‘We’re going to work with him’: Gregg Marshall explains Grant Sherfield’s absence
Wichita State was without one of its starting guards in a 72-69 victory over Temple at Koch Arena on Thursday.
Freshman Grant Sherfield, who had started the four previous games for WSU and was averaging 25 minutes per game, was dressed in uniform and available to play in Thursday’s game but did not see a single minute of action against the Owls.
WSU coach Gregg Marshall revealed after Thursday’s game that it was his decision to hold out Sherfield, something Marshall decided after meeting with Sherfield on Tuesday evening.
“I want him to do some things a little different and he’s going to try to do that,” Marshall said. “We’re going to work with him. He’s a great kid. I love him in my program, but there’s got to be a couple things he’s got to adjust, tweak. It’s not going to be hard if he wants to do it and I think he does. So we’ll move on.”
Sherfield was coming off of the first scoreless game of his career, as he finished 0 for 3 from the field in 17 minutes against Cincinnati in the 67-64 loss last Sunday. He committed a turnover early in the second half and was pulled with 16:41 remaining in the second half and did not play again.
The 6-foot-2 guard from Wichita has been a key piece for WSU this season, making 11 starts with season averages of 7.8 points, 2.9 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 34% shooting and 24% three-point shooting. At 25 minutes per game, Sherfield was playing the fourth-most minutes on the team.
During Thursday’s game, Sherfield was engaged on the bench and clapped for his teammates during WSU’s late rally to victory. Following the game, Sherfield returned to the court still dressed in his uniform and warm-up shirt to practice shooting with a WSU manager for nearly 30 minutes on his own.
Marshall did not specify what suggestions were given to Sherfield or if the freshman would return to WSU’s rotation on Sunday at SMU. The Shockers (21-7) have three games remaining in the regular season, as they make a push to return to the NCAA Tournament for the eighth time in the last nine seasons.
This story was originally published February 28, 2020 at 6:05 AM.
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