An inside look at how Gregg Marshall and his staff reversed WSU’s fortune in 48 hours
It had been a bleak two weeks for the Wichita State men’s basketball program since the untimely end of its 23-8 season.
On the first day after the postseason was canceled, five players entered into the NCAA transfer portal. In the days since, more followed. A total of seven Shockers scholarship players — the most in the country — and eight players in all have decided to leave the program.
One player on his way out said the coaching staff deserved blame for WSU’s rocky close after a 15-1 start to the season, and WSU coach Gregg Marshall issued his learn-and-adapt statement in response. Shockers fans were left with little else to dissect in the wake of a mass exodus that whittled the roster to just five returning players.
But Marshall and his coaching staff were able to flip the script in one weekend by replenishing WSU’s roster with a former McDonald’s All-American, one of the nation’s top junior-college guards, a versatile junior-college forward and two high-upside, high-flying freshmen.
In the span of three days, Marshall had restored the hopes of the doom-and-gloom crowd that the Shockers — even with losing half of this past season’s production — could still contend for an NCAA Tournament berth next season.
WSU’s resurgence wasn’t the result of a happy coincidence, but rather the tireless work and due diligence of Marshall’s three assistants, topped by a tour-de-force performance from the head coach.
With seven unexpected scholarships opening up during a spring recruiting period when official visits are unlikely due to the coronavirus pandemic, Marshall’s recruiting pursuit over the phones has been “next level,” according to a source within the program.
After the defections left WSU without a point guard on its roster, Marshall knew the Shockers needed a floor general on board before he could sell his program to other recruits. The staff surveyed the market for graduate transfers and quickly settled on a familiar face as their top target: Connecticut’s Alterique Gilbert.
Gilbert had an injury history that had prevented him from reaching his full potential at UConn, but the talent was obvious in the former McDonald’s All-American. He’s the type of point guard who fit Marshall’s system and could elevate the Shockers immediately.
Tyson Waterman, WSU’s top recruiter, was assigned to Gilbert and after a week of relentless pursuit, the Shockers beat out Florida, Texas Tech, Arkansas, Georgia and Cincinnati when Gilbert announced his commitment Saturday afternoon.
Winning Gilbert’s recruitment proved to be the first domino WSU needed to set off a chain of positive events.
With a dynamic playmaker on board to join returning starters Tyson Etienne, Dexter Dennis and Trey Wade, WSU had filled its biggest roster concern. More importantly, a player the caliber of Gilbert signing to play for Marshall and the Shockers squelched much of the uncertainty surrounding the program.
The next day, Chaunce Jenkins, a 6-foot-4 guard from Newport News, Virginia who had gone undetected by national recruiting services, followed suit and pledged to the Shockers. Jenkins barely had any Division I scholarship offers — the ones he did land came from small-majors — but WSU assistant coach Isaac Brown believed in his talent after watching a highlight tape this spring and strongly pursued him.
Lamont Strothers, Jenkins’ high school coach at Menchville, is a former overlooked prospect himself who reached the NBA after playing at the Division III level. He was adamant that WSU will be rewarded for doing its homework on Jenkins, who averaged 16 points and led Menchville to a 20-4 record this season.
“Chaunce and my son have been playing together for a long time and I knew Chaunce was going to be a special player,” Strothers said. “When I took over the program, he wasn’t playing a lot and I moved him up the ladder and a few people in the community didn’t think that was a good choice because he didn’t have any Division I interest. I didn’t care. I used to be that kid, too. So I saw the potential in him and I knew he was just going to be a late bloomer.”
Because of his late development, Jenkins’ supreme athleticism, raw talent and 6-foot-7 wingspan had yet to be discovered nationally. Rivals national recruiting analyst Corey Evans believes that would have changed next month, when Jenkins was scheduled to play in the Nike EYBL circuit, which has since been canceled.
“Jenkins was honestly one of my favorite prospects still available this spring,” Evans said. “If he would have played in the Nike circuit next month, it would have made it extra difficult for Wichita State. He was going to blow up.
“He’s a super-talented, giant guard that can make shots, handle in a pinch, but most of all is an athlete. I think he can be a star at the next level. He needs more time to refine his game, but the talent and upside is evident.”
WSU felt like it snagged another high-upside, over-looked talent later that same day when Ricky Council IV, a 6-foot-5 high school wing from Durham, North Carolina, committed.
Like Jenkins, Council had only been offered by small-majors before WSU came around. Like Jenkins, Council was discovered by an assistant coach (this time Waterman) who happened to watch a highlight tape.
And like Jenkins, Council has been a viral sensation for his dunks. In the pair, WSU feels like it has added two elite athletes, even by AAC standards, who are long-limbed with the positional versatility the roster needs to compete in the American.
Due diligence by WSU’s assistants was rewarded one final time over the weekend: The Shockers locked up one of the nation’s top junior-college guards in Craig Porter. The 6-foot-2 guard from Terre Haute, Indiana helped lead Vincinnes to the NJCAA championship in 2019 and followed that up by averaging 14.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.8 steals and 1.9 blocks this season.
Porter was receiving interest from some of the top programs in the country but decided on WSU mostly because of his relationship with WSU assistant coach Lou Gudino. Gudino, an Indiana native, actually recruited Porter in high school when he was an assistant at New Mexico State and has continued to stay in touch over the years.
That persistence led to Porter’s commitment Sunday and helped complete what became a crucial weekend for the program’s future.
“I’ve known coach Lou since I was in high school and he’s been in my corner ever since Day One,” Porter said. “I have a lot of trust in him and coach Marshall. I think I’m going to be a great fit in their system.
“Coach Marshall is just like my junior-college coach: he’s on you hard, but he just wants the best out of you and at the end of the day, he’s going to make you a better player and a better person. I needed someone like that in my life.”
WSU’s recruiting momentum continued Monday afternoon, too, when the Shockers received their fifth commitment from Clarence Jackson, a 6-foot-6 versatile forward from Polk State with three years of immediate eligibility.
This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 6:46 AM.
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