[00:00:14] Speaker A: Hello, it's Paul Sullentrop of Wichita State University Strategic Communications here with a bonus episode of the podcast. I had Mike Kennedy and Bob hall in front of the microphone to talk about the 2015 Shockers. The Sweet 16 team for a podcast we'll release here in a week or so. Thought it'd be a good idea to get their perspective on the current Shockers. Thanks for listening. Here's Mike and Bob. Hello, we're back. We've got a little bonus episode with Mike Kennedy and Bob Hall. We're going to talk about the current Shockers for a few minutes. They are on a six game win streak and they play UAB Thursday, 8pm on ESPNU. Bob, let's talk about this win streak. What jumps out at you? What's gotten the Shockers going in the right direction?
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Well, a couple of things. I think the coaching staff, Paul Mills, the they came to the conclusion that hey, we got to change things.
We got to quit shooting so many three pointers. We got to focus on guarding the three point line and not letting people shoot 40 plus percent against three. We got to really focus on that. We've got to focus on defense, we got to focus on rebounding. And then I need to call the plays.
So he started calling the sets and if they don't have a fast break, they don't have a bucket in transition. You'll watch the guards back it out and they'll look over and then coach will make a call and he'll call the plays. So he's calling most of the plays and this bunch especially. I tell you, I hate to say this, but since Justin has gone out with the turf toe, I think we've gotten better. I think this group is playing better right now and I don't know why, but they're moving the ball and just seem to be all connected.
[00:01:50] Speaker A: Mike, what's your observation of this six game win streak?
[00:01:53] Speaker C: All of those things that Bob mentioned and I think also that Paul continued to kind of work through what's the best way to present this stuff to these guys. And not so much he is deep into, you know, statistics and all analytics and all those kinds of things. But I don't think he's ever been overly complicated in the way he presents it to the team. I don't mean that so much as sort of the positive, negative, positive type of approach, just being as positive as possible and presenting it to them, but getting them to understand that we need to do this better. And I think that they have really bought in and really accepted who they are. They've used the mantra gritty, not pretty. And I think they've taken some pride in that and they've really come to an understanding and a trust of how the coaches want them to play. And they're seeing it work.
[00:02:43] Speaker B: Trust? Yeah, they've developed a trust. You win a few ball games and then the players like, okay, I get what you're saying, coaches. And the coaches like, see, we told you this is the way we have to win. You know, we've got to keep the game in the 60s, 70s. We've got to not let the other team not let their best three point shooters shoot. We've got to win the battle of the boards, can't turn the ball over and, and I think there's some trust now that, hey, they've figured it out.
[00:03:12] Speaker A: Paul Mills mentioned that the other day at his news conference. That kind of you get some credibility and buy in and it helps when you're winning two or three games and winning on the road. Bob, people have talked a lot about Ronnie DeGray III. He was out, missed I think 13 games with injuries. He's been back now for a while. How does he help this team?
[00:03:29] Speaker B: You know, it's funny, he didn't have hardly any stats in the win against who was the last game? Tulane.
But I remember making a lot of big plays in that game. They just don't show up on the stat sheet. I mean he'll, he'll tip a rebound and it goes to somebody else and they lay it in. He'll deflect a pass, save the one.
[00:03:51] Speaker C: Ball on the end line off a two lane player. That doesn't go on the stat sheet.
[00:03:55] Speaker B: That's not on the stat sheet. He'll move the basketball. You know, we gotta have people to pass the basketball to get it moving, especially against that matchup zone. And he's good at that. He knows when to time his cuts.
The thing he does best though is he plugs holes in the defense. When somebody makes a mistake, he's back there helping out and then he'll get back on his man.
He sees what's going to happen before it happens and he plugs stuff up.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: Mike, the other person who's become more prominent recently would be Bijan Cortez at point guard. What do you think he's added to this team as they've kind of changed their offensive approach?
[00:04:33] Speaker C: You know, Coach Mills and I talked to him a little bit about him off the air doing his coaches show. And it's one thing he does really well, is penetrate and then see what's there. He's the best one on the team at passing out of pick and rolls, finding the roll guy or lobs and that kind of thing. And then they've encouraged him when he goes in there, be more aggressive about looking to score yourself and taking it to the basket. And I think we all think that have been around the team that maybe Justin being hurt has helped Bijan a little bit because he kind of knows now that he's going to have to play if he makes a mistake, he may not be coming out immediately. And so he may not be looking over his shoulder a little bit like he was and is more confident that he's going to be in there and can relax and just play.
[00:05:24] Speaker A: That's one of the things that popped through my mind is did he just have too many guys and it almost didn't matter who, who was in, who was out. It was kind of like a bullpen where they, what do they say? Eight's not enough but 12 is too many. Where you just some people needed five more minutes. And the factors that you're talking about.
[00:05:40] Speaker B: Absolutely, less is more sometimes. And to give you an example, when Bijan banged knees with the big guy for Tulane and went out a month ago, you wouldn't have been worried about that that Bijan was out and wasn't going to be able to get back in for a while.
This last game you were worried because we had to have Bichon back in there. So Harlan Beverly's playing more and I think he's playing really well. He doesn't put up the flashy numbers, but he does a lot of things and he just seems to make a lot of big plays. Ronnie's playing more, they can rest Corey more. I just think that the chemistry is just kind of working its way in a good place right now.
[00:06:25] Speaker A: Paul Mills talked about Justin Hill the other day at his news conference and I think he's looking forward to getting back. I think they will regard him as depth is going to be important, especially you get into a tournament. So I think he's a guy that still very much can be an important part of this team, even with this six game win streak. I wanted to talk about Xavier Bell, who I think has had one of the more interesting careers and seasons. He's really had a nice senior season. He kind of defies description in my mind because I think you want to think about him as a point guard. But I think in a lot of ways what he really is is a small forward who Just happens to be 6 foot 2 instead of 6 foot 6.
[00:07:03] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:07:04] Speaker C: He's never been a point guard in my mind. And that was part of last year. He kind of had to play there and it was out of position and not comfortable for him. But in the process of all that, I think he really started to come to some understanding last year about mid season of kind of who he is, what he can do, what he does best. And then he's just kind of refined that this year where he's doing it with fewer mistakes, taking the ball to the basket and that sort of thing. And you know, it's just, we've talked about this. It's just uncanny that other teams know he wants to go to his left. They're trying to take him away going to his left and he's still doing it. And even when he goes to his right, occasionally he'll end up kind coming back to his left hand, but it's making it work.
[00:07:51] Speaker B: I asked Paul about that one time and he said, you know, San Antonio had this guy that always went to his left and everybody said, well, just overplay his left hand. Don't let him go to his left in his mono Ginobili. And nobody could stop him going to the left. He played for what, 15 years in the pros going to his left and nobody could stop him. So it's kind of like that. But I think nobody has improved from one year to the next as much as Xavier Bell has this season. He obviously worked a lot in the off season on his shot, on his three point shooting, on his free throw shooting and on his ball handling. And he's improved really tremendously in all areas. He's not turning the ball over much and he's shooting a good percentage from three and he's shooting a fantastic percentage from three.
[00:08:41] Speaker A: Yeah, that's probably been one of the biggest. I mean, he is great closing the games. You want the ball in his hands because he has no fear of drawing fouls. And when you're making almost 90% of your free throws, that's the guy you want with the ball in the last few minutes.
[00:08:54] Speaker B: Okay, I'll ask you a trivia question. Okay. Who missed the key free throws down the stretch against Missouri when we blew that lead there a couple years ago.
[00:09:02] Speaker A: You have just got a mean streak, Bob hall, because. Yeah, I remember that. I remember that definitely there might have.
[00:09:09] Speaker C: Been another game where he missed late free throws. That was something he just didn't seem to have confidence in. And this year it's just totally the.
[00:09:16] Speaker B: Odds he's the guy you want on the line now, but he had about three games where he missed some crucial free throws, where we had the game pretty much in hand, and now he's the guy you want on the line. He's just been gold.
[00:09:31] Speaker A: So he was a career 72, 73% foul shooter at Drexel and at Wichita State early. And he has gone from good to great as a senior. And I think you're exactly right. He's one of the guys you see in here. He's working on stuff, you know, and he shot.
[00:09:46] Speaker C: I went back and looked. He shot 36% from three in his two years at Drexel. But his first two years here at Wichita State, it was like low 20s. And, you know, you'd even watch him shooting, warming up or in practice, and he'd make one and then he'd miss three or four that weren't even close. And, you know, he's back to 36 or high 30s percent and you know, he's one on a team that doesn't shoot the three very well. He's one guy that you feel like gives you a chance to make a few.
[00:10:12] Speaker B: Those two threes at the start of the second half against Tulane, man, it changed the game.
[00:10:18] Speaker A: Definitely, definitely flipped it. Mike Bob, thank you very much. Wanted to give people just a quick look at what's going on with the current Shockers. Thank you for your time.
[00:10:25] Speaker B: You bet.
Hi, this is Rick Muuma, president of Wichita State University. Check out the latest episode of the Forward Together podcast. Each episode I sit down with different guests from Shocker Nation to celebrate the vision and mission of Wichita State University. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
[00:11:11] Speaker C: Thank you for listening to the Roundhouse podcast courtesy of Wichita State University Strategic Communications. We encourage you to rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can find more roundhouse
[email protected] it's over. It is over, ladies and gentlemen. Say it slowly and savor it. Wichita State is going to the final four for the first time in four, 48 years.
[00:11:40] Speaker B: Unbelievable. What a scene, folks. The Shocker fans are just going crazy in the stands.
[00:11:47] Speaker C: Just maybe the greatest win in the history of Wichita State basketball.
