WICHITA, Kan. -- At Wichita State's weekly men's basketball press conference, head coach Gregg Marshall talked player progression, and senior guard Fred VanVleet weighed in on what makes Marshall - who prepares for his 300th game on the Shocker sideline tomorrow night - such a special coach. Read on for the transcript...

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GREGG MARSHALL ON...
 
…Soon surpassing Ralph Miller's career coaching wins record at Wichita State
It would be an honor, because I know how well-thought of he is here. I know that he's the only non-player that's hanging in the rafters."
 
…The key to Rashard Kelly's growth and evolvement
"He's gotten himself more physically fit and in better shape. When you look at him, my first impression was that he was a big, strong, athletic guy…his game is based upon rebounding, scoring around the basket, defending, or at least it should be. For him to maximize what he can accomplish on the court…would be for him to be a better athlete. Be stronger, be quicker, be in better shape, be able to run faster and jump higher. He worked hard towards that this summer, much like [Shaq Morris]…he is using the quickness and speed and intensity to his benefit now."
 
…What he and the team enjoy most about playing in Charles Koch Arena
"I have a couple of things: I get to sleep in my own bed the night before the game. That's really cool. When there's a questionable call, the reaction of the fans is in our favor…It's by and large a very positive feedback from the crowd as opposed to an overwhelmingly negative one.
 
I like to hear [about the 41-game winning streak at home], that's all positive and we're excited about it. But we don't discuss it or bring it up. It goes without saying that we expect to win here. It's not always easy. You have to prepare your mind, your body, and your game beforehand…I think that's what our guys do. They play hard and smart for 40 minutes and that's been good enough.
 
…The key/turning point for Markis McDuffie's progression this year
"I think it was just being more mentally prepared. He's very gifted, as you can tell. He can shoot the ball, drive it, he's long, he's athletic, he's fast, and a good passer. He came in here at 17 [years old], he was the youngest freshman I've had in a long time, and knew he was young. He's such a wonderful young man, a great personality and the players love him, but he was immature…I told him that this wasn't recess, and ultimately it clicked for him that this was different [than high school].
 
[In the beginning] I'm not sure he expected to play a whole lot. I think he was comfortable just being a guy in practice that would get a few minutes here or there…but then all of a sudden we're down some really good players and we need you to be a player. He wasn't quite prepared for that, but ultimately he was. He's so bright that it didn't take long. It just took some focusing.
 
He's not even close to how good he's going to be. I just envision him adding 15-20 pounds of muscle, and I'm excited for his future."
 

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FRED VANVLEET ON...
 
…Finding a silver lining to the poor start to the season
"Obviously guys got better during that time, guys that may have not been playing... Seeing our team for what it was with the injuries and with guys out, I think it helped assess where we were at that time and get better. Especially individually for some players to look in the mirror, see how they were playing and try to improve. You never want to lose any games but there's nothing we can do about it now.
 
Most of college basketball is how finish and not necessarily how you start. We haven't gotten anywhere close to our peak as a team, and that's exciting going down the stretch."
 
…What makes Marshall a successful coach
"He's just a special individual. He's just a winner…he's a high-energy guy that's just revved up and ready to go. I probably can count on my hand how many times he's came in here not having any energy and being lackadaisical, and those times he was probably super-duper sick. He brings it every day; he's just a basketball coach. Some guys get labeled as recruiters or whatever, but he's just a basketball coach.
 
…Looking at tomorrow's opponent, Loyola
"They're a good basketball team. They played us tough twice last year, and we never focus on records anyway. They beat UNI by 10 at their place, which is not an easy place to play. They beat Drake, so they're on a roll…[Milton] Doyle is a heck of a player, Montell James has been playing pretty well as well. We'll be ready for them. We don't take anybody lightly anyways, especially not a team like this.
 
…How the defense plays well without having prominent shot blockers
"If you know that you've got somebody back there that can erase a little bit, you might be more aggressive up front and gamble a little bit more. Obviously it would be nice to have that, but we don't. We got guys that take charges and do it in other ways…when you go for blocked shots, you give up a lot of chances for offensive rebounding. I think that's been a good thing for us. We don't have a guy that's trying to block every shot, so we're not getting out of position to give up those offensive rebounds and we're controlling the boards."
 
…His favorite part of playing a home game
"Just waking up in the morning knowing that you've got a game at [Charles] Koch Arena is enough excitement for me."
 
…The home game winning streak and not having many games left to play at Charles Koch Arena for his career
"I'm not really concerned about the streak as much as I am about playing as hard as I can and leaving everything on the floor for the fans. It's been a long four years for me. I'm just appreciating the quality of the program that we have, and the fan base that's been so amazing and loyal to us. I've been trying to soak it in from the beginning of the year. Not necessarily counting down the games I have left, but that I don't get to play here forever."