NCDS: Gregg Marshall, Head Coach - Wichita State

By: Gregg Marshall, Head Coach - Wichita State

The grind of the regular season is just about over. As February will soon turn into March, college basketball will enter the part of the year that everyone looks forward to: POSTSEASON! Things in Shocker Nation have been going okay in this last month. There have been some heart-pounding wins, tough losses, and a few injuries to some of our guys. We are trying to fight through the grind and get ready for the postseason.

We received good news recently that Graham Hatch, junior from Mesa, Ariz., was named Third-Team Academic All-American by ESPN The Magazine. It definitely begs repeating that we appreciate all the hard work that Graham puts in. He has transformed himself over the last couple of years into a quality college basketball player. His academic prowess, earning a 3.7 GPA in chemistry, is another testament to his work ethic. We love having him in our program and are glad to have him for one more year.

Unfortunately, there is another tremendous young man who will not be with us next season. Clevin Hannah will be playing his final regular season home game soon. He has been a joy to coach and has proven to be an excellent floor general and capable scorer. Clevin is a quality young man. He is fun to be around, is very engaging, and is a great teammate. He is just a dynamite kid. I am proud that he is going to graduate on time. Whatever he does in life, he is going to be a success.

While our focus is still on the current season, I cannot help but think of what the future will hold for us. Other than Clevin, everyone returns. We signed Ehimen Orukpe, a quality post player, in the fall, and we will be looking to sign one more player this spring. As we continue to build experience within our program, our goals continue to soar higher. We will have a good early season test next year as we play in the EA Sports Maui Invitational along with traditional powers like Kentucky, Michigan State, Connecticut, Washington, Oklahoma, and Virginia. We will be the first MVC program to ever play in this high-profile tournament. It will be a great experience for our team to test ourselves against some of the best programs in college basketball.

But enough about next year as we still have some chances to achieve some goals this season. Our conference tournament in St. Louis is right around the corner. With enough quality play and good fortune, we want to do something that Wichita State has never done in the 20 years of Arch Madness: win the tournament and cut down somenets!

Yours in Hoops!

Coach Gregg Marshall