They were so connected for four years that when Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker wound up together in the handshake line following their final game at Koch Arena, even their actions there were perfectly synchronized: a shake of the hand, a slap to the opponent’s shoulder. Once, twice, three times: almost as if it had been choreographed by Susan Stroman.
They didn’t exactly enter Wichita State together, because Baker came in first and redshirted a year, but they burst into the basketball spotlight together with their brilliant play in the statement-making victory over top-seeded Gonzaga in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.