The RoundHouse | 10/29/2019 10:20:00 PM

 
Dexter Dennis said he tried many tactics. Robot jokes, he discovered, got Trey Wade to laugh.
 
"He's the hardest person to make laugh on the team," Dennis said. "I just kept coming with it, jokes back to back, back to back."
 
Dennis calls Wade, a 6-foot-6 junior forward, Optimus Prime, from the "Transformers" action films.
 
"He's built like a big robot," Dennis said. "We kept going with the robot jokes and one of them made him laugh."
 
Wade, at least in his two public appearances for Wichita State, isn't much on emotion on the court, no matter how well things are going. He plays with a calm and a purpose that stands out, even in his early days as a Shocker.
 
"I just try to play the game right," he said.
 
On Tuesday, he scored 13 points and grabbed nine rebounds in Wichita State's 92-57 exhibition win over NCAA Division II Northeastern (Okla.) State at Koch Arena. That performance backed up 18 points and 11 rebounds in Saturday's closed scrimmage win over Nebraska.
 
Dennis and Wade match up frequently in practice, where Wade often works as a small forward. On Tuesday and Saturday, he played more power forward, a spot that might give him a matchup edge against bigger defenders who can't handle his quickness and perimeter skills.
 
"He has a motor, but he also can shoot it and rebound," Dennis said. "He's playing as hard as he can and dominates the glass and making shots."
 
Wade played one season at UTEP before transferring to South Plains (Texas) College. That experience likely helps his transition to Wichita State
 
"I just try to play with confidence," he said. "I try to do the things coaches ask and play hard."
 
Wichita State freshman Grant Sherfield started at point guard on his 20^thbirthday. He looked as if he played that spot for years.
 
Sherfield, from Sunrise Christian Academy, led the Shockers with 18 points, on 7-of-12 shooting, and handed out three assists without a turnover. That set the stage for an excellent night for all three of Wichita State's primary ball-handlers and coach Gregg Marshall is quite pleased with his depth at guard.
 
"Coach just told me to go out there and be calm and control the speed of the game," Sherfield said. "I was just happy I could go out there and celebrate my B-day with my teammates and coaches."
 
Sherfield, sophomore Jamarius Burton and Tyson Etienne combined for 10 assists and no turnovers.
 
"(Sherfield) looked like a point guard who could score, which is something we tried to recruit," Marshall said. "Grant's 20. That's three years difference as a true freshman. That's a big deal maturity-wise."
 
Burton, who missed practice last week after having his wisdom teeth removed, scored 14 points and handed out six assists. Etienne, a freshman also playing in his first college game, scored 12 points and recorded one assist.
 
The Shockers struggled to shoot from the outside last season. On Tuesday, Sherfield made 3 of 6 threes, Etienne 4 of 8 and Burton 1 of 2.
 
Wichita State committed seven turnovers and allowed eight offensive rebounds – a major point of frustration – in the first half. 
 
In the second half, the Shockers committed one turnover, late in the game, on their way to outscoring Northeastern State 45-25. They did that despite going deep into the bench and rotating lineups frequently. 
 
They also limited Northeastern State to three offensive rebounds and cleaned up most of the defensive mistakes that frustrated Marshall. The Shockers forced two 10-second violations within two minutes midway through the second half, both times locking up the opposing guard deep in backcourt by cutting off passing and dribbling lanes.
 
"We know what our goals are and we know there's a certain level we need to play at," Etienne said. "We can't let 50-50 balls go to the other team. We can't let offensive rebounds go to the other team. We knew we had to buckle down and I believe we did that in the second half."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.