How Ronnie DeGray flipped the game to keep Wichita State’s basketball season alive
Thriving in the shadows is a place where Ronnie DeGray III has learned to become comfortable.
As others chase points and highlight-reel scores, DeGray focuses on the less glamorous things that matter on a basketball court.
When the calendar flips to March and Wichita State begins playing elimination games, nailing those details make DeGray invaluable, if not underappreciated.
On Wednesday, there was no denying DeGray’s impact in the Shockers’ 88-81 win over Rice in the American Athletic Conference tournament: a season-high in points (15), rebounds (eight) and assists (four) to go along with one steal and one block. And if that wasn’t convincing enough, WSU outscored the Owls by 20 when DeGray was on the floor.
“You have to realize that not everybody is going to be a prime-time scorer,” DeGray said. “You might not be the top scorer, so what else can you do to impact the game without scoring? I’m always thinking about what I can do to impact winning.”
After flipping the momentum of WSU’s opening-round game in Fort Worth, Texas, DeGray will look to once again bring positive energy off the bench as the 12th-seeded Shockers (14-18) look to snap an eight-game losing streak to No. 5 Memphis (22-9) at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in a second-round game broadcast on ESPNU.
There’s no way to quantify the impact he makes with his commitment to boxing out, screening hard, cutting harder and sliding his feet on defense, but DeGray’s work does not go unnoticed by his teammates and coaches.
“We know when it comes to the details and defense, that’s the stuff that wins championships,” WSU point guard Bijan Cortes said. “You need someone who wants to get dirty and really doesn’t care about (his numbers). Ronnie is a very selfless teammate.”
WSU looked out of sorts at the start of Wednesday’s game, but the energy on the floor immediately changed when DeGray entered the game with WSU trailing 19-9. Within six minutes, DeGray was draining a 3-pointer that erased the deficit.
DeGray hit his first three attempts from beyond the arc, then used that to his advantage for the rest of the game. When his defender began closing out harder on the perimeter, DeGray attacked the paint and scored three more baskets in the paint and also had a dump-off pass to Quincy Ballard that went for another score.
He also helped steal some momentum for WSU late in the second half when Rice rebounded a WSU miss, then DeGray came up from behind and stripped the ball loose for a steal. Given a second chance, WSU converted on a Harlond Beverly basket to extend its lead to 78-75 with 4:37 left.
“Ronnie is very astute,” Mills said. “He knows personnel really well and he knows how to make a play. We didn’t know how naturally gifted he was. He just has an inclination to do it, so we had to scheme something into our process to make sure we can take advantage of it.”
That intelligence came through at a critical time for WSU on its game-sealing play it ran that ended with Colby Rogers burying a wide-open 3 in the left corner with 44 seconds left.
The play called for DeGray to set an exit screen for Rogers to dart around, except Rice was switching all screens. If DeGray did what the play called for and screened Rogers’ defender, Rice would have easily switched and blown up the play. But DeGray identified what needed to be done in real time.
“They were switching everything and (Rogers’) man actually pointed to my man to switch, so I just screened my own man,” DeGray said. “He wasn’t really paying attention, so that got Colby a wide-open 3.”
DeGray said he learned the tactic while at Missouri, which employed a switch-everything defense. He had practiced the move for years, so when the situation called for it on Wednesday, DeGray was prepared — and that’s exactly why Mills prefers having him on the floor during crunch time.
“You had to learn how to get open against (switches),” DeGray said. “So screening your own man is the right way to do it.”
Afterward, WSU maintained its tunnel vision for the postseason. When asked if there was any extra motivation playing Memphis, an opponent where WSU wilted twice in the second half this season, Mills and the players both stuck to their approach.
“Memphis is a really good team,” Mills said. “But I think anytime this time of year, especially in March, you’re just excited to play. So we’re excited to play Memphis.”
“I wouldn’t say there’s any extra motivation,” Rogers added. “The motivation is that it’s March and it’s win or go home at this point. I don’t know how much more motivation that you need with everything that’s on the line.”
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