At his weekly press conference, Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall talked ECU, walk-on Eli Farrakhan's bew scholarship, reverse the team's road fortunes and the effect Landry Shamet's NBA success has had on recruiting. Read on for the transcript.
 

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HEAD COACH GREGG MARSHALL ON...

...walk-on Eli Farrakhan receiving the scholarship fro spring semester:
"We had the scholarship and, I don't know how long ago the rule changed, but you can now use it per-semester. He is deserving. He came to us as a gift, basically as a buddy to Ricky. He mentioned him before school started and we did a little searching and, at that moment, we didn't know who our point guard would be and we knew we needed all the help we could get at that position. He's a good student, he's been a leader and he's always in the gym. He's played more than any of the other walk-ons, so I thought he deserved it for all of those reasons."

...the offense picking up:
"Not one thing has changed. It's just playing at home, and they're a little more comfortable. They've proven to not be very adept at scoring on the road. It's the same guys and same offense and in their own way have to find the mental toughness to be able to travel with the same mindset on the offensive end."

...freshman Jamarius Burton's growth:
"He was named 'rookie of the week' in the league. His assist-to0turnover was something like 4:1 on the week and he's made 50 percent or more of his three's in the last couple of games. Getting offensive rebounds in a timely matter against Tulsa -- I'm glad to see his development come along."

.....road game against ECU:
"We can't look past anybody at the bottom of the standing, because we are in the bottom of the standings. We just have to treat each opponent with great respect and do our film study and our due diligence on preparing to try to take away some of their strength. We haven't played very well on the road. We just have to go and try to play well on the road. The winning and losing will take care of itself. We just haven't played well on the road."

...freshman Jamarius Burton's ability to distribute the ball efficiently:
"Well, in or order to have a good assist-to-turnover ratio, you have to limit the turnovers. He's done that. He had one on an out-of-bounds pass the last game, and I don't recall what his other turnover was. He's eliminated lately the hook, which he was famous for early in the year on the drive where he drove and tried to hook with his arm. Hes eliminated some travels and just some really silly, careless and needlessly dangerous passes."

....watching Landry Shamet succeed, and whether there is some correlation between running WSU's motion offense and his success playing off-guard in the NBA.
"It's fun for all of our guys that have had time in the NBA, and to see their success. Landry (Shamet) is certainly a guy that came in and developed and became a really good player. First round draft pick after his sophomore season and is doing work up there (in Philadelphia). We are really excited and happy for him. I think running motion offense does give you the freedom and teaches you how to move without the basketball. He was really good at it coming in the door and got a little better while he was here. His AAU coach, Scott Wedman with the Kansas City group. They used to be called the Pumas and then they went to the Pacers. He did a nice job with motion offense, and it was a natural fit for him here (at Wichita State). Moving without the ball, because he's got a lightning quick release on his three and shoots a great percentage. If he can find ways to get open, it's going to make him that much more of a valuable commodity in the NBA. "

....guys like Landry, Fred, and Ron playing in the NBA helping with recruiting:
"Oh yeah, the guys that we have signed in the fall -- Noah Fernandes and Tyson Etienne -- because you just mentioned three guards. We talk about those guys and their development here and how they work. We want guys with talent and skill and all that, but we also want coachable kids that want to work. We're doing that with some underclassmen now, and maybe even another Class of '19 person. The more that those guys continue to evolve as really good players in the NBA, helps us down the road."