Diving into the defensive details that make Dexter Dennis elite for Wichita State
As long as you have a basketball, you can improve an offensive skill like shooting, dribbling or passing.
But how does one work on improving their defense? More specifically, how does one reach the level of defense that Dexter Dennis is playing this season for Wichita State?
That was the question posed to the 6-foot-5 junior after he logged another stellar defensive performance in a career full of them on Wednesday in the Shockers’ 75-67 victory over Tulane at Koch Arena.
“I would say I use three things: it’s film, it’s anticipation and it’s just the will to do it,” Dennis said. “I know it’s not the easiest thing to do. A lot of people don’t really want to do it. But I think it’s fun to take pride in not being scored on.”
Tulane’s leading scorer Jaylen Forbes, averaging 15.5 points, entered the game on a hot streak. The former four-star, top-100 recruit was coming off a career-best, 23-point performance and had scored double-digits in eight straight games.
After playing more than 37 minutes with Dennis as his primary defender, Forbes was held without a field goal for the first time in his Tulane career and finished with a 0-for-13 shooting performance.
Forbes joins the growing list of leading scorers who have struggled against the length, athleticism and strength of Dennis, a list which includes Missouri’s Xavier Pinson, Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham, Houston’s Quentin Grimes, Cincinnati’s Keith Williams and Tulsa’s Brandon Rachal.
“I tell the young guys all the time, ‘Dexter is not shooting a great percentage at the three-point line, but he plays 28-to-30 minutes every game because he does the little things,’” WSU interim coach Isaac Brown said. “He defends at a high level; he rebounds at a high level; and he takes good shots. I hope all of the guys who are not playing the minutes that they want understand it’s not about your scoring.”
After shooting 40% on three-pointers as a freshman and making 39% of his triples in conference play last season, the expectation for Dennis was to once again be around that 40% mark. Instead, he’s been mired in a season-long slump that has dropped his accuracy to 26%.
To illustrate where exactly Dennis has dropped off, his Synergy numbers on catch-and-shoot and unguarded looks explain. Per Synergy, Dennis made 40% of his catch-and-shoot threes on 212 attempts and 46% of his unguarded looks in his first two seasons. This season, Dennis’ shooting has plummeted to 28% on catch-and-shoot chances and 31% on unguarded looks.
Yet, Dennis has remained an integral part of WSU’s 10-4 start this season.
“We wouldn’t be who we are without him,” WSU leading scorer Tyson Etienne said. “And I mean that in many aspects other than him locking people up. He’s a great teammate. He does everything the right way. He’s an elite defender. Every game he’s guarding the other team’s best scorer. For him to have the resume that he does is amazing. I’m thankful he plays like that for us.”
To fully appreciate Dennis as a defender, you have to pay attention to the details. And Dennis showcased just what he is capable of against Tulane on Wednesday.
He is WSU’s best on-ball defender, not only because he has the length, strength and explosiveness to prevent dribble penetration, but also because he is meticulous when it comes to following a scouting report.
Against Tulane, WSU’s coaching staff didn’t want ball handlers using a ball screen to get to the middle of the floor. That’s where WSU feared Tulane could collapse its defense and score easy points, so it was imperative for WSU’s perimeter defenders to “ice” — make sure the ball handler cannot go middle — every ball screen. Executing details like that won’t show up in a box score, but they delight coaches and Dennis was automatic in preventing Tulane from reaching the middle of the floor against him.
“He sets the tone for us,” WSU senior Alterique Gilbert said. “He gets everybody going. He’s very vocal on the court and brings a lot of energy. He’s a workhorse, blue-collar guy who’s not scared to get dirty. He’s very valuable to this team.”
What elevates Dennis even more is his diligence in watching film. He spends hours watching game tape before every matchup, noting the tendencies of the player he’s sure to guard and studying their strengths.
This prep work was evident on Wednesday in one of the game’s earliest possessions. Forbes curled off a screen with Dennis following attached to his hip. As soon as Forbes caught a pass, took a dribble and began to lift his leg to fade away for a jumper, Dennis read every move and was there to block the shot.
Forbes tried his luck on the same possession at the end of the shot clock, this time in isolation. Dennis knew in these situations Forbes, a 38% three-point shooter, wanted to shoot from deep, so he positioned his lead arm directly in Forbes’ shooting pocket. That can be a dangerous move for a defender not quick enough to pull their hand back and get tagged for a silly foul. But Dennis showed tremendous discipline, anticipating Forbes’ shooting motion and immediately flipping his hand up and out of the way as Forbes went into his shooting motion. Not only did Dennis avoid the foul, but he also strongly contested the shot that badly missed.
“If you watch a lot of film on a lot of players like I do, then you know body movement and you know when somebody is about to do this move or that move,” Dennis said. “That comes with film work when you watch players and see what they can do and can’t do. What you do is try to keep them as uncomfortable as much as you can and force them into things that they’re really not comfortable doing. My job is to make it as hard as I can for as long as I can.”
As much as Dennis loves the technical side of defense, he knows sometimes it’s his raw athleticism that provides the jaw-dropping plays that create momentum for his team.
A new weapon in his arsenal this season has been the chase-down block, which he pulled off once again Wednesday. Instead of volleyball spiking the ball off the backboard like he did last game against Central Florida, this time Dennis nearly palmed the ball in the air and pinned it against the backboard.
“Those are life-savers,” Etienne said. “I almost like watching that more than his dunks because we just stopped them from scoring two points and now we probably have a numbers advantage going the other way. Those are highlight reels and those give us energy and give us a boost.”
On these chase downs, Dennis is like a hawk stalking its prey. He has the ball handler in his sights, usually from behind or from the side. And as soon as he detects their lift-off, Dennis is like a state championship high jumper in timing his steps just right so he can explode off of his plant leg to soar above the unsuspecting offensive player and swat their shot away, usually with a vigor that ignites his team.
He’s already notched three chase-down blocks this season.
“You kind of just know when a player is going for the layup when they’re not really looking,” Dennis said. “When they jump off of one leg, they can’t pump-fake or anything. Once they leave the ground, you just go to time it up. Mainly I’m just trying to get more involved on the defensive end. I want to do anything to help my team. So if that means get some blocks, why not?”
Against Tulane, Dennis not only helped WSU with his lock-down defense — his hustle plays helped extend three possessions for WSU. Twice he grabbed an offensive rebound simply because he never quit pursuing the loose ball when others did, which earned him an easy put-back one time. On another play, following a Craig Porter block, Dennis used some hustle and quick-thinking to save the ball from going out of bounds to send the Shockers headed on a fast break the other way.
Dennis is still perplexed waiting for his outside touch to return, although he did make 2 of 5 triples against Tulane, he is content with finding other ways to help WSU keep winning and stay in the conference championship race.
“Anything to help the team, I’m for it,” Dennis said. “It could be anything. It doesn’t have to be a block or a dunk. If it’s anything that helps my team in a positive way, then I’m all about it.”
This story was originally published February 4, 2021 at 5:16 AM.
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