Shocker frontcourt fights to exit its slump (VIDEO)

If recent criticism of Wichita State’s struggling frontcourt has affected senior forward Darius Carter, he’s not tipping his hand.

“I pay absolutely no attention to what outside people say about me, or how we play,” said Carter, a 6-foot-7 honorable mention All-Missouri Valley Conference pick. “I worry about what our coaching staff tells me, I worry about watching film … not outside opinions.”

Headed into the Shockers’ NCAA Tournament opener against No. 10 seed Indiana on Friday, it seems that one popular opinion would be that as Carter goes, so goes No. 7-seed WSU.

Back-to-back lackluster performances at the MVC Tournament by not just Carter, but WSU’s entire frontcourt, lend credence to the theory.

After 20 points and 11 rebounds over 32 minutes in a win over Indiana State on Feb. 25, Carter has seen his production and minutes drop off considerably because of foul trouble.

He had a respectable 11 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes in a 74-60 win over Northern Iowa on Feb. 28, then scored seven points and grabbed 12 rebounds in two games at the MVC Tournament, a win over Southern Illinois and an upset loss to Illinois State.

Carter’s success or failure translates directly to the win-loss column.

In three of WSU’s four losses, he played less than 20 minutes. In their other loss, to George Washington, he played a season-high 37 minutes, but scored seven points.

“I have to adjust, I have to play better defense,” Carter said. “Everybody sees that the team is better when I’m productive. I want to do as much as possible to help us win games, and that’s hard when you’re on the bench.”

WSU reserves haven’t exactly been picking up the slack. In the loss to Illinois State, backup post players Shaq Morris, Rashard Kelly, Bush Wamukota and Zach Brown combined for six points and six rebounds.

“Can’t worry about the past, but I do see the things that get written or hear things that get said and want to prove them wrong,” Morris said. “If you’re on the bench, coming in and out of the game, you need to be totally focused on getting ready to go back in and do something.”

The Shockers may actually have an advantage in the post against the Hoosiers, depending on the availability of 6-9 forward Hanner Mosquera-Perea, Indiana’s post defender.

Mosquera-Perea sat out Indiana’s last game, a 75-69 loss to Maryland in the Big Ten Tournament, after he dislocated his right knee. He practiced Thursday, but was non-committal as to whether he would play against WSU.

“I’ve done everything I could do to be able to play, I’ve done everything that the trainers told me to do,” Mosquera-Perea said. “I’m petty sure we can match up with (WSU) if we play how we’re supposed to. If we follow the game plan, we’ll do just fine.”

If Mosquera-Perea can’t go or isn’t 100 percent, the Hoosiers don’t have a lot to rely on after that. A pair of 6-7 forwards in Collin Hartman and Troy Williams can score, but are more inclined to play on the perimeter, with 6-8 freshman Max Hoetzel and 6-7 freshman Emmitt Holt coming off the bench.

Morris and Kelly are both 6-7, while Brown is 6-6. Wamukota is 6-11, but lacks experience. All of the Shockers, however, outweigh the Hoosiers except for Brown, who is 213 pounds to 215 for Hartman and Williams.

“They’re a team that’s built in the weight room,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “They’re very thick.”

“We’re a little thicker, but they’re a little bit taller,” Morris said. “We’ve got to outwork them. They’ve got big guys that are shooters and like to step it out, but we’ve faced that before. You’ve got to get right up on them.”

This story was originally published March 19, 2015 at 6:42 PM with the headline "Shocker frontcourt fights to exit its slump (VIDEO)."