‘We have to walk the walk’: Gregg Marshall on WSU’s need for improved chemistry
After more than two decades as a head college basketball coach, there aren’t many firsts left for Gregg Marshall to experience.
But there was one that happened last season at Wichita State, according to the coach: For the first time, Marshall was befuddled over his team’s lack of chemistry. WSU morphed from a team-first mentality that saw the Shockers start 15-1 and climb to No. 16 in the national rankings to a me-first team that lost five of its next seven games — many in ugly fashion.
When the season was abruptly ended by the coronavirus pandemic in March, six players on scholarship, including three underclassmen playing major minutes, decided to transfer from WSU.
In their place, Marshall has restocked the roster with a graduate transfer, three junior-college transfers and three freshmen. In talking with the Wichita media for the first time this offseason, Marshall said Tuesday that the team’s chemistry has improved by all accounts.
“I’ve had multiple players, returners and new guys, say how much different this is and how much better it is,” Marshall said. “But then again, I didn’t see any problems last year at this time.
“So they can talk the talk, but we have to walk the walk this year. We’ve got to support each other, we’ve got to pull for each other. There’s 16 young men on this team and we’ve all got to be pulling in the same direction, whether you start or come off the bench, whether you play 32 minutes or 12 minutes. It’s all about Wichita State being the absolute best that they can be. I love the chemistry so far and I think it will continue.”
Marshall mentioned that a key difference in this year’s team compared to last year is roster makeup.
Last season, the Shockers had 10 underclassmen with only one senior in Jaime Echenique. This season, WSU has seven upperclassmen with two seniors in graduate transfer Alterique Gilbert and Trey Wade. Dexter Dennis, Morris Udeze and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler are all three-year players in the program, something the team also lacked last season.
“They’re great young men but when adversity hits, that’s when you start to figure out what kind of chemistry you’ve got,” Marshall said. “Everybody goes through some type of adversity and we’ll certainly go through our share of adversity. But I like the makeup of our team. We have a little bit better balance and a lot more upperclassmen who have some leadership ability as opposed to just Jaime last year. So hopefully we can continue with the good vibes that we have going on.”
As for practices, Marshall and his coaching staff have been able to work four hours per week with players on the court up until Wednesday when the NCAA will allow teams to increase to eight hours per week. Full practices are slated to begin October 14.
Marshall said he has been pleased with the progression of WSU’s six returners and that the seven newcomers “haven’t disappointed” with their skill level. On Tuesday, the coach was looking forward to extended time with the group on the court starting this week.
“Every year you have to get guys into a new system, a new program with new terminology,” Marshall said. “Ours is not the most complicated in the world, but it’s not the easiest either. So all of this practice time we’re utilizing to the utmost and we’re training these young men.
“They’ve been really good about listening and coming by and talking to us, wanting more. ‘Tell me about this. How can I be better at this?’ These are guys that all want to be great players and they want to win. It’s been really fun teaching them what we want to teach them so far.”
This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 4:04 PM.
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