How Wichita State basketball is adjusting to changes to its coaching staff

Wichita State may be returning all five starters and six seniors to this year’s basketball team, but that doesn’t mean coach Gregg Marshall isn’t dealing with losses.

While the majority of players from last season return, Wichita State’s coaching staff faces some turnover with two long-time Marshall disciples — Chris Jans (head coach at New Mexico State) and Greg Heiar (LSU assistant) — leaving for new positions. Donnie Jones, who has nine years of head-coaching experience and was an assistant on Florida’s back-to-back title-winning teams in 2006 and 2007, has replaced Heiar, joining Kyle Lindsted and Isaac Brown on staff.

“(Jans and Heiar) had the experience knowing the system, which is an advantage for them versus what Donnie is going through right now,” Marshall said Tuesday at Wichita State’s media day. “But Kyle and Isaac have been with me long enough where they know the system, they know what we’re about. They’ve got to pick up the slack. Everybody has to do a little more, including me.”

Replacing Heiar’s experience will be difficult, but Jones has filled in for the same day-to-day duties that he was responsible for — rotating with the other two assistants on scouting opponents and in recruiting. Replacing Jans will be trickier.

While Jans was not involved in the day-to-day coaching duties in practice, his ability to dissect film and give detailed scouting reports on opponents was hailed as other-worldly by the coaching staff. He won’t be with WSU, but his technique has been passed on.

After spending the past two seasons as a graduate assistant, Nick Jones has shifted to a video coordinator role on the team and is responsible for a lot of what Jans was doing last season.

“We all did our own scouts last year, but it’s just we had Chris with us last year to bounce things off of,” Lindsted said. “You had somebody to kick it with. That’s gone.”

Coming into a program in the midst of recruiting season was difficult for Donnie Jones, but he said the transition has been smooth.

“I’ve been very impressed with how these guys work,” Jones said. “Obviously coming back with a lot of veterans, it’s made the transition a lot easier. There’s still a lot of teaching to do, but I’ve really enjoyed each and every day.”

Jones worked for 11 years under Billy Donovan at Florida, where they helped lead the Gators to nine straight trips to the NCAA tournament, two national titles, and four SEC titles.

He sees similarities in how Donovan and Marshall go about their business.

“(Marshall) has a great passion for the game,” Jones said. “He has great accountability among his players. A great respect from his players, where they really focus in and listen. These guys know what it takes to win and they bring it every day.”

Jones may be the new coach in town, but he commands the respect from his peers.

“I know we lost two experienced guys, but Donnie Jones is a guy who has won two national championships,” Brown said. “He’s done more in basketball than any of us could think about. I feel like we’re in a good place for our staff with him on board.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2017 at 4:20 PM with the headline "How Wichita State basketball is adjusting to changes to its coaching staff."