‘A new aura’: How Isaac Brown has guided WSU basketball through adversity to success
Strip away the off-season drama and the COVID-19 pauses and Wichita State’s 8-3 start to the men’s basketball season isn’t a surprise to those within the program.
The Shockers always expected to be good, even better than where last season’s team ended on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament.
But that was before the program’s winningest coach resigned less than two weeks before the first game. And before positive COVID-19 cases and contact tracing wreaked havoc on WSU’s start to the season, leaving the team unable to practice 5-on-5 for weeks and undermanned for two of its early losses.
That’s what makes the job done by interim coach Isaac Brown and the WSU staff even more impressive.
“(Brown has) done a great job of staying true to us and believing in us, even when stuff might not be going the best way in the game,” WSU sophomore Tyson Etienne said. “He never gives up on us and continues to give us positive reinforcement. I think that’s something that is huge, especially with so many new guys and young guys. We need to know our coach is rocking with us and all of our coaches have done a great job with that.”
The Shockers, picked seventh in the preseason American Athletic Conference coaches poll, have played five AAC games so far — all against teams picked to finish ahead of them. WSU is now 4-1 — its only blemish a road loss to No. 11 Houston in a game where it led by 10 points in the second half — and a half-game back from first place following Wednesday’s 72-53 victory over Tulsa at Koch Arena.
Another notable mark is WSU’s 3-1 road record, despite being a betting underdog in all four games.
“(Brown) has given us a new aura,” WSU junior Morris Udeze said after scoring a career-high 20 points against Tulsa. “A whole new swag where we just don’t want to lose. We’re just trying to ride for our coach.”
Brown says his approach hasn’t changed now that he’s in charge. And he says he’s tried to keep WSU’s practices mostly the same, doing the same drills and focused on the same things as when the Shockers were going to the NCAA Tournament every year.
While Brown might not have changed since being promoted from assistant coach, his greatest success so far has been winning over his locker room.
“They play hard for him, which tells me all that I need to know about their relationship with Isaac Brown,” Houston coach Kelvin Sampson said.
That’s because players genuinely like Brown and respect him. When asked about the topic, Etienne laughed when recalling his official recruiting visit to WSU. He had never talked with Brown before, but Etienne and his mother instantly hit it off with the assistant coach on the visit.
“When I met him, it felt like I knew him already,” Etienne said. “Me and my mom joked that he must have been a distant cousin to one of us.”
Brown has that ability with almost everyone. He puts you at ease, which translates to how his players play for him on the basketball court. Under Brown, WSU’s offense has become more free-flowing with fewer set plays and a few more early shots.
Brown doesn’t do much yelling or screaming, but his words hold weight. And he has always had a knack for knowing how to deliver a message to get his point across to players.
“The number one thing we talk about in our locker room is energy,” Brown said. “When you play with a lot of energy, it just makes things a lot easier for you on the basketball court. You tend to defend at a high level, you tend to rebound at a high level and you just make shots because of your energy level.”
WSU’s strong start under Brown is starting to gain the Shockers national attention, as some fans are already calling for WSU athletic director Darron Boatright to remove the interim tag and make Brown the team’s full-time head coach.
While flattered, Brown said he hasn’t given that notion much thought.
“I get asked that question a lot,” Brown said. “My main focus is having these guys organized, trying to win games and giving them 110% every day.”
Another notable difference this season has been the improvement of WSU’s team chemistry. Etienne offered insight into how the locker room is different now.
“Not to knock my team from last year because we also had energetic moments in the locker room too,” Etienne said. “But I feel like this team is a lot more of a family. All of us are truly there for each other and want to see each other win on and off the court. It doesn’t just come down if you’re scoring or not, everybody is there for each other in all aspects of life and that’s a special thing.”
With a season sweep over Tulsa and a road win over South Florida in the bank, WSU has positioned itself favorably to compete for a championship. But WSU is only a quarter of the way through its conference slate and if this season has proven anything, it’s that a positive test and contact tracing can alter a team’s outlook in an instant.
The goal remains the same for WSU.
“To be honest, we knew we had a great team this summer,” WSU senior point guard Alterique Gilbert said. “We’re just here to compete. We’ve got a great chance of winning the conference, but only time will tell with that. We’ll control what we can control and that’s getting better each and every day.”
More importantly, WSU believes it can win. And that wasn’t always a given in this scenario with so many obstacles to this season.
“You got to have swagger and believe that you’re the one,” Etienne said. “That’s not saying you’re better than no man, but you’re no less than anybody. And you need to believe that. Our coaches have instilled it in us and we instill that in each other. To have that swagger, to have that strut when you walk, to know that you belong on the floor too is a special thing. I don’t personally think you can win at anything if you don’t have that.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2021 at 10:25 AM.
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