The boys are back in town: Baker, VanVleet return; Shockers roll to 10th straight

Aliyah Funschelle, Reporter|February 18, 2017

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Matt Crow

The boys are back in town.

The former All-American backcourt of Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet, who have each rose to NBA rookie stardom, joined ex-teammate Evan Wessel in the stands for the first time since their departure last season. The trio, who faltered defeat in Koch Arena to Northern Iowa last season, watched as their alma mater swarmed for a 29 point victory over the Panthers.

“We just want to go out there and show [Baker, VanVleet and Wessel] that we are going to continue what they brought to this program,” sophomore Markis McDuffie said. “We’re going to continue the tradition they put out there.”

The Shockers cruised to their tenth straight victory. They continued to blowout yet another MVC opponent by double-digits — something that’s only happened three times in more than 30 years.

The high scoring Shocker offense improved their win margin of more than 22 points.

“To beat that team, playing as well as they were playing, by 29 — we must have been doing something right,” head coach Gregg Marshall said.

Wichita State’s early double-digit lead diminished to a six point deficit going into the second half due to a three-minute-long dry spell. Junior forward Rashard Kelly broke the drought with a reverse layup.

By the middle of the second half, WSU was able to recharge and regain a sizable lead. A 3-pointer by redshirt freshman Landry Shamet ignited the offense to get going again.

Junior forward Darral Willis had a double-double — the third of his career — with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Shamet racked up 14 points and  McDuffie followed with 12.

“[Willis] was taking advantage of his match ups. It was a great match up for him,” Marshall said.

WSU shot 43.4 percent and went 7-18 from 3-point range. The Shockers limited UNI’s shooting to 27 percent from the paint and 21 percent from the perimeter.

VanVleet praised the new offense. He gleamed in praise from faithful fans.

“It’s unbelievable,” VanVleet said. “It’s such a surreal experience to come back and see the love from a different standpoint.”

VanVleet said he has no expectations for this team. He said he expects his alma mater to develop all their own.

“You just got to let these guys become who they are,” he said. “They can be really, really good. I think they’ve shown that.

“They definitely shoot it way better than any of my teams could as a team. That can become really dangerous come post-season time.”