Why more of this Shocker player leads to more winning for Wichita State basketball
No one player is solely responsible for the current 5-game winning streak by the Wichita State men’s basketball team.
But it’s not a coincidence the program’s longest winning streak in American Athletic Conference play since 2021 has coincided with Ronnie DeGray III’s promotion to the starting lineup.
The eye test says the Shockers have been a better team this season when DeGray, who missed nearly two months with a fractured wrist, is on the floor and the statistics bear that out. Entering Sunday’s 1 p.m. showdown against Tulane at Koch Arena, WSU is 10-4 with DeGray and 6-6 without him, but that record improves to 8-1 when the senior forward plays at least 20 minutes.
Traditional box score numbers don’t do DeGray’s impact to winning justice, but even they were impressive in perhaps his best performance this season, a 75-68 win at Florida Atlantic: 9 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals.
“Sometimes I don’t even recognize it in real time,” WSU head coach Paul Mills said. “But when you really dive into the film, (DeGray’s impact) is really impressive.”
DeGray’s individual numbers (7.4 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 steals) have been modest during WSU’s winning streak, but his impact has been massive to several critical team statistics.
Consider the following drastic improvement in the eight WSU wins when DeGray has played at least 20 minutes, which includes the last five games, compared to WSU’s averages in the other 15 games.
- WSU is averaging 15.8 second-chance points, up from 9.9 per game, and 14 offensive rebounds, up from 10.1 per game.
- WSU is retrieving 38% of its own misses, which would rank 10th nationally for the season, and is a stark improvement over the 28.9% rate in other games, which would rank 213th nationally.
- WSU is boarding out at a 75.7% rate on the defensive end, which would rank No. 7 nationally for the season, and is a major improvement over the 69.4% rate in other games, which would rank No. 224.
- WSU is scoring 1.11 points per possession, up from a 1.03 PPP mark, and holding opponents to 1.01 points per possession, down from a 1.06 PPP mark.
In other words, more DeGray has elevated WSU from an average rebounding team to an elite one, which in turn has made the Shockers a better overall team. Not to mention his veteran leadership, which has seemingly spurred the turnaround, and savvy defense that plugs a lot of gaps for the team.
“Ronnie’s value won’t ever show up in the stat sheet, but it will show up in the win column,” Mills said earlier this season. “He’s a guy who can guard 1 through 5. He can stay in front of guys out front, then he’s physical enough to cause problems with interior guys and his ability to fly around, given his size, is pretty impressive. Ronnie is disruptive and his ability to cover up people’s mistakes cannot be underestimated and the guys on our team realize that.”
While FAU head coach John Jakus didn’t specifically mention DeGray by name, he did shower the Shockers with praise for their rebounding efforts after they were plus-eight on the glass in Boca Raton. DeGray secured six of WSU’s 10 offensive rebounds.
“It’s obviously a big, concerted effort (for WSU),” Jakus said. “Paul does a great job with that. That’s part of what we did at Baylor. We were always top-10 in offensive rebounding and you can see that in their team (at WSU).”
As WSU has shifted to a more deliberate offense with play calls from the sideline nearly every time down, the shot quality and efficiency has improved for the team. But another major factor to the turnaround has been the amount of second chances the Shockers generate, thanks to their trio of “crashers” in DeGray, Corey Washington and Quincy Ballard.
DeGray’s six offensive rebounds helped WSU score seven second-chance points against the Owls on Thursday. The Shockers (16-10, 6-7 AAC) will be looking for that level of production to continue in Sunday’s game against a Tulane (15-11, 9-4 AAC) team whose biggest kryponite appears to be rebounding. The Green Wave rank 10th in conference play in keeping opponents off the glass, which is WSU’s biggest strength.
“We tell the guys all the time that we don’t expect you to win every fight (on the glass),” Mills said. “But we do expect you to fight every fight. You don’t know how this 50-50 ball is going to go or how this rebound is going to bounce, but not being engaged is not an option.”
Wichita State vs. Tulane basketball preview
Records: Tulane 15-11, 9-4 AAC; WSU 16-10, 6-7 AAC
When: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Koch Arena (10,506), Wichita
How to watch: ESPN+ (Shane Dennis with Bob Hull)
Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM (Mike Kennedy with Dave Dahl)
Series history: WSU leads 7-5 (4-2 in Wichita)
Betting line: No odds yet
KenPom says: WSU 75, Tulane 70
This story was originally published February 22, 2025 at 6:04 AM.
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