Wichita State’s Zach Brown ignores poor shooting to work on defense

Wichita State’s Zach Brown could live with some of the ugly numbers on the box score after Wednesday’s win over Indiana State. So could coach Gregg Marshall.

Brown, a junior forward, missed 8 of 9 shots and all five of his three-point attempts. He made his contributions to the 80-72 road win with defense and rebounding, which is always Marshall’s main expectation.

In November in the Battle 4 Atlantis, missed shots led to Brown slumping on the defensive end and he finished the tournament with a quiet 17 minutes against Michigan State. Since that late-November dip, he’s regained his playing time and started the past two games.

Against Indiana State, he played the lead role in holding guard Brenton Scott to 14 points on 3-of-14 shooting. Brown led WSU’s hustle-breakout with four offensive rebounds and started the double-save, blind-pass-for-a-layup sequence that helped energize the Shockers in the second half.

“He played 32 minutes and it definitely wasn’t because of his offense,” Marshall said. “He set the tone, offensive-rebounding wise, with two offensive rebounds on one of the first possessions of the game. He’s as good as we can put out there on Brenton Scott. If I can go 3 for 14 for Brenton Scott and 1 for 9 for Zach Brown, I’ll make that trade.”

Brown said Marshall challenged him at halftime to give the Shockers something to make up for his poor shooting.

“I had to figure out other ways to make plays,” he said. “Regardless of me making shots or not, I’m still going to go out there and compete. I wasn’t disappointed in myself, because I know I played my hardest.”

Even taking the disappointing performance in the Bahamas into account, Brown’s been one of WSU’s steadiest forces on both ends. In the seven games since Michigan State, he’s averaging 11.4 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists. After missing all five of his three-pointers Wednesday, he is shooting 37.9 percent from three-point range in that span. After a miserable time at the foul line in the Bahamas (1 for 8), he is 23 of 27 since.

Marshall sees room for more efficiency from Brown.

“He still took two bad shots,” Marshall said. “I told him, ‘You don’t need to take those shots. Your offense is a bonus. And taking bad shots, that are out of rhythm, or too deep or too quick, don’t help us.’ ”

Tip of the Big Blue hat — Jerry Tipton of the Lexington Herald-Leader, inspired by Kentucky’s 103-100 win over North Carolina, ranked Kentucky’s top games of the past 35 years.

The 2014 NCAA Tournament win (78-76) over the Shockers came in at No. 3 and Tipton called it arguably the best first-weekend game in tournament history.

“Neither team led by more than nine points,” he wrote. “Neither team deserved to lose. Wichita State Coach Gregg Marshall likened it to the Laettner Game, except the final shot (by the Shockers’ Fred VanVleet) did not go in.”

The 1992 Laettner Game — Duke’s NCAA win over Kentucky in 1992 — ranked first. The 1983 “Dream Game” between Kentucky and Louisville in the NCAA Tournament ranked second.

Next up for the Shockers — Hutchinson Community College sophomore guard Samajae Haynes-Jones wrapped up first-semester games on an unbeaten team ranked No. 2 in the NJCAA.

Haynes-Jones, who signed with WSU in November, averages 16.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.1 rebounds in 13 games. He scored a season-high 28, making 12 of 16 shots, in a 98-86 win at Barton County in Hutchinson’s final game of December.

He ranks ninth nationally by making 45 of 49 free throws (91.8 percent) and is shooting 46.3 percent from the field and 49.2 percent (31 of 63) from three-point range. His assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.4 ranks No. 63 nationally.

Center Asbjorn Midtgaard, who also signed with WSU in November, averages 7.0 points and 6.8 rebounds for the Horsholm 79ers in his native country of Denmark. In 12 games, he is shooting 50 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from the line.

Worth noting — WSU pitcher Gabe Constantine announced on Twitter that he is transferring. Constantine, from McKinney, Texas, redshirted last season as a freshman. … WSU’s men’s basketball coaches will hold a shooting clinic for children in grades 1-6 on Tuesday. Cost is $40 and the clinic runs from 9-11:45 a.m. For more information go to goshockers.com or call (316) 978-3252. … WSU’s spring sports get started soon. The indoor track and field season begins with the Shocker Prelude on Jan. 11 and a triangular with Kansas and Kansas State on Jan. 12 at the Heskett Center. Men’s tennis starts at Tulsa on Jan. 12.

This story was originally published December 31, 2016 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Wichita State’s Zach Brown ignores poor shooting to work on defense."