TWISTS AND TURNS

When Tyson Etienne sank an improbably long, last-second three-pointer to win the season opener, it looked like the Wichita State Shockers were headed for another storybook season. After all, they surprised nearly everyone last year by capturing their first American Athletic Conference title during Isaac Brown’s rookie year as head coach.

But the 2021–22 season has turned out to be a more complicated tale. True, the Shockers followed that opening night win against Jacksonville with victories over Las Vegas, Missouri and Oklahoma State, and nearly defeated then-No. 3 Arizona. But a deflating loss to Kansas State at Intrust Bank Arena was followed

by a 0–4 start in conference play that sent expectations plummeting.

But hold on. WSU won four of its next six games. So where did that leave them going forward?

Surprisingly confident, it turns out.

The Top Shock

Isaac Brown is no Gregg Marshall. For one thing, Brown won the aforementioned AAC title, something Marshall never achieved (we’re setting aside, for a second, all the things Marshall did achieve at WSU).

Marshall loved going out in Wichita, and the city reciprocated. Brown, in his own words, is a homebody: “I don’t do too much in the city of Wichita,” he said. “I don’t hang out. I go home, I come to work … and I stay in the office watching film. That’s all I want to do is watch film and try to learn from mistakes.”

Marshall landed in hot water and left the program over his treatment of a player.

Brown called a player, Etienne, to apologize for a comment he’d made about Etienne’s foul at the end of a loss to Tulane.

“In film (session) I said, ‘Tyson, it was a foul.’ But then I went back and watched a different angle of it. I had to call him to apologize. I said, ‘We can’t foul three-point shooters,’ but I told him after going back and watching film, I thought it was a good contested shot.”

Brown’s approach obviously worked in his first year as head coach, but after that Jan. 29 loss to Tulane, he admitted he was frustrated to the point of punishing players, in a manner of speaking. In that game, the Shockers blew a 13-point second-half lead, largely because they committed 19 turnovers. Going forward, Brown told the local media, any turnovers would earn players a “line drill” — an exhausting bit of extra running during practice. “That’s the only thing I know to do,” he said. “There’s gotta be a repercussion.”

Turnovers dropped by nearly half in their next game.

Brown, a longtime Marshall assistant, did tell reporters that he felt the Shockers were playing and practicing just as hard as the program’s successful teams of the past. Aside from turnovers, he said, there was only one other glaring problem at that point in the season: an inability to make key shots at the end of the game, even when they’d managed to get open ones.

“Last year, with games on the line, we were able to make wide-open shots and we didn’t turn it over.”

Coaches don’t get to shoot the ball. About all they can do is get players ready for the moment, and it’s clear that Brown thinks a lot about that part of his job. Brown doesn’t just watch a lot of game film, he watches practice film.

“I ask myself all the time: Am I going hard enough in practice or am I going too hard in practice? Am I going so hard that these guys are fatigued in a game?”

Brown was on target about the lack of clutch shooting: Three of the Shockers’ conference losses came by a total of six points, which suggested to Brown the team was better than its record.

“If we were in these games getting blown out, I would think I need to get on the road and go recruiting and just go out and try to find some better players. But that hasn’t crossed my mind. I think we’ve got a good enough team to win, we’ve just got to correct our mistakes.”

Locker Room Leaders

The rest of Brown’s post-film session conversation with Etienne was also interesting. According to Brown, Etienne said, “Coach, don’t worry about it. We’re going to make up for it, we’re going to win these next couple games.”

The Shockers won their next two games.

Etienne is the acknowledged leader of the Shockers, and not just because he was named AAC Co-Player of the Year last year. Brown cites the positive energy the guard brings to the practice floor and locker room.

Etienne’s numbers are down slightly this year but he is still WSU’s top offensive player, leading in points scored, three-point buckets made and minutes played.

He remains supremely confident, promising that Wichita State “is going to be fine.” Etienne dismissed any suggestion that the team is missing the maturity and experience provided last year by seniors Alterique Gilbert and Trey Wade.

“I don’t think it’s a lack of leadership at all,” Etienne said. “I think it’s just about us growing. We’ve got a bunch of young guys, got a bunch of new guys in the program itself.”

Indeed, three freshmen have earned significant playing time — Ricky Council IV, Kenny Pohto and Chaunce Jenkins — with Council emerging as the team’s most explosive player at times. Council’s talent is tempered only by a tendency to commit turnovers.

“Last year, we went through a trial with losing our coach and having to adjust to Covid and all that,”

Etienne said. “And now our trial is just overcoming these small battles we have to overcome. Every season presents a battle.”

Another locker room leader, junior big man Morris Udeze, answered “100 percent” when asked if the Shockers still believed in themselves at the point when they were 0–4 in conference play.

“Last year, we had a whole bunch of close games and won them. This year is just kind of different. We’re just going to have to figure it out. That’s all we can do.”

With no chance of an at-large NCAA bid, the Shockers’ only hope for post-season play is to finish the regular season strong and surprise in the conference tournament, which will be held March 10–13 in Fort Worth. By mid-February, the team was shooting the ball better and committing fewer turnovers, and junior Craig Porter Jr. was providing the kind of steady, productive point guard play that good Shocker teams have traditionally relied upon.

Combine those developments with strong defense and rebounding, Brown said, and “We’ve got a chance to win any of these games.”

Women Shockers Look to Regain ‘Rhythm’ of Fast Start

After a 7–1 start —best in program history — the Wichita State women’s basketball team ran up against several hard realities: One was that their nonconference schedule included games against three very good teams: South Dakota, Kansas and Oklahoma. Another was that Covid-19 wasn’t done with WSU, leaving it short-handed after Christmas. The final reality is that the American Athletic Conference “is really good,” as

Shockers coach Keitha Adams says.

“There are a lot of veteran teams. It’s been challenging, but we’re still playing hard.”

All but three AAC teams boasted winning records as of mid-February. Thanks mainly to their fast start, the Shockers were themselves still over .500. Adams said the nonconference portion of the season was fun.

“We had some good wins, built some rhythm.” The Shockers hung around against the ranked OU Sooners for much of the game. 

Adams has been pleased with her team’s defensive effort and improved ability to generate fast-break points. “Our Achilles heel has been putting enough points on the board,” she said.

Mariah McCully and Asia Strong have led the scoring, with Jane Asinde, who’s the top rebounder, and DJ McCarty, who comes off the bench, not far behind. Adams noted that guard Seraphine Bastin, in addition to leading the team in assists, is second on the team in offensive rebounds — “a really high level for a

point guard.”

The Shockers have often started fast only to struggle in the second half of games.

“I’ve got a great group of young ladies that I’m very proud of,” Adams said. “We’re going to continue to work hard to get to where we want to be.”