Wichita State is recognizing three MVC champions during Saturday’s basketball game vs. Temple (5 p.m.). We chatted with two members from each team – Ed Southern and Steve Kalocinski from the 1976 Shockers, Ryan Martin and Kyle Wilson from 2006 and J.R. Simon and Evan Wessel from the 2016 team. Southern reveals that a chance meeting at a pickup game at old Kapaun High School started him on a path to WSU. Kalocinski talks about his relationship with assistant coach Ron Heller, who became a father figure to him. Wilson describes how he landed at Wichita State after transferring from Illinois, aided by a neighborhood conversation involving coach Mark Turgeon. Simon and Wessel discuss why that Shocker team played such great defense on its way to the MVC title and NCAA wins over Vanderbilt and Arizona.
