A new beginning
Wichita State’s Ehimen Orukpe gets a dunk against North Carolina Central on Nov. 10.
Wichita State men’s basketball coach Gregg Mar- shall isn’t fond of the word “rebuild.”
Many consider this to be a rebuilding year for WSU, which made it to the NCAA Tournament a year ago, its first since 2006.
“That’s the nature of college basketball, or college sports in general—when you have five years to play four,” Marshall said. “You have to move on. You have to have new blood.
“These guys are eager.”
The Shockers have only two returning seniors in Carl Hall and Demetric Williams, and have a host of new faces playing major roles this year.
Among these news faces are Cleanthony Early, Nick Wiggins and Fred Van Fleet.
Early and Wiggins are both junior college transfers, and Van Fleet is a freshman, arguably the prize re- cruit in what is considered Marshall’s best recruiting class to date.
Injuries held back Van Fleet in preseason practice, but he is expected to get important minutes as his health improves.
Marshall isn’t worried about the talent of this year’s team. It’s all about getting everyone healthy and on the same page.
“It’s just the matter right now of building a team and having hopes individuals mesh into a tough, hardened, battle-tested unit that fights for 40 minutes,” Marshall said. “It may be Christmas time, it may be January, before we find our stride. I think this team will continue to get better if they continue to work hard like they have.”
As important as the newcomers are, it’s the improved play of the returners that is going to have to carry this team back to postseason play.
Williams is expected to be one of the starting guards opposite Oregon-transfer Malcolm Armstead, who is a natural point guard.
The only thing holding Williams back is his ankle, which he had surgery on this fall. Marshall said it was a six-week rehabilitation program, and it’s been a slow progress getting Williams back to full speed.
The unquestioned workhorse for the Shockers is Hall, however.
The 6-feet-8-inch forward is in his second year at WSU after transferring from Northwest Florida State. Hall started 19 games last season, averaging 22.3 points per game. He was named the Missouri Valley Conference newcomer of the year a season ago.
“Carl is a guy that’s going to have to have a big year for us,” Marshall said. “And he’s set for that. He’s put in the time. He’s certainly matured as a player, a person.”
This year’s Shocker team is entering the season with far less experience than the past two, and for some that can be reason to doubt.
But Marshall has once again established a strong basketball program at WSU, and it’s become more about reloading than rebuilding.
“Each year is different. Each team is different,” Marshall said. “It’s on us now to mold them into a unit that can win a lot of games.”
