What comes next for Wichita State basketball?
With six seniors completing their eligibility , nearly half of the Wichita State basketball roster for the 2018-19 season is guaranteed to turn over. And that's assuming there are no transfers and all six recruits end up in Wichita.
At the very least, it will be a seismic shift and the beginning of a new era for the program. That was apparent to the returning players following Wichita State's 81-75 loss to Marshall in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.
"It's going to be so different," junior-to-be Austin Reaves said. "Those guys have been around here for so long. Hopefully the new guys coming in have seen what they accomplished and seen the road that they've paved to follow. I can't give enough credit to all six of the seniors. They've all been everyday guys for us."
Much of WSU's stability will hinge on the NBA draft decision of Landry Shamet, who averaged 15.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 5.1 assists and shot 46 percent on three-pointers during his sophomore season . He is being projected as a late first-rounder in mock drafts and could become the highest-drafted player in the Gregg Marshall era if he decides to sign with an agent and enter the draft.
After playing in his final game of the season Friday, Shamet wasn't ready to entertain the question when asked about if he had given his future any thought.
"I don't want to talk about that," Shamet said.
If Shamet decides to leave, then his point-guard duties could be assumed by incoming freshman Alex Lomax, a highly-rated recruit from Memphis, or by senior-to-be Samajae Haynes-Jones, who scored 31 and 27 points in early-season games but only averaged 5.3 points and fell out of the rotation down the stretch.
Where graduation leaves the biggest hole is to the team's frontcourt, as Rashard Kelly, Shaquille Morris, Darral Willis and Rauno Nurger essentially played every available minute at the power forward and center positions for the last two seasons.
The lone returner will be Asbjorn Midtgaard, a 7-footer who appeared in nine games and played in 49 minutes as a freshman. That should give him a leg up in the competition for the starting center, and those within the program are excited about what Midtgaard can do given an expanded role.
He will have competition with three post players who have signed their letters of intent for the 2018-19 season in Morris Udeze, Isaiah Poor Bear Chandler, and junior-college transfer Jaime Echenique. A starting spot could be available to the quickest learner.
Another option in the frontcourt could be Markis McDuffie, a 6-foot-8 wing for most of his three seasons with WSU. Coach Gregg Marshall has experimented with him at power forward in small-ball lineups . Marshall preferred to play two traditional posts side-by-side, but that was with experienced players. McDuffie could potentially see more time at power forward if he returns for his senior season.
"It's going to be so weird, man, without those guys," McDuffie said Friday. "That's a lot of people gone. And all of them were in our rotation doing what they got to do. It's going to be a completely new environment with brand new people coming in. It's going to be weird, man."
The departure of Conner Frankamp and Zach Brown leaves a guard and wing position available in the rotation.
C.J. Keyser gained experience as a sophomore and could see his role increase and have a chance to showcase his athleticism . Rod Brown redshirted this season and appears to be the heir apparent to Zach Brown as the team's go-to perimeter defender.
Incoming recruits Erik Stevenson and Chance Moore have both displayed scoring punch at the prep level and could force their way into the starting lineup with strong summers.
This story was originally published March 17, 2018 at 2:22 PM with the headline "What comes next for Wichita State basketball?."