Why Wichita State basketball is focused on the process, not 4-game winning streak
During a 1-7 start to American Athletic Conference play, the Wichita State men’s basketball team was no stranger to come-to-Jesus meetings.
Nothing seemed to click until a player-led gathering just before the road game at Charlotte, during which senior Ronnie DeGray III stood in front of his teammates and vowed to be better.
“I’ll be honest, I had a week of bad practices,” DeGray said. “I told the team that I was sorry and I’m going to get it done. No excuses. I will get it done. Whatever the team needs me to do, I’ll do it.”
A trickle-down effect took place on the team after DeGray publicly took accountability for his mistakes. A lot of feelings and frustrations had been aired in an attempt to mount a turnaround, but when DeGray took ownership of his play, the message resonated with his teammates.
Since then, the Shockers have won four straight games, including an upset of No. 14-ranked Memphis, entering Thursday’s showdown at Florida Atlantic in an 8 p.m. Central Time game that will be broadcast on ESPN2.
“I think we always knew we could win, but when we got on that losing skid, there was some self-doubt in the air,” DeGray said. “We had to refocus and being an older guy on the team, I know I have to lead by example. That’s why I apologized and told the guys that I will get my job done. I think everybody started taking their own ownership and we’ve been getting it done collectively ever since.”
The winning streak also coincides with WSU beginning to embrace an identity: defense and rebounding.
After being torched beyond the 3-point line in the first eight conference games, as opponents averaged 9.4 makes at an absurd 42.1% clip, WSU’s effort and attention to detail has since improved and held the last four opponents to just 6.5 makes per game on 27.4% accuracy.
Meanwhile, WSU is averaging 15.5 offensive rebounds in its last four games and retrieving 36% of its own misses and boarding out at a 73% rate on the defensive end. According to Bart Torvik, WSU ranks as the 16th-best defensive rebounding team and ninth-best offensive rebounding team in the country during its 4-game winning streak.
That’s not a coincidence. At the start of every film session, WSU assistant coach Quincy Acy stands before the players and evaluates each individual’s rebounding prowess. His challenges have brought out the best in DeGray, Corey Washington and Quincy Ballard, who have terrorized opponents on the offensive glass lately.
When asked to describe his mindset on the glass, Washington had a simple answer: “Go get’em. Go sic’em.”
Winning is always better than losing for Mills, but he has made it clear to his team that his goal is not a 4-game winning streak or beating Memphis at home. His goal is for the Shockers to be playing their best brand of basketball in March.
“We need to be process-based because when you’re process-based, you’re going to be results-based,” Mills said. “I know the results so far haven’t been what we wanted, but I can tell you the process has been there every single day. If you start getting that out of line and start thinking one win is better than another, you’re going about it the wrong way.
“It’s just a win. I understand (Memphis) is a really good team, but there is a way you have to play in order to give yourself a chance night in and night out. I’m happy for the win, but nobody is putting any special value on it. If we play well, we can play with people in this league. If we don’t play well, we can get beat by anybody in this league.”
While Mills may refuse to allow the standings to define teams, it is true that WSU is currently in the midst of a 5-game stretch where it is playing the top five teams in the American.
But his mindset has carried over to the players. While they were pleased to win on their home floor, none of the players who spoke to the media after the game were willing to designate the Memphis win — the first win over a top-25 opponent for WSU in four years — as anything other than a normal win.
“We’re not trying to make any statements,” WSU senior Harlond Beverly said. “We’re just trying to string together some good basketball and get some wins and keep (moving up) in the league.”
One of Mills’ favorite phrases is “self-awareness is a heck of a drug” and it appears that his players have finally figured out the power behind it.
Once the players began taking ownership, their effort and quality of play improved in games. The Shockers will certainly need a top-tier effort to win on Thursday, as FAU enters with a 5-game winning streak powered by the second-best offense in the conference.
Help could be on the way for WSU, as Mills said he anticipates senior point guard Justin Hill to be available after missing the last four games with a toe injury.
Regardless on if Hill is available, WSU is well aware of the formula it needs to follow to gut out another victory.
“I took us longer than we wanted to figure things out, but I think we understand that it’s a process,” DeGray said. “We have to take it one game at a time and just try to go 1-0 every day.”
“Ugly wins, clean wins, we’ll take them all,” Washington said. “We’re playing some good basketball right now, but we just have to stay consistent and do our thing.”
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 7:07 AM.
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