Wichita State’s men’s basketball head coach Gregg Marshall talked about changes to practices allowed, the status of freshman guard DJ Bowles and the changes recently made to his own contract Friday.
Marshall said the team would have a 42-day span in which to practice for 30 days leading up to their first game. The previous ruling stated that the team has 30 days of practice straight through to their first game.
Marshall said that the change would make practices more flexible and allow the team more days off than usual.
Bowles’ future with the team and university was addressed.
Bowles was deemed unfit to play for the university after collapsing during practice on Sept. 3. He had to have an implantable cardioverter defibrillator installed on Sept. 12, for a cardiac condition.
Marshall said Bowles not getting medical clearance to play on the team was tough and sad.
“He’s been waiting his whole life to get to this point and play at this level,” Marshall said.
He said that Bowles was the second player he had seen collapse on the floor, but this one has a happy ending, so far.
Despite not being cleared to play basketball, Marshall said that Bowles would still be coming around with the team.
Marshall was confident that without being focused on basketball, Bowles will find something else he is good at.
Marshall recently got a contract extension until 2020 and his salary was increased to $1.6 million salary from $1.3 million. He said he likes the program and community and wasn’t planning on taking any other coaching positions, but if it helps put people at ease, that’s OK.
“I’m glad that they’re feeling better just because of a contract,” Marshall said. “But they could have felt that way before the contract was done, too.”
He said he was excited about the contract and the appreciation that the university has shown throughout the year, not just during the basketball season. Some of his old players had contacted him to congratulate on his new contract.
Speaking about the upcoming season, Marshall said the game against West Kentucky on Nov. 11 is going to be a tough game. He acknowledged that there were people who were unhappy about how late the game, 11:59 p.m., was on a weekday, but he urged those who had tickets to not sell them.
“I’m hoping that somehow the season ticket holders that are not planning on coming to that game can find a way to sell or give their tickets away,” Marshall said. “What I don’t want is a couple of thousand to not show, because the game is late, and it just doesn’t work in their schedule and for those seats to be empty.”
The game will air live on ESPN2. The Shocker season will officially tip off at 7 p.m. Nov. 2, in Charles Koch Arena against Oklahoma Baptist University.
