HISTORY HISTORY 2015-16 WICHITA STATE BASKETBALL SHOCKER BASKETBALL HISTORY ulty members as directed by the North Central Association. The Forum, initially constructed to make Wichita the Conven- First, the faculty elected Dr. John Rydjord, head of the His- by WSU Office of Media Relations tion City of the Southwest, could sufficiently seat 3,800 people tory Department as Chairman of the Athletic Policy Committee. Special thanks to Mike Kennedy and George Platt for basketball. In 1915, the Shockers played Wichita High Second, Dr. Hugo Wall, head of the Political Science Depart- School in an exhibition game as a semiformal opening of the ment was elected Chairman of the Committee on Student Aid Through the years hundreds of young men have worn the Forum. It was not unusual for the early Shocker teams to play and Remission of Tuition. Shocker uniform, led by dozens of coaches, and supported by AAU and industrial teams such as the Boeing Bombers, Beech- hundreds of thousands of dedicated fans. Through changing craft Flyers, and the Wichita Air Force Base. Although not involved in any North Central Association games faces, fashions, facilities and fundamental strategies, Wichita in 1934, Shocker basketball still compiled a 14-10 record. State basketball has long been a source of community pride, with a long list of great players and great moments that date The first half of the season the basketball team played in the back well over a century. Wichita City League, a league filled with former college and high school stars. The second half of the season, the team trav- Though it’s impossible to recount every story and acknowledge eled to Mexico on a goodwill tour. This trip was sponsored by every person who has made an impact on the Shocker basket- the student body, and the Shockers compiled a record of 5-3. ball program, a few key moments stand out: Memorial Gymnasium (later Henrion) opened in 1921 and served the Shock- ers’ home court for over three decades. THE LEGACY OF GENE JOHNSON THE BEGINNING Often overlooked in Wichita State’s rich basketball heritage, The 1906 season included the first organized game in school In January of 1919, plans were made to erect a gym as a me- former Shocker basketball head coach Gene Johnson never history after the basketball program joined Fairmount Athletics morial to those who lost their lives in World War I. Percy Bates received the recognition that history indicates he deserved. under the tutelage of football coach Willis Bates. was one of those students to whom the building was dedicated. The new 2,000-seat facility was built on the same site as the In the past, Johnson, whose .755 winning percentage (75-24) The idea was said to have come from a student named Walter old gym. from 1928-33 ranks thirds in WSU history, has been in the shad- Martin who was inspired by a talk he had heard by the game’s ows of some of the former Shocker coaching greats. Despite inventor, Dr. James Naismith. Martin and Willis Bate’s brother While not as large as the Forum, it would be located directly these great coaches’ on-court accomplishments, none revolu- - Percy - were the “giants” of the team, standing at 5-foot-11. on campus, which would generate more student support. The tionized the game of basketball like Johnson. Freshman Lawrence Abbey - the only one of the group who had formal opening of Memorial Gymnasium was on Jan. 15, 1921, actually played basketball - served as captain. in a game against the American Legion of Wichita. “Just a few of us know that Gene cre- ated the 2-2-1 (full-court zone Playing their first game in The gym was known as Memorial Gymnasium until 1926, when press),” former WSU coaching great the Fairmount Hall base- the Sunflower referred to it as Henrion. Ralph Miller said in a 1989 inter- ment, Washburn defeated Henrion Gymnasium was named after Walter Henrion, a local view. “He was one of those people the Wheatshockers, 37-10. businessman who owned a chain of drugstores and a construc- who got lost in the shuffle of history.” Victorious in only two tion company. With the use of his company, Henrion built the Credited as the inventor of mod- games, the season was not a gymnasium and made a significant financial contribution. complete loss. The high point ern day full-court, zone-pressure was a 30-13 victory over He was one of the great supporters of the University, support- defense, Johnson’s basic principles Mulvane High, which was ing the athletic programs, and granting financial aid to many were the basis of John Wooden’s Former WSU coach Gene UCLA teams that won 10 national the reigning Sumner County students. Johnson coached Team Champion. USA to its first-ever Olympic titles, including an unprecedented Henrion played as integral a role in the foundation of Fairmount Gold Medal in 1936 and is seven-consecutive NCAA titles from Fairmount basketball, al- College as Henry Levitt would later duplicate for Wichita State credited with inventing the 1967-73. Perhaps in a cruel twist modern-day full-court zone though not consistent on University. press defense. of fate, Johnson’s philosophy came Fairmount College’s first men’s bas- the court, began to raise the back to haunt the Shockers at the ketball team took the floor during the In 1927, the University of Wichita joined the Central Conference, 1905-06 school year. interest both students and 1965 Final Four, when Wooden’s Bru- faculty. Following a big loss but only on the condition that it would not interfere with play- ins defeated WSU, 108-89, in the national semifinals. at Southwestern College in 1908, the athletic association de- ing the Wheatshocker’s most intense rival, Friends. WU was be- cided that Fairmount needed a gym similar to theirs. ginning to open the eyes on a national level, producing talented “The idea that Gene Johnson invented was a great contribution basketball players. to the game of basketball,” Miller said. That same year a temporary gym was constructed along 17th Street and men’s basketball had a new home. The gym was First team All-American, Ross McBurney and second-teamer Despite Johnson’s influence on the way basketball’s played in commonly referred to as “The Barn,” and new building rules ap- Harold Reynolds led the Wheatshockers’ to a 13-1 record and this day and age, nothing stands out about the legendary coach peared in the Sunflower: “Thou shall use no slang stronger that a second-place finish behind conference champs Pittsburg. more so than what he accomplished at the 1936 Olympics. Tak- ‘Darn’ when making a play that is bum.” ing the United States team, which featured his brother, Francis The 1927 Parnassus was proud to rate WU’s basketball team as Johnson, and WSU star Jack Ragland, into uncharted terri- The inconvenience of the temporary gym gave way to expan- the: “Third-best team in the nation--second-best team in the tory in Berlin, Germany, which at the time was under the dic- sion and a formal gym that was dedicated on Feb. 12, 1909. state.” tatorship of Adolph Hitler, Johnson coached the US its first-ever Olympic basketball gold medal. The rate at which the Fairmount program grew hampered both The Great Depression of the late 1920s strained the university’s the fans and press from watching the games in comfort. To budget and the growing sentiment that athletics should not be “The 1936 team got plenty of attention at the 1984 Los Angeles accommodate all who wanted to watch Fairmount battle op- as important as academics cast a dark cloud over Wichita in the Olympics,” Johnson said in a 1986 interview. “We all got medals ponents, the games were moved to the downtown Forum. This early 1930s. The public was divided, and President Harold and things, and they honored our team particularly and intro- downtown entertainment facility originally was constructed on Foght was trying to please the students, faculty, regents, and duced us between halves. South Water and English Streets, where Century II now stands. citizens. “We were the first ones to win a gold medal in the Olympics, Foght enjoyed college athletics and thought a successful ath- and they can’t take that away from us.” letic program led directly to a university-wide untarnished reputation. The fans seemed to be in support of the reputation On the original “Dream Team” was Johnson’s younger brother associated with athletics and appreciated the publicity that fol- Francis, who served as the national team’s captain. Francis, a lowed successful teams. great all-around athlete who also played basketball, football and ran track at WSU, helped lead his brother’s Shockers to a Foght labored to keep wealthy athletic supporters happy while 14-2 finish and a Central Intercollegiate Conference title in trying to justify his stance on the importance of college athlet- 1933. Despite his solid collegiate career, Francis went on to ics. earn greater basketball notoriety after his days at WSU, earning By 1930, the North Central Association had raised questions re- AAU All-America honors in 1935, 1936 and 1938. garding the amount of payment being received by the athletes Unfortunately, Gene Johnson was only able to implement To accomodate large crowds, the Shockers played many of their bigger and coaches. In order to achieve institutional control over its and practice his philosophy for one season at WSU. Due to a games downtown at the Forum. athletics, WU suspended all athletics and appointed new fac- 67 HISTORY 2015-16 WICHITA STATE BASKETBALL contract squabble, Johnson and WSU parted ways following Wichita’s East High School, where he adopted Gene Johnson’s the 1933, which was WSU’s best-ever season under Johnson’s full-court press and - in three seasons - helped lead the Aces to tutelage.