While Fred VanVleet may be used to hearing the screams of fans in Charles Koch Arena, the screams and shouts may have had a different feel — and pitch — when he entered Coleman Middle School on Friday.

The starting point guard for Wichita State’s men’s basketball team took the opportunity to be a motivational guest speaker for roughly 120 students involved with AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination).

VanVleet came to the school’s “Black & Yellow Day” in a Shocker shirt, but changed to an AVID Strong shirt and started his visit by taking pictures with kids in the AVID program.

“Fred was busy the entire time, but was a champ about it,” said Sam Belsan, a WSU student who coordinated the event. “He took lots of photos and signed many items. He was fun to have around and seemed to have a fantastic time. He never seemed overwhelmed or nervous. He joked with the kids and had a great time.”

After VanVleet took pictures in the gymnasium, the floor was opened for a Q&A with the AVID students.

Many of the questions were about basketball, academics and his backstory.

When one of the students asked if VanVleet was in the AVID program, VanVleet smiled and shook his head, but used the opportunity to encourage the kids to stay on track and go to college.

“He reinforced the importance of working hard and listening to teachers,” Belsan said.

The rest of the Coleman students, nearly 500, congregated into the auditorium with excitement after the initial Q&A session.

When the students were situated, although still abuzz, a video was played highlighting VanVleet’s career while the song “Can’t Hold Us” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis blared through the speakers.

With that, VanVleet walked into, once again, a crowd of screaming youth as they saw their idol right before their eyes.

“I’m just here to talk to you about what it takes to get where I’m at or to get beyond where I’m going,” VanVleet said.

VanVleet took the time to tell the kids how important every decision is, even at their age in middle school.

“You’re at a very impressionable age, and you can really go one way or another,” he said. “It’s a big time for you guys, and you may not feel like you’re doing anything important, but to me, this is the most important age you can be at because you get to choose which way you’re going to go in life.”

VanVleet drove the message home to the audience, saying there were probably some people he knew that are his age that can’t read as well as the middle school students he was talking to.

He then emphasized how important programs like AVID are, relating it to his background.

“You could look it up right now on Forbes List that Rockford, Ill., is the third most uneducated city in America,” VanVleet said. “So, when I go around to these places, Wichita does a great job of having different programs and different things for you guys to do well, and this is one of them.”

VanVleet was asked who his idols were, but his reason for going to college silenced the audience when he said his mom was his main influence who wanted him to be better than her, than his stepdad and better than everyone else.

While the Shocker player’s answers were motivational, there was one quote that resonated with the audience, including Coleman’s principal, Jeff Freund.

“There’s no reason why you can’t be that one percent, and there’s no reason why you can’t chase your dreams,” VanVleet said.

Freund said he was not only thrilled that VanVleet was the perfect guest speaker, but he felt the students could relate to the athlete.

“He’s got a great story, just like the vast majority of my kids here,” Freund said. “They don’t have a lot of the same things that suburban kids would have, and their goals aren’t any different. They want to get to the NBA or be doctors, but it’s going to take hard work, and they don’t always have the best examples around them.”

Freund said he noticed that VanVleet was special in his humility, his work ethic and his ability to associate himself with the right people.

While Freund was thankful for VanVleet’s appearance, he was also impressed with Belsan’s ability to take the helm for this event and get VanVleet to Coleman for the kids.