By Paul Suellentrop
 
Gloria Valencia, her son says, isn't an X-and-O's kind of basketball expert. She is an expert on Wichita State forward Jaret Valencia and how he looks on the court.
 
Earlier this week, Gloria called her son and talked basketball from a mom's viewpoint.
 
"My mom is telling me I'm not playing like myself or looking like myself," he said. "That means something. She put a little pressure on me. She said 'What's going on? Why are you playing bad?'"
 
Mom's call prodded Valencia to think about his first months at Wichita State. He watched video of his two seasons at Monmouth to remind himself how he wants to play basketball.
 

On Wednesday, Valencia, a 6-foot-9 junior from Quibdo, Colombia, played more like the person mom wants to watch. He scored six points, to match a season high, and grabbed a season-high five rebounds in an 84-73 win over Wofford at Koch Arena. He made a three-pointer and a dunk, looked confident shooting, handed out two assists and blocked a shot.
 
The Shockers (7-5) play Eastern Kentucky (4-8) at 4 p.m., Sunday (ESPN+) at Koch Arena in their final non-conference game.
 
Valencia took a step toward contributing more as member of the rotation and coach Paul Mills credited two excellent practices earlier in the week – after mom's call. Most important, Valencia played aggressively.
 
"Because he had those two phenomenal days of practice, I was going to play him first (off the bench)," Mills said. "He was going after the ball, not just settling. I'm glad he showed up and asserted himself."
 
Wednesday's performance reminded Mills of Valencia's early November practices.
 
"His preseason practices were great, until he got the groin injury," Mills said. "We just haven't seen that JV."
 
When Valencia looked at video of his freshman season at Monmouth, he watched a man who was smiling, shooting with confidence and playing hard.
 
"I was so happy to be playing," he said. "That caught my attention. I was moving around fast. That's what I like about the game. I saw how aggressive I was. I saw how dialed in I was."
 
As a freshman, Valenica earned a spot on the Coastal Athletic Association's All-Defense and All-Rookie teams. His 55 blocks ranked second in the CAA. Over two seasons, he made 37.9 percent of his three-pointers.
 
That was not the player Shocker fans saw early this season. An injury over the summer limited his practice time and set him back, Mills said. Valencia missed WSU's first two games this season due to injury. He played four minutes against UNI and DePaul. He went 1 for 7 from three-point range in his first nine games.
 
"I'm not a person who shoots bad percentages," he said. "I work so hard, there's no reason for my confidence to be down because I miss a shot. I've never been that person."
 
After the talk with family and a video review, Valencia went back to habits that made him successful. He worked on shooting more on his own. He reminded himself to drink more water after realizing he sometimes went days without enough of that fluid.
 
"When I missed, my confidence was going down," he said. "No more. If I miss, if I make, I put the time in the gym, and it should go in. I always think it's going to go in."
 
 

Needed another look at that oop to JV 💥@jaretval2ncia pic.twitter.com/71J5fmQPPC

— Wichita State Men's Basketball (@GoShockersMBB) December 18, 2025

He reflected on messages from Mills to remember why he plays the game and how he got to this point. Valencia wants to play professionally. Family, he said, is a big part of his motivation. On his left arm are tattoos of the women he calls his three queens - his mother, his older sister (Helen Valencia) and grandmother (Mercedes Buendia).
 
His mother, a nurse, worked her way through school to support her son's basketball aspirations. Finding shoes for a tall youngster in Colombia was not easy, so he hid wear and tear from his mom. He didn't want her to work extra shifts to pay for new sneakers.
 
"I'm playing for my mom," he said. "When Coach Mills said, 'Remember why you started playing,' that opened my eyes a lot. Now, I try to remind myself before I go to the gym what brought me here."
 
Playing with a smile and an edge brought Valencia to Wichita State. If he continues playing that way, his purpose will become obvious to everyone.
 
Paul Suellentrop writes about Wichita State athletics for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
 
Season tickets are on sale now, and season ticket renewals are available as well. To purchase, visit GoShockers.com/Tickets, dial 316-978-FANS (3267) or stop by the Shocker Ticket Office, located inside Charles Koch Arena, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.