Marshall calls Shocker fans ‘most loyal in country,’ credits their help in turnaround

Reflecting on one of the most up-and-down seasons in his 12-year tenure, Gregg Marshall made sure to give the Wichita State fan base some credit for sticking with the Shockers.

WSU lost its home opener for the first time since 2001, didn’t win a road game until February and started American Athletic Conference play 1-6.

All of those things are distant memories now, as the Shockers are now one win away from heading to Madison Square Garden to play in the final four of the National Invitation Tournament following their 63-55 win at Clemson on Sunday. WSU is 13-3 in its last 16 games and now the Shockers (21-14) will play at Indiana on Tuesday in the NIT quarterfinals.

After beating Clemson, where around 100 Shocker fans were in attendance, Marshall took time to thank WSU fans for their support during a turbulent season.

“We have the most loyal fans in the country,” Marshall said. “The way we were playing early on this year, most fan bases would have either ignored us or been very apathetic at the best. Some would have come, some would not have. But we never played with less than a full house.

“I’ve been here 12 years and for 12 straight years, we’ve never played with less than a crowd of 10,000. I don’t care who we’re playing. We could play a small school from any state in the Union or we could play Duke or Kansas, we’re going to fill the place.”

Marshall said fan support was crucial during the low points of the season, when WSU’s first-year players were adjusting to a high level of Division I basketball.

“What they did this year when things weren’t looking so bright for us was not turn on us, but really dig in and try to boost us up and help raise these young players and help instill confidence in these young players, instead of being negative,” Marshall said. “That’s a teaching point for all of us in life. These kids weren’t trying to throw the ball away, they weren’t trying to blow defenses, they were just brand-spanking new to Division I, 10 of them.

“We’re indebted to our Shocker fans. We travel as well as anybody in the country, probably short of (Kentucky’s) Big Blue Nation. It’s just amazing to see yellow and black wherever we go.”

This story was originally published March 24, 2019 at 4:44 PM.