The RoundHouse | 11/5/2019 9:04:00 AM

Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall challenged his bigs by heaping praise on Omaha junior Matt Pile. He labels Pile as one who pursues the basketball without fear. He said he watched Pile at a summer tournament and said perhaps the Shockers made a mistake in not recruiting him.
 
"I love ball-getters," Marshall said. "He's got our full and undivided attention. We can't let him get his 12 rebounds and go off for 20 points."
 
Marshall is really talking to his big men and warning them that a local kid (Pile attended Goddard Eisenhower with Shocker junior Brycen Bush) is coming to Koch Arena with something to prove and enough skill to back it up. Everything Marshall praises about Pile is something he wants to see more of from his big men, especially junior center Asbjorn Midtgaard.
 
The Shockers, in this limited sample size, are rolling. They defeated Nebraska in a closed scrimmage. They routed NCAA Division II Northeastern (Okla.) State 92-57 in last week's exhibition.
 
Everything changes tonight when statistics count. It would not be unusual for a team to get a bit comfortable after those two results. However, the Shockers appear driven by last season's rough start (which included a loss in the home opener) and unusually mature newcomers. 
 
"These freshmen this year are a precocious group," Marshall said. "They do a good job of picking everything up. I don't know why that is, but they're more in tuned with basketball I.Q. things than last year's group was. They have more secondary leaders out there. That's a fact. It's been easier for this group, so I think they're ready."
 
Omaha is picked fourth in the Summit League after going 21-11 last season and finishing second in the conference. It returns three starters from that team, including Pile and senior guard JT Gibson. Pile averaged 11.2 points and 7.9 rebounds last season. Gibson averaged 12.9 points and made 39.2 percent of his three-pointers. 
 
It is a good sign if the Shockers ignore the hype of the opener and their previous success.
 
There are not many better indicators of success than turnovers. The Shockers committed eight in the exhibition, one in the second half. Add in 24 assists on 36 baskets and you have the picture of an efficient offense.
 
That starts with the guards and sophomore Jamarius Burton and freshmen Grant Sherfield and Tyson Etienne are off to good starts as the primary play-makers.Their shooting offers the possibility to space the floor and their ball-handling gives the Shockers several options to run breaks and create in half-court situations. 
 
Sherfield scored 18 points and handed out three assists in the exhibition. Burton added 14 points and six assists and Etienne made four of eight three-pointers to score 12 points.
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.