Challenge accepted: Grant Sherfield returns to Shockers with one of his best games
The coach sought out the freshman in jubilation, wrapping the player in a hug, the coach’s face beaming in pride.
Just five days before, Gregg Marshall and Grant Sherfield sat together to discuss what needed to change for the Wichita State freshman to play again.
After being forced to sit out Thursday’s game, Sherfield returned to the court Sunday and was pivotal in WSU’s historic 24-point come-from-behind 66-62 victory over SMU at Moody Coliseum. In what could have been a situation that turned sour quickly, Sherfield instead responded with one of the finest performances: 14 points, including 4-of-5 accuracy on three-pointers, and six assists.
“Coach Marshall is pushing me to be the best that I can be,” Sherfield said after. “I’m going to keep taking on that challenge and keep trying to get better every day.”
Tuesday’s meeting stemmed from Sherfield’s frustration displayed last Sunday in a loss at Cincinnati. Marshall was not pleased with the freshman’s demeanor after committing a turnover early in the second half and pulled Sherfield from the game with 16:41 remaining and never put him back in.
“I want him to do some things a little different and he’s going to try to do that,” Marshall said after sitting Sherfield out of Thursday’s win over Temple. “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.”
The frustrations Sherfield harbored did not revolve around playing time or not shooting enough in WSU’s offense. Rather, it was a case of a 20-year-old freshman being a little bit overwhelmed when his shot stopped dropping.
Those within the program say Sherfield has a diligent work ethic, so his frustrations have grown when his shooting percentages — 34.0% from the field, 23.9% on three-pointers before Sunday — have not matched up with the work he’s invested in his shot.
“The most frustrating part for him was the amount of time outside of practice that he puts in, in terms of his craft,” said his father, Antione Sherfield. “He shoots in between classes. He shoots every night at 9 o’clock with one of the WSU managers. I think it was just real frustrating for him that he wasn’t getting the outcomes he felt like he should be getting with all of the work he was putting in.
“Once again, I credit Gregg Marshall for being transparent and having a great conversation with him and those two for growing their relationship.”
Marshall told the freshman that he could understand the frustration over not seeing shots go in, but he could not continue to allow negative body language to show. The coach told Sherfield some hard truths. They sound harsh, Marshall said, but assured him that he was just trying to hold him accountable so Sherfield could become the best version of himself. The freshman listened intently and vowed to accept the challenge.
After Tuesday’s meeting, Marshall said that Sherfield “played the best that he’s ever played in our program” during Wednesday’s practice.
“It was the best practice he’s ever had and then he played a lot like that (Sunday),” Marshall said.
Sherfield drilled two three-pointers and doled out three assists during WSU’s 40-12 close to the game in the final 13:14. His 14 points, one off his career-high, were the most he’s scored since the new year and just his third double-digit game in conference play, while the six assists tied his career-best output.
“I felt like he was back to himself today,” Antione Sherfield said. “I think that was big today to see him back to being himself, see him back in attack mode and really making plays for himself and others, especially in a tough game like that.”
It sounds simple, but being himself has been one of the hardest things for Sherfield to try to do in his first season of Division I. He’s had to handle more adversity, pressure and responsibility.
That’s why this week Antione Sherfield talked about everything but basketball with his son in text messages.
“We were actually talking about (the television show) Power right before the game,” Antione Sherfield said. “I know he’s already thinking enough about basketball, so we just focused on him being spiritually tough and the mental side of things. As a family we took basketball out of the equation and focused on the other stuff.”
The week began with Grant Sherfield being forced to sit out a game and self-reflect to determine if he wanted to fight for his spot back in the rotation. It ended with Sherfield answering that call by playing one of his best games in a Shocker uniform and helping his team keep its NCAA Tournament dreams alive.
After playing so well and helping WSU complete the largest comeback in program history, Sherfield said all of those worries from before feel like a distant memory as he walked off the court on Sunday with his coach’s arm wrapped around him.
“Just a lot of smiles,” Sherfield said. “It’s a feel-good win.”
This story was originally published March 2, 2020 at 5:59 AM.
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