Five things you need to know from Wichita State’s rout of Central Arkansas basketball
Wichita State didn’t show any rust from a week off following its first loss of the season, as the Shockers improved to 7-1 on Thursday with a 95-69 victory over Central Arkansas at Koch Arena.
Here are five takeaways from WSU’s tune-up game before heading to Stillwater, Okla. on Sunday for a crucial road test at Oklahoma State.
1. WSU denies, denies, denies all the way to the record books
The Shockers were suffocating on the defensive end on Thursday, as they forced 30 turnovers — the most of the Gregg Marshall era — and finished with 16 steals, the fourth most in program history. So even though Central Arkansas made 49 percent of its shots, it didn’t matter because it turned the ball over on 36 percent of its possessions — the fourth best mark by a WSU defense in the last two decades.
“We were denying first pass and any penetrating pass probably better than we have in awhile,” Marshall said. “Four days of practice will do that for you. Now we’ve got to carry that on the road and see what you can do against a Big 12 opponent that’s really talented and long and athletic and well coached, on Sunday.”
One week after West Virginia pushed WSU around on the defensive end, the Shockers took out their frustration on an overmatched Central Arkansas team. The Shockers imposed their will on the Bears with a full-court press that sped UCA up and consistently forced turnovers. In the half-court, WSU was handsy and made UCA look uncomfortable.
WSU forced turnovers on 15 of UCA’s first 15 possessions and turned defense into offense, as the Shockers finished the game with 39 points off turnovers.
“We were in our spots,” Etienne said. “Coach stressed to us about being in the right position. We watched our film from (Cancun) and he wanted us to be more disciplined in our positioning and being in the right spot to make the right plays.
“You can sense it from the crowd when we get defensive stops, it puts a different kind of electricity in the building. Defense can create some easy points for our offense, so playing defense is key for us.”
2. Shockers respond on the glass
There’s no shame in losing to West Virginia on a neutral court, but the problem Marshall had coming away from the 75-63 loss was that the Shockers gave up 17 offensive rebounds.
Losing on the glass like that is unacceptable under Marshall.
While no one will mistake any player on Central Arkansas with West Virginia’s Oscar Tshiebwe or Derek Culver, it was still important for WSU to improve in its defensive rebounding after allowing the Mountaineers to grab 17 offensive rebounds in the game on Nov. 27. WSU did just that on Thursday by securing 25 of 28 possible defensive rebounds.
“As centers, we’re responsible for all of the boards,” senior center Jaime Echenique said. “We know we missed a couple of things against West Virginia, but we take our jobs seriously. We know what we did wrong. Coming back after a loss and stepping up just shows how much we’re learning from our mistakes.”
WSU boarded out at 89.3% on the defensive end, the highest mark since the Shockers boarded out at 90.0% against Northern Iowa on Feb. 18, 2017.
While the four centers only accounted for six of the 25 defensive rebounds, their work boxing out helped clear the way for guards like Erik Stevenson (five defensive rebounds) and Dexter Dennis (four) to swoop in and secure the rebound.
“I didn’t see too many opportunities for them,” Marshall said of UCA’s limited offensive rebounds. “That will be key on Sunday: can we do it against those type of athletes now?”
3. Grant Sherfield starts firing away from three
Freshman Grant Sherfield’s slow start on three-pointers this season is more of an oddity than anything, according to Marshall and WSU’s players.
Entering Thursday, Sherfield had only made two three-pointers and attempted 12 total in WSU’s first seven games.
The Sherfield his teammates and coaches are used to seeing was on display on Thursday, as he drilled three triples from beyond the arc in the first half alone and finished 3 of 5 on three-pointers against Central Arkansas.
“I never really lost confidence in the three-point shot,” Sherfield said. “I know I can shoot it well. My teammates know it, coach knows it. The coaches and players were on me to keep shooting it.”
Marshall thought a difference was that there were more scoring opportunities for Sherfield because he played more at shooting guard than point guard in the game.
“He’s a great shooter and a great scorer,” Marshall said of Sherfield. “He’s a point guard, but he can play off the ball. I think that freed him up a little bit (Thursday) and allowed him to be more aggressive. He looked very comfortable playing off the ball when he was in there. I know he’s a good shooter because I’ve seen it many, many times.”
Coming off the bench for the first time this season, Sherfield scored in double-digits from the first time since WSU’s second game of the season. He finished with a team-high 15 points and five assists to only one turnover in 23 minutes off the bench.
“That opens up the offense for the rest of us to do what we do,” Etienne said. “Once he’s doing that and he finds his range and finds his rhythm, it’s not only good for him but good for the team, especially with the competition we have coming up.”
4. A change-up in the starting five
Marshall doesn’t put much stock into who his starting five are, but he was compelled to make major changes following the week-long break.
After going with Grant Sherfield, Erik Stevenson, Dexter Dennis, Trey Wade and Morris Udeze for the last five games, Marshall switched it up against Central Arkansas. Sherfield, Dennis and Udeze came off the bench, while Tyson Etienne, Jamarius Burton and Jaime Echenique all made their first starts of the season.
“I just tried to go with guys who have been playing well in practice and guys that are tough and smart,” Marshall said. “I want to be a tough basketball team. Those three guys, really all five guys, have really exemplified that in the last couple of weeks and in games and practices recently.”
The promotions for Burton and Echenique didn’t come as a surprise. Both are second-year players who have starting experience for WSU and both look fully recovered from their early-season injuries.
Etienne has also played well and continued a strong start to his freshman campaign on Thursday with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting with three assists and one steal.
“Whenever my number is called, I’m ready,” Etienne said. “It doesn’t really matter to me (starting or coming off the bench).”
5. UCA’s coach, a Kansas native, has had a unique coaching career
How many basketball coaches can say they’ve led a WNBA team, a college men’s basketball blueblood and their alma mater to the postseason?
Central Arkansas coach Russ Pennell has had one of the more diverse coaching careers and it actually began in Kansas for the Pittsburg native.
Pennell landed his breakthrough back during 2008 when legendary Arizona coach Lute Olson hired him as an assistant coach. When Olson announced his retirement due to medical reasons just before the 2008-09 season, Pennell was promoted to Arizona’s interim head coach and led the Wildcats to a 19-13 record and a surprise Sweet 16 run.
Four years later, Pennell became an interim coach again when he took over the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, which featured stars in Diana Taurasi and Brittney Griner. Pennell helped turn around the team and eventually led them to the Western Conference Finals.
That’s when Pennell decided to return to his alma mater at Central Arkansas, where he was a starting point guard from 1982-84 and played with future Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen.
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