MVC March Moments – Wichita State’s Reign

Mike Kennedy Looks Back at NCAA Success Updated!

(St. Louis, MO) – Before leaving for the American Athletic Conference, Wichita State was a part of putting the Missouri Valley Conference back on the national map. Their March Moments included two, Sweet Sixteen appearances and one Final Four finish. Wichita State’s reign in the Valley was significant. Play-by-play announcer Mike Kennedy was there for it all.

Wichita State had experienced great success in the 1980s, but when I started covering the Valley, they were not ‘the cream of the crop’. Mark Turgeon was the architect who rebuilt the program. Kennedy says Turgeon was able to reestablish the Shocker foundations.

 

 

Turgeon’s 2006 team advanced to the Sweet Sixteen. It was WSU’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1988. Led by Sean Ogirri, Paul Miller and others the Shockers defeated Seton Hall and second seeded Tennessee before dropping a decision to George Mason.

Ironically, the foundation of future Shocker success was being observed when WSU was prepping for that second round win over Tennessee. Kennedy says Athletic Director Paul Schaus noticed some of the abilities and talents of the coach on Tennessee’s first round opponent. It was at that time, they were first introduced to Gregg Marshall.

 

 

The Final Four Team

2013 was a special season. That Gregg Marshall-led team elevated the program, Marshall and the Valley to new heights. While enduring early season injuries, the Shockers were building depth and creating a toughness that we have come to know as ‘Play Angry’.

What I didn’t remember is the emergence of the Shocker theme song that said, ‘you don’t want to go to war, with the Shockers’ was added that season. Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet were rookies that season and headliners Malcolm Armstead and Carl Hall were the faces of the team. Cleanthony Early was emerging as a star and Tekelle Cotton was already a lock-down defender.

Kennedy remembers the eruption of that now famous song.

 

 

Kennedy’s final call was priceless.

 

 

We enjoyed our conversation with Mike Kennedy so much, we made it into two full podcasts. Part One where discuss the emergence of the program through the 2013 Sweet Sixteen team. That is now available.

The following season, Wichita State started 34-0 and earned a top seed in the NCAA Tournament. That season and the 2015 Sweet Sixteen season are discussed in Part Two.

Do Good