WSU notes: Eye test, reputation work, proving that prestige isn’t limited to power conferences

Wichita State’s progress as a basketball program is such that factors formerly reviled now work in favor of the Shockers.

The “eye test” isn’t just for the power conferences. If the Shockers are in the NCAA Tournament, it will represent a triumph of on-court skill and toughness over strength of schedule, quality wins and RPI.

The committee isn’t supposed to consider reputation or past performance. Without the 2013 Final Four, the No. 1 seed in 2014 and last season’s Sweet 16, Wichita State might not be in the conversation.

The name on the jersey works pretty well for the Shockers in 2016, a reflection of their frequency and manner of victory in recent seasons, even if that’s not supposed to count this March.

“(The RPI) can’t immediately recognize that Wichita State is good at basketball and realize that that is the only real argument that matters,” wrote Eamon Brennan of ESPN.com. “We can. So can the committee. Whether it does — or whether it remains blindly devoted to a piece of paper, and the quirky metric that defines what that piece of paper says — remains to be seen. For now, at least, know this: The Shockers are good. They should be in. It doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that.”

As long as the Shockers are coached by Gregg Marshall and suit up Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet, people, given the slightest reason, will believe with considerable justification that WSU is one of the nation’s top teams. On Sunday, either by inclusion, exclusion or seeding, we find out how strongly they believe.

“It’s an unusual situation for many reasons,” Marshall said. “That’s why I say you have to watch our team. Even on a night when we don’t shoot the ball well, like (Northern Iowa), we compete. Some people have a better eye for basketball talent, from a team perspective.”

If you play for the Shockers, you’ve experienced so much NCAA success that there is no other conclusion. No matter what the resume looks like, WSU belongs.

“It’s pretty evident we’re one of the most experienced teams,” Baker said. “We’ve been to the Final Four. We’ve made deep NCAA runs together. If you’re going off the eye test, I hope that’s something they look at. That’s the reason I’m optimistic we’ll make it.”

WSU’s case isn’t solely based on reputation. It is also based on a 23-5 record with a healthy (or mostly healthy) VanVleet, a No. 11 national ranking by Ken Pomeroy, a dominating win over Utah and a 22-4 record since Dec. 1, two of those losses in overtime.

“In the end, if you see teams that are better and had to deal with what we had to deal with, maybe they select them,” Marshall said. “I think that at the end of the day, we’re a team that not only can be in the NCAA Tournament, but … win games in the NCAA Tournament.”

Waiting game — The Shockers will watch Sunday’s NCAA show in private after a practice.

In between, the torture of uncertainty. Senior Evan Wessel has been through it four previous seasons and chooses to try to ignore social media and bracket projections.

“I try to focus on getting better,” he said. “All I can do is work to get better. Even when we were guaranteed to get in, those brackets aren’t right, hardly ever. Sunday, obviously, there will be a little more anticipation, a little more listening to the talk.”

The Shockers returned to practice on Tuesday, usually short workouts of no more than two hours, and took Saturday off. The number of Shockers in the gym shooting at odd hours and after practice was noticeable, even for a team where extra work is common. After the Shockers missed 43 of 63 shots in their previous game, many felt the need to shoot and shoot some more.

“We want to go to the NCAA Tournament and show everybody what we’ve got, that we can play a lot better than we have lately,” sophomore Rauno Nurger said.

Transfer time — Wichita State’s junior college recruits ended 2015-16 short of qualifying for the NJCAA Tournament in Hutchinson.

Guard Daishon Smith earned All-Panhandle Conference honors for Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College. Smith had 15 points, nine rebounds and six assists in an 81-76 loss to Northwest Florida State College in the region title game.

Smith (6-foot-1) averaged 16.2 points, making 41.7 percent of his shots and 37 percent of his threes, for Tallahassee (21-12). He averaged 5.4 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.3 turnovers.

Darral Willis’ Pearl River (Miss.) Community College team lost on a buzzer-beater in the region quarterfinals. Willis scored 17 points in the 68-66 loss to Southern-Shreveport.

Willis, a 6-8 forward, was named to the All-Region 23 and All-MACJC South Division teams. He averaged 18.4 points and 10.4 rebounds for the Wildcats (16-9), making 59 percent of his shots and 75.3 percent of his free throws.

WSU also signed guard C.J. Keyser of Brewster (N.H.) Academy in November and has a non-binding commitment from Cedar Ridge (Ark.) guard Austin Reaves.

Reaves (6-5) scored 43 points with six rebounds and four assists in Saturday’s 75-60 win over Charleston in the Class 3A title game. He entered the game averaging 33 points, 11 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Reaves, who plans to sign with WSU when the signing period begins on April 13, scored 56 or more four times, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with a high 73 against Forrest City in a 117-115 triple-overtime win in December.

It is Reaves’ third state title.

Worth noting — Marshall’s dinner and auction is May 7 at Koch Arena. Tickets are $75. His golf tournament is May 16 at Wichita Country Club with a cost of $425 per player or $1,500 for a team of four. Call (316) 978-5499 for information.… Wichita State’s men’s golf team will hold its fund-raising tournament on April 11 at Willowbend Golf Club. Cost per player for the four-person scramble is $150. For information call (316) 978-3362.… Tickets and travel packages for the Battle 4 Atlantis men’s basketball tournament are on sale at atlantisbahamas.com or by calling (888) 877-7525. Dates are Nov. 23-25 in the Bahamas. The field includes WSU, Michigan State, Louisville, Baylor, LSU, VCU, Saint John’s and Old Dominion.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 4:48 PM with the headline "WSU notes: Eye test, reputation work, proving that prestige isn’t limited to power conferences."