Wichita State Shockers

1. We've Got Spirit, Yes We Do. But We Have No Football, How 'Bout You? Since the end of the 1986 football season, WSU hoops has been the primary show in town. And it shows. In head coach Mark Turgeon's first year, 00-01, WSU finished 9-19 and still drew 8,114 fans per home game, good for 61st in NCAA Division-I. It helps that they're the only show in town. Once football season wraps up, the Shockers compete only with the Wichita Thunder hockey team. Attendance keeps getting better, with 10,325 per home game in 04-05 (22-10 record), good for 39th in the nation. Maybe it's good there's no football team. 2. Ah, The Shocker. The mascot, WuShock, is in fact a shock of wheat. Though the two-plus-one hand signal is prevalent in the crowd and on the sidelines (filthy-minded spirit squad), the two are not related. Sure, a Jayhawk might not be real, but if it was, it'd have legs. A shock of wheat? Not so much. 3. Almost Only Counts In Horseshoes And Hand Grenades. There's a long list of close calls in WSU hoops history. Taj Gray (Oklahoma) was recruited by and turned down his hometown university, as did Brandon Polk (Butler). Korleone Young decided college wasn't for him (or was it the other way around?). Maurice Evans, now a key off the bench for Detroit, is the only current NBA player to attend WSU. And he transferred to Texas. Ryan Gomes (Providence) and Danillo Pinnock (GW) were also pursued to no avail. But Bill Parcells did go here. — Matt McNabb