Wichita State’s basketball newcomers enter new reality
Guard C.J. Keyser lifted weights twice that day and then joined his new Wichita State teammates for pickup basketball at Koch Arena.
Do not look for the highlights on YouTube. A little leg-weary, he was.
“Every shot I shot was an airball,” he said. “Every time I went to the rim Shaq (Morris) or Zach Brown was throwing my shot out of the gym. It was really a ‘Welcome to college, freshman,’ experience.”
Those moments are typical in early June as Wichita State’s five newcomers adjust to college life. Almost everything is harder than at their previous stops. Their teammates are bigger and more mature. Practices are longer and more demanding. So are two-a-day weight-lifting sessions in the basement of Koch Arena. And there’s class.
“It’s definitely a big jump from junior college,” guard Daishon Smith said. “Everything is more fast-paced, more physical. Guys are much smarter.”
Junior transfers Smith and Darral Willis and freshmen Keyser, Austin Reaves and Steven Solomon, a walk-on, are in the second week of their Shocker experience. Reaves is rehabbing his left shoulder after undergoing surgery in March to repair a torn labrum and isn’t expected to be cleared for contact until August. The team returned to WSU in early June for summer classes, small-group workouts, pickup games and conditioning.
The Shockers play a four-game exhibition tour in Canada in August and coach Gregg Marshall has begun using the 10 full practices allowed for teams taking those type of trips.
“You have to be really mentally prepared for this,” Willis said. “Physically, it will wear your body down. You’ve got to find that push inside you and keep going.”
Marshall is taking a cautious approach to evaluating his newcomers so early in the summer.
You go to sleep at night and you wake up and you do it all over again. Maybe one day you get a day off, but you still lift twice that day.”
Shockers freshman C.J. Keyser
“We really don’t have a real good pulse yet,” he said. “But, we have some athleticism and we have some guys who have a chance to help us.”
The adjustment to the new reality is physical and mental — Willis said he lifted twice a week in junior college. The newcomers quickly learn that their gifts of height, strength and quickness are no longer unique. Everybody on the roster is similarly talented.
“You’ve got to lift twice and day and then be mentally ready for practice every day,” Keyser said. “You go to sleep at night and you wake up and you do it all over again. Maybe one day you get a day off, but you still lift twice that day.”
The mental tests come when coaches enforce the level of detail needed to play in the program. Playing defense is no longer just about being stronger and faster than opponents; now it’s about foot angles, mirroring the ball and defending ball-screens. Willis is tackling a defensive technique known as hedging, one of the ways players try to disrupt a guard using a screen to start the offense. Smith is taking instruction on the importance of pressuring the ball, boxing out and keeping dribblers out of the lane.
“It’s very important that you mirror the ball (with your hand) and stay low,” Smith said. “Everything that you’re supposed to do on the defensive end, you’ve got to do right or you will get called out.”
Smith is one of several Shockers trying to prove capable of running the team as point guard. For lessons on proper pace, Smith watches video of former Shocker guard Fred VanVleet, a master of controlling tempo and limiting turnovers.
“I know he got guys in their spots and made the right plays,” Smith said.
Smith is blur of motion in the open court and his speed overwhelmed many junior college opponents. At WSU, he is learning how to throttle back at times. Shockers run sprints as a penalty for turnovers and he is a frequent sprinter.
“I’ve got to learn how to slow things down and wait for guys to get in their spots,” he said. “Before, I looked to attack because I was so athletic and faster than everyone. It was much easier. Now, people are in the right position on defense and really playing hard.”
That is especially challenging when the person in position is someone like Morris, a 6-foot-8, 260-pound center.
“You’re running into a brick wall sometimes,” Keyser said. “When you’re in high school or post-grad, you’re playing with 19-year-olds. Some of the things you do in high school don’t work here. You’ve got to figure out how to push through it.”
Paul Suellentrop: 316-269-6760, @paulsuellentrop
A look at the newcomers
▪ Guard Daishon Smith (6-foot-1) earned All-Panhandle Conference honors for Tallahassee (Fla.) Community College. He 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.
▪ Pearl River (Miss.) Community College forward Darral Willis (6-8) was named to third-team NJCAA All-American, All-Region 23 and All-MACJC South Division. 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.
▪ Guard C.J. Keyser (6-4) of Brewster (N.H.) Academy is listed as a three-star prospect by ESPN.com and 247sports.com. He averaged 10.3 points, 3.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists for Brewster, which went 29-5.
▪ Cedar Ridge (Ark.) guard Austin Reaves (6-4) averaged 32.5 points, 8.8 rebounds and 5.1 assists in leading his team to the Class 3A title. Reaves, who signed with WSU in April, scored 56 or more four times, according to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, with a high of 73 against Forrest City in a 117-115 triple-overtime win in December.
▪ Morgantown (W.V.) guard Steven Solomon averaged around 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists for Morgantown High, which went 27-0 and won the Class 3A title in March. He scored 20 points in the championship game and earned a spot on the All-Class 3A team. Solomon took WSU’s offer of a walk-on spot in May.
This story was originally published June 19, 2016 at 3:49 PM with the headline "Wichita State’s basketball newcomers enter new reality."