Wednesdav. February 3. 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section B · Page 3
Commentary
Shockers offer Wichita a little drama
Wichita and Wichita State basketball are sort of funny. Wichitans take their men's basketball team, currently ranked at No. 160 according to the RPI index, as if it were one of the top 25 teams in the nation.
Meanwhile, the Shockers are about as exciting to watch as coed intramursal at Robinson Center.
Keep in mind, we're talking about Wichita here. There's not a whole lot to do in the city. Saturday nights are spent out at the Kansas Coliseum, checking out the Big Guns' N Ammo show. Sunday morning: church. Monday through Friday: surf basic cable for any sign of professional wrestling.
In those respects, they're a lot like Kansas State students.
So a mediocre basketball program offers some serious excitement for the locals.
But for once, the Shockers actually are providing Wichitans with a little drama.
Remember the name Maurice Evans?
Evans, a native Wichitan and leading scorer of the Missouri Valley Conference with 23 points per game as a sophomore, was recruited by your very own lovable Jayhawks.
Evans rejected the opportunity to
be seen on ESPN Big Monday games for the chance to stay home, near the Big Guns' N Ammo shows.
But now, Evans is pretty sure he doesn't want to play for Shocker head coach Randy Smithson anymore. He walked out on the team a little more than a week ago.
Seth Jones
Sports @ kansan.com
He said something to the effect of, "I don't want to quit
the shockers, but I'm not going to play for that jerk Smithson anymore."
He also claimed that as many as eight other players were ready to walk out with him.
At Wichita State, Evans was the go-to guy. He had a green light to shoot from the parking lot if he wanted to. And sometimes it seemed as if he did. Evans put up so many shots that he could make Jeff Boschee look like a kid who is afraid to shoot.
With all those shots he was chucking up. Evans managed to become the nation's leading scorer several times at the beginning of the season.
Keep in mind, though, this was against teams such as Florida A&M and Chaminade. Some of these schools were so small that they were intimidated when they saw that Wichita State's gymnasium had electricity.
In Wichita, it's not being debated whether Randy Smithson is a jerk. It seems as if everyone agrees that he is.
The question is, do we need a jerk coach who scares his talent away? The Shockers are facing the loss of their leading scorer. At 3-7 in their conference and 9-11 overall, the Shockers obviously would rather focus on trying to win a few more games rather than hearing. "What's up with Maurice?" everywhere they go.
In the meantime, a general counsel will investigate players' concerns with the way Smithson runs his program. And the door stays open for Evans to return to the Shockers.
Evans won't talk to the media. Whether he will stay remains to be seen.
Jones is a Mulvane junior in magazine journalism.
WSU star absent from crucial practice
The Associated Press
After a closed-door team meeting a day earlier, athletics director Bill
WICHIITA — It may well have been the most critical basketball practice of the season for Wichita State University. How the players performed wasn't all that important. What really counted was who showed up for yesterday's practice.
he told players that university officials would assume that WSU Wichita State University
Wichita State star Maurice Evans — who angrily walked out of practice last week — did not attend, leaving widespread speculation unresolved about his future with the team. He was the only Shocker player missing.
whoever showed up for yesterday's practice would be the players who finished out the season.
He told reporters that wasn't an ultimatum — but if Evans did not show up for practice, school officials would assume he had made
the decision not to come back.
Wichita State (9-12 overall), 3-8 Missouri Valley Conference) has lost its last two games without its leading scoring.
On several occasions this season, Evans, a 6-foot-5 sophomore guard/forward, was the No. 1 scorer in NCAA Division I ranks. He averages 23 points and 4.4 rebounds a game.
Evans has complained the Wichita State basketball program demeans and isolates its players.
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