Signal time: WSU’s Shaq Morris works to earn Marshall’s trust for more playing time

Wichita State’s Shaq Morris wants to be the master of his own destiny when it comes to exiting the court.

To do so, Morris must prove to coach Gregg Marshall that he can play hard for longer stretches and avoid foul trouble. On Wednesday at Northern Iowa, Morris lobbied to stay in the game when, as usual, Marshall pulled him after less than three minutes. The Shockers, like many teams, use a hand signal, holding a fist up, to signal coaches for a sub.

“I’ve been feeling great,” Morris said. “At first, we had a deal that, two minutes and I get to come out. Now, I’m like ‘Coach, let me give you the fist … show you I’m in better shape and I can be out here and be effective.’”

Morris, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound sophomore, showed he could be effective on Wednesday. He played 20 minutes for the first time since November and scored 10 points with four rebounds and two blocks. Early in the game, he dove on the floor for a loose ball. Late in the game, he hustled to get position in the lane and drew the fifth foul on Panthers center Bennett Koch.

“I was very pleased with his focus,” Marshall said. “I told him after the game that I really liked his mental and physical approach.”

WSU (13-5, 7-0 Missouri Valley Conference) plays Bradley (3-17, 1-6) on Saturday at Koch Arena. Morris will start. Marshall will likely take him out around two minutes later, although he might have earned a longer leash.

Players such as Ron Baker can tell Marshall when they’re getting tired by raising a fist. Efforts such as Wednesday’s are pushing Morris a little closer to that status with Marshall.

“He’s getting there,” Marshall said. “He’s not gotten to the point where’s he’s going to dictate his in and out of the game. He still allows fatigue to hurt him. He gives into it. Fatigue sets in and something bad happens.”

Morris has started 12 games and averages 6.2 points and 3.1 rebounds, making 57.3 percent of his shots. He is WSU’s best scorer around the rim and leads the team with 12 blocks, all in an average of 14.2 minutes.

On Friday, Marshall asked Morris if he could go another minute or so. If he can, Marshall will experiment with those longer times. When Morris tires, he leans on opposing players, reaches and gets caught out of position. Marshall likes to get him out before he jogs down the floor or lets a rebound bounce away.

“I think I’m keeping him out of foul trouble,” Marshall said. “His fouls come when he’s fatigued. When he’s fresh, he’s as good as we’ve had around here.”

Morris knows how it works. If he continues to play as well as he did at Northern Iowa, he will earn more trust from Marshall.

“I trust him,” Morris said. “Whatever he feels comfortable with.”

Morris showed off his power around the basket with two dunks in the first half, both off passes from guard Fred VanVleet for demoralizing baskets as the shot clock ticked away.

“I just wanted to finish and be explosive for him,” Morris said. “Because I know that’s what he would want me to do. When the clock goes down you know he’s going to make the right decision and that’s a comfort for all of us.”

VanVleet said Morris continues to practice harder and improve his endurance.

“He’s been coming,” VanVleet said. “He’s been building. He’s still got a long way to go. but, man, he was pretty good (Wednesday).”

Those word are often recited regarding Morris in his two seasons. Wednesday’s performance was one indication of what he is capable of producing. On Saturday, he will attempt to add a few more minutes to that production.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Signal time: WSU’s Shaq Morris works to earn Marshall’s trust for more playing time."