Gregg Marshall talked UConn, 300-wins, eliminating silly mistakes, Dexter Dennis' shooting surge and more at his weekly media briefing. Read on for some of the highlights.
 

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HEAD COACH GREGG MARSHALL ON..

....update on freshman center Morris Udeze's shoulder injury:
"After looking at it with the doctor and having an MRA... it was determined there was too much pain, too much damage had been done. He's going to have surgery, which will be season-ending. We hope to have him back in, I think, about five months."

...facing UConn again after falling to the Huskies in January:
"UConn really played well. We played very poorly at their place. The game was over early. They have an excellent, team an excellent coach and an excellent home court advantage. Hopefully our guys can pick themselves back up after a disappointing finish against Memphis.

... summing up the Memphis loss.
"A very highly-entertaining game. A game where we made too many silly plays to win in the end."

....thoughts on UConn:
"Talented. They are down a man, Jalen Adams is gone. They've got (Alterique) Gilbert back. He played the last game. A tremendous point guard, All-American. (Josh) Carlton is playing much better. Ghey're going inside to he and (Eric) Cobb a little more. They are very effective down low. We have a couple of days to prepare for them."

..closing the season with a chance to go above .500 in conference play:
"Two games under right now. That means, in order to be over .500, we'd have to go 4-0. 3-1 would get us to 9-9. Anything below that is going to be a losing record. (I would) love to get above .500 in the league. I mean, obviously, that means you win four games in a row. Stay above .500 overall in a very, very challenging league. Good four-game test going into the conference tournament."

....Dexter Dennis' shooting ability:
"(He is a) long, athletic kid, who can really shoot the basketball... He is so bouncy and just quick-twitch. I love the way he runs the court. When we get him to the point, where he is able to do that for long stretches at a time, at peak physical ability that he possesses, it is going to be scary. He's already passing it better -- get his handle a little lower, a little tighter. It will be a big spring for him, but you're starting to see glimpses of what we think can be a very fine player."

...keys to Dennis' shooting surge"
"His shot preparation is much better. He's able to get the shot off. In high school, you could catch it, turn, pivot, crouch and then release the shot, because you weren't playing with athletes with the length and athleticism and ability to contest shots that you see at this level."

...his quest for 300 wins at Wichita State:
"A lot of good players , a lot of good assistant coaches, great administration and wonderful fan supoort. We've won a lot of games. I don't know what the percentage is, but it's a percentage that I appreciate, especially going through a season like this one. When the wins aren't quite as readily available. They are a little harder to come by. This is how the other half lives and I'm experiencing that too. Just got to try and get back on the side (of the win-loss ledger) that we want to be on."

...UConn women coming to town:
"I'm going to probably stick my head in and just see the atmosphere. I hope the people come out and watch. Keitha (Adams) is building this thing back and got a lot of young athletes. Very similar to us in their trajectory. The UConn women, what can you say. That's the thing -  the UConn men in Storrs at Gampel Pavillion is very impressive with all their All-Americans and National Championships. It's dwarfed by the women. Between the two of them, it's probably as successful of a basketball program as there has been in the country in the last 20 years. I don't think that's debatable. The men won four, and the women maybe 10 or 11 in 20 years. Back-to-back you have the women on Tuesday and the men on Thursday. It's pretty good entertainment. That's why we joined the American. It's great."

...Jamarius Burton and Ricky Torres and the space they are given on the perimeter:
"Ricky made one mid-range and one layup and JB made a three, made a couple of mid-range -- he banked one in in the second half (against Memphis). Just going to have to work. I talked to Jamarius (Burton) about that this fall. I said 'Man, you are a consistent jump shot away from being a really good player, and perhaps an all-conference player in time. It's going to take some work. You've got to make 75-80 percent of wide-open elbow jump shots. If you are getting wide open, toe the line threes -- you've got to make 35-40 percent."