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Wichita State senior Carl Hall cuts trademark dreadlocks for NCAA tournament

Kyle Ringo

Apparently Wichita State senior Carl Hall isn't the superstitious type.

Hall debuted a new hairdo Wednesday at a pre-NCAA tournament press conference in Salt Lake City where the Shockers are scheduled to begin play today (1:40 p.m. EST) in a Round of 64 game against Pittsburgh.

Hall had worn his hair in dreadlocks throughout his Wichita State career before his surprising decision to cut it short this week. This was no small move. The haircut became the focus of part of the press conference and was a popular subject among Shockers fans on social media. It even spawned a new Twitter account @thebestdreads.

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“I just wanted to try something different,” Hall explained. “I wanted to be like a new person coming into this tournament.”

Earlier in his career, Hall's dreadlocks inspired a T-shirt "Dread the locks" sold at the campus bookstore.

Hall said he went to a local barber in Wichita to get his dreadlocks cut off and the barber repeatedly asked if Hall was sure he wanted to follow through with the decision. The 6-foot-8 forward said he had a brief moment of regret when the barber started, but he went ahead with the decision anyway.

Hall is the Shockers' second-leading scorer at 12.8 points a game and the team's leading rebounder grabbing more than seven rebounds a game.

If Hall has a big day today, the new hairdo will get part of the credit and if he doesn't do so well, it will certainly get the blame.

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