Senior forward Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler is back in Wichita after a year away to rejoin his teammates on the basketball court. 

After playing for the Shockers from 2018-2021, Poor Bear-Chandler left for Omaha, Nebraska, to spend time with family. During that year, he transferred to the University of Nebraska Omaha and played basketball as a Maverick. 

Poor Bear-Chandler averaged 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 22.3 minutes during his time in Omaha. 

In the year he was away, he said he missed the court he spent his college career grinding in. 

“Wichita treats you right,” Poor Bear-Chandler said. 

He was in Wichita for three seasons before his senior year and has played a total of 72 games from 2018-2021. 

As the new season approaches, he said he is ready to make moves on the court as a Shocker again before he graduates in the spring. 

“Honestly, I want to go to the [NCAA] tournament again,” Poor Bear-Chandler said. “We went at the start of March the last time I was here, but we got out.”

The men’s basketball team began their practices together to prepare for the upcoming year in July.  

“We got time, the season hasn’t started yet, but it’s going to take a lot of grinding and a lot of motions out there,” Poor Bear-Chandler said. “It was kind of hard to see who we could and could not challenge. Now, after a few months of practicing, I feel like we have overcome that already.”

Head coach Isaac Brown recruited Poor Bear-Chandler during his time as an assistant coach and has supported him since. 

“I think he’s a really good coach,” Poor Bear-Chandler said. ”I don’t think there is anything really bad I could say about him. On and off the court, he always presents himself in a really presentable manner.”

Poor Bear-Chandler is waiting on a waiver decision to play this season from the NCAA.