility.
  • The 6-9 senior finished with four points and two rebounds in eight minutes in his Nov. 17 debut at Richmond.
  • Poor Bear-Chandler played his first three seasons for the Shockers and was back-up center on the 2021 American Athletic Conference championship team. He transferred to Omaha for the 2021-22 season to be closer to home but returned to WSU this summer to continue working toward his undergraduate degree. In June, he approached head coach Isaac Brown about the possibility of walking on. Brown jumped at the opportunity to add another experienced big – especially one with knowledge of his system.
  • Poor Bear-Chandler's 77 games of Division I experience are second-most on the team behind Gus Okafor (87).
  • Poor Bear-Chandler celebrated his 24th birthday on Sunday, Nov. 20. He's the oldest Shocker on the roster by nearly six months. James Rojas turns 24 in May.
  • WSU is awaiting word on a similar 4-4-4 waiver for junior guard Colby Rogers, who logged 77 games over the past three seasons for Cal Poly and Siena.


 
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