Wichita State basketball matched with power-conference teams in ESPN event: source

Holiday tournaments in Orlando, Florida have historically featured the Wichita State men’s basketball team against elite competition and this year’s trip to the Sunshine state will be no different.

According to a source within the program, the Shockers will be paired with Florida, Wake Forest and Minnesota in a still-evolving ESPN event held at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex sometime in November.

CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein reported May 17 that Florida, Wake Forest and Minnesota would headline an early-season tournament in Orlando, but the fourth team in the event was still up in the air. That led to concern that WSU had been excluded from the top-tier group.

But a source with direct knowledge of scheduling confirmed to The Eagle that WSU has been told by ESPN it will be the fourth team included in the quad with power-conference foes.

In early May, The Eagle reported WSU would be included in an eight-team field and play three games from Nov. 28-Dec. 1 in what had been known as the ESPN Events Invitational, which was confirmed by a contract signed by ESPN and WSU that was obtained through an open records request.

But the 2024 version of the event is shaping up to be vastly different. Instead of an eight-team bracket where every team is guaranteed three games, it is trending toward being two separate four-team brackets with teams playing two games each. According to the source, ESPN is still finalizing details, including dates, for the event. St. Bonaventure is the only confirmed team for the other quad.

Regardless of the final draw, WSU is now primed for two high-quality games while playing on ESPN’s networks. Florida (No. 29), Wake Forest (No. 43) and Minnesota (No. 89) all finished in the top-100 of the final NET rankings last season, while Florida and Wake Forest are both considered top-40 teams for the 2024-25 season in Rothstein’s preseason rankings.

The most tantalizing matchup for WSU would be a game against Wake Forest, led by fifth-year head coach Steve Forbes, who was a WSU assistant coach from 2013-15 and during the Shockers’ historic 35-1 season.

It will be the third time WSU has played a multi-team event in Orlando in the last two decades. The Shockers finished 0-3 in the 2015 AdvoCare Invitational, losing to USC, Alabama and Iowa; and finished 1-2 in the 2008 Old Spice Classic, beating Siena in between losses to Georgetown and Michigan State.

WSU’s other three nonconference games under contract include a Saturday, Dec. 7 date against Kansas State at Koch Arena, then road trips to Bowling Green, Ky. to face Western Kentucky and Chicago to face DePaul. Both road games will have their official dates determined later this summer.

Summer Shockers start at Koch Arena

Monday kicks off the first day of summer classes at WSU, which means the men’s basketball team will convene for the first time on Monday. The team is not scheduled to begin basketball activities on its first day together, a WSU spokesperson told The Eagle.

Some players, such as Lipscomb transfer A.J. McGinnis, have already been in Wichita for weeks practicing on their own. Many arrived in Wichita this past weekend in preparation for summer school and workouts with the team.

WSU head coach Paul Mills managed to retain all of his recruited players following his first season, which ended with a 15-19 mark. Those returners include Harlond Beverly, Ronnie DeGray III, Bijan Cortes, Joy Ighovodja and Yanis Bamba, while Quincy Ballard and Xavier Bell also are slated to finish their careers as Shockers. Wichita native Henry Thengvall, a walk-on, is another returner.

Newcomers include three transfers in McGinnis, Justin Hill (Georgia) and Corey Washington (Saint Peter’s) and a pair of incoming freshmen in Zion Pipkin and Wichita native T.J. Williams.

That leaves the Shockers with one scholarship left to fill out their roster for the 2024-25 season, a search currently underway for another big man.

Paul Mills to host basketball camp in June

Youth basketball players in Wichita will have a chance to work with WSU head coach Paul Mills, other Shocker coaches, current WSU players and local high school coaches in two separate camps from June 10-13.

The camps are designed for boys and girls and players of all skill levels, as the day camp will stress fundamental basketball with an emphasis on shooting, dribbling, passing, rebounding, defense and team play as well as the importance of hard work, a positive attitude and having fun with the game.

Second-graders through sixth-graders will attend the Rookie camp from 8:30 a.m. to noon, while middle-schoolers and high-schoolers will attend the Individual Skills camp from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Cost of both camps is $200, which includes a WSU t-shirt and a basketball. Those interested can register online at coachpaulmillscamps.com.