March is the time when bonus stars keep Wichita State’s season moving forward (+video)

March is the place for unknown, under-appreciated or underachieving players to grab the spotlight. It’s the other 11 months that prepare them for that moment.

Any NCAA Tournament run will produce an unexpected star, a important bit of bonus production. In Wichita State’s victories over Vanderbilt and Arizona, players such as Rauno Nurger and Markis McDuffie, unknown quantities in NCAA play five days ago, are building a reputation.

Everybody has to start somewhere.

“It’s going to take more than me and Ron to be able to get these wins,” WSU senior Fred VanVleet said. “The last two games, we’ve been able to do that.”

VanVleet started his progress from freshman to star in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. That experience can propel a young player to big things.

“It’s the most fun thing in the world,” he said. “It’s what you put all the hours in the gym for. It’s even more special because there’s not as much expectations. This is the time of year where it can get consistent, you’re just focusing on basketball. It can kind of be the jump start of your career.”

Nurger, a sophomore center from Estonia, leads the way. He didn’t play in WSU’s first five games and planned to redshirt and use the year to get bigger and stronger. Injury concerns pressed him into duty and he largely served as a deep reserve. He played 10 or more minutes four times in Missouri Valley Conference play and before Tuesday’s win over Vanderbilt hadn’t played more than seven since Feb. 9.

On Tuesday, the Shockers needed him when first-half fouls benched starter Shaq Morris and reserve Anton Grady.

He played 17 against Vanderbilt, matching season-highs with six points and three rebounds. His defense helped keep the Shockers even with Vandy 7-footers Luke Kornet and Damian Jones. On Thursday, he played 13 minutes against Arizona’s imposing front-line and again held up well with two rebounds and solid defense.

McDuffie earned MVC Freshman of the Year honors, so production isn’t a surprise. In two NCAA games, he is averaging 8.5 points and 5.5 rebounds, both above his season averages, with four steals.

“It was very intense, very high pressure,” McDuffie said after Tuesday’s win over Vanderbilt. “It ain’t no joke, man. I had the nerves in the beginning. Toward the second half I kind of lost them, drank some water, calmed down. I was able to play my game and stay under control.”

McDuffie has made himself a student of VanVleet and Baker, trying to duplicate their work and success. He is now experiencing some of the success in the NCAA Tournament that defined freshman year for those two.

“They just told, by the time that time comes, all the hard work is going to pay off,” McDuffie said. “You’re going to be used to it by now and you’re just going to be mentally focused for it.”

Sophomore guard Conner Frankamp is continuing his run of NCAA success after an uneven regular season for the Shockers. His development as a scoring and passing threat can spread the defense and give VanVleet and Ron Baker more open shots and help the Shockers maintain when one of them rests.

He is 4 of 9 from three-point range and averaging nine points in the two wins. Those games are reminiscent of his final two for Kansas in the 2014 tournament. He scored 10 against Eastern Kentucky and 12 against Stanford, making 4 of 9 threes in the two games.

The current Shockers are joining a list of players who made crucial contributions in the NCAA Tournament, some more unexpected than others.

▪  In 1964, Larry Nosich scored 18 points in the Shockers’ first 27 games of the season. In the NCAA Tournament opener against Creighton, he scored six straight points in the second half to stop a Creighton run after the Bluejays cut the lead to 57-54. Powered by Nosich’s burst, the Shockers won 84-68 in their first NCAA appearance.

▪  The 1981 Shockers gloried in a star-studded roster with Antoine Carr and Cliff Levingston. Against Kansas in Sweet 16, reserve guard Mike Jones hit two of the biggest shots in program history to give WSU a 66-56 victory in New Orleans. Jones, who averaged 4.5 points that season, scored eight. His first long jumper, with 49 seconds to play, cut KU’s lead to one point. Another, the one immortalized on a poster, gave WSU a 66-65 lead with six seconds to play.

Jones sometimes angered fans with his shot selection. On that night, he chose the right time and place.

“But I never lacked the confidence in shooting,” he said last year. “Anywhere on the court. There was no shot I was afraid to take. I always felt like I could hit it.”

▪  In 2006, under-sized power forward Ryan Martin averaged 5.5 points. He considered himself a better scoring option than that and proved it in the NCAA Tournament.

He scored 10 points in a first-round win over Seton Hall and 10 in a second-round win over second-seeded Tennessee on 5 of 6 shots. His dunk in the final seconds started the Sweet 16 celebration in Greensboro, N.C., site of WSU’s first NCAA wins since 1981.

▪  It’s hard to imagine VanVleet and Baker as unknowns. In 2013, they entered the 2013 tournament with enough potential to thrill fans and coaches, while playing secondary roles to players such as Malcolm Armstead, Cleanthony Early and Carl Hall.

Baker, who missed 21 games with a stress fracture, returned for the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament and scored 15 points in the opener before scoring 14 in the next two games. That hinted at games of 16, on 4 of 6 threes, against No. 1 Gonzaga, 13 against La Salle and 11 against Louisville in the Final Four.

VanVleet, understudy to Armstead most of the season, grew into a more prominent role in March. He joined Baker with a memorable performance against Gonzaga, scoring 13 points and sinking a long three-pointer late in the game for a signature moment. He scored 12 points against Ohio State in the Elite Eight.

▪  Zach Brown endured the typical ups and downs of a freshman in 2014-15, punctuated by missing four games in February with a concussion.

He hadn’t played more than 18 minutes all season until the NCAA Tournament opener against Indiana. Brown scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds, both season highs, in the victory. He backed that up wtih seven points against Kansas two days later.

▪  Evan Wessel, who averaged 4.2 points last season, may top WSU’s list for dramatic contributions in the NCAA Tournament.

After shooting poorly for much of the 2014-15 season, he went 15 for 35 from three-point range over the final 10 games. Nobody could ignore his offense after he made 4 of 6 threes and scored 12 points in a 78-65 win over Kansas.

This story was originally published March 18, 2016 at 2:21 PM with the headline "March is the time when bonus stars keep Wichita State’s season moving forward (+video)."