The Sunflower v.123 1.28

MONDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2018 • VOL. 123, ISS. 28

THESUNFLOWER.COM

WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER SINCE 1896.

HIS SHOT

WSU grad takes center stage in cross-country tour of “Hamilton”

J

BY ANDREW LINNABARY

ulius Thomas III was comfortable singing and acting when he auditioned for the title role in the Broadway musical “Hamilton.” But rapping? Like the Louisiana Purchase for the real Alexander Hamilton, that was new territory for Thomas. To develop his MC skills, Thomas tapped into a specialty he developed while getting his fine arts degree at Wichita State — tap dancing. “[Tap dancing] is just another form of music,” Thomas — a 2005 WSU fine arts alumnus — said. “It’s just another form of rhythm.” Thomas translated his tapping skills into rapping skills. “I’ve kind of fallen in love with being able to sort of give life to these really complicated rhythms,” Thomas said. “Actually, I’ve fallen in love with it quite a bit.

“I wouldn’t say I’m a good rapper, but I do well enough.” Well enough to land him the role of Alexander Hamilton in the cross-country Broadway tour of “Hamilton: The Musical,” where he stars alongside “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda and others. It wasn’t just rapping Thomas was unfamiliar with when he auditioned for “Hamilton.” He was just as unfamiliar with the source material. “I hadn’t even heard the entire show until I did the audition for it,” he said. Thomas auditioned for nearly every male role. For each role, he had to perform five songs. “There were auditions where I probably did like 15 to 20 songs in one audition setting,” he said. Now he has starred as Alexander Hamilton on the Broadway tour for the last year. SEE THOMAS III PAGE 3

COURTESY

Julius Thomas III played Berry Gordy in “Motown the Musical.”

NOVEMBER 2018 CAMPUS CRIME SUMMARY

Haynes-Jones records first career double-double

BY JENNA FARHAT

BY EVAN PFLUGRADT

Wichita State police made 74 entries to the online daily crime log for November. Here is a summary of some of the entries. Additional information about specific incidents can be found by visiting wichita.edu/ dailycrimelog.

If not for a hit to the mouth, Samajae Haynes-Jones might not have led Wichita State to its second win against the Baylor Bears in two years. Early in the game, HaynesJones took an inadvertent hit to the mouth. The hit drew blood, but Haynes-Jones stayed level-headed and returned the favor with killer offense. Haynes-Jones crossed Baylor defender Makai Mason, and in at least four feet of clear space, knocked down his second consecutive three-pointer and put the Shockers ahead 10-0. Baylor coach Scott Drew had to burn a timeout before the game reached its first media timeout. “I guess it woke him up,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said of the hit on Haynes-Jones. The Wichita native had five first-half three-pointers. He finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double. “That kid was unbelievable,” Marshall said. “It’s really gratifying to see that young man play that well in such a big game.” In the span of three minutes of the first half, Haynes-Jones spearheaded a three-point frenzy with freshman guard Erik Stevenson. The duo combined for three-pointers on six consecutive offensive possessions, capping an 18-3 run that pushed the Shockers ahead by 31 points. “When it starts going in, it’s

ARRESTS TOTAL: 3

On-campus: 2 Off-campus: 1

BURGLARIES AND THEFTS TOTAL: 10

Bike thefts: 4

Auto thefts: 1

Other thefts: 3

Car break-in burglaries: 2

ASSAULTS: 1 CRIMINAL TRESPASS: 1 POSSESSION OF STOLEN PROPERTY: 1 POSSESSION OF CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE: 1 SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS: 5 CAR WRECKS: 9 PEDESTRIAN UNDER INFLUENCE: 1 DISORDERLY CONDUCT: 1 DISTURBANCE: 1

JOSEPH BARRINGHAUS/THE SUNFLOWER

Wichita State guard Samajae Haynes-Jones makes a pass during their game against Baylor Saturday at Koch Arena.

kind of contagious,” Marshall said. “Just like when it’s not going in, like we saw in the second half, it’s contagious as well.” If not for Haynes-Jones and Stevenson’s hot shooting streak, Baylor would likely have won the game. The Bears trimmed a 33-point deficit into a two possession game in the final minutes. Drew’s Bears outscored the Shockers 48-27 in the second half. “I’ve got to figure out what he (Drew) said to his team in the second

half and he’s got to figure out what I said to my team before the game,” Marshall said, “Then, we’d have one heck of a team.” Marshall said despite leading by 33 at one point, he continued to coach the game like it was tied at the half. “You’re always told that the game’s not over,” Stevenson said. “You have to step on their neck, keep the gas pedal going.” Stevenson had 18 points — three shy of the career-high 21 he scored a week ago. He and Haynes-Jones

scored 26 of their 39 combined points in the first half. Stevenson said he feeds off energy from Haynes-Jones. “Whenever he puts somebody on skates . . . my shot is going in,” Stevenson said. “You pass me the ball, period.” Senior Markis McDuffie said it was a gratifying win for a young, inexperienced WSU program. “Collectively, as a team, we’re here now,” McDuffie said. “This is primetime.”

INSIDE

B-BALL TAKEAWAYS

SCORING STRUGGLES

BACK ON TRACK

The Sunflower highlights this year’s best tracks released by Wichita artists.

Baylor game showcases WSU’s talent, youth.

Wichita State was held below 50 points for the second straight game.

The Shocker track team got their indoor season underway.

OPINION • PAGE 2

SPORTS • PAGE 4

BEST OF WICHITA

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