Wichita State's non-conference schedule hits the home stretch with games against Oral Roberts (Wednesday) and at VCU (Saturday). Coach Gregg Marshall previewed both matchups Tuesday at his weekly press conference. Read on for the transcript.
 

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HEAD COACH GREGG MARSHALL ON...

...facing former WSU walk-on Kaelen Malone -- now at Oral Roberts
"He is a super-nice kid and I loved Kaelen (Malone) when he was here. I don't know if he had any Division I offers when he came and decided to walk on here, but he ended up with a Division I scholarship as a senior. I'm proud of him."

...the importance of playing better against ORU:
"We need to feel good about ourselves. We just need to play the game, and the way I describe it is: 'to play against the game.' How well can (individual players) play, and how well can this team play for 40 minutes? How well can we defend, rebound, run the court, execute the offense, and how well can we shoot it? The objective, as a coach, is to get us playing as close to the perfect game as possible -- and no one will ever do that -- but, if you strive for perfection, then often times you can achieve excellence, and we would like a 40-minute, excellent performance."

...response from the players at practice:
"It was a very good practice yesterday, and we got after it. They responded well, and we worked really hard. We'll back off some today, but it will still be a good practice."

...whether his coaching style has changed with this less experienced group:
"It's probably changed our whole staff and the way we've done the preseason. We've just really tried to pour into these young men and try to be as good a mentors, role models and counselors as we can. We're trying to get to know them on a more personal level and try to let them know that we are for them. We are in it together, backing them every way and encouraging them to do their best on a daily basis. We've done that so much and we love the individuals involved, but they just have to grow and it takes time."

...Jaime Echenique's growth:
"He's been a bright spot. He wasn't very good Saturday (against Southern Miss). There was something wrong with the way he was catching the ball and the way he was finishing around the basket. He ended up with 17 (points) and 11 (rebounds), but honestly - - really easily -- he could have had 25 (points) and 18 (rebounds). I mean, he left a lot of money on the table with those bunnies he missed around the basket and not catching the ball with both hands. In the end, he blocked some shots, took a charge and he makes the winning basket. I don't know where we would be without him. I'm glad that he's on our team. I'm glad that he's working hard. He's a wonderful human being, and I just like working with him. I challenge him everyday. There are probably days he doesn't like working with me, but I like working with him because he's a wonderful person and a wonderful player -- and he's getting better. Laterally, he moved and took that charge against Harris-Baker from Southern Miss. That kid is 6-7, put it on the floor to the left and Jaime got over there and took the charge."

....failing to protect big leads on opponents:
"Everybody wants to focus on losing a 33-point lead (against Baylor). Actually we didn't lose a 33-point lead. We lost a 28-point lead. We were never below five against Baylor. I have to consider that we have a 33-point lead against Baylor. That's part of the game, too, and that's hard to do - - ask Arizona. We got a 33-point lead against Baylor. Lets talk about that. It's pretty good basketball. If we are going to talk about Baylor, let's talk about the first half. I would prefer that."

...preparing for VCU's pressure:
"All fall, all summer, we practiced a drill we call 4-on-3, 3-on-4. Three guys take it in, four guys are pressuring them, trapping every pass, every dribble up the court... We've done that specifically for games like this... We'll do it again today. Essentially, my answer is, we've been preparing for that since day-one."

....freshman going on the road into a hostile environment for the first time:
"Expect the best, but it will be a very tough assignment. Going on the road for the first true road game. (Oklahoma) was road game, but it was a neutral road game in Oklahoma City. This one is on their (VCU's) campus. They've got a great following, great fan base, great coach, great program, great tradition. It will be unique. So far we haven't handle a lot of first's very well."

...Chance Moore's departure:
"I wish him well. I like him as a young person. I hope he does well wherever he ends up. Obviously, we had some disagreements -- mostly on playing time. He thought he should be playing more, and our staff didn't. We had some specific things we wanted him to do to play more, and he just couldn't come around to that. Wish him well, hope he does great and we'll try to help him in any way."

....Rod Brown's impact in limited minutes:
"He hasn't maximized his time. That's why he hasn't gotten a whole lot better - - until this last game. The last game (against Southern Miss), he was what I need. He was the human super ball. He was running, he was bouncing, he was all over the place. Using his athleticism and his strength and his God-given abilities to more of a beneficial way for our team. Getting two stick-backs, playing some good defense and running in transition, which sucks the defense and then you maybe can  - - he didn't get it - - but maybe others scored because of his running of the court so hard. That was his best game."

....limiting turnovers against VCU:
"It's huge. They are going to press for 40 minutes, they are going to run-and-jump, they are going to full-court pressure, they are going to throw all the pressures you could possibly throw at you, and you have to be able to deal with that... (Our) guys are going to be very tired at the end of the game and they are going to be stressed - - hopefully a happy stress because we handled it well -- but there is a chance that we don't. "