Bob Lutz: Conner Frankamp’s time is now — or Saturday, we’re not sure

For months, we’ve had Dec. 12 circled on our calendars for Conner Frankamp’s debut as a Wichita State basketball player.

Scratch that. Maybe.

Frankamp, a 6-foot-1 guard who transferred from Kansas last December after things didn’t go as planned in Lawrence, could be in the mix for Wednesday night’s game against UNLV at Koch Arena. That’s if his grades can be turned in, verified and posted before the 8 p.m. tip.

If Frankamp is on the floor for pregame warmups, it’ll be a good sign. If he’s not, his debut likely will be delayed until Saturday — all along we thought that was the target — when the Shockers meet No. 25 Utah at Intrust Bank Arena.

Now that the UNLV game is a possibility, does anyone really think Frankamp won’t get on the floor?

Yet WSU coach Gregg Marshall insists he and others in the athletic department are waiting to see if Frankamp is cleared to play. The anticipation is great, kind of like a Hitchcock movie.

So while there is a shadow of a doubt as to whether Frankamp will play against the Runnin’ Rebels, my suspicion is that he will.

And while Frankamp, a redshirt sophomore, might have some stage fright, I expect he’ll leave Shocker fans spellbound by his ability so shoot.

“He’s been practicing all fall, he’s ready to go,” Marshall said Tuesday.

Marshall expects Frankamp to play right away. Maybe a lot.

“Whatever the game dictates,” is how he put it. “He’s one of our top eight players, for sure. And I’m not going to speculate any further than that or put any undue expectations on him. I’m sure there’s enough going on in his mind and going on in everyone’s mind about what kind of impact he’s going to make.”

Frankamp brings marksmanship to the Shockers. He’s the City League’s career scoring leader from his days at North and there’s no range too deep.

“He’s talented enough and has shown enough in practice that there’s no question he’s going to play and he’s going to play quite a bit,” Marshall said. “But, then, who’s going to sit? With a mid-year transfer, there’s a lot of issues that you need to resolve. It would be one thing if we were 7-0, but I think it’s going to be a little easier at 3-4 to plug a guy in.”

The Shockers shot 48.1 percent during a 68-53 win at Saint Louis on Saturday, but are still below 40 percent — 39.2 — for the season. And they’re making only 31 percent of their three-point attempts.

Part of the reason is the hamstring injury that has kept Fred VanVleet out of games or limited since early on. Part of it is that the Shockers have struggled to get open shots from three-point range.

Frankamp’s presence should make life easier for everyone on the floor because of his ability to engage defenders.

“You’ve gotta guard him,” Marshall said. “He’s pretty creative with the ball. He can create his own shot and he can get shots for others. He’s similar to VanVleet but probably not the consummate point guard that Fred is. But on the other hand, Conner can score it better than Fred with pull-ups, floaters and creative ways to score the basketball.”

There were these same kinds of high expectations for Frankamp at Kansas. But in spurts of playing time, he struggled to find consistency with his shooting. It was strange to watch because if there’s one thing Frankamp isn’t supposed to struggle with, it’s shooting.

He finally seemed to find himself late in the 2013-14 season, but announced before the start of the 2014-15 season that he was leaving Kansas and, later, that he was transferring to Wichita State.

That announcement created a division within the Shocker fan base between those who welcomed home a City League icon with open arms and those who wanted nothing to do with a KU castoff.

But Frankamp will quickly win over every Shocker fan the way he has won over his coaches and teammates.

“He’s going to help us out a lot,” senior guard Ron Baker said. “Anytime you can have someone who is a threat like Conner, it puts pressure on defenses in ways people don’t realize.”

OK, so what about defense?

Is Frankamp strong enough and athletic enough to defend the way Marshall demands?

“Well, he’s no Stacey Augmon,” Marshall said of the former UNLV forward and current Rebels assistant coach. “But he’s doing fine. He’s pretty good, above average.”

Frankamp hasn’t played in a game since March 23, 2014, when he nearly led KU back from a late deficit in an NCAA tournament third-round game against Stanford.

Frankamp hit a three-pointer with 28.5 seconds left and another with 14.9 remaining to get KU to within two points. But his three-point attempt with one second left missed and Stanford escaped with a 60-57 win.

Frankamp has that kind of stuff in him. It’ll be up to Marshall to draw it out. I sense a happy marriage about to happen. Stay tuned as to when.

This story was originally published December 8, 2015 at 3:52 PM with the headline "Bob Lutz: Conner Frankamp’s time is now — or Saturday, we’re not sure."