WICHITA, Kan. - Men's basketball head coach Gregg Marshall held his weekly press conference Thursday, where he discussed upcoming opponent Oklahoma State, the allure of playing at INTRUST Bank Arena, his point guard's power of positivity, and more. Read below for the transcript.
 

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HEAD COACH GREGG MARSHALL ON…
 
…Oklahoma State on Saturday.
"They have an unusual style. They're relentless in their pressure; looks like 40 minutes of pressure. Sometimes in the second half they go to a match-up zone for whatever reason, but they [run] full-court pressure, half-court pressure, they deny every pass, they can run and jump. It's something different to prepare for… and that's good if you're going to play in the postseason because you never know what you're going to get.
 
…OSU's new head coach, Brad Underwood.
"He has got them playing hard, playing with great pace and rhythm, and then he's got some really good players. It's a great situation for coach Underwood to go into, and he's doing a very fine job.
 
I knew him when he was an assistant coach for Frank Martin [at Kansas State]. We scrimmaged them a couple years in a row…obviously a good coach, he did a nice job at Stephen F. Austin in his two or three years there. Now he's taking that same blueprint to OSU. What stands out is how hard they play. It's going to be a slugfest…there's going to be a lot of guys flying around and hopefully we make more plays than them."
 
…The duo of Juwan Evans and Phil Forte III.
"Forte is a great shooter, strong, smart, been around for a long time... We scrimmaged against [Evans] last year, and we were the first outside [college] competition he'd ever seen.. but you could see the kid's talent. He had some very good games last year. He had 40 [points] in a win against Kansas last year... He's a guy that probably could get drafted, maybe in the lottery."
 
…How the players feel about playing at INTRUST Bank Arena.
"You'd have to ask them, but I think they enjoy it. We enjoy 15,000 paying customers. It's a little different when it's not part of the season ticket package. If people buy a ticket to the INTRUST game, they go. It's like a concert…there's not a lot of empty corporate seats or empty student sections…There will be 15,000-plus there, and generally if you put a good product on the floor [the fans] get excited and have a good time."
 
…The unexpected boost that INTRUST Bank Arena has had on his ability to schedule quality opponents.
"I didn't realize that it would have the effect where people would say 'we'll play you, home-and-home, if the game's at INTRUST Bank Arena.' I don't know why that is, we've been pretty successful there over the years. I think maybe there's a phobia about home-and-homes in [Charles] Koch Arena, I don't know…It is an interesting question to pose because it seems like the…only 'Power Five' team… we've played a home-and-home with that said we could be anywhere we want - including [Charles] Koch Arena - was Alabama."
 
...Daishon Smith's upbeat attitude and its effect on the team.
"I think that's been his personality. He's very well-liked and is very positive with the guys. He's a guy that has really captivated his teammates; they like him and he likes them. They play for one another."