Dayton notes: Anton Grady, Markis McDuffie make first tourney appearances

Tuesday’s game against Vanderbilt was the first NCAA Tournament appearance for two Shockers who couldn’t have taken more different routes to get here if they tried.

Fifth-year senior Anton Grady, a one-year transfer for Cleveland State, finally got the big payoff he was looking for after coming to Wichita State from a moribund program.

“I wanted this, I wanted to be in this moment with these guys,” said Grady, who had nine points and six rebounds. “And it was everything I always thought it would be and more. I just wanted to come out and embrace what was happening, to make sure I took it all in but also be up to whatever challenge was put in front of me.”

Freshman forward Markis McDuffie, like the four classes of Shocker freshmen before him, got his first taste of the tournament in his first season.

“It was intense,” said McDuffie, who scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds. “It was something I’d thought about for a long time, but once I got out there I wanted to make sure I was focused on what I needed to do, to play good defense and make sure I was hitting the boards.”

McDuffie now gets the added bonus of playing close to home — it’s only a three-hour drive from his hometown of Paterson, N.J., to Providence, R.I., the site of Thursday’s game against Arizona in the South Regional.

The Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Year expects to see some familiar faces on Thursday.

“I’m pretty sure my mom and dad are going to be able to make it to the game,” McDuffie said. “It’s fairly close to where I live so anybody that wants to drive over should be able to.”

What’s the connection? — WSU sophomore forward Shaq Morris started Tuesday’s game, but went missing for almost the entire first half while picking up two fouls in one minute of action. When he came back, he made an immediate impact, both times benefiting from a couple of nifty passes from senior point guard Fred VanVleet, coming open for a layup on one and then coming off a pick-and-roll for a two-handed slam off an alley-oop from VanVleet.

The dunk was particularly interesting — those hookups have become commonplace between the two but, as Morris admitted, there’s hardly any giveaway.

“Yeah, there doesn’t need to be a look or even a glance anymore,” Morris said. “I think we’re just to the point where we see it happening and then it’s there. He’s so good at realizing when I’m coming open, I just had to get on his page and start feeling for those moments just like him.”

Morris finished with four points, three rebounds and one block in nine minutes.

Quick turnaround — The Shockers seemed unconcerned with the quick turnaround between playing in Dayton in a game that ended close to midnight and a 2 a.m. charter flight to Providence waiting.

“We’ll relax tonight on the plane, and tomorrow night we’ll catch up on some sleep and get some good rest,” WSU forward Rashard Kelly said. “I don’t think it’s going to be an issue. We knew the schedule ahead of time so we’re all kind of prepared for what was coming.”

WSU will have an open practice at the Dunkin’ Donuts Center sometime Wednesday, presumably the final practice of the eight teams in the pod, and then media sessions.

But anywhere they can, yeah, rest.

“Just need to get off of our feet,” McDuffie said. “I think at this time of year you’re just ready for whatever, especially coming here first, so we can handle it.”

Start, stop, start, stop — The First Four games at the University of Dayton Arena got off to an unceremonious start as clock troubles halted the game between Florida Gulf Coast and Fairleigh Dickinson.

After the opening tip, the game was stopped after several seconds as the clock stopped moving forward. Play start again … only to stop several seconds later.

After the problem was fixed, clock operators were greeted with a Bronx cheer from the crowd.

This story was originally published March 16, 2016 at 12:28 AM with the headline "Dayton notes: Anton Grady, Markis McDuffie make first tourney appearances."