The Sunflower v.123 i.24

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 2018 • VOL. 123, ISS. 25

THESUNFLOWER.COM

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

Walk-umentary

Two filmmakers walked across the state to show the world their native Kansas

BY AUDREY KORTE

W

hen Joshua Nathan first suggested walking across Kansas and filming a documentary about the experience, he said to friend Patrick Ross, “If you agree to it, you can’t back out. You’re either in or you’re out.”

Ross was in. The two shook hands on it in their Los Angeles kitchen and that was the beginning of a journey that would culminate in a feature-length

documentary. The working title is “Kansas: An Eclogue.”

In 2015, Nathan and Ross traveled by train from Los Angeles, California to Garden City, Kansas to begin filming the people and places of their home state. The duo finished their trip seven weeks later in Lawrence. Now they are in the final phases of production and hope to premiere their film next year.

Nathan and Ross are native Kansans and University of Kansas graduates. Nathan’s degree is in filmmaking and Ross’s is in human

biology with a minor in business.

They live together in Los Angeles, working as filmmakers.

The idea for the trip was born out of Nathan’s mission to walk across Kansas.

“I had always wanted to go on a long walk of sorts — be a nomad for a spell and try it out,” Nathan said.

“People, I think, convinced me that I was a little looney so I never did it.”

But the idea remained — waiting for the right kindling to spark the journey.

SEE WALK-UMENTARY PAGE 3

APPLIED STUDIES Kali Dorey Karsten Bailey

BUSINESS

Cynthia Matson Rigoberto San Juan

ENGINEERING

Kaelee Knoll Jesus Gomex Llanos Tirado

FINE ARTS SELENA FAVELA/THE SUNFLOWER

Members of the infrastructure steering committee Gentry Thiesen (left), Hannah Foster (center), and Ashley Estes (right) present during open forum of the Student Government Association meeting Wednesday.

Meet your student reps on the infrastructure steering committee

BY MATTHEW KELLY

There are 26 students on the steering committee charged with informing students and generating support for the proposed $6 a credit hour infrastructure fee to upgrade campus facilities.

Deans from every college appointed two students each to the committee, and there are also representatives from the Institute of Interdisciplinary Innovation, University Libraries, the Student Government Association, and Strategic Communications.

Three members of the committee, Hannah Foster, Ashley Estes, and Gentry Thiesen, fielded questions from student senators during Wednesday’s Student Government Association meeting. After the meeting, Foster said it’s important that students play a role in the university’s

decision-making process.

“We don’t as students have all of the information that [administrators] have had for — it’s been months to years, and we’re just now getting involved,” Foster said.

“The longer we do these meetings and the more we have our input, the more it’s going to be student-driven.”

Foster said she doesn’t know what will happen if students vote down the proposal in March, but that they need to have all available information at their disposal to take a stand.

“We hope that by the time March comes around and the vote happens, that the students have all the information they need to make an informed vote,” Foster said.

Here are your student representatives on the infrastructure steering committee.

McKenzie Hercules Travis Tyson

EASTON THOMPSON/THE SUNFLOWER

HEALTH PROFESSIONS Stephanie Tsang Max Karst

LIBERAL ARTS AND SCIENCES Kathy Johnson Gentry Thiesen

Adult Scholars’ board members, as seen left to right, Andrew Humphrey, Enrique Rodriguez, Dana Welch, and Marsha Norton, check their Facebook group page for functionality during an interview with The Sunflower. Wichita State’s Adult Scholars is a student-run organization that hopes to help adult scholars attending WSU network with others.

Adult learners have a new homegroup on campus

GRADUATE SCHOOL Vijay Matheswaran Grant Cosselman

HONORS COLLEGE Jacob Tubach Noor Farhoud

BY AUDREY KORTE

INSTITUTE FOR INTERDISCIPLINARY INNOVATION Kristyn Smith Kathy Johnson

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES Danish Charolia Ashley Estes

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATIONS Hannah Foster Laura Restum

STUDENT GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION Kenon Brinkley Shelby Rowell Haley Ensz Charles Williams

Wichita State has a new student group on campus that is just for adult learners. Adult Scholars is now an officially recognized student organization. They hope to connect adult students for both career and social networking, as well as providing a much-needed support system for older students.

“In terms of what we want to provide for our members, I think the most important thing is a social group on campus for adult students,” said Enrique Rodriguez, the organization’s president.

“Our group wants to focus on

connecting adult students on campus to each other so they can provide support to each other and provide them with information that they may not have.”

Adult students may not have the same concerns as students who are fresh out of high school. Some feel like they can fall through the cracks.

“I would have loved to have had the traditional college experience, but I didn’t,” Rodriguez said.

Adult Scholars Vice President Marcia Norton said having a non-traditional college experience sets adult learners apart from most WSU students.

SEE ADULT LEARNERS PAGE 3

INSIDE

WINNING WAYS

DECISION LOOMING

CONSOLATION LOSS

The Sunflower diagrams your pre-Oscars watch list.

The Shocker women’s basketball team is 4-0 for the first time since 1996.

The NCAA could rule on Teddy Allen’s eligibility as soon as Monday.

Wichita State went 1-2 and finished sixth in the Charleston Classic.

CULTURE • PAGE 3

SPORTS• PAGE 4

SPORTS• PAGE 4

SPORTS • PAGE 4

OSCARS CRASH COURSE

OPINION

2 | MONDAY, NOV. 19, 2018

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THE STAFF EDITORIAL

Editor in Chief Matthew Kelly Digital Managing Editor Andrew Linnabary Visual Managing Editor Madeline Deabler News Editor Jenna Farhat Culture Editor John Darr Sports Editor Evan Pflugradt Photo Editor Selena Favela Sports Photo Editor Joseph Barringhaus

ADVERTISING

Advertising Manager Kylie Cameron

ADVISING

Faculty Adviser Amy DeVault

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Turkey aside: Thanksgiving’s top 5 side dishes As The Sunflower’s self-proclaimed food expert, I would be doing you a great disservice if I failed to rank something with the biggest food-based holiday of the year just around the corner.

A logical person would try to rank proteins, or even methods of preparing the turkey — the crown jewel of Thanksgiving dinner, but these are all somewhat trivial in my opinion.

The key to a perfect Thanksgiving dinner is in the side dishes, and these are the undisputed top five, as chosen seemingly at random by someone with next to no qualifications.

DISHONORABLE MENTION: YAMS

Who decided Thanksgiving needed sweet potatoes? Yams do nothing other than waste valuable plate space — yielding only

list can be enjoyed year round.

Cornbread is not confined to Turkey Day. By themselves, green beans tend to be underwhelming for me, but in casserole form, they undoubtedly earn a spot on my plate.

I don’t know what it is, but this Thanksgiving classic is one that just keeps on giving.

Everyone has their own specific way of preparing potatoes for thanksgiving, but my personal favorite is the mashed variety — although I have been known to crave a baked potato now and then.

If it were any other holiday, these smashed spuds would have their “eye” on the top spot (I’m sorry, it needed to be said), but this is Thanksgiving, dammit.

3. CORN CASSEROLE

1. STUFFING

4. GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

AUSTIN MAY COLUMNIST

disappointment in return and dragging the good name of potatoes through the mud (or gravy, if you want to be festive).

5. CORNBREAD

As a lover of both corn and bread, cornbread fits logically into my top five. The variability of this southern classic is something to be envied, as not every side on this

2. MASHED POTATOES

Another dish with southern roots, corn casserole, would be the perfect side for any meal, but this isn’t just any meal.

Thanksgiving dinner requires a bit more out of a side dish, and corn casserole makes the podium — falling just short of two other sides for the top spot.

Much like number five, number one on this list has everything to do with my bread obsession. From the texture to the flavor, stuffing is the ultimate side dish. Maybe it‘s because stuffing is seasonal, or maybe it’s just that good, but, come Thursday, you’d better believe I’ll have a healthy serving on my plate.

Because stuffing is healthy, right?

Student criticism of WSU comes from a place of caring I love a good cry. It’s biologically healthy — those tear ducts need to be cleaned out somehow — and indicates that something has moved you greatly.

Even when I teared up in front of the Student Government Association last year, begging for Mikrokosmos and The Sunflower to receive funding, there was some part of me that was thankful for those tears. I was thankful that Wichita State had given me organizations I loved enough to fight for.

Even though I’ve only been here two and a half semesters, WSU has given me so much more than I expected. I have wonderful professors who care about my work and advocate for my well-being. I have supportive classmates who inspire me to become a better student and person. I have countless memories in magical places — the Ulrich, the Duerksen outdoor amphitheater, and of course, The Sunflower newsroom.

JOHN DARR

CULTURE EDITOR I couldn’t be happier to have chosen WSU as the place to receive my degree, and I’ve been lucky to fall in love with the city of Wichita as well as the university embedded within its sprawl.

True love of a place and its people inevitably result in a drive to protect and improve its institutional integrity. If we are not diligent in our protection of what we love, it may all disappear without notice. Mikrokosmos Literary Journal was nearly axed after more than fifty years of existence, even as the pool of student fees

that funded it increased year after year. This year, The Sunflower is operating with budget cuts that affect its day-to-day operation.

Without students fighting for the existence of the things they love on campus, we risk losing the parts of campus that we are thankful for today. Sometimes, even when we think we are doing enough to preserve what we love about WSU, it’s not enough.

That’s what happened just a week ago when I drove past the desolate lot where the YMCA will soon be constructed. The rolling hills and nature pathway that used to be there were one of my favorite parts of campus. I loved to walk there — taking in the trees and grass as I traveled between the northeast parking lots and campus. It was a small refuge that I never expected to lose during my time at WSU. Now it’s gone. The YMCA that’s going on that land was opposed by one session of SGA only to be approved by the next. I don’t know

if I could have done anything to help protect that patch of land I loved, but now I’ll never know.

I was thankful for that little happy place on campus, but that thankfulness didn’t make the leap towards diligence in protecting it.

When the university talks about “paying it forward,” I understand what they’re getting at. I do want to leave WSU a better place than I found it. If that means losing some money out of my small paycheck that I can afford to lose, I’m happy to pay the cost.

However, it’s our job to make sure that the manner in which we pay it forward is in line with our personal values. We must be critical of the powers that shape WSU. It is our duty to understand and act upon the truth of each problem and opportunity we face as a university.

Behind each critical piece of coverage in The Sunflower is a student body so thankful for this university that we will go the distance to protect it.

Mumford & Sons’ ‘Delta’ pleasant but underwhelming Music that provides comfort plays an invaluable role in any listener’s collection. It’s pretty amazing how much a warm, familiar record can calm us down in a time of stress, or how friendly background music can help us ease ourselves into an intimidating social situation. Elevator music may be a kind of joke, but it’s a joke that helps distract us from that awkward stranger we’ve been suddenly trapped with or our fear of heights.

“Delta,” the new record from Americana stalwarts Mumford & Sons, is an immediately comforting record. Each song sounds effortless — carrying the listener on a bed of warm atmosphere and familiar lyrics. The record functions as a blanket that can be nestled under on first listen.

If all you need is a warm layer over your day, “Delta” is a pretty reliable place to turn.

Unfortunately, “Delta” is not one of those beautiful artisan blankets that, when investigated closely, reveals a tapestry of beautifully woven, complex threads of

JOHN DARR

CULTURE EDITOR complementary colors. It’s more like a patternless comforter the same shade of beige as the “Delta” album cover.

Mumford & Sons have never been especially experimental with their lyrics or song structures, but they usually find another way to add some bite to their music. Their debut album housed scathing lyrics in the midst of banjo-spiked pop songs. Even as they become more smoothly produced and less discernably folksy, Mumford’s stadium-charging crescendos have bolstered record after record in their discography.

However, “Delta” is the ultimate iteration in a trend indicated

by previous record “Wilder Mind.” With fewer instances of Americana-influenced instrumentation and tamer climaxes to their tracks, “Delta” offers very little in the way of texture.

This is apparent almost immediately on opener “42.”

What should be a victorious, gospel-tinged peak is smeared into a level, nondescript arrangement where everything is balanced and nothing stands out.

“Delta” is consistently plagued by this issue: areas where the band would have soared in the past are mixed relentlessly smooth. It’s as if any bit of possible personality has been trampled down so that anyone sleeping in a nearby room won’t be jolted awake. Even when the banjo does show up on “Beloved,” it’s relegated to an incredibly nondescript, two-note rhythm that showcases none of the instrument’s character.

The same approach is taken lyrically. There’s really no substance whatsoever to grasp onto.

Every lyric is either so vague or so

Sunflower Editorial Briefs The Sunflower editorial board offers their one-sentence takes Matthew Kelly: Thanks to the Elliott Hall janitor crew for all of your hard work.

Andrew Linnabary: Make sure to give your cats and dogs a feast on Thanksgiving.

Madeline Deabler: In the Harry Potter universe, all of the photos are just gifs.

John Darr: Half of finding happiness is recognizing it in the moment.

Evan Pflugradt: “Happy Hour” is actually four hours at Old Chicago, and it’s a godsend.

Selena Favela: Chocolate is the best.

Joseph Barringhaus: Registering for classes isn’t ever fun until it’s your last time to do it.

cliched that it fades completely into meaninglessness. “Woman / I never had such a sign / Burn itself into my mind / Do you ever really know / Can you ever really know,” asks Marcus Mumford on “Woman,” one of the album’s best-sounding cuts. The entire song reads like a middle-schooler’s attempt to say, “I don’t get girls” in the most roundabout, faux-deep way possible. It would be funny if there was anything distinct enough to laugh at.

Ultimately, “Delta” is an hour – that’s right, an hour – of utterly unremarkable, highly pleasant atmospheric rock that’s enjoyable so long as it’s consumed on surface level only. There are days when you really don’t want to think about whatever music you’re listening to. I wouldn’t be surprised if I find my tired self throwing it on for a nap or two in the future. “Delta” is the sort of record that basically begs you not to pay attention to it. In that sense, it might be the best ambient record of the year.

RATING: BEIGE

CULTURE

www.thesunflower.com

“We have families and careers and adult lives and lots of things going on,” Norton said.

“But education is a serious goal and we’ll pretty much trudge through whatever we have to to get there.”

Rodriguez said adult learners oftentimes think they’re alone.

“Too often an adult student is an island,” Rodriguez said.

“You think . . . I’m the only one going through this.”

Rodriguez has been working for a year alongside a handful of other adult students to launch the Adult Scholars group.

“There’s about 3,000 working adults on and off campus,” Norton said. “That’s a big, underrepresented part of the WSU population.”

Rodriguez said one of the group’s goals is to make their presence felt on campus. As long as they remain a forgotten group, their needs will not be met.

“If the Adult Scholars organization can raise the profile of adult students on campus to the point where the campus is forced to act to serve us, then that’s ultimately what I want to see,” Rodriguez said. “Raising our profile in the community eventually forces the hand of the university to serve us better and in a more appropriate way.”

Rodriquez said the group’s current goal is to attract new members and organize their first event. He said there are a lot of things they need to consider in order to keep their status and funding.

“They’re going to go there to look at our member count.

So I need everyone to go to [the group’s Shocker Sync] site and join up officially through there. That is challenging,” Rodriguez said.

In addition to looking for new members, the group is actively seeking adults to take on some supervisory role, Rodriguez said.

WALK-UMENTARY FROM PAGE 1

In 2014, Nathan was accepted into Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School. At an event, Herzog told his student’s, “If you want to be a filmmaker, you need to walk on foot. When you walk on foot, you learn the hearts of men.”

Nathan said he and Ross had talked previously about filming a Kansas-centric documentary.

“This excited me and reignited that fire that I’d had earlier,” Nathan said.

The two made plans to return to Kansas to journey through the heartland with camping and camera gear in tow. They began their walk at the 1,280-acre Lake Scott State Park in Scott City.

“The only real training we did before we left L.A. was we walked from our house in Echo Park to the beach, but we had maybe 10 or 15 pounds of weight on,” Ross said. “It was a 12-mile walk.”

Otherwise, the two conditioned

pre-Oscars watch guide

BY JOHN DARR Let’s face it — watching a movie is a commitment. Prepping for Oscars season can be an intimidating prospect. The Sunflower is here to help you decide what to watch and what to skip with indications of fear factor, artiness, and heart-warming friendliness.

Simply navigate the graph to find what might suit a family movie night or a calm evening in. Happy viewing!

INCREDIBLES 2

popular MISSION IMPOSSIBLE

DEADPOOL 2

CRAZY, RICH ASIANS

INFINITY WAR

BLACK PANTHER

LOVE, SIMON

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?

A QUIET PLACE

intense/ scary

heartwarming

FIRST MAN A STAR IS BORN SORRY TO BOTHER YOU

HEREDITARY

themselves on the road. There was no practice run.

The trip certainly came with difficulties. The land seemed to challenge the filmmakers — as if to question their decision to leave Kansas and return with big-city ideas and equipment. They had to pay their dues.

Their first stop didn’t go as planned. It ended with the two of them passed out from fatigue by U.S. Route 83. The sun was setting on them. Overnight temperatures would be in the mid-30s. They had been walking for hours into a 30 mph headwind.

“That first day, I was like, Why did I let Josh talk me into this?”

Ross said. “We were miles away from where we thought we would be and seriously dehydrated.”

The duo had been dropped off the previous night on the east side of the lake and spent their first full day walking in cold and windy conditions. They ultimately wanted to get to Monument Rocks in Oakley. After half a day of walking, they were still 16 miles

ANNIHILATION

from their destination and were forced to recalculate.

Budgeting for about 10 miles of walking a day, the two headed out of the park toward Keystone Gallery. Tired and sore, they decided to take a 20-minute break and fell asleep.

Earlier that day, they had spoken by phone to Barbara Shelton at Keystone Gallery. They were looking for a ride since they were so far of course and the day was escaping them. They also needed a place to camp. The people at Keystone Gallery told them they’d help them figure it out if they could get themselves there. So the guys kept walking. At some point, they had to take a break. They laid down to rest their aching shoulders and fell asleep. If Barbara Shelton hadn’t gone looking for them at dinnertime, they would have been in a bind.

Shelton went out looking at the end of the day.

“We heard this angelic voice say, ‘You guys want a ride?’” Ross said.

And so they survived their first

Sunflower Archives - Friday, Nov. 16, 1979

Bredehoft’s turkeys butchered but halftime giveaway still alive The Wichita State University turkey scramble must go on, said Ted Bredehoft, director of men’s athletics.

However, Bredehoft will have to settle for frozen turkeys, as there have been several hitches in his plan to increase football game attendance.

“The turkey firm which told us they were going to donate the turkeys told us they couldn’t because of an acute shortage in the supermarkets.

They had to slaughter our birds.”

Though the scramble still is planned for Saturday, Bredehoft said he is not sure what people would scramble for.

Earlier this week, amid the Kansas Humane Society’s cries of man’s inhumanity to turkey, an undaunted Bredehoft said he planned to stage a scramble for four dozen live turkeys on the football field following Saturday’s game against Long Beach State. The 48 gobblers were to be chased down in the “greased pig” tradition by Wichita youngsters.

Those who captured one of the feathery fowl could then keep the bird as a pet or perhaps have it for a Thanksgiving meal.

|3

The Sunflower’s

ADULT LEARNERS FROM PAGE 1

MONDAY, NOV. 19, 2018

However, Bredehoft’s best-laid plans went amiss.

The Humane Society protested the scramble, explaining that turkeys are not as strong a bird as many people believe. The Society feared the birds might be injured by overly exuberant children. Also, the Humane Society pointed out that a full-grown turkey, which may weigh more than 20 pounds, is not incapable of defending itself.

“I had told the Humane Society that I was still going to have it (the scramble),” Bredehoft said. “I appreciate their concerns but they didn’t change our minds.”

Then, Bredehoft found out that the turkeys destined for the chase had been killed. A replacement for the turkeys hasn’t been chosen yet.

Why a turkey scramble?

“We’re averaging just over 12,000 (people per game),” Bredehoft said.

“That’s less than what we did last year. Two years ago, we had one of the largest percentage increases (in attendance) in the nation.

“When you’re having a frustrating season, you have to bring them

(fans) out. Frankly, we couldn’t afford the advertising that we’re getting for this. You need to whet people’s appetites. When you’re one and nine, it causes hesitation by the fans to come to the games.

“We’ve got to sell tickets however we can do it as long as we don’t embarrass the university or it’s not against any statutes,” he added.

In response to past criticism he said he had gotten, Bredehoft said he preferred to think of his promotion as just part of the job.

“People call them gimmicks,” he said. “I call them pageantry. Believe me, I look forward to the day when I don’t have to worry about what’s in my pageantry bag.”

Since coming to Wichita State seven years ago, Bredehoft has staged a camel race, had skydivers deliver the game ball, given away coupons for free hamburgers, raffled off coolers and auctioned off Cessna Stadium’s artificial turf.

“All I want to do is sell football,” Bredehoft said. “But I will keep on selling pageantry until I can sell football.”

EIGHTH GRADE

artsy 24 hours on the open road.

The most they walked in a single day was 12 miles, though there were days they didn’t walk at all.

Some days, they opted to get rides from people who heard about the trip through friends or online.

None of the rides were pre-arranged. They didn’t have a strict itinerary because they wanted to be able to move freely.

Both men said they felt overwhelmed by the interest of others in their project and the generosity that ensued.

“We were taken in by some pretty unexpected people and we were taken in by some people who, as far as they’re concerned, would probably be pretty happy if California fell into the ocean. There was an openness that was somewhat unexpected,” Nathan said.

Ross and Nathan recently received a grant from Humanities Kansas that will help them finish their film. Ross was back in Kansas this month working with Humanities Kansas and giving talks in Lawrence, Hays, Wichita, and

Garden City about the documentary. He spent an evening in the Rhatigan Student Center at Wichita State earlier this month telling stories from the trip and discussing the importance of the humanities with a group of panelists.

“We have this amazing opportunity to get out and talk to people about Kansas and the subjects that we try to surmise in the film,” Ross said.

Nathan said the documentary is a labor of love. It’s the hardest thing he’s ever worked on. But they’re getting close to the finish line. He said they are determined to finish in 2019.

“It takes so much money to complete a film and to shoot a film, and if you don’t have it, then you have to embrace time,” Nathan said.

“At the end of the day, the best product will reveal itself.”

The duo said they’re looking forward to the day they can present the film to the people of Kansas and hope to have their premiere this summer.

SPORTS

4 | MONDAY, NOV. 19, 2018

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Sports in Brief ALL-AMERICAN

Sophomore Winny Koskei earned All-American honors after finishing 35th at the NCAA Cross Country Championships in Madison, Wisconsin. Koskei is the third athlete under Head Coach Kirk Hunter to earn All-American honors.

CAN’T DIG ONE OUT

Wichita State volleyball’s losing streak extended to four games, tying its worst stretch this season. WSU dropped both of its road matches this weekend, losing at Temple (in four sets) and at UConn (in three sets). The team has two games remaining on its schedule, including Wednesday at home against Tulsa.

RECORD BREAKER

Sophomore libero Giorgia Civita set a new single-season record for digs. Civita has 634 digs this season, breaking the school record of 628 set in 2007. Civita has two games left this season to extend the total.

KHÁNH NGUYỄN/THE SUNFLOWER

Senior Sabrina Lozada-Cabbage celebrates after Wichita State’s 68-50 win over Houston Baptist Saturday at Koch Arena.

Shocker women off to best start since 1996

BY SEAN MARTY

The Wichita State women’s basketball team is off to its best start since 1996 after a fourth consecutuve win Saturday.

The Shockers defeated Houston Baptist by a score of 68-50.

Head Coach Keitha Adams said despite the hot start, her team is still “a work in progress.”

“We’re needing to really focus on valuing the basketball and cutting our turnovers down,” Adams said. “We wanted to get 15 or fewer turnovers a game.”

On Saturday, the Shockers had 16 turnovers.

“We still want to bring it down but we are going to take every game and every practice as an improvement.”

Senior Sabrina

Lozada-Cabbage echoed her coach’s sentiment on early-season turnover struggles.

“During practice this week, we really buckled down on that,” Lozada-Cabbage said.

“We ran every time we turned the ball over.”

Freshman Trajata Colbert scored 12 points and snagged 13 rebounds against Houston Baptist. Colbert did not appear in the team’s previous game.

“That kid just kept battling,” Adams said of Colbert. “Our team, we’re going to take some hits — we’re going to have some adversity. There’s going to be some things that we’re going to have to do as Trajata did right there.”

WSU will travel this week for their first road test of the season against South Dakota Wednesday.

Shockers ink three newcomers for next season

BY MARSHALL SUNNER

KHÁNH NGUYỄN/THE SUNFLOWER

Freshman Carla Bremaud drives to the basket during their victory over Houston Baptist.

Wichita State men’s basketball had three players sign their national letter of intent on Saturday — Tyson Etienne, Noah Fernandez, and DeAntoni Gordon.

All three prospects are ranked inside the top 250 of 247Sports’ player rankings.

Etienne is the second-highest-rated recruit Gregg Marshall has brought in to the program.

According to 247Sports, he is ranked at number 115 in his class and is a four-star-caliber player. Etienne is from Englewood, New Jersey, and played last season in Connecticut at Putnam Science Academy.

Fernandez is a three-star prospect according to 247Sports and is ranked at 168 in the 2019 class. He is from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts, and played last season for Woodstock Academy in Connecticut.

Gordon is a consensus three-star prospect as well and is ranked at 242 in his class. Gordon is from Mobile, Alabama, and played last season at John L. Leflore Preparatory Academy.

Shockers fall to 6th place in Charleston Classic

BY MARSHALL SUNNER

Wichita State lost in the final match of the consolation bracket at the Charleston Classic on Sunday.

The Shockers leave the tournament with a win against Appalachian State and losses to Davidson and Alabama.

Here are storylines from this weekend’s action.

MCDUFFIE SILENCES DOUBTERS (KIND OF)

Markis McDuffie scored 68 points in the three-game tournament this weekend — shooting 50 percent from the field.

In the final game of the consolation bracket, McDuffie scored 26 points on 13 shots. He added eight rebounds and a steal.

His scoring this season leads the team, but McDuffie failed to close out tight games in the Charleston Classic.

BIG MAN DISPLAYS POTENTIAL

Jaime Echenique may have put “NBA scouts on notice,” according to Head Coach Gregg Marshall.

The junior college transfer posted his first double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds against Appalachian State, going two for two from beyond the arc.

Against Alabama, Echenique added another three-pointer before missing his next two shot attempts from deep.

He scored 13 points against Alabama and offered the Shockers adequate protection in the paint.

QUEST FOR CONSISTENT SCORING CONTINUES

McDuffie is the clear leader through the first five games of the season.

Still, the Shockers quickly learned in the Charleston Classic that they need consistent scoring from someone other than their senior leader.

After starting off hot in the early going, freshman guard Erik Stevenson has cooled off.

Stevenson struggled to find his shot in Charleston, shooting just 16 percent from the field and scoring just 15 points in three games.

Freshman Dexter Dennis has struggled to find his footing so far this year but came up big in the win against Appalachian State, playing lock-down defense in the final minute to help secure a Shocker win. Against the Crimson Tide, Dennis may have had the breakout game he needed to get going — scoring 19 points on an efficient 7-9 shooting night.

Freshman Jamarius Burton was hot and cold on the road trip.

He was held scoreless against Davidson but posted 14 points against Appalachian State. The same goes for Morris Udeze, Echenique, and Samajae HaynesJones — all of whom had a weekend filled with up and down moments.

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State’s Dexter Dennis dribbles past a defender during their game against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 6.

Decision time for Teddy Allen’ NCAA eligibility closing in

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER

Teddy Allen sits on the bench during Wichita State’s exhibition game against Catawaba on Oct. 30.

The NCAA could make a decision as soon as Monday on if Teddy Allen can play for Wichita State this season.

The NCAA listed a new deadline of Nov. 19 to C.J. Moore of The Athletic. The NCAA sent more questions to West Virginia, Allen’s transfer school, to add clarity to their investigation. This pushed back the deadline for the decision.

The waiver asks the NCAA if Allen can forgo sitting out the mandated academic year for transfers. Allen transferred from West Virginia after one season.

WSU must demonstrate that Allen’s transfer was due to “documented mitigating circumstances . . . that directly impacts the health, safety or well-being of the student-athlete” for the waiver to be granted.

Allen lost his mother to cancer the spring he signed with West

Virginia. Part of Allen’s case is that Wichita is a five-hour drive to his support system in Boys Town, Nebraska. WSU must prove that Allen’s case is not a “basketball move” but a decision made for the benefit of Allen’s well-being.

Boys Town is a residential treatment center outside of Omaha that assists children ages 5 to 18 who display behavioral problems.

Allen was diagnosed with ADHD, bipolar disorder, and depression, according to Moore’s report.

The NCAA has a history of being closed-minded with these requests, but have been more lenient granting waivers this season. Jordan Horn, Trae Berhow, Braxton Key, and Mustapha Hernon, among others, have all been granted waivers this season for similar requests.

WSU is five games into its regular season. The Shockers have a record of two wins and three losses.