Zach Bush is in his fifth year as coach of the AfterShocks and he joins the podcast to talk TBT and more. We start with his move to coach basketball at Maize High School, his coaching influences and how he deals with multi-sport athletes. We also talk about the addition of former Shocker Clevin Hannah to the coaching staff at Maize. Zach updates us on the AfterShocks roster and newcomers he feels will fit in well. What’s the future for the AfterShocks? We discuss that as well. The AfterShocks open play in The Basketball Tournament on Friday at 8 p.m. vs. No Excuses in the Wichita Regional. The winner advances to Sunday’s game at Koch Arena.
We continue our series introducing fans to the Wichita State basketball newcomers with big men and freshmen. Will Berg describes his mushroom pasta sauce without revealing his secret recipe. Emmanuel Okorafor talks about handling social media and why it is important to avoid comparing himself to others. Freshman Tyrus Rathan-Mayes details the rise of Canadian basketball and the international style of play. Fellow freshman Pierre Couisnard discusses how recovering from knee surgeries shaped his journey and describes playing for his dad, current Shocker assistant coach P.J. Couisnard.
We continue our series introducing fans to the Wichita State basketball newcomers with big men Noah Hill and Dillon Battie and guards Brian Amuneke and Michael Gray Jr. Noah makes a passionate case for LeBron as the greatest. He also talks about his development and his maturity at Sunrise Christian Academy. DIllon talks about his basketball family and his journey to the sport. Brian reveals that “chill fits 24-7” guides his wardrobe choices. MIchael is impressed by the coaching staff’s attention to detail and how coach Paul Mills keeps practices intense and focused. We also discuss music, uniform numbers and which Shocker wins a game of HORSE.
We start our series introducing fans to the Wichita State basketball newcomers with guards Kenyon Giles and Dre Kindell and forwards Karon Boyd and Jaret Valencia. We discuss music prep, advice for youngsters and debate the NBA greatest. Giles talks about the importance of confidence for shooters and Kindell reveals why he wears No. 3. Boyd and Valencia share their love for playing defense and why coach Paul Mills is counting on them “taking the joy” from scorers this season.
Jaila Harding and Cheyenne Banks wrap up our early summer series on newcomers on the Wichita State women’s basketball roster. Harding talks about returning home to play her final season of college basketball and explains the statistical oddity regarding her three-point shooting at New Mexico State. Banks discusses why she wears No. 42, her love for gardening and how she convinced her father to let her quit cheerleading and switch to basketball.
Abby Cater, Azjah (pronounced Asia) Reeves and Taya Davis join the podcast as we continue to introduce Wichita State’s women’s basketball newcomers. Cater talks about her career plans for basketball broadcasting and her affection for Kevin Durant. Reeves reveals her connection with Russell Westbrook of the NBA. Davis discusses playing point guard and why she prefers passing to scoring.
Jaida McDonald, Treasure Thompson and Diamond Richardson start the series introducing newcomers to the Wichita State women’s basketball team. We talk about choosing the Shockers, favorite pro athletes and the story behind their jersey number. We also discuss pre-game music, social media and advice for high school athletes.
Wichita State basketball assistant coach Josh Eilert joins the podcast to discuss his coaching background and why he left banking in a small Kansas town to return to the sport. We discuss working for Bob Huggins, how video prep shapes a coach and more. Eilert comes to WSU from Utah, where he spent one season as assistant coach and closed the season as interim head coach. He spent 17 seasons at West Virginia under coach Bob Huggins in a variety of roles. Eilert, from Osborne, played at Cloud County Community College and Kansas State.
P.J. Couisnard returns to Wichita State as assistant basketball coach.We talk about why he jumped into coaching, his role models and why he wants to work with WSU coach Paul Mills. We also discuss two of his big games as a Shocker and why getting 10,500 back into the Koch Arena seats means so much to him. Couisnard played for the Shockers from 2004-2008, highlighted by the 2005 NIT and the 2006 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Couisnard averaged 10.3 points and 5.4 rebounds for his career. He earned All-MVC Defensive team honors three times and twice was an honorable mention All-MVC pick.
