Wichita State’s final 11 minutes reveal how Daishon Smith can lead

Wichita State’s basketball study abroad program started in Quebec in August and finished at a beach resort in November.

Fun travel is done. Now comes the grind of cold, gray days in the Midwest, places where they don’t hand you a goody bag for playing and nobody parks a yacht 300 yards from the gym.

The rest of the games take place in places such as Oklahoma City, Peoria, and St. Louis. In Canada, the Shockers lost to Carleton University and used that experience to finish the exhibition trip strong and plunge into fall practices with a base of knowledge.

That edge helped them roll to a 5-0 start in which no opponent looked any better than mildly competitive after halftime. Then came losses to No. 10 Louisville (62-52) and No. 24 Michigan State (77-72) in the Battle 4 Atlantis, in which WSU’s offense cratered.

The burden is on the Shockers (5-2) to again learn tough lessons and proceed. They won’t be at an athletic disadvantage often; when they are, they must win the focus and detail segments to compensate when athletes such as Michigan State’s Miles Bridges can soar over box-outs to tip in shots on his way to the NBA Draft in June.

“Winning ain’t easy,” WSU guard Landry Shamet said to sum up three days and a 1-2 record. “You want to beat good teams, you can’t afford a slow first half or five-minute stretches where you don’t execute offensively or blow defenses.”

WSU, after trailing for 51 seconds in five games, trailed Louisville by 16 points in the first half and Michigan State by 12.

“Execution is key,” WSU guard Daishon Smith said. “We can’t just come out here and play basketball. I think early in the first half (Friday), that’s what we did. We blew a lot of sets, didn’t really play our style of basketball.”

The Shockers will look at Friday’s final 11 minutes for a place to start the next phase. The play of Smith, who played 14 second-half minutes, is one marker going forward. He scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half, adding two assists and two steals.

“I thought Daishon did a wonderful job in leading our team in the second half,” WSU coach Gregg Marshall said. “He was vocal — he was really good with communication with the bench.”

Smith, as he’s shown flashes of since August, can pressure a defense in a way no other Shocker can. The Shockers run their sets smoothly when Conner Frankamp plays point guard and his shooting threat helps spread the defense. Smith presents a threat to drive and create open shots for teammates, a skill that coaches can use to get more shots for Frankamp when they are paired.

“(Smith’s) got to know when to shoot and when to pass, and he’s getting a feel for that against really good players,” Marshall said. “Daishon was pushing the ball, getting his athleticism into the game.”

WSU pressed and outscored Michigan State 32-19 to get the game within one possession of being tied four times in the final 5:05. Smith scored all 10 of his second-half points in the final 11:25, grabbed both of his steals and passed to Darral Willis for a dunk that cut Michigan State’s lead to 74-72.

“He got guys a bunch of open looks (Friday) while being really aggressive,” Shamet said.

Smith also missed a three-pointer, perhaps rushing the shot in Marshall’s opinion, in the final 11.4 seconds with WSU down 75-72. A more experienced point guard may let the play develop for a few more seconds to get a cleaner look. That is a clock-in-the-brain sense of patience that former Shocker Fred VanVleet excelled with and Smith will need to develop.

Smith filled other job requirements for point guard.

“He ran our stuff really well, kept saying ‘We’re not panicking, we’re not panicking, we’ve got time,’ ” Shamet said. “He’s one that can do it. He’s not afraid to talk. He says a lot of the right things and has a really positive mindset.”

This week gives Marshall a chance to revamp before Saturday. He will look at new lineups, new combinations and new strategies. WSU entered Atlantis averaging 93.2 points and shooting 52.3 percent from the field, 39.3 percent from three-point range. It scored 82, 52 and 72 points in the tournament, shooting 37.7 percent (71 of 188) from the field in the three games, 32.2 percent (20 of 62) behind the arc.

Pressing worked and this team, going back to Canada, seems at its best in attack mode. While pressing can lose his effectiveness as opponents see it and plan for it, Marshall will consider unleashing his athletes more often from baseline to baseline.

Marshall said he kept things basic for his team in the second half against Michigan State to make things work for some of his more inexperienced players.

“He changed quicks, changed sets, going to stuff we would be able to get,” Smith said.

Some of his most experienced players weighed down the offense, forcing him to lean on newcomers such as Smith, forward Darral Willis and freshman guard Austin Reaves in the second half. They helped juice the scoring, but also are more likely to blow defensive assignments than the veterans. Willis, distracted by penetration or deception, lost track of Bridges and allowed him to make open threes in the second half.

“I dumbed it down in the second half,” Marshall said. “Which I may have to do, I sincerely may have to do that. Our pressure was good, but again, we were simple. We were very, very simple and we started making plays.”

The offensive struggles of juniors Zach Brown and Rashard Kelly, both of whom played sparingly in the second half Friday, and Shaq Morris’ ongoing foul troubles may argue for lineup changes. Brown came to the Bahamas averaging 11.5 points, 6 of 12 from three-point range, with 11 assists and two turnovers in four games. Against LSU, Louisville and Michigan State, he totaled five points and went 4 of 15 from the field and 1 of 8 from the foul line. Morris played a career-high 30 minutes against Louisville. Against Michigan State, he fouled out after playing 10.

Two losses means all solutions are in play.

The Shockers go forward unsure of when freshman Austin Reaves, who dislocated his right shoulder Friday, may play. WSU returns home Sunday and will practice Monday. Reaves will be examined by a team doctor in Wichita.

“My job is to put these young men in the position to be successful,” Marshall said. “I think we have a chance to be really good, but we have to get better. We have to use this experience to learn and improve upon.”

This story was originally published November 26, 2016 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Wichita State’s final 11 minutes reveal how Daishon Smith can lead."