Wichita State men's basketball interim head coach Isaac Brown spoke to the media ahead of Wednesday night's game against Oral Roberts. He discussed how the team has been handling being shorthanded, the scouting report for Oral Roberts and the importance of having experienced players available. Fans can tune into Wednesday's 6 p.m. matchup on ESPN+ or listen on the radio on KEYN 103.7 FM or GoShockers.com/Listen. For more information on ESPN+, please visit https://plus.espn.com.
 
INTERIM HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN on…
 
Opening Statement
"Well, the guys that were able to play were feeling down, but once we got back, we focused on Oral Roberts and we've had three good days of practice. And today it'll be our last practice preparing for the game. I think we're ready to go."
 
... who is available to play against Oral Roberts:
"I'll just let you know where we have eight guys."
 
… how it affects the gameplan to only have eight players:
"It's different. It's the first time I've had to practice with eight guys in like 20 years. You don't run into that in practice a lot. So practice has just been a lot different because we've had to do a lot of different drills. It's hard to do five on five because you only have eight guys available. So we've been doing a lot of four-on-four drills, a lot of shooting drills, trying to run Oral Roberts' stuff with just four guys. So we definitely will have a short bench. We've got to scout them out and we've just got to play smart. We can't get in foul trouble because we only have eight guys available."
 
… the COVID-19 testing protocols:
"It changes. We listen to our team physicians and I just go by whatever they say to do, so if they say a guy has to sit out 10 days, that's the protocol for it. We just basically listen to our team physicians, the CDC, and we try to go by exactly what they're telling us to do."
 
… what he sees as a strength of his team based on what he has seen in practice:
"I like our guard play. I think we got a lot of guys that can create shots off the bounce. We've got a lot of guys that can make 3s. We have a good inside game with Morris Udeze and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler. Trey Wade can also post up inside. But overall, most of our team is our guard play. Our guard play is really good. I'm expecting a lot from our guard, but the big guys can also score the ball inside."
 
… the team's morale:
"The guys have really been excited. The eight guys that we have, they're supporting those guys not around. They're coming to practice with a lot of energy, having a lot of fun, and they're picking their teammates up. They're just excited. They're ready to play. They've been going against each other since June. Those guys are finally ready to compete against someone else."
 
… on the scouting report for Oral Roberts:
"Oral Roberts is a good basketball team. They lost their first game at Missouri. Missouri is a really good basketball team. They're bringing it back to like 96 percent of their offense from Missouri. Oral Roberts is a team that can really shoot it from the 3-point line (at the) one through five (positions). They have a big kid inside that averages 18 points per game and 10 rebounds per game, so he's a double-double guy. They've got a guard that averages 18 points per game and has a deep range. Number one, we have to defend the 3-point line, because like I said, they can shoot it one through five and make threes. We've also got to do a good job getting back in transition, and we've got to do a good job of guarding the big kid in the low post because he's a guy that's averaging a double-double."
 
… bringing experienced players back:
"It's definitely comforting to have those experienced guys back. Alterique Gilbert who's been through college basketball, he'll be able to suit up. Tyson Etienne is going to be able to suit up. Dexter Dennis, Trey Wade, Morris Udeze (all should be able to play), so we got a lot of experienced guys that will be playing in this game and that's comforting to know that they've been through it. We've just got to make sure we do a good job of playing smart and staying out of foul trouble with a limited bench."
 
… Dexter Dennis' improvement and his reaction to missing out on preseason accolades:
"He entered draft this summer and they were able to tell him the things that he needed to work on. He's worked on that stuff. Everybody knows he's a big time 3-point shooter. He's a guy that's athletic enough. He just had to work on his ball skills and all summer long, he's been working on creating shots of the bounce, create shots of ball screens, and he's ready to go. He's excited about the season. He hasn't really said much about not being on the all-conference team because it's not about what you do in the preseason. It's about what you do at the end of the season."
 
… if he wants Dexter Dennis to be an offensive leaders:
"Yes. We would love for him to score the ball. That's one of his deals that he can do. He's a great shooter. He's a guy that can get out in transition and get you some easy baskets with dunks or big time finishes, but we need Dexter to score the basketball. He's one of our better defenders, but he's also one of our better offensive players."
 
… if the newcomers are buying into playing great defense:
"Yes, we tell those guys all the time. The success we've had here, it wasn't really about our offense, it was all about defending at a high level. When you play college basketball, there's going to be some nights that you may not be able to make shots. In order to win that game, you've got to defend, you've got to rebound and you've got to play with toughness. So that is part of our mindset going into every game."
 
… if he is more excited this year compared to previous years:
"I think I'd be excited whether it was at home on the road. You've put your heart and soul into getting better during the summertime and watching these guys compete against each other, so I'm just excited just to see them to be able to go out and have the first game, because we've waited so long. The season was already pushed back and then we went to South Dakota and we weren't able to play. I'm just excited to see those guys get an opportunity to get on the court."
 
… if it feels like this has been the longest offseason ever:
"Yes it's been the longest offseason. The season was already pushed back with all the COVID stuff going on. With us going to South Dakota and missing three games, everything has been pushed back totally. Hopefully everything goes well and play the game tomorrow."
 
… if something could come up between now and gametime to cancel the game:
"I think something could always come up. We did take another test today. I'm not 100 percent on all that, but I'm pretty sure any point something could come up. If the physician said tomorrow we couldn't play, that's something that we have no control over."