NCAA Division II foe offers Wichita State chance to regroup

Three days of reflection and video review did not soften Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall’s view of last week.

The Shockers went 1-2 in the Battle 4 Atlantis, losing to then-No. 10 Louisville and then-No. 24 Michigan State, and the lineup and playing time is all subject to change.

“The film really just hammered home the thoughts … when I was watching the game live,” he said. “There will be changes. I really don’t care who starts, but you’ve got to get the best five guys out there.”

WSU (5-2) plays NCAA Division II Southern Nazarene (2-4) on Tuesday at Koch Arena. It is a chance for the players to start working their way back into Marshall’s plans for playing time.

“I don’t know what we’ll learn,” Marshall said. “I don’t think lack of confidence is the problem with this team. It may be too much confidence, in fact. They just want to rely on their abilities and they run into a team that’s as talented or bigger, as good or better, that doesn’t work.”

▪  Freshman guard Austin Reaves had not yet been examined as of Monday afternoon, Marshall said. Reaves suffered a dislocated shoulder in Friday’s game against Michigan State.

▪  The Shockers got an offensive boost in the Bahamas from Markis McDuffie and Darral Willis. McDuffie led WSU by averaging 11.7 points and Willis scored 16 against Michigan State.

However, their defensive shortcomings disturbed Marshall.

“Both of them have a long way to go on the rebounding and defensive end,” Marshall said. “Execution — they’re probably our guys that blow the most stuff, which is disappointing at this stage, but that’s what they do.”

▪  Guards Conner Frankamp and Daishon Smith both had their moments in the Bahamas.

Frankamp scored eight points and recorded a career-high seven assists in a 82-47 win over LSU. He scored nine points against Louisville before missing all six of his shots against Michigan State. Frankamp led WSU with five steals in three games.

Smith finished with a strong effort against the Spartans — 13 points, two assists and two steals. His quickness and willingness to drive to the basket gives the offense a different threat from Frankamp’s play at point.

“Conner’s numbers are good — assist-to-turnover (ratio), but he doesn’t go north-south very often,” Marshall said. “Daishon does a little more north-south, puts a little more heat on the defense when he does that.”

This story was originally published November 28, 2016 at 4:48 PM with the headline "NCAA Division II foe offers Wichita State chance to regroup."