‘Coach and I didn’t have a great relationship’: Erik Stevenson speaks on WSU transfer
One day after Wichita State men’s basketball fans were shocked when the season ended abruptly, they were stunned again on Friday when news surfaced that four scholarship players, Erik Stevenson and Jamarius Burton among them, were transferring from the program.
By the end of Friday, a third of the returning scholarship players — Stevenson, Burton, Noah Fernandes and DeAntoni Gordon — and a walk-on, Tate Busse, announced they plan to leave WSU. VerbalCommits and ESPN’s Jeff Borzello were the first to report the transfers.
In an exclusive interview with The Eagle, Stevenson opened up about what led to his decision to transfer from Wichita State.
“Coach (Gregg Marshall) and I didn’t have a great relationship,” Stevenson said. “Obviously we didn’t mesh. That’s probably the biggest reason why I’m leaving. I’ve got to find a better relationship and a better situation.”
Responding to an Eagle request for comment from Marshall, a WSU spokesperson declined comment, citing it is their policy not to comment on transfers.
Stevenson was WSU’s best player during its 15-1 start to the season when he was averaging better than 14 points per game and the Shockers ascended to as high as No. 16 in the national rankings.
But Stevenson’s performance took a dip and the confidence that had made him such an effective player early in the season vanished. For many games down the stretch, Stevenson played unsure of himself — a shell of the dynamite scorer that he had been. He had more scoreless outings (two) than 20-point games (one) in the final 15 games, in which WSU went 8-7.
Stevenson said the drastic change in his confidence on the court was the result of a deteriorating relationship with the WSU’s coaching staff. Stevenson said he was speaking of his own experience and he did not want to speak for the other three scholarship players who announced on Friday they were also leaving WSU.
“I felt like I showed what I could do at the highest level,” Stevenson said. “When I had the confidence from Coach (Marshall) and the staff and I wasn’t looking over my shoulder after every mistake, I was the leader of the team and we were winning games and winning by big margins.
“But when the confidence from the staff went away and the one-mistake, come-out rule went into place, that’s when things started to go downhill. I think the former players know exactly what I’m talking about.”
On Friday night following the exodus, WSU freshman Tyson Etienne posted on his Twitter that he was staying.
“Sad to see my brothers go,” Etienne wrote. “I will cherish the bond I created with them forever and I wish them all the best in their next chapter. As for me, I truly believe in coaches’ vision for this program and his vision for me. I will have his back and our programs’ back. And do whatever is needed for us to be successful in this upcoming season. I made a promise to him, to Shocker Nation, and to myself to win in black and yellow. I will be returning to the Roundhouse next season to play in front of the best fans in all of college basketball.”
Marshall spoke publicly several times about WSU’s off-the-court issues that came to the forefront after three straight losses marred the 15-1 start. After a 33-point loss at Houston, the coach said he felt like there was a disconnect between the coaching staff and the players. When WSU lost five out of seven games, Marshall said he felt more like a team psychologist than a basketball coach at times.
Even when Stevenson emerged from his rut with a team-high 18 points in WSU’s season-ending 79-57 victory over Tulsa on Sunday, Marshall hinted that the sophomore was trying to sort through some non-basketball things.
“He looked like the Erik from earlier in the year,” Marshall said. “He had a little bounce to him. He was rebounding, getting in there in the fray. Didn’t look like any ailments, physically or mentally. I’m just glad he was able to rally.
“These guys have so much going on, it’s amazing what we deal with now from just a personal perspective. All of them have so much going on with the social media and the families and the friends and coaches.”
Stevenson was not made available to speak to the media following that game, but he took his chance on Friday to speak about what became a tumultuous season for WSU despite its 23-8 record.
“Coach (Marshall) kind of covered up a lot of stuff and kind of put it on the players having problems,” Stevenson said. “I’m not going to say it was only the players who had problems. Obviously we had an up-and-down year, but the coaching staff had a big part in that too.”
Stevenson said in many ways he was grateful for his two years at Wichita State. He felt like he made a significant leap his sophomore season when he upped his averages across the board in points (11.1), rebounds (4.7), assists (2.3) and steals (1.5) in a career-best 24.7 minutes per game.
He wanted to thank the WSU fans for their support and understanding of a tough situation for both sides involved.
“Just a big thank you for welcoming a kid from the West Coast,” said Stevenson, a Lacey, Washington native. “Shocker fans were amazing, and obviously they only see what they see and they don’t see what they don’t see. And I want them to know that me and the guys who are leaving, it’s not like we were holding back. We were always giving our 100% while we were here. Things just didn’t work out, unfortunately.”
Stevenson said he will take time to consider his options before deciding where to play next. He told Stockrisers.com that he has received interest already from Gonzaga, Memphis, Arizona, Florida, Texas, Creighton, Seton Hall, Xavier, South Carolina, Arkansas, Washington, Oregon State, USC and Utah.
He could potentially be eligible to play immediately next season if the NCAA changes its transfer rules as expected before next season, which would require a release from WSU, leaving WSU academically eligible and maintaining their academic progress at their new schools. If not, Stevenson would redshirt next season and start his junior year in the 2021-22 season.
This story was originally published March 13, 2020 at 7:51 PM.
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