‘He’s been like that’: Freshman DeAntoni Gordon excels with expanded role in WSU’s win
The hollers echoed in Koch Arena as Wichita State freshman DeAntoni Gordon emerged from the locker room and made his way back onto the court for a postgame radio interview.
His teammates shouted in celebration of Gordon, who had just registered a career-high 21 minutes and grabbed a career-best seven rebounds in the Shockers’ 84-66 victory over Abilene Christian on Sunday.
After not coming off the bench the past two games, Gordon finally received his chance from WSU coach Gregg Marshall on Sunday and capitalized on the opportunity.
“Coach Marshall is always telling me that, ‘Your time is coming,’” Gordon said on the court. “I’m always ready. Today, I just had to step up.”
Back in the interview room, his teammates spouted praise for Gordon.
“He’s an example of trusting the process,” fellow freshman Grant Sherfield said.
“He’s been like that,” Tyson Etienne said repeatedly.
“I’m so happy for him,” said center Jaime Echenique, who practices with Gordon in the post every day. “In practice, he’s so patient and he doesn’t ever put his head down. He’s always ready for his time coming. He’s great in practice, he’s a great teammate and a great person. He was able to show what he can do and I’m really happy that he had that opportunity today.”
Gordon’s final stat line may seem modest — three points, seven rebounds and one block — but the 6-foot-8 freshman from Mobile, Alabama was able to make his biggest impact in a game to date.
Because of Dexter Dennis’ prolonged absence and sophomore big Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler’s illness Sunday, Gordon moved up the pecking order. So when starting power forward Trey Wade picked up his second foul with 8:37 remaining in the first half, Gordon checked into a game for the first time since Dec. 8.
What stood out to Marshall immediately following the game was the energy he brought crashing the offensive glass. Marshall pointed out that WSU had failed to grab an offensive rebound until Gordon entered the game. He finished with a game-high four offensive rebounds.
Two of his best plays on Sunday came on offensive rebounds. He wrestled away a rebound from an Abilene Christian player, took a power dribble and finished on the other side for his only basket. Then Gordon’s active hands tipped away a rebound that led to a Jamarius Burton three-pointer on the second chance.
“Because Trey was in foul trouble and Poor Bear was not in uniform, (Gordon) got this opportunity and I thought he really helped us,” Marshall said. “DeAntoni Gordon is a good player. We don’t have any bad players. They’re all good players, but you can’t play 13 guys or 12 guys.”
Perhaps the most surprising skill Gordon has displayed early has been his knack for grabbing offensive rebounds on missed free throws. Four of his seven offensive rebounds this season have come in these situations, as Gordon has used the trick of crouching and then dipping his head below a box-out attempt to gain position. He did it successfully three times on Sunday for offensive boards.
Gordon’s offensive game is still raw as a true freshman — He’s just 5 of 16 from the field this season — but he’s 6-8 with long arms and superior athleticism. That’s the perfect build to man the front of WSU’s full-court press, which Gordon did on Sunday to great success. For this season, all WSU is asking him to do is bring energy off the bench, play frenetic defense and chase offensive rebounds.
If he continues to pursue the details that Marshall cherishes like he did on Sunday, then Gordon could earn more playing time in more meaningful games as the season progresses.
No. 24 Wichita State (11-1) returns to action at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Koch Arena against East Carolina (6-7) in the American Athletic Conference opener.
This story was originally published December 30, 2019 at 2:52 PM.
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