Ricky Council raises Wichita State basketball team’s ceiling, but why off the bench?

No one on the Wichita State men’s basketball team has played better in the three straight wins at Koch Arena that have revived the season than Ricky Council IV.

The 6-foot-6 wing in his second freshman season for the Shockers has been at the peak of efficient scoring, pumping in 62 points in three games on just 26 field-goal attempts. Wichita State would score 150 points per 100 possessions if it scored at Council’s efficiency of 61.5% from the field, 50% on three-pointers and 83.9% from the line during the three-game run.

And yet when the Shockers (12-8, 3-5 AAC) look to continue their momentum and leap-frog UCF (13-8, 5-6 AAC) in the American Athletic Conference standings in Tuesday’s 8 p.m. Central time game broadcast on ESPNU, Council is likely to come off the bench — where he’s been every game in his WSU career when the team is fully healthy.

“Ricky could start anywhere in our conference. He could start for us easily,” WSU coach Isaac Brown said. “But I like the way he impacts our team coming off the bench. It’s like instant offense.”

Some WSU fans have begun to wonder what more Council has to do to earn his way into the starting lineup. Like many young players, Council still has work to do remaining locked in on the defensive end and fulfilling his responsibilities in a team defense. Sometimes he’ll make silly mistakes, like when he stepped out of bounds unforced in the final minute of what became a devastating loss at Tulane.

But for however big that learning curve, it’s becoming undeniable that Council is one of the most talented scorers in the AAC. He’s playing his best basketball against the best competition, upping his scoring average to 13.6 points, two above his season average and the second-best mark on the team.

So why does Brown prefer to still bring Council off the bench?

“I like having my best defensive team on the floor to start games,” Brown explained. “Those guys really defend at a high level. I don’t want teams getting off to a good start. Ricky is going to be in the game when the first horn sounds anyway.”

Even without perhaps its most dynamic scorer in the game to start, WSU has avoided any catastrophes early in conference play. The Shockers have either been locked in a one-possession game or building a sizable lead on the opponent (14-4 start over Tulane, 12-2 start over UCF, 14-6 start over Tulsa, 9-4 start over SMU) by the time Brown makes his first substitution.

While junior forward Joe Pleasant has nowhere near the same statistical impact, with modest averages of 2.8 points and 3.0 rebounds, Brown views the veteran as a superb team defender who has chemistry with WSU’s usual starters in Craig Porter, Tyson Etienne, Dexter Dennis and Morris Udeze.

But starting does not equate to more minutes in Brown’s book. Although Pleasant has started 18 times, he only averages 18.1 minutes per game, seventh-most on the time. In comparison, Council has come off the bench all but four times but still logs 25.3 minutes per game, third-most on the team only behind Etienne and Dennis.

Coaches are fond of saying, ‘It’s not who starts, but who finishes’ and there’s no doubt Council has become a mainstay for the Shockers down the stretch of close games where he has repeatedly carried the offense to secure wins. In fact, he has poured in two-thirds of his 62 points the last three wins at Koch Arena in the final 12 minutes of regulation, an average of 13.7 points. He’s even begun to show improvement on the defensive end, which could lead to even more minutes.

“You can’t feel pressure with it,” Council said. “The more you think about it, the more it’s going to feel like pressure. My teammates believe in me, so I just have to finish.”

Council has helped the Shockers get back to their winning ways at Koch Arena; the next challenge is winning on the road, something WSU hasn’t done since a 60-51 win at Oklahoma State on December 1.

“We learned from what we’ve been going through and now we’re turning it into wisdom and understanding,” Etienne said. “I believe we are making that turn.”

“The one thing we’ve been working on all year is making sure we play a full 40 minutes,” WSU point guard Craig Porter added. “Defense is a big part of how we play. (The SMU game) we put it all out there and I think it’s a big step moving forward.”

The Shockers are one win away from vaulting UCF into sole possession of seventh place in the AAC standings, a step closer to chasing an opening-round bye in the AAC tournament reserved for the top five teams. And there’s still plenty of time left for WSU to make its move with six games remaining on the schedule and up to three road games left to be potentially rescheduled.

If WSU can replicate its effort and intensity level from the SMU game, then a win at UCF, where it has emerged victorious three previous times, is attainable.

“If they keep playing like that, their record is going to be a whole lot different at the end of the year,” SMU coach Tim Jankovich said about the Shockers. “Their talent is good at every position, for gosh sakes. They’re incredibly talented and they have a whole bunch of guys that can make shots and drive the ball and guard tough. You name it, they’ve got all the parts. That’s why they were in the NCAA tournament last year. This team could certainly make a run.”

Wichita State at UCF men’s basketball

Records: WSU 12-8, 3-5 AAC; UCF 13-8, 5-6 AAC

When: 8:02 p.m. Central time Tuesday

Where: Addition Financial Arena (10,000), Orlando, Florida

TV: ESPNU

Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy & Dave Dahl)

KenPom says: UCF 67, WSU 66

Last meeting: 84-79 WSU win at Koch Arena on January 26, 2022

Projected starting lineups

Wichita State Shockers

Coach: Isaac Brown, second season, 28-14

UCF Knights

Coach: Johnny Dawkins, sixth season, 107-68

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

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Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.