WSU post players not comfortable with upper hand (+video)

The narrative, played out against the backdrop of Wichita State’s season, seems a little tired now.

It goes like this: The Shockers face another high-profile post player from another team. Outsized and seemingly outmanned by a potential NBA Draft pick, how in the world will they handle it?

The conclusion has become almost as predictable as the preamble.

One by one, the big men have fallen. UNLV’s Stephen Zimmerman Jr. and Utah’s Jakob Poeltl early in the season. Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones and the Arizona duo of Kaleb Tarczewski and Ryan Anderson this week during NCAA Tournament play.

So the question needs to be asked — is it really the Shockers who should be looking out for the other teams … or is it the other teams that should be looking out for the Shockers?

WSU’s posts wanted no part of seeming like they have the upper hand on Friday.

“Right now, we’re the underdogs in every situation,” WSU forward Rashard Kelly said. “A lot of people didn’t expect us to be in the tournament, a lot of people didn’t want us to be in the tournament. When you challenge us like that all season, we want to prove again, day in and day out, why we deserve to be here.”

“I like being the underdog,” WSU forward Shaq Morris said. “I think a lot of people in this locker room like being the underdog.”

Saturday’s game against Miami pits WSU’s front line against a similarly unheralded group, and one that is also getting big results. The guard-centric Hurricanes start Tonye Jekiri at center — the third game in a row the Shockers have faced a 7-footer — and 6-8 Kamari Murphy at forward. Murphy, an Oklahoma State transfer, is coming off his best game as a Hurricane after posting his first career double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds in Thursday’s win over Buffalo and setting Miami’s NCAA Tournament record with four blocks.

Vanderbilt didn’t pay the Shockers the proper respect and paid the price as Jones had one one of his worst games of the season. Arizona’s players said they knew exactly how WSU would try to shut down their posts … and WSU still went out and did it, forcing 19 turnovers and outmuscling Tarczewski and Anderson.

“They’re pretty physical, well-disciplined on defense,” Murphy said. “They don’t make a lot of the mistakes underclassmen or freshmen make. We have to be efficient on offense, because they’re going to attack us and we have to attack them back.”

WSU’s attack seems to come at teams in waves up front. The Shockers start three forwards — Evan Wessel, Morris and Zach Brown —and bring forwards Markis McDuffie, Anton Grady and Kelly off the bench, with sophomore Rauno Nurger also picking up big minutes in the last two games.

“They’re a very good team,” Jekiri said. “Don’t sleep on them. They will make you pay.”

WSU coach Gregg Marshall can even go to 6-11 senior Bush Wamukota in a pinch.

“It’s pretty crucial to be able to rotate guys in every two or three minutes,” WSU guard Ron Baker said. “That keeps them fresh, which is especially helpful for us on defense and rebounding the basketball.”

Something else that’s crucial? WSU’s forwards have very little focus on scoring points and none average in double digits. Not that they don’t like to score — McDuffie can get baskets in bunches, Grady has a good mid-range game and Morris is fierce at the rim —it’s just that their minds are elsewhere.

“Defense is what we are,” Morris said. “Defense is what we do.”

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 7:04 PM.