Wichita State basketball player Carl Hall remembers the first time he played in front of thousands of Shocker fans in Charles Koch Arena. It was at last year’s Shocker Madness event. Now a senior, Hall is expecting the new players to experience the same feeling. 

“You just have butterflies. You are nervous. You don’t want to make yourself look bad,” Hall said. “You’re trying to get the new guys used to playing in front of a bunch of people. Trying to get them used to the crowd.”

Fans will get the chance to help the new players adapt by attending tonight’s Shocker Madness event at 5 p.m. in Charles Koch Arena. 

The event includes an autograph session and a men’s and women’s scrimmage. 

The women’s basketball team will scrimmage for 20 minutes and the men’s scrimmage is expected to last for 30 minutes.

A notable difference from last year’s format is the return of a slam-dunk contest, much to the pleasure of many fans.

Most of the players who led WSU to the 2011 National Invitation Tournament title and last year’s Missouri Valley Conference title are gone. So fans will get a good look at some of the newcomers.

This year’s team features returning players in new roles and some of them will be expected to contribute right away. The backcourt will likely remain a big advantage against the opposition during the regular season.

“Malcolm (Armstead), Demetric (Williams), Fred (Van Vleet), Ron (Baker) and Tekele (Cotton) will all be in the back,” men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall said.

WSU went on to clinch a fifth seed in the NCAA Tournament before falling to Virginia Commonwealth in the Round of 64 a year ago. 

Marshall still has decisions to make, but said if the season started today, Armstead would be the starting point guard.

“He’s a pure point guard,” Marshall said. “He has a pretty good feel for what we’re trying to do and he’s getting better.”

Fans will get the chance to see Armstead, a transfer from the University of Oregon, tonight. Armstead, a left-handed point guard, is expected to fill the departure of last year’s starting point guard Joe Ragland.

“It’s just another day—another day to come out and perform and play,” Armstead said.