McDuffie, Shamet return to help Wichita State’s practices

One week later, the mood brightened inside the Koch Arena practice gym.

The Wichita State men’s basketball team is getting healthy. Practices are improved. Last week, coach Gregg Marshall gave an update which largely consisted of injuries and a search for leadership in practice.

Since then, sophomore Markis McDuffie returned after finishing his recovery from late-August knee surgery. Guard Landry Shamet is back after missing a week with a concussion, although he is playing with a broken nose. Freshman guard Austin Reaves, who had surgery to repair a torn labrum in March, is practicing with a brace on his left shoulder after a setback sidelined him briefly.

Their return improved Marshall’s mood on practices, he said after Friday’s session.

“We’ve made leaps and bounds in the right direction,” Shamet said. “Practices have been smoother. You don’t have Coach (Marshall) getting frustrated over having to repeat himself. It only takes one time, usually now, for him to tell guys something, so people are grasping onto that stuff. Listening is very important with Coach Marshall.”

Shamet, who redshirted last season because of a stress fracture in his left foot, broke his nose running into a teammate during practice. A mask is on order and he expects to wear it into early November.

McDuffie notices better habits with defensive positioning, fighting through screens and boxouts for rebounding.

“We keep getting better each practice,” McDuffie said. “(Marshall) told us that change is our biggest thing — find something to improve on each practice. I think Coach is very impressed and practices have been going very well.”

The Shockers aren’t whole yet.

Freshman C.J. Keyser is limited to non-contact drills because of ankle and foot pain, including a split longitudinal tear in his posterior tibialis, bone marrow edema and cysts in his left foot. Keyser missed most of summer practices and the exhibition trip to Canada with stress injuries in his right foot. He did not have surgery.

“It’s probably not as scary as it sounds,” Keyser said. “Hopefully, it’s not going to be something where I have to sit out for a long period of time. I think I should be fine. It’s something I can really monitor and play through.”

McDuffie, last season’s Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year, returned to full workouts late last week and Marshall said he looks fully recovered.

“You wouldn’t be able to tell,” Marshall said. “Markis seems fine, although I don’t want to jinx anybody.”

The combination of surgery and rehab under the instruction of trainer Todd Fagan sends McDuffie into practices feeling like an improved version of the 6-foot-7 forward. He considers himself able to move more fluidly and jump higher, in part because of the stretching and swimming exercises he did during rehab.

“I’m feeling better than I ever did,” he said. “It made me more loose to play the game. I’m jumping better than I ever have. I can tell just by running up and down the court, dunking the ball, jumping in the air for a rebound. I feel like my vertical is much better.”

Lunch date with the Shockers — Tickets are on sale for the Tipoff Luncheon on Nov. 3 at Koch Arena.

Marshall and women’s coach Jody Adams-Birch will speak. Tickets are $25 and the lunch begins at 11:45. Tickets can be purchased at goshockers.com or by calling (316) 978-3267.

This story was originally published October 7, 2016 at 6:47 PM with the headline "McDuffie, Shamet return to help Wichita State’s practices."