Ronnie DeGray’s return could unlock this crunch-time lineup for Shocker basketball
With little else to do on the basketball court while rehabilitating from a fractured left wrist, Wichita State senior forward Ronnie DeGray III spent countless hours practicing form shooting.
All of that work must have developed some shooter’s touch, which he used every bit of on his first shot attempt back from injury.
DeGray’s 3-point shot from the right corner bounced off the front of the rim, then the back of the rim, then somehow curled into the basket during the second half of Wichita State’s 68-59 win over Charlotte on Tuesday.
“Definitely shooter’s touch,” DeGray said with a smile afterward. “I think it hit every part of the rim, but it was good to see one go in.”
It was good for the Shockers to see DeGray, a 6-foot-6 senior forward, back on the court after missing the last 12 games due to an injury sustained in a Nov. 18 game against Monmouth. He finished with eight points, two blocks and a steal — all coming in the second half — in 17 minutes off the bench.
It’s no secret the Shockers have been a different team without DeGray, their do-everything defensive stalwart. While it is clear he is still working his way back into game shape, DeGray already demonstrated many of the ways he can help WSU going forward with his IQ on the defensive end.
The best example came midway through the second half when DeGray’s headiness saved the Shockers twice on one possession. It began when Charlotte ran a pick-and-roll on the empty side of the floor, which has hurt WSU in recent games because the rotation has been late to prevent the roller from scoring.
This time, however, DeGray was right on time to wall off the roller from the rim and force a pass. And when the kick-out led to the kind of dribble penetration that has routinely collapsed WSU’s defense, DeGray made the instinctual read to come off his man and head off Nik Graves near the free throw line.
Instead of a shot at the rim, Graves had to attempt a heavily-contested floater from 10 feet out that missed.
He also made another good rotation to dislodge a pass to another roller in the second half on top of coming away with a steal and two blocks on Charlotte attempts at the rim.
“He’s going to make up so much defensively on some of our shortcomings,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “He does so many things that don’t ever show up on the stat sheet. Everything he does, it’s about winning. We would not won at Western Kentucky without him and we wouldn’t have beat Northern Iowa without him.”
DeGray actually looked far from his normal self during the 4-minute stint he played in the first half. He was whistled for two fouls, then tripped on defense and gave up an open corner 3 attempt.
But once DeGray checked in with 12:56 remaining in the second half, he never came out of the game. Part of that was due to an ongoing injury with fellow power forward Corey Washington, who is playing through a dislocated shoulder, but part of it was how valuable DeGray is to the team.
DeGray scored a dunk that gave the Shockers a 62-53 lead with 2:27 left.
“I was a little rusty there in the first half,” DeGray said. “The pace was kind of a little fast to get used to, but it was good in the second half to get in a flow again.”
If Washington (shoulder) and DeGray (wrist) can remain healthy together, the duo provides some much-needed lineup flexibility. Not only can they split time together at power forward, but Washington is more than capable of sliding down to small forward and playing extended minutes with DeGray together.
In fact, Mills specifically mentioned the idea of playing Washington and DeGray together with starting center Quincy Ballard for what could be a crunch-time lineup with WSU’s best defenders and rebounders on the court. The trio have only played 17 offensive possessions together this season with almost all of those reps coming down the stretch of the UNI game to help close out the win.
“There will be a time for that, but we’ve got to get Ronnie back more in a flow,” Mills said.
For now, Mills was just grateful to have DeGray back earlier than anticipated.
“I’m just happy for Ronnie. He’s been on that treadmill for the last six weeks,” Mills said. “If you’ve ever been on a treadmill for like an hour a day, it’s probably not very fun. But he showed up every day and always got workouts in, even with his hand hurting. He’s fully invested and he wants it.”
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 7:04 AM.
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