WICHITA, Kan. -- Tuesday afternoon at his weekly press conference, Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall talked seniors, took stock of the team's first year in the American Athletic Conference and looked ahead to a pivotal week in the conference's regular season race. Read on for the transcript.
 

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.... Shaquille Morris' improvement:
"It's very fulfilling. It's very exciting just watching him play. He's a fun guy to watch play, and when he is wrapped up in it mentally, as he is and has been, it's fun to watch. (It's) exciting to see a real positive transformation, and [after five years] this is the pay-off."

  ...Shaq's transformation from year one to now:
"He just needed to learn and work to be an everyday guy [whom we would count on] every day. And, lately, not only have we been counting on him, we've been riding him. His shoulders are big enough -- figuratively and literally -- for us to ride at this time of year. It's great to see him and some other guys really playing some of their best basketball in this late February.

  ...Shaq's maturity :
"He's going to have a college degree from here. He's more mature and just less fooling around. A little more serious. He's always had a gregarious side and just really funny, likable and class clown, a bit. He's focused that more on his basketball, and that's pretty evident, his studies and you just have to chalk him up as a success as to what college basketball really is."

 ...what he envisioned of Shaq:
"The thing that we didn't know about him that is very likable and positive from a coaching stand point is how smart he is about the game. He really is a smart young man and he uses that on the basketball court. In the past he would use it to cut corners, almost. He was so smart that he could get away with cutting corners, but now he stopped using the IQ in basketball that he has as an excuse but as a weapon."

 ....Shaq's effort crashing the offensive glass:
"We talk to him all the time, especially early in the year when he would not go. He would be hovering around the foul line or three-point line and a shot would go up, then he would watch Rashard or Zack Brown crash the glass and he wouldn't go. There would be one or two guys on the glass instead of all three of the big guys, and I just told him that it's a numbers game. You've got to go to send numbers, like a blitz on the defensive line in football, and outnumber the blockers. He finally bought into that eight to 10 games ago."

 ... this 2018 senior class:
"It's really been fun and a lot of great personalities that have meshed together and formed tremendous friendships, lasting friendships I believe. This group is very close and there are so many of them. They're mature players and these guys aren't 17, they're 22, 23 and 24. I've loved to watch them mature to where they are the prominent role guys, because early on they played a miniature role to some of the best players that have ever played here. Now you got this group. When those NBA guys graduated a couple years ago, this group was thrust into the limelight and none of us knew how that would go."

...Darral Willis' maturity:
"He's another one -- more mature. He admitted he had never heard anybody utter the word defense prior to coming here, which kind of put him behind. He has been willing to work, and he's been willing to battle everyday and try to pick it up on the fly. He's a better defender this year than he was last year, and I think he's going to play a big role, (going forward) because he's so talented. "

...the wide variety of defenses teams play in American Conference:
"Lots of zone. You see a lot of matchup zone. A lot of switching man-to-man..that sometimes looks like a zone. I've seen more zone in this particular league than any I've that I've ever coached in. Some of them are very, very good. We have been more of a man-to-man team but we've practiced quite a bit against zone this year..and we try to practice against the best zone we can throw out there. We don't play a whole lot of zone..every once in awhile we'll mix it in. There's seven reasons to play the zone so I guess these teams feel like they have enough of those reason on their side that helps them win. Who am I to argue"

...challenges of coaching staff having to get familiar with new teams in the conference:
"It's a great league... There are lots of good teams. You can't take a night off. Having to do 11 new scouting reports, plus the non-conference teams that were new...(Oklahoma State, Baylor, College of Charleston) it's a lot of work. That's what we do..that's what we do everyday. We are preparing for the next game and the next opponent and the next week. This is what coaches like to do, and coaches get in there and grind and try to break them down as best they can...educate our team to the best of their abilities. Not only tell them, but show..so we practice it, and practice against it with the scout team and what not. It's fun, but it's a lot of work. We've enjoyed it, it's a great league."

..year one in the American Athletic Conference:
"It's been about what I thought. I didn't have any pre-conceived notions what it was. I just knew the names. I knew Memphis and UConn and Cincinnati, SMU, Tulsa, Houston...going down the line. UCF. I just knew that there were programs that could win national championships and have won national championships with great players. I knew we would have to be really good. I expected us to lose a couple games, which is what we've done. I didn't know which ones, I didn't predict any of that. In the end, we're in this last week and we're fighting for a regular season championship. If we win the  two games, that's what we get...we get a No. 1 seed (in the conference tournament) in our first year. It's exciting, it's fun, it's challenging as heck. All players, all coaches right now are tired, but the excitement, the exhilaration of this time of year trumps all of that."

...difficulty of winning a regular season conference championship:
"I think it's very difficult. I think it's the most difficult - in fact - and should be more rewarded honestly. I've always said a regular season champion should be the one to represent the league in the NCAA Tournament. I understand the tournament format. I was in a one-bid league many, many years. I think that the two to two-and-a half months should be valued greater than a three or four day tournament. I understand being in those leagues, everyone has a chance until the last loss in postseason play. I'm glad I'm in a league now where we have multiple teams that are going to be in the NCAA Tournament, regardless of what happens in Orlando. We still want to go and do the best we can down there and try to win it. Every game you're going to want to win when that balls tossed. But I think, regular season titles....Kansas and Bill Self, what he's done is incredible. 14-straight years? I mean, it's amazing..They are a good team, you have to be a really great program to win that many."

...how WSU's defense stacks up for a possible NCAA Tournament run:
"Depends on who we play. Lot's going to depend on our match-ups and how we shoot the ball. I mean if we score 85 or 84, usually we are good enough to hold a team in the 70's or 80's. Very rarely do we let teams score more than that. All teams are going to try to play well both ends at this time of year."

...How The American has helped with tournament seeding:
"It's definitely helped to be in this league because of all the quality opportunities you have for wins and losses. We've had a good year. We've had a really good year and we've played great teams on both ends..non-conference and conference. We're 23-5. We've got two more tough games coming up. We have a lot of wins against a lot of good teams and that's why we're in the position we're in, regardless of what league we're in.. but it certainly has helped."