Wichita State transfer Joe Pleasant ‘ready for the challenge’ of AAC basketball
When it became evident the Wichita State men’s basketball team was going to have to replace its starting power forward, head coach Isaac Brown had a checklist when he began recruiting.
He wanted a college basketball veteran, someone who could help the Shockers right away in their quest to repeat as American Athletic Conference champions. The job requirement also called for a plus rebounder with the ability to stretch defenses by making shots on the perimeter.
Insert Joe Pleasant, a 6-foot-8 junior transfer to WSU from Abilene Christian who has played in two NCAA Tournaments, has a reputation as a plus offensive rebounder and has made 42% of his three-pointers the last two seasons.
“Joe is someone we feel like is going to be a matchup problem for defenses,” Brown said. “He can make stationary threes. He can post up. He can rebound. He’s just a good basketball player. And he’s got a lot of experience, which is what we needed, a veteran guy coming in like that.”
With AAC Co-Player of the Year Tyson Etienne flanked by reliable veterans in Dexter Dennis and Morris Udeze, plus the ascending Ricky Council IV, WSU’s team makeup did not call for a superstar at power forward.
Pleasant averaged 10.5 points and 5.5 rebounds for a successful ACU team last season and it will be considered a victory if he can come close to replicating those numbers at WSU.
The obvious challenge for Pleasant will be to prove himself all over again at a higher level playing in the American. While watching game film on Pleasant, Brown believed many of Pleasant’s talents would translate well for the Shockers, particularly his catch-and-shoot ability — he made 42.1% on 76 such attempts the last two seasons at ACU. Pleasant only attempted 1.5 threes per game last season, but he made them count by shooting at such a high clip (46.5%).
“The bottom line when I was trying to project Joe (at this level) was if you can make stationary shots, it doesn’t matter who you are playing,” Brown said. “And (Abilene Christian) played some pretty good competition. They played Arkansas and Texas Tech and then beat Texas in the NCAA Tournament and when he played against those teams, he was able to compete against those guys. I don’t think it will be hard for him to transition to the American because he’s seen this level before. He’s been to two NCAA Tournaments.”
While Pleasant has been an above-average starter for ACU in the Southland Conference, only 10 of his 50 games the last two seasons have come against top-100 teams as rated by KenPom.
He knows there will be questions, especially on the defensive end, about if he can hang with that type of competition regularly with the Shockers.
“I feel like in (the Southland) there were a lot of stretch fours, so I think I’m ready for the challenge,” Pleasant said. “I know there’s going to be bigger and much more athletic guys at this level, but I think I’ve played people of that caliber before and held my own. I’m excited to play against teams like that on a consistent basis now and see where I’m at compared to them.”
So far in summer workouts, teammates have been impressed by how solid Pleasant is in every facet of his game.
On offense, he knows how to space the floor, make the right pass and capitalize on mismatches, either taking bigger defenders to the perimeter or smaller defenders to the low post. On defense, Pleasant is an excellent communicator, understands team concepts and can hold his own defending down low or on the perimeter.
He has the intangibles of a winning basketball player. It’s not a coincidence that Pleasant’s team has always won, dating back to his high school days at Blue Valley Northwest, where he won three state championships at Koch Arena. In three years at Abilene Christian, the team has a combined 71-23 record and played in the NCAA Tournament in 2019 and 2021.
“I think I can bring a lot of different things to the team,” Pleasant said. “I bring a little bit of shooting to play the four and a lot of toughness to the position. I’m willing to put in the work. I want to win and play hard. Winning is just ingrained in me. I’m going to do everything I possibly can on the court to try to help my team win. I’m excited to take this next step in my basketball journey and grow as a person and as a player.”
Regardless of if Pleasant ends up starting for the Shockers — he’ll have to hold off the energetic Monzy Jackson — he is certain to be a key rotation player for the team this season.
The hope for Pleasant is that he’ll be able to do many of the defensive and rebounding details that made Trey Wade an effective starting power forward for WSU the last two seasons, while adding a little more offensive pop.
Pleasant was an effective post-up option for Abilene Christian and WSU believes he can continue doing damage in the post if he picks his spots when defenses try to put wings on him.
But where Pleasant could upgrade WSU’s offense the most is if he can consistently knock down open catch-and-shoot attempts, something that Wade, who shot 31.1% last season on such looks, struggled to provide.
“I feel like I’m capable of doing that because I’m putting time in the gym,” Pleasant said. “What you do in the dark will be shown in the light. As long as I continue to stay in the gym, then the results are going to show at the end of the day. You’ve just got to put the work in.”
This story was originally published August 11, 2021 at 7:00 AM.
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