- 4 days ago
AfterShocks Coach Zach Bush drops in to talk the 2026 TBT and the AfterShocks defending their crown.
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00:01And now, digging deeper with the teams you follow, it's another Sports Daily Insider interview on KFH.
00:11Thanks to Prayer Fire Coffee for getting us ready to roll on a Monday morning.
00:15We are joined now by Aftershocks head coach Zach Bush, defending champions of the TBT, coming back for more.
00:23New format this year, game night tonight, 8 o'clock, Charles Koch Arena.
00:28Zach, how are you this morning?
00:29I'm great. How are you guys doing?
00:31We're good. We're just trying to get our head around the new format.
00:35We'll get into all of that with you.
00:37But first things first, the roster is finalized.
00:41A lot of familiar faces on that roster.
00:43It is kind of a blending of shocker generations now, which is pretty cool to see Mo Udesi and Corey
00:51Washington and Chauncey Jenkins come in.
00:54Some of the newer era shockers with the old guys, Fran Camp, Kelly, Trey Wade, and Marcus McDuffie.
01:01How has that blend been in the little bit of practice time you guys have had?
01:05It's been really good.
01:07I don't know why, but we've just been really fortunate that aside from maybe one or two pieces that didn't
01:13fit one year, our alumni guys have consistently just blended well together.
01:18They enjoy playing together.
01:20I think it starts with the leadership of guys like Rashard Kelly who just play really solid basketball, unselfish.
01:26He's a true professional.
01:27He works hard.
01:29And then when you start to add the younger guys, they see that.
01:31And I think there's probably always some hesitancy to do something new, especially like TBT for maybe like Mo and
01:38Chauncey and Corey who haven't been around.
01:41But they jumped at the opportunity.
01:42And I think a big reason why was when they were in school and they got to see this and
01:46they got to see how Connor and Rashard and Marcus and Trey worked.
01:50They saw that these guys do it the right way.
01:52They're not out here arguing at practice.
01:54They're not jerks.
01:55They play unselfish basketball.
01:56So it makes it really fun.
01:58You know, for me, being a guy who takes a lot of pride in the program, it's fun to see,
02:01like you said, the different generations start to merge and to watch those young guys really have pride, you know,
02:06in putting on the black and gold again.
02:08Zach, I love the rule.
02:10There's a lot of rule changes.
02:11The one that I love the most is that the transfers, the non-alumnies are limited to four because, you
02:18know, you'll see a K-State team that's got, you know, seven K-State guys or KU teams got seven
02:24KU guys.
02:25And there's a lot of these.
02:26And so for you filling out a team with that rule, you know, you obviously always try to get as
02:31many Wichita State guys as you can, I imagine.
02:33But as you have said in the past, as the core of the aftershocks, you know, gets older throughout this
02:40thing, how hard is it going to be to get the new crop of shockers in?
02:43Yeah, it could be tough.
02:45You know, our guys were kind of, when I say our guys, I mean, like the guys that I played
02:50with, the Rashards, Connors, Marcuses, were kind of towards the end of the really, really successful run, you know, and
02:57then the program went through some changes and some tougher times.
03:00And so it becomes a little bit tougher just, you know, if you're going to compete in this, you want
03:04to do it at a high level.
03:05You don't want to throw just anybody out there, and that's no disrespect, but you want to be in this
03:10to win, and you want guys who are playing at a high level professionally and not just, you know, it's
03:15an old saying that there's levels to it, like the kids say.
03:19There's levels to professional basketball, and we have guys that play at really high levels.
03:23We don't want to take just anybody, you know, but something cool with that is yesterday, I'm just sitting there
03:28with Mo after practice and Connor and just, you know, checking in with Mo.
03:33How are you liking it? How's everything?
03:34You know, we had a really fun pool party two days ago that a bunch of the guys were at
03:39at my parents' house for my wife's birthday, and they just are loving it.
03:43And so I'm checking in with him. He's like, this has been great. Like, I love this so much.
03:46Is this last year we're going to do it?
03:48And it was almost like a hopeful, like, maybe, you know, it didn't work out with Dex this year, but
03:52I think I can get him for next year type of thing.
03:54And, you know, then Tyson ETN just signs his first contract to finally go overseas, and so it's like, well,
03:59maybe he's now an option, and maybe, you know, another generation can kind of come in, and as our guys
04:04get a little long in the tooth, maybe you can continue to blend things.
04:07And, you know, if they're tired of doing it, now we have another maybe successful wave of guys who do
04:11want to do this.
04:13So it's always a challenge, you know, getting guys to sacrifice their summer because it is a big ask.
04:18They've been gone for usually about 10 months, and now you're saying, hey, for two to three weeks, why don't
04:23you leave home again and come with us?
04:25But it's been a lot of fun, and, you know, the guys just really rally around each other and seem
04:29to love it.
04:30It's really handy when you can say, hey, it is for a $2 million purse.
04:34That does help.
04:36How much does that change things for you?
04:38I know, like, the purse has to make your – this is a guess on my part – your job
04:43a little bit easier because at the end of the day, like, nobody's – like, you're more worried about that
04:50purse than playing time in the TBT.
04:52If it's the right thing and it's working, that's got to be even more enhanced now.
04:58I can't imagine this old guard who's got – this is their fourth time through this thing, McDuffie and Frank
05:04Camp and Kelly and these guys.
05:06Like, they don't care, right?
05:07They just want to win this thing.
05:09Absolutely.
05:09It certainly helps, and I think you saw it last year when guys realized really early on, you know, in
05:16practice and then even as the game started, like, we have a legit team.
05:19Like, we always had good teams, and we knew we could probably get to a regional final.
05:24You know, we'd been to a semifinal, but then I think they saw, like, we have a team that can
05:29actually win it.
05:29And so sacrifice, I think, becomes a lot easier when you know that there's a realistic chance to get to
05:35that pot at the end of the rainbow.
05:36And so now it amplifies.
05:37It goes up, you know, another mountain.
05:39Guys have made those comments in practice, especially the older ones just talking to the younger guys, like, hey, keep
05:43your head.
05:44And it's been fun.
05:45Even the younger guys have made comments like, hey, I'm just here to help us win.
05:48You know, whether that's playing five minutes, whether that's 25 minutes, I'll just do my part and then be a
05:52great teammate when I'm not in and be ready when your number's called.
05:55So it definitely helps.
05:57I don't know if it would maybe be the same situation if, you know, the money weren't there.
06:01And it makes things a lot easier for me and for all of our guys, I think.
06:05The biggest rule change of the TBT this year is that, you know, you're playing a three-game series to
06:10start.
06:10It's all alumni teams on the bracket side of this.
06:13How much different does that make it for you to prepare for a three-game season?
06:18You know, if this was another year and you, you know, hypothetically lost tonight, that'd be it.
06:22You'd be done.
06:23Do you like this change?
06:25Are you a fan of this?
06:26And are you a fan of separating the non-alumnies from the alumni?
06:30Yeah.
06:30I mean, I understand the value.
06:33TBT's changed.
06:34It's, you know, it's a business model.
06:36You know, and money is good and bad.
06:38Money, you know, brings out great things with this.
06:41Money also creates challenges.
06:43And, you know, TBT's ever-evolving.
06:45It's not like things are the same for them every year.
06:47I know certain fans are upset, but they're trying to do what they can to continue to make this a
06:52profitable thing for them and something the fans want to see.
06:56So, you know, I'm kind of indifferent.
06:57I, you know, if I probably had it my way, I'd go back to the old way.
07:00I like, you know, I love basketball, so when you get to walk into the gym, you know, for a
07:05shoot-around and another team's leaving,
07:07and then right when you're getting done, another team's walking in, and then you get there early and KU's playing
07:12a game before you.
07:13That's really fun.
07:14I like watching all the games.
07:16I would, you know, probably want it to be the typical format, but, you know, this is what they've decided
07:21to do.
07:21As far as the three-game series goes, it's uncharted territory.
07:24You know, I'm a high school coach.
07:25I've never coached in the NBA playoffs.
07:27I don't know.
07:27So, you know, all I'm used to is one-and-dones and even, you know, the teams I was a
07:31part of at Wichita State.
07:32It's getting that conference tournament or NCAA tournament is do or die.
07:35And so I think we, you know, we just want to approach it game by game that this could be
07:41your last one.
07:42I think we're not going to hold anything back.
07:44We're going to go play aggressive basketball.
07:45We don't want to get into a situation where we have to play a third game and then anything could
07:49happen.
07:49You know, our guys want to take care of business, go out, play really well, and not have to leave
07:54it up to, you know, a coin flip in a third game.
07:56So I think we're just going to go out and be aggressive and be who we typically have been and
08:00not try to overthink it.
08:01At the end of the day, it's basketball.
08:02Let's go play our best and let it fall.
08:05You'll have rest after tonight's game.
08:07It's tonight, Thursday, and then potentially Friday.
08:11That part is pretty simple to follow, right?
08:14Yep.
08:14The games are that way.
08:15But do we know yet?
08:17I can't.
08:18We could teach and I can't remember.
08:19What happens after this round with the tournament?
08:23Is it a ticket sales thing again?
08:25The best ticket sales host that second round?
08:28How does that work?
08:30That would be a gripe I have.
08:31I don't think TBT has done a good job of explaining that this year.
08:34I even had to ask, you know, a couple months ago because, you know, I feel like we arguably have
08:38the best home court in TBT and we want to stay here as much as we can.
08:42It's no secret we play better at home.
08:44Then we do on the road or a neutral site.
08:46And so I asked, so alumni side is ranked one through eight.
08:50It's a combination of the way it was explained to me, a combination of your roster and I think more
08:55so ticket sales and money driven.
08:58And so Kentucky, Louisville, one and two.
09:00I can't remember which one's one and two, but they're one and two.
09:03We ended up third.
09:04And part of that, they're just a little bit bigger.
09:07You know, they are going to sell 7,000, 8,000 tickets on the first night no matter what.
09:11And it's a rivalry.
09:12So that helps them.
09:14So those two are one and two.
09:15We're third.
09:16So the way it shakes out on the bracket is you continue to host if you're higher.
09:20So on our side is, you know, KUK State, us, New Mexico.
09:24Let's say we're fortunate enough to win the New Mexico series.
09:26We would host the winner, the one-game winner of KUK State.
09:31We play that single game here.
09:33Then if we win that one, if it's Kentucky or Louisville, we would have to go there.
09:38If it's Syracuse or Seton Hall, they would come to us.
09:40And we could host all the way through the tournament.
09:42So, you know, if we keep getting through our fingers across for Seton Hall or Syracuse, we'd rather, much rather
09:47stay here than have to pay for a flight out to Lexington or Louisville.
09:51So we're going to – real quick, and then the championship is in the alumni place, right?
09:56Yep, championship on the alumni side.
09:57All the non-alumnies are out in Vegas, and then they will travel to whoever for the alumni side.
10:02They're not going to play on the home court of Heartland Elite or whatever they're called now.
10:07They changed all the names.
10:08Heartfire Elite.
10:09Heartfire Elite, that's right.
10:10Yeah, you got Eberline Drive, who's now Davis Steel.
10:13So those guys get to go have their fun out in Vegas, but we'll take staying here with our home
10:18fans over, you know, having to worry about the guys being at the slots too late.
10:22That's right.
10:23Okay, so next question is, with the roster that you've had now, it's so interesting because you have the core
10:29of the Aftershocks guys.
10:31You've got the new Wichita State guys coming into the fold, and then you've also got, you know, Marcus Keene
10:36and those guys that are the non-alumnies that come back.
10:38I know that you guys added QJ is another name that sounds like he just scores and frenzies and things
10:44like that.
10:44What's it going to look like on the court?
10:45We can't tell who the options are even going to be anywhere on the court.
10:49Yeah, I think it'll become apparent quickly.
10:51We've got a nice balance, and the, you know, I guess fortunate part for us is last year we played
10:57so many games together with those non-alumni guys that they feel like alumni.
11:00We brought back Marcus Santos Silva.
11:02We brought back, you know, Marcus Keene, two guys that played huge minutes for us, and ideally we would have
11:09brought back Leighton Hammonds who played and Nike Sabande, but both were unfortunately able to play.
11:16Nike originally was going to, and he just had a really long year overseas, and, you know, he's got a
11:21wife and kids and made the decision that was best for him.
11:23But, you know, then also James Woodard, like James was unbelievable for us last year, and we realized two or
11:29three games in, like, we've got to get him on the floor more.
11:32It's just he goes in, and he's efficient.
11:34He scores.
11:34He'll go out, and, you know, you'll look and be like, man, he only played 12 minutes, and he was
11:38four for four.
11:38The dude's got to be on the floor more.
11:40So I think very similar to last year, Marcus Keene kind of leads the way at the point guard spot,
11:45and he made a comment the other day that, you know, QJ needs to be out there a lot.
11:48QJ's similar to him, very professional, just a great guy.
11:53You can sense that early, their leadership qualities just in how they practice, and they're unafraid to communicate even in
11:58a new environment, and our guys take no offense to that.
12:01Like, we've always needed that leadership because Connor is more of a by-example guy and a quiet guy.
12:07You know, Rashard is more vocal, but we needed more of that, and so it really helps.
12:11I think QJ's going to be able to score the ball and give us a punch.
12:14James Woodard's going to do what he always does.
12:15Santos anchors the paint, and then, you know, your new guys like Corey Washington, I think, fill in really nicely.
12:20He's looked really good in practice, beautiful shot.
12:23He shot 40% from three at SMU this year and started 34 games, and he plays hard.
12:27So I think fans are going to have a lot of fun, and it's going to be hard for me.
12:30We've got 11 guys, and it's hard to play all that.
12:33And originally, a couple of our guys made a comment when we took, you know, our 11th guy that, hey,
12:37what are we doing?
12:38And then now that they've seen it in practice, they say, you know, I love that we did that.
12:42This is a good team.
12:43You know, we will sacrifice.
12:44We'll figure out a way to make it work, and we just didn't want to have, you know, a game
12:48where we didn't have enough guns in our bag.
12:50I'd rather have too much ammo than not enough.
12:52It's a three-game series now, too.
12:54Is Mark healthy this year?
12:56Yep, we're all good.
12:57Everybody right now is healthy and good.
12:59Feels great.
13:00You know, Connor was kind of banged up last year and was dealing with kind of a calf Achilles thing.
13:06And with all that we've seen in recent years with those, you know, it's obviously really scary.
13:10So he was pretty cautious.
13:11But he looks the best I've seen him look in probably three years.
13:14I mean, the dudes, the way he reads pick-and-roll defense and reading the third-level defender and some
13:20of the passes he's made the last couple days are just absurd.
13:22Like, one-hand bounce pass through a couple guys.
13:25He looks awesome.
13:26So this group, I think, is going to be really fun once we get them all out there together.
13:29Zach, you guys get a banner tonight.
13:32Is there kind of like the inside joke that it took you an extra 10 years to hang one and
13:36then you finally got one inside Coke Arena?
13:38Right.
13:39What's your guys' thoughts on the banner?
13:41We think it's cool.
13:42We're really appreciative of it.
13:43You know, we don't take ourselves too seriously.
13:46We love the game of basketball.
13:47We're competing for a big purse.
13:49And then we really, really, really enjoy playing in front of these fans.
13:52So whatever, you know, kind of makes them happy and we want to make the university proud.
13:57You know, we don't, you know, want to pretend we're something we're not.
14:00We know this isn't an NBA finals or, you know, NBA championship banner.
14:04But at the same time, we do have pride in it.
14:06It, I think, is representative of not just one year, but we've been doing this since 2019.
14:12And that's pretty special.
14:13It's representative of Coke Arena.
14:15Yes.
14:15I think as much as anything else.
14:17That's what I always like.
14:18It's just so good to see the arena rocking and rolling.
14:21And we appreciate that you guys have given it a reason to.
14:24So 9,000 fans last year.
14:27Just testament to them.
14:28And I think a big thank you to them.
14:29You're from this area.
14:31You pretty fired up for Beasley, Pullen, Mason, Chalmers over on the other side there.
14:37I think it's awesome.
14:38You know, we talked about, you know, don't take this first round for granted.
14:42We respect our opponent and we'll take them seriously.
14:44But if we can, you know, both sides, us, KU, K-State, we've all screwed this up here in the
14:49past years where we should have played.
14:51And, you know, for one reason or another, you know, one year we bowed out early to Colorado and we
14:56should have won.
14:56And there's been multiple times where we wanted KU or K-State.
14:59They didn't make it work.
15:00So this could be really fun.
15:01And, yeah, if you're a kid like me growing up here, like how cool is that?
15:05You know, I got to be on the floor watching, you know, Keith Langford a couple years ago.
15:08And that was a guy that I grew up idolizing and still have, you know, his jersey in my parents'
15:13basement sitting there.
15:14And so to be able to see up close, you know, Mario Chalmers and Michael Beasley.
15:17And got to figure out who would guard Beasley first.
15:20But, you know, maybe we'll just try to talk some trash, get him out of his game.
15:25But it could be really cool.
15:26And I think fans, how awesome is that to get to see a guy like that back in the arena?
15:30Yeah, it's going to be fun.
15:31We've talked about it.
15:32We'll just get your stance on this because I know that you probably agree the same thing with us is
15:36that there's a lot of people that make the, as you kind of said,
15:39but a lot of people make the TBT a bigger deal than the TBT needs to be.
15:43And they're like, oh, well, this is silly.
15:44These are alumni guys.
15:45It's like, that's the whole point, right?
15:47Like, it's mid-July.
15:49This is supposed to be the most fun thing that we'll do all year.
15:51Like, this is just supposed to be a fun tournament.
15:53And the more you win, the more fun it gets for everybody else, too.
15:57Yeah, absolutely.
15:57You see the crowds grow as you go on round to round.
16:01You know, it's obviously competitive and there's a serious nature.
16:04And we do have guys that play, you know, high-level professional basketball, but it is also meant to be
16:09a lot of fun.
16:09And it's put in a time where there's not a lot going on.
16:12Like, God bless it, but regular season baseball can be hard to watch, especially, you know, as we saw yesterday
16:17with the Royals.
16:19So, you know, in an air-conditioned environment, this is about the most fun you can have in Wichita right
16:23now if you're a sports fan.
16:24So we're hoping fans will show up.
16:26I know the timing is tough.
16:28Monday night, 8 p.m. game, I'm not thrilled about that.
16:31I've let that be known to TBT.
16:33But we're working with a national schedule with Fox and how they're trying to fit that in and, you know,
16:39with the broadcast.
16:40So, you know, we'll take what we can get.
16:42But if we keep winning, you know, we hope that fans continue to show up and really enjoy it and,
16:46you know, be passionate.
16:48Don't take it too serious.
16:49But also continue to give us that home court advantage that we've always had.
16:53Tickets available right now.
16:55Easiest spot.
16:55Just go get them like you always get tickets to a Shocker basketball game.
16:59Yep.
17:00Go Shockers.
17:00Got a little tab on there for Aftershocks.
17:03And I think tickets as cheap as $15, $20.
17:05So, you know, come on.
17:07I think all the beer stands for the adults are open.
17:10I mean, what more could you want?
17:11Sun's out late.
17:12Zach Bush, head coach of the Aftershocks.
17:14Game one of a three-game set tonight with the New Mexico alumni team.
17:19Game two Thursday, if necessary.
17:22Game three would be on Friday.
17:24Zach, we appreciate it.
17:25Good luck tonight.
17:26Enjoy the banner.
17:27Go get some wins and let's get a few weeks out of this.
17:30Yes, sir.
17:31You guys are the best.
17:31I appreciate you.
17:32There goes Zach Bush, head coach.
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