The deep bench is back for Wichita State basketball and here are the benefits
The deep bench is back at Wichita State.
Gregg Marshall has been known to play a rotation usually at 10 players, but the Shockers’ streak of finishing top-25 nationally in bench minutes came to an end last season when Marshall had to lean heavily on his two seniors with such a young and inexperienced team.
But before last season, WSU finished eighth in bench minutes in 2015-16, sixth in 2016-17 and 24th in 2017-18. This season may be right in line with those.
Currently 11 Shockers are averaging at least 10 minutes per game and that’s without senior center Jaime Echenique, who will be a game-time call for Saturday’s 2 p.m. game against Oral Roberts at Koch Arena. The game will be broadcast on Cox 22 with Yurview.com/Kansas streaming the game online.
Right now four true freshmen are included in the rotation, a number that Marshall said will remain moving forward.
“We’ll mix them in as best we can and try to have them develop on the fly. We need them. We need them this year and we need them right now to be a good basketball team and to go as deep as I want to go,” Marshall said. “I want to play 10 or 11 guys and be all over people and not have to worry about foul trouble and press a little bit more.”
What gives WSU a chance to have its deepest bench yet is that it has depth at every position.
At point guard, WSU can play Grant Sherfield, Noah Fernandes or Jamarius Burton. At shooting guard, Erik Stevenson and Tyson Etienne are the spot-up shooters. At small forward, Dexter Dennis is splitting time with Burton. At power forward, Trey Wade is being backed up by DeAntoni Gordon and Dennis. At center, Marshall is employing the three-man rotation between Morris Udeze, Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler and Asbjorn Midtgaard.
And that’s without Echenique, who would give WSU a 12th quality player.
“Everybody who is playing is contributing in some way,” Marshall said. “You basically are seeing the depth of our team, even without our most experienced and efficient center and our only senior in Jaime Echenique.”
That gives Marshall the most options and flexibility perhaps he’s ever had. WSU can play three guards and go small with Dennis at power forward. WSU can go big and slide Dennis to shooting guard, Wade to small forward, Poor Bear-Chandler at power forward alongside a center.
There’s a chance no player averages more than 30 minutes per game.
That’s perfectly fine with the Shockers in their pursuit of winning.
“We’re communicating better on the defensive end, sharing the ball and giving 120% while we’re out there on the court,” WSU sophomore Jamarius Burton said. “We play hard and then another five can come right in. We have a lot of depth on this team. If everyone goes out there and gives 120%, then you see the results.”
Oral Roberts at Wichita State
When: 2:05 p.m. Saturday
Where: Koch Arena (10,506), Wichita
TV: Cox 22
Streaming: YurView.com/Kansas
Radio: KEYN, 103.7 FM
Projected starters
| No. | Oral Roberts | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Gr. | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
| 12 | R.J. Fuqua | G | 5-11 | 160 | So. | 5.0 | 4.2 | 4.0 |
| 3 | Max Abmas | G | 6-1 | 160 | Fr. | 16.4 | 1.6 | 0.8 |
| 2 | Deondre Burns | G | 6-3 | 190 | Sr. | 12.0 | 5.6 | 3.6 |
| 22 | Francis Lacis | F | 6-7 | 200 | So. | 1.8 | 1.5 | 0.3 |
| 0 | Kevin Obanor | F | 6-8 | 240 | So. | 12.2 | 7.8 | 1.0 |
Coach: Paul Mills, third season, 24-45
| No. | Wichita State | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Gr. | Pts. | Reb. | Ast. |
| 52 | Grant Sherfield | G | 6-2 | 189 | Fr. | 8.5 | 2.0 | 3.5 |
| 10 | Erik Stevenson | G | 6-3 | 198 | So. | 11.5 | 3.8 | 2.3 |
| 0 | Dexter Dennis | G | 6-5 | 207 | So. | 12.0 | 5.8 | 1.3 |
| 5 | Trey Wade | F | 6-6 | 219 | Jr. | 11.5 | 8.5 | 2.0 |
| 24 | Morris Udeze | C | 6-8 | 240 | So. | 10.0 | 4.0 | 0.5 |
Coach: Gregg Marshall, 13th season, 312-113
About Oral Roberts (2-3): The Golden Eagles were picked to finish third out of nine teams in the Summit League preseason poll, while earning three first-place votes... Oral Roberts doesn’t have an eye-popping win yet, but it has hung tough in all three of its losses to Oklahoma State (80-75), Tulsa (74-67) and Iowa (87-74) on the road... Third-year coach Paul Mills worked 14 seasons under Scott Drew at Baylor before accepting the ORU job... Oral Roberts sophomore Elijah Lufile is the younger brother of former Shocker Chadrack Lufile, who played for WSU from 2012-14... Graduate transfer Ty Lazenby, who came from Oklahoma, played two minutes in OU’s 91-83 win over Wichita State on Dec. 16, 2017...Oral Roberts’ top returning scorer and preseason All-Summit League first team pick Emmanuel Nzekwesi, a 6-8 senior, actually comes off the bench. Nzekwesi averages 14.5 points and 7.8 rebounds...Kevin Obanor is coming off a career-best performance on Tuesday, as he led Oral Roberts with 31 points and 10 rebounds for his second double-double in his last three games.
About Wichita State (4-0): This is the 13th meeting all-time between WSU and Oral Roberts with the Shockers leading the series 7-5 and 4-3 in Wichita... WSU is fifth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.89), sixth in turnovers per game (8.8) and 11th in turnover margin (plus-8.3). Sophomore Jamarius Burton (10.0) has the fifth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the country... WSU has won six straight games at Koch Arena and is 32-1 in November home games since 2009. The Shockers are off to a 4-0 start for the sixth time in the last eight seasons and a win on Saturday would give them their fourth 5-0 start under Gregg Marshall... Saturday’s game will close out a five-game homestand to open the season for WSU, as the Shockers will leave for the Cancun Challenge early Sunday morning. WSU’s first game is Tuesday against South Carolina... WSU is holding opponents to 38.6% on two-point field goals, the 13th-best defense in the country.
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