Shocker basketball greats put on a master class for Wichita youngsters
As they’ve done for a decade now, former Wichita State hoops stars Lynbert “Cheese” Johnson ’79, Xavier “X-Man” McDaniel ’96 and Aubrey Sherrod ’86 joined former Drake standout player Jeff Hill in Wichita to mentor young talent at the Future All-American Basketball Camp. This summer, 320 kids took to the court to learn from some of the best to ever suit up as Shockers.
“We had another great basketball camp in the Wichita community,” Johnson reports. “We had over 300 boys and girls aged eight to 15 and a great staff of people to work with the kids. We also met up with Gradey Dick. I used to work him out when he was in the 10th grade, and now he plays for the Toronto Raptors of the NBA.” Free for participating youngsters, the camp tipped off June 24 this summer and ran for a week with daily drills and play at the Wichita Sports Forum. “It was great fun,” Johnson says, adding: “Lots of work, too!”
After making names for themselves as top players for the Shockers, Johnson (1974-79), McDaniel (1981-85) and Sherrod (1981-85) all went on to play professional ball. They’ve all also been inducted into the Pizza Hut Shocker Sports Hall of Fame — in 1986, 1991 and 1994, respectively.
Born in New York, New York, Johnson was rated as one of the Top 15 high school players in the nation and chose to commit to Wichita State, where he averaged 22.2 points per game his senior year. He was selected in the 1979 NBA draft by the Golden State Warriors. In addition to his time with the Warriors, he played two seasons in the Continental Basketball Association for the Utica Olympics and the Rochester Zeniths.
McDaniel, who helped his high school team in Columbia, South Carolina, win the state championship in 1981, joined the Shockers later that year. As a senior in 1985, he became the first person to lead the nation in both rebounding (15) and scoring (27.4) in the same season. In the 1985 NBA draft, he was a first-round pick of the Seattle SuperSonics. In his first season as a pro, he averaged 17.1 points per game and finished second in the NBA Rookie of the Year balloting. He later played for several other NBA teams, including the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Boston Celtics.
Wichita is Sherrod’s hometown. After averaging 27.5 points and 7.5 rebounds in his senior year at Wichita Heights, he was ranked No. 2 (behind Michael Jordan) as among the top guards in the country. Heavily recruited by many colleges, he opted for Wichita State over his second choice, Kansas State. In his senior season, he was second in team scoring (behind McDaniel), averaging 18.5 points. Selected in the second round of the NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls, he was the last player cut from the team before the start of the 1985-86 season. His pro career includes being signed by the Seattle SuperSonics and playing for the CBA’s Kansas City Sizzlers and the Australian National Basketball League’s Geelong Supercats.
The trio of Shocker greats, each one a strong proponent of giving back in whatever ways they can, worked alongside Hill for months to secure the sponsorships necessary to provide the camp experience for free. As Sherrod explained before the opening of camp several years ago: “Growing up as kids, we all know how hard it was for us to get in and do a camp. So, we felt like this is a great chance for us to give back now that we’re older. We try to stress more than just basketball. We stress education. We’re going to teach the kids about basketball, but we try to emphasize they have other options in life and that’s near and dear to us to be able to help out in the community.”
