Gregg Marshall right guy to figure out this next set of Shockers

Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet have left the building and Wichita State basketball fans are a little nervous.

Shouldn’t they be? Baker and VanVleet are icons who helped the Shockers reach unimaginable heights.

But if there’s comfort to be had — and there most definitely is — it’s because Gregg Marshall is still the Shockers’ coach. He’s starting his 10th season at WSU. And as long as he’s manning the store, wins will not be in short supply.

Players come and go by design. But coaches sometimes stay longer than anyone expects them to stay. Sometimes, a coach finds the perfect fit in a place that leaves outsiders scratching their heads.

So as the Shockers prepare for a four-game summer excursion to Canada to start to determine how the post-Baker/VanVleet era looks, Marshall is still their captain.

No single player — or two players — are bigger than a program. And under Marshall’s leadership, it’s the program that matters. It’s not about replacing Baker and VanVleet, it’s about helping Conner Frankamp, Shaq Morris, Zach Brown, Landry Shamet, Rashard Kelly, Rauno Nurger, Eric Hamilton, Markis McDuiffie — the list goes on and on — get as close as they can to being the next Baker or VanVleet.

It’s about acclimating new players Daishon Smith, Darral Willis, C.J. Keyser, Peyton Allen and Austin Reaves to the way things are done around Shocker basketball. And almost without fail, that’s where Marshall succeeds.

He lays down the law, players almost always abide and get better, and exciting things happen in March.

None of this means the 2016-17 season is guaranteed to be a breeze or that the Shockers can just show their ID’s and get an invitation to the NCAA Tournament.

Anyway, Marshall doesn’t operate that way. “Breezy” isn’t a word I would use to describe his coaching technique and nothing about him indicates he’s even close to being ready to rest on laurels.

Just the opposite.

In the wake of losing Baker and VanVleet to graduation — and perhaps even to the NBA — I expect Marshall to be more demanding than ever. He was able to sit back perhaps just a little because Baker, VanVleet and fellow departee Evan Wessel had so much experience.

The 2016-17 team is going to be a little short on experience. Who steps up to fill the leadership void? Which players are poised to become the next Shocker stars?

It’s good that Marshall and his coaching staff can get their eyeballs on this team earlier than normal because of the questions surrounding the Shockers. None or dire; all can be answered. But this is one of those years that does foster some intrigue.

Will Morris become more than a talented but foul-prone big man? Can he give Wichita State 25 to 28 minutes rather than 15-18?

Can Brown and Kelly live up to their potential. Both have had moments, but neither has been able to crash through the door to become part of the Shockers’ foundation?

How far can Frankamp, Shamet, Smith, Keyser, Allen and Reaves go toward filling the crater created by the departures of Baker and VanVleet? Who steadies the team at point guard? Who takes — and more importantly makes — the big shots?

Can Nurger, Kelly, Willis and Hamilton help Morris fortify the frontcourt?

Marshall has shown to be a particularly effective coach when his teams are the deepest. And this Wichita State team looks like one of his deepest yet. One of the things he’s looking forward to most about the Canada trip is to be able to mix and match lineups and players and see who looks best and most comfortable in particular positions.

Marshall compared losing Baker and VanVleet to former WSU coaches Ralph Miller, Gary Thompson and Gene Smithson losing Cleo Littleton, Dave Stallworth, Antoine Carr, Cliff Levingston and Xavier McDaniel. They happened to be the five former WSU players whose jersey numbers are retired and Marshall suspects Baker and VanVleet will someday bring that number to seven.

He would be lying if he said he doesn’t feel a little strange coaching a team without Baker and VanVleet. Still, this is a coach with 228 wins in nine seasons at WSU, one who has had to find ways to replace other good players and whose program has continued to thrive through it all.

Marshall is an elite coach and elite coaches don’t rattle. They accept the challenges in front of them with confidence.

Baker and VanVleet, after all, made it easier for Marshall to recruit at a higher level. You see that in this roster, one loaded with talent and athleticism. It’s fair to say that some of these players will make big strides because they’ll be asked to do more and their roles will expand.

Is there another Baker on this team? Another VanVleet?

Marshall gazed toward the rafters where the retired jerseys hang and expressed doubt. But he didn’t say it was impossible and he agreed that there will be players on this team who, by January, will draw comparisons to some of Wichita State’s best.

That’s how it works when a coach like Marshall is in charge. That’s why WSU is paying him so much money. He’s this team’s safety net and not even the losses of iconic players pose a grave danger.

This story was originally published August 4, 2016 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Gregg Marshall right guy to figure out this next set of Shockers."