A look at the history of Wichita State basketball transfers under coach Gregg Marshall
It would be hard to find a coach that had better success in the transfer market than Gregg Marshall for the first decade of his tenure at Wichita State.
WSU had 18 players leave during that 10-year span, suffering no significant losses, while Marshall found coups in Gabe Blair, Malcolm Armstead, Anton Grady and Conner Frankamp, who transferred to the program and became impact players.
But that sterling record has been balanced out by this offseason alone, as WSU has lost three underclassmen since Friday — Jamarius Burton, Erik Stevenson and Grant Sherfield — who played at least 24 minutes per game this past season. Throw in the surprise departure of Austin Reaves in 2018 and WSU has lost four significant players, all before their junior year, in the last three offseasons.
Sherfield on Monday became the fifth Shocker to enter his name in the transfer portal since the season ended last week, which marks the largest turnover in Marshall’s 13 seasons at WSU. The Shockers lost four players from last season’s roster, which was the second-highest turnover.
Marshall has yet to comment on the five players exiting the program. A program spokesperson has cited the program’s policy not to publicly remark on players in the transfer portal.
The last three recruiting cycles have been extremely busy for Marshall and his staff, as they have had to fill nine scholarships in 2018, six scholarships in 2019 and now six scholarships again for the upcoming season. A total of 28 scholarship players have transferred in 13 years, a 2.2 average that is only slightly above the national average of around two transfers per offseason.
Here is a look at the 28 scholarship players who have transferred from WSU under Marshall since 2008. The list does not include players like Gal Mekel, who left in 2008 to pursue a professional career or Landry Shamet, who declared for the 2018 NBA Draft after his redshirt sophomore season.
WSU transfers under Gregg Marshall
2008 (1) — Wendell Preadom
2009 (2) — Reggie Chamberlain, A.J. Hawkins
2010 (1) — Kenny Manigault
2011 (2) — Jerome Hamilton, Tyler Richardson
2012 (2) — Ede Egharevba, James Anacreon
2013 (1) — Jake White
2014 (1) — Derail Green
2015 (3) — Corey Henderson Jr., Ria’n Holland, Tevin Glass
2016 (2) — Ty Taylor II, Peyton Allen
2017 (2) — Daishon Smith, Eric Hamilton
2018 (2) — Austin Reaves, C.J. Keyser
2019 (4) — Chance Moore, Ricky Torres, Rod Brown, Teddy Allen
2020 (5) — Erik Stevenson, Jamarius Burton, Noah Fernandes, DeAntoni Gordon, Grant Sherfield
What the trend means for WSU
Of the 17 transfers between 2008-17, eight never played Division I basketball again. Of the nine players who remained at that level, none transferred from WSU to a Power Five conference team. Eric Hamilton came the closest, as he transferred from WSU to UNC Greensboro and then finished his career this past season at Pittsburgh in the ACC.
Before 2018, nearly every transfer from WSU was an end-of-the-bench player in search of more minutes. Reggie Chamberlain (UMKC) and Jake White (Omaha) were back-end rotation players for WSU before leaving and enjoying successful careers for smaller programs. A.J. Hawkins was a full-time starter in Marshall’s first season, but left in 2009 so he could play closer to his family at Oklahoma Baptist. Daishon Smith played 14.9 minutes per game in the 2016-17 season, but was stuck behind a future NBA player in Shamet at point guard and wanted an expanded role for his final collegiate season. After a sit-out season, Smith averaged 21 points his senior year at Louisiana-Monroe in the Sun Belt.
None of those transfers were by core players Marshall recruited. The problem has been that trend has changed the last three years with the departures of Reaves, Stevenson, Burton and Sherfield. According to those within the program, Reaves and Burton are the only two among the 11 transfers the last three years who surprised the coaching staff with their decision to leave at the end of the season.
There is a case to be made that the other nine transfers the last three seasons can be explained by their own set of circumstances, but losing that many of your own recruits in a short span is still a troubling trend for Marshall and his staff.
Here is a closer look at the 11 transfers the past three seasons:
- Austin Reaves (Oklahoma): The first time Marshall had been surprised by a transfer decision at WSU. Reaves figured to be a star at WSU after averaging 8.1 points and connecting on 42.5% of his three-pointers as a part-time starter playing 21.5 minutes per game as a sophomore. WSU viewed him more as a spot-up shooter, but Reaves wanted to play somewhere he could be a playmaker. He found the right fit at OU, where he just wrapped up a career-best season of 14.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists after sitting out last season.
- C.J. Keyser (North Carolina Central): Marshall has publicly stated that Keyser would not be academically eligible at WSU, which makes this a forced move by Keyser. He wound up at North Carolina Central, where he sat out last season and then averaged 11.6 points this season as a part-time starter.
- Chance Moore (Washington State): Moore quit the team at WSU before Christmas break of his first season, frustrated over the lack of playing time. He transferred to Washington State, but left the team following a coaching change. He started playing this past season at South Plains, a community college in Texas, but was dismissed from the team in December. Moore is not currently on a college basketball roster.
- Ricky Torres (Illinois State): Started 10 games for WSU in the 2018-19 season, but struggled with production, averaging just 2.3 points and 2.4 assists in 15.1 minutes per game and shooting 8.9% on three-pointers. This was a mutual agreement to part ways. Marshall signed off on a waiver so Torres could play this past season. He averaged 3.9 points and 2.7 assists for Illinois State this season.
- Rod Brown (Pearl River CC): Brown redshirted his first season at WSU, then played just 7.1 minutes per game in the 2018-19 season and decided to transfer. He played this past season at Pearl River Community College, where he averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals. He has since committed to Tulsa, where he will have two seasons to play.
- Teddy Allen (Western Nebraska CC): Allen was expected to be an instant impact player for WSU after transferring in from West Virginia, but the NCAA denied his waiver to play immediately and he had to redshirt his only season with the team. He was dismissed from the team last summer after being arrested and charged with domestic property crime and petty theft. He led the country in scoring at the junior college level this past season at Western Nebraska and has since committed to play for Nebraska next season.
- Erik Stevenson: Started 32 games in two years for WSU and had a breakthrough sophomore season, averaging 11.1 points and 4.7 rebounds in 24.7 minutes this past season. But an inconsistent finish to the season led to Stevenson’s playing time fluctuating down the stretch. Stevenson told The Eagle that his decision to transfer was due to the deteriorating relationship with Marshall and the coaching staff.
- Jamarius Burton: Started 52 games in two years for WSU and also had a breakthrough sophomore campaign, improving his averages to 10.3 points and 3.4 assists per game in 27.1 minutes. He was a burgeoning star, much like Reaves, but fit might also be a concern. Burton had to share the point guard duties with two other players for WSU and played a lot off the ball at small forward this season. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Burton go to a program where he can transition to a full-time point guard.
- Grant Sherfield: Started 12 games for WSU and averaged 25.1 minutes per game as a true freshman, averaging 8.1 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists. But the freshman was inconsistent shooting the ball and showed poor body language, something that bothered Marshall so much that he essentially suspended Sherfield for one game late in the season. Although Sherfield did return the following game and scored 14 points to help WSU to an all-time comeback win at SMU, it was clear there was some tension between the freshman and the coaching staff.
- Noah Fernandes: A foot injury hindered him in his season with the Shockers. It held him out for nine weeks late in the summer, which delayed Fernandes’ progression and then another foot injury ended his season and caused him to miss the final three games. After being largely out of the rotation for two months, Fernandes was a surprise starter at UCF and provided a spark to the team in a win to stop a losing skid. Although he saw his playing time spike late in the season, Fernandes still only averaged 9.9 minutes per game. It’s likely he will be looking for a program where he can play more minutes at point guard.
- DeAntoni Gordon: Another freshman who struggled to find playing time in WSU’s rotation this season. He appeared in 20 games and averaged just 6.7 minutes per game as a backup power forward. Another clear case of a player who will be looking for more playing time.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 6:00 AM.
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