How Wichita State won basketball recruiting battle for Mizzou transfer Ronnie DeGray III
Modern basketball has become an increasingly positionless game and it’s a trend that new Wichita State men’s basketball coach Paul Mills appears to be embracing on the recruiting trail.
A good example is the newest Shocker, Ronnie DeGray III, a 6-foot-6 tweener who committed to WSU on Tuesday from the transfer portal after spending the last two seasons at Missouri.
Will he play small forward or power forward for the Shockers? In his recruiting pitch, Mills didn’t define a position, DeGray said, rather he detailed the different ways DeGray would be employed within the WSU offense to exploit mismatches.
“When coach Mills told me how he wants to use me, it wasn’t really limited to being a wing or being a forward,” DeGray said. “There’s a lot of things he wants me to do. Ultimately, it’s kind of like a big guard role where I can exploit mismatches and he had a lot of different actions he wanted to put me in.”
Based on the current roster construction, it’s easy to project DeGray will play the majority of his minutes at power forward with redshirt sophomore Isaac Abidde, who only has 171 minutes of Division I experience under his belt, the only other player at that position. But it’s fair to expect DeGray to do a lot of different duties in that role — spotting up in the corner, cutting in the paint, screening to pop and also screening to force switches and post up small defenders on the block.
DeGray was an important role player for Missouri during the 2021-22 season, averaging 8.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 steals and 0.7 blocks in 25.3 minutes while shooting 44.7% from the field, 28.4% on three-pointers and 76.2% on free throws. He doesn’t have the size to be a strong finisher at the rim or the shooting to be an elite floor-stretcher, but DeGray is more than capable of being effective at both ends. He’s active on the offensive glass and has a knack for cutting and applying pressure on the rim, which leads to a lot of fouls and a lot of free throws.
Even without a dangerous outside shot (he’s a career 30.8% three-point shooter), DeGray has always been extremely efficient on offense.
He was one of three players to remain on the Mizzou roster following the coaching change from Cuonzo Martin to Dennis Gates. DeGray started eight games for the Tigers, but fell out of the rotation under a new head coach and averaged just 2.1 points and 1.8 rebounds in 9.8 minutes before a knee injury forced him to miss the final 16 games of the season. DeGray said he is already recovered from the knee injury and is 100% healthy.
An increase in playing time is sure to be on the horizon for DeGray in Wichita, as Mills tries to retool WSU’s roster through the transfer portal. WSU’s 2023 recruiting class also includes transfers in senior center Jacob Germany (Texas-San Antonio), junior wing Harlond Beverly (Miami) and junior point guard Bijan Cortes (Oklahoma). WSU has three open scholarships for the 2023-24 roster with the possibility still on the table of junior center Kenny Pohto, who remains in the transfer portal, to potentially return to WSU.
“It’s super exciting because an opportunity to play is all that I can ask for,” DeGray said. “I would describe myself as a versatile player who can guard the one through the five. I can take bigger guys off the dribble, then post up smaller guys and hit outside jumpers. I feel like I have an all-around game and I can handle it and pass it too.”
Whether DeGray will be available to the Shockers immediately remains a question, however. With the NCAA attempting to crack down on second-time transfers, DeGray will need to apply for a waiver from the NCAA because he has already transferred before — joining Missouri from Massachusetts after the 2020-21 season.
DeGray did not specify the type of waiver WSU will be submitting to the NCAA, but added “I believe I will be able to play right away.” According to a source in the program, the staff believes he has “legitimate” reasons to receive a waiver and WSU has already begun the process to file the necessary paperwork.
One of two ways to still receive a waiver from the NCAA includes “a demonstrated physical injury that necessitated the student’s transfer” that will require WSU to file supporting documentation, care plans and proximity of DeGray’s support system to the NCAA for review.
The fit with Mills and his staff, which includes former Mizzou assistant Chris Hollender, who coached DeGray in the 2021-22 season, was the primary reason why the Parker, Colo. native picked the Shockers over Colorado and SMU in the recruiting process.
“Of course I have that relationship with coach Hollender, which really just helps with everything, but I also really like the whole coaching staff,” DeGray said. “Coach Mills is just a really good person. He cares about his players. What was really cool to me was to see how many players he’s coached who weren’t highly-ranked guys and he turned them into pros. He knows how to develop players and take their games to the next level.
“And then Wichita is just a basketball town. Everyone there loves basketball and I think that support is going to mean a lot to me and what really sold me on wanting to become a Wichita State Shocker.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2023 at 6:00 AM.
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