What details WSU basketball coach Isaac Brown wants fixed in Shockers’ exhibition game

Following a victory in a closed scrimmage against Missouri State, Wichita State men’s basketball coach Isaac Brown will have a different philosophy for the team’s lone exhibition game.

When the Shockers make their public debut against outside competition at Koch Arena on Wednesday for a 7 p.m. exhibition game against Newman, Brown hopes to be able to play all 12 of his newcomers.

“I want to give the guys a lot of opportunities to play in this first game,” Brown said Monday night on his radio show. “We’re going to be running guys in and out. We want to give everybody the opportunity to play and see who can play well in a game, so that’s going to be the biggest challenge for us is getting a bunch of guys minutes in that first game.”

That substitution pattern will differ from the 66-62 scrimmage win by WSU over its former Missouri Valley rival, where the Shockers leaned on their starting five of senior Craig Porter, sophomore Xavier Bell, junior Jaykwon Walton, senior Gus Okafor and sophomore Kenny Pohto to pull out the victory.

After WSU had won the situational drills against Missouri State comfortably earlier in the day, the Shockers started slow in the full-court, 40-minute scrimmage and fell behind by 15 points in the first half.

Brown was pleased with how his revamped roster handled the first signs of adversity before the team’s official season-opener on Nov. 7 against Central Arkansas at Koch Arena.

“That was the thing I was the most proud of in the scrimmage: we got down early and they didn’t point fingers,” Brown said. “We came together as a team and knew we had to defend at a high level to get back in the ball game and they fought back and then we executed down the stretch and played well in the last two minutes of the game. That’s just what we needed to get ready for a real game.”

It will be a concern if WSU has to face any adversity in its exhibition against Newman, a local NCAA Div. II program that the Shockers have scored an average of 96 points against and won by a margin of 45 points in their three exhibition meetings since 2011.

But Brown is not taking anything for granted: he’s made sure all of the players are aware that Louisville lost 57-47 to an NCAA Div. II team this past weekend.

“I told our players that you can’t overlook anyone,” Brown said. “Anyone can beat you now with the transfer portal. We’ve got to be ready to play. I hope our guys get the opportunity to play in front of a sell-out crowd and get that experience of playing at Koch Arena. That will help get them ready for the regular-season games and make it a lot easier on them seeing that atmosphere and the crowd and the energy they bring.”

While the competition level on Wednesday won’t be the same as the regular season, Brown wants to see his team execute certain details better following the scrimmage.

Brown mentioned WSU struggled communicating on defense particularly while defending ball screens, something he wishes to be shored up against Newman. He also wants to see the defense continue to prioritize preventing dribble penetration to the paint and, as always, defend, rebound and take care of the ball at a high level.

The exhibition game could be an opportunity for first-year transfers like Jaron Pierre Jr., Quincy Ballard, Shammah Scott and James Rojas to prove what they can do with extended playing time, while the same is true for Jalen Ricks and Isaac Abidde, the pair of freshmen who redshirted last season at WSU.

“To touch the floor, you’ve got to be able to guard your position, you’ve got to be able to rebound and you’ve got to value the basketball,” Brown said. “Offense is the easy thing. But if you can do those three things, then you’re going to be on the floor. We want them to play like their hair is on fire and give 110% and be a great teammate. I think those guys are buying in.”

Brown did not mention if he will play Colby Rogers, a smooth-shooting transfer from Siena who would be vying for a starting spot if he wasn’t waiting for the NCAA to rule on his waiver to play immediately following his second Div. I transfer. Senior Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, who played last season at Omaha, also needs a waiver approved by the NCAA to play this year for the Shockers.

On Monday, Brown said he hopes to have a final ruling for both players by the end of this week.

Newman at Wichita State basketball game preview

When: 7 p.m. Wednesday

Where: Koch Arena (10,506)

Streaming: None

Radio: 103.7 FM (Mike Kennedy and Dave Dahl)

Series: WSU leads 3-0 (3-0 in Wichita)

Last meeting: WSU won 81-43 on Dec. 30, 2020