‘I miss those fans’: Barry Hinson, now at OSU, recalls Wichita State basketball duels

A familiar foe was on the opposing bench in Wichita State’s game at Oklahoma State.

He likes to keep a low profile these days now that he’s technically no longer a coach, volunteering his time at his alma mater as an analyst on Mike Boynton’s staff, but the one and only Barry Hinson was on the Oklahoma State sidelines trying to beat the Shockers once again on Wednesday.

Hinson, the one-time men’s basketball coach at Missouri State (1999-08) and Southern Illinois (2012-19), was a memorable adversary for Wichita State in its Missouri Valley days. Not only because his Missouri State teams were so tough to beat, but also because Hinson, who still to this day enjoys a good shot fake, was arguably the most entertaining personality in the league.

He once famously said about Wichita State lock-down defender Tekele Cotton that “he reminds me of a Southern Baptist at a dance contest. There’s just no rhythm at all. He just takes away all rhythm that you have.”

More than two years removed from coaching his last game in the Valley at Southern Illinois, Hinson is still a quote machine and enjoying his new stress-free job. And don’t worry Shocker fans, he misses you too.

“I don’t mind saying I miss Koch Arena and I miss those fans,” Hinson said. “If I ever took a head coaching job again, I’m done and I’m not going to do it, but if I did I would make sure wherever I was we would go back and play at Koch. I still remember calling the timeouts, the runs, everything. It was just great. But the thing I miss most is the fans. Because they were really great.”

Playing at Koch Arena doesn’t usually end well for an opposing coach and Hinson was no different. In his combined 14 seasons playing the Shockers in the Valley, Hinson’s team won just once at Koch Arena for a 1-13 record.

But that one win — a 71-65 victory in Wichita on Feb. 20, 2007 when Nathan Bilyeu and Blake Ahearn combined for 35 points to spoil the senior night for Kyle Wilson, Karon Bradley and Ryan Martin — still stands out in Hinson’s memory as one of his best in a 40-year coaching career.

“Winning on senior night in Koch Arena,” Hinson said. “That’s hard to do.”

Hinson coached against Scott Thompson in the mid-1990’s as an assistant on Bill Self’s staff at Oral Roberts. In his first year at Missouri State, he faced off against Randy Smithson in his last at WSU. He had his best battles with WSU during the 2000s against Mark Turgeon, then struggled (1-10 record) to ever top Gregg Marshall when he was at SIU. All in all, he was 10-22 against WSU in 14 seasons in the MVC.

“I still remember playing against big Paul (Wight, now a famous wrestler known as The Big Show),” Hinson said. “He was a giant. And then I just loved Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet. I really loved the way those kids played and their mentality and how hard they played. I miss those battles, even if most of those battles went in Gregg’s favor.”

The fans at WSU, especially in those early days, were what Hinson always enjoyed about his trips to Wichita.

“I remember the student body would take tweezers and a cigarette lighter and light up coins and throw them out on the floor for our guys to pick up,” Hinson said. “We used to have to tell our guys, ‘Don’t pick up any coins on the floor because they were hotter than hell.’

“But you just loved it. I heard some of the greatest short jokes I’ve ever heard coming out to the Koch Arena student section. I miss it. I miss the people in Wichita because they really loved college basketball.”

It’s been more than a decade now since the Valley was at its peak during the 2005-06 and 2006-07 seasons and Arch Madness was must-see TV. The Shockers have now moved conferences, to the American, and Hinson has moved up to the Big 12.

But nothing, he says, will ever replicate what the Valley was like at its peak — for both parties.

“When the Valley was at its peak, it was a far better conference than the conference they’re in now,” Hinson said. “When Wichita State and Creighton were in the league, it was as fine of a conference as any in the country. I think the Valley really misses Wichita State and Creighton.”

Hinson added that he will be interested to see how conference realignment will shake out with WSU’s future, but he does point out that he believes the Shockers are in good hands with newly-hired head coach Isaac Brown.

When Hinson was helping Boynton and his staff prepare for the Shockers in what eventually became a 60-51 WSU victory, he couldn’t help chuckle to himself.

“It’s pretty clear to me the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree,” Hinson said of Brown. “Isaac has got those guys playing extremely physical. They still go to the glass like they always have. They run a lot of the same stuff we used to guard when Gregg was there.

“The one thing I will say is that Isaac has brought a little bit more freedom to their offense. And guys like (Tyson) Etienne, I mean that guy can score at will anywhere on the court. I’ve never seen a player pull from halfcourt to win the game and nothing but net. I think that’s really hard to do as a player unless you have the confidence of the staff and then that spreads to the floor. Kudos to Isaac because I can tell you in 18 years as a head coach, I never let a player do that and I still don’t think I would to this day. But that’s why Isaac is coaching and I’m not.”

While Hinson isn’t as hands on as he was when he was a full-time coach, he still gets his basketball fix serving as a veteran sounding board to Boynton. At 60 years old, Hinson wanted to take a step back and he’s enjoying his time back in his Oklahoma roots.

He says if you ever wonder where he’s at on Oklahoma State’s bench, just look for the guy with the white hair.

“You’ll see all these young guys from the end of the bench all the way to the first seat, then there’s this one old guy,” Hinson said. “I’m the yoda. That’s what I am now. I am yoda. I’m the old guy they come to and say, ‘Hey, have you ever done this before?’ And I’ll tell them, ‘Yeah, it didn’t work for me 14 years ago, but we can give it a try now.’ I have adapted and adopted that role and I really like it. I’ve been blessed being able to work for my alma mater and I’m loving it here.”