The outcome of Saturday’s scrimmage between Wichita State and Drake won’t come down to points and rebounds — the real impact will be felt off the court.
Proceeds from the scrimmage will benefit two local organizations: the Wichita Children’s Home and UJUMP, a local youth mentoring program founded by former Shocker Lynbert “Cheese” Johnson. A recent NCAA rule change now allows Division I teams to replace closed scrimmages with up to two public exhibitions, giving WSU the chance to turn preseason play into meaningful community support.
Tickets are $20, but WSU students, faculty and anyone 18 and under can attend at no cost. The scrimmage tips off Saturday at 1 p.m. in Koch Arena. Parking is free.
“For proceeds to go to help youth in the city of Wichita,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said at a press conference Thursday, “it’s a tremendous asset and it’s a massive blessing to be able to play the game of basketball, and to be able to give back to kids.”
For fans attending the scrimmage, it won’t run like a typical game.
The teams will run a period of offense-defense-offense drills, or “O-D-Os,” for around 40 minutes. During “O-D-Os,” a team begins on offense, switches to defense after the first possession ends, and finishes with another rep on offense.
“That can get pretty boring, in my opinion, for the casual basketball observer,” Mills said with a smile. “(But) it is crack for coaches. It is absolutely what you enjoy seeing.”
After “O-D-Os,” Mills said Drake and WSU will scrimmage for another 50 total minutes with breaks in between. The teams will play two 20-minute periods, similar to a live game, then have a 10-minute period with a running clock.
“It’s an idea about what actually occurs, maybe in a normal practice,” Mills said. “I think that people who come in like, ‘Man, is this player any good?’ they’re going to see them on both sides of the basketball. And then I think once we get to a team environment, and there’s more flow, I think fans will begin to enjoy that.”
Much of what WSU will run is scripted, with predetermined sets, plays and lineups. The goal is to build confidence and evaluate how the team responds to specific situations and looks. From a coach’s perspective, everything will be seen as data points.
Mills has experimented with some lineups that include seniors Mike Gray Jr. and Kenyon Giles, and sophomore Brian Amuneke at guard spots. A lineup like this should be able to space out the floor on offense given the trio’s prowess from 3-point range.
Another lineup features redshirt freshman TJ Williams and senior Karon Boyd, a combination that can disrupt a lot of opposing offenses’ rhythm and play “bully ball.”
Some players like sophomore Dillon Battie and junior Jaret Valencia can defend both the paint and perimeter effectively. Junior Will Berg, senior Emmanuel Okorafor and freshman Noah Hill have shown what skill sets they possess at the center position.
While there are a few options to go with, deciding the right cast is still a challenge. Saturday should provide some answers for Mills.
“You want to make sure that there’s multiple shooters on the floor in order to space it,” Mills said. “You want to make sure that you have balance in defensive transition; you just can’t have a bunch of crashers that are on the court. And so you think through the spacing of the court, you think through balance defensively, and then you think through your interior presence.”
While the scrimmage will provide a lot to coaches about their teams, it’s the first chance for Shocker fans to see this year’s team in a competitive setting — with a charitable cause.
“I think very knowledgeable fans in Wichita, they’ll get to see, ‘Do they have the recipe? Do they have the things in place in order to do that?’” Mills said. “To be honest with you, I’m actually excited about the public being able to see this team. I think we’ve got dudes, and I think people will actually be able to see that, ‘You know what? They do, they have a high caliber of talent on that squad.’”
