Gregg Marshall doesn’t mind Ricky Torres shooting 0 percent from three

Wichita+States+Ricky+Torres+takes+a+shot+during+their+game+against+Catawba+on+Oct.+30%2C+2018+at+Koch+Arena.

Joseph Barringhaus

Wichita State’s Ricky Torres takes a shot during their game against Catawba on Oct. 30, 2018 at Koch Arena.

Ricky Torres hasn’t hit a three-pointer for Wichita State this season.

Torres, a 6-foot-2 guard, has missed all 13 attempts he’s taken from three-point range this year. He has just five field goals all season on 21 attempts (23.8 percent). On three outings, he’s been held without a made field goal.

WSU Head Coach Gregg Marshall is confident that the junior college transfer will have his shooting turn around in short time.

“Ricky is going to make a three, and when he starts making threes it’s really going to make us better,” Marshall said Monday, ahead of WSU’s game with Oklahoma on Saturday.

Joseph Barringhaus
Wichita State’s Ricky Torres takes a shot during their game against Louisiana Tech on Nov. 6, 2018 in Koch Arena.

Torres returned to the starting lineup against Baylor. He scored four points, while senior guard Samajae Haynes-Jones and freshman guard Erik Stevenson combined for 39 points. Stevenson and Haynes-Jones had eight first-half three-pointers. Torres missed two three-point attempts that half.

“He’s doing a lot of good things,” Marshall said. “He’s defending pretty well, and he knows our system.”

Torres had a plus-minus rating of negative five against Baylor — meaning, when Torres was on the floor, WSU gave up five points. His plus-minus rating was the second-worst on the team.

Joseph Barringhaus
Wichita State freshman Ricky Torres makes a pass during their game against Baylor on Dec. 1, 2018 in Charles Koch Arena.

Marshall pointed to the positives in Torres’ game, referencing a 15-1 assist-to-turnover rating. Torres’ turnover rating is 21st nationally, according to data compiled by KenPom. He turned the ball over for the first time this season on Saturday against Baylor. 

“When you have a 15:1 assist-to-turnover ratio, you’re running the club, you’re playing both ends, and you’re facilitating pretty well — you can live with an oh-for-whatever,” Marshall said.

Torres was a junior-college All-American last season at Missouri State-West Plains. He averaged better than 43 percent from three last season.