Wichita State Head Coach Gregg Marshall made his first official media appearance Tuesday ahead of the Shockers’ first practice of the season.

The Shockers’ lead shot-caller addressed a multitude of topics ranging from the team’s incoming freshmen, offensive capabilities, leadership, and more.

Here are three takeaways from Marshall’s time with the media:

Injuries

Last season, the Shockers dealt with their fair share of injuries throughout the year. So far this preseason, Marshall has said Jaime Echenique, Asbjorn Midtgaard, Tyson Etinnee, and Noah Fernandez have all suffered ankle injuries.

“We’ve had some foot injuries throughout the course of the summer,” Marshall said. “Everyone should be good to go now.”

Fernandez, a freshman, was seen in a walking boot for precaution on campus Monday. He did participate in Tuesday’s opening practice.

Morris Udeze suffered a torn labrum in his shoulder that halted his season after just 16 games last year. He was unable to apply for a medical redshirt because of the number of game appearances he had already made.

Marshall said Udeze is “fine” for the upcoming season.

Defensive Adjustments

Last year, Marshall said he saw multiple freshmen give up easy baskets in defensive transition by drifting towards the ball, rather than the basket. From summer workouts, Marshall said he’s already seen his team make better decisions on the defensive end.

“I told them to think of it like soccer,” Marshall said. “How many times do you see the goalie come out to the midfield and try to do something? No. He stays back as the last line of defense.

“There’s many times last year we weren’t staying back, and it’s changing.”

Possible Redshirts

Marshall admitted that one of the team’s big-men will likely have to redshirt for this upcoming season. This year’s roster features seven big-men — forwards or centers.

“We have a lot of bigs,” Marshall said. “We will probably look to redshirt someone at that position, but with the wings, we should be okay there. As well as the guards.”

Last season, Echenique and Midtgaard saw significant time at the center position. Udeze played more minutes than Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler before his injury sidelined him for the rest of the season. Three newcomers will also be on the roster — freshmen DeAntoni Gordon and Josaphat Bilau and junior college transfer Trey Wade.

Marshall said during the press conference that Wade “could replace” a lot of Markis McDuffie’s minutes from a season ago.

Up next

The general public will get its first taste of Shocker basketball this season during the annual Black and Yellow Scrimmage that will be held on Oct. 5 inside Charles Koch Arena. The event is slated to start at 11 a.m.