Wichita State men's basketball interim head coach Isaac Brown spoke to media ahead of the Shockers' Tuesday night road matchup with South Florida. He spoke about what makes South Florida a tough opponent, getting better rebounding from post players and the depth of his squad.
 
Fans can catch Tuesday's game at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. Fans can learn more about ESPN+ at plus.espn.com.
 
INTERIM HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN on … 
 
Opening Statement:
"South Florida is a good basketball team. They're on a four-game win streak. They have two all-league guys in (David) Collins and (Alexis) Yetna. Collins is the all-time free-throw shooter in our conference. He gets fouled more than anyone. We've got to do a good job of guarding him. Yetna was the Freshman of the Year in the league two years ago, he is a double-double guy. He's averaging right at 11 points per game and seven rebounds per game. They're a big, physical basketball team playing with a lot of confidence right now. They have a four-game win streak. They had a big road victory at Cincinnati. We have to play a really good game in order to go down and get a win."
 
… how to combat USF's size inside to rebound effectively:
"Well, we've got to box out. We've got to gang rebound. We've got to have all five guys going to the glass every time the ball is shot. We've got to make sure we're checking out. But again, it's got to be a total team effort. We have to gang rebound, we have the check out and we've just got to do a good job on the glass. They're a great rebounding team. They've got a 7-footer at the center spot. So we've got to do a good job on the glass."
 
… if he wants more rebounding from the post players:
"Yeah. I was telling Morris (Udeze) the other day. I said, 'Man, you played a great game. You had 18 points, you were 7-for-7 from the field. You're doing a great job at the free throw line, but the rebounding has got to pick up.' I showed him a stat where he had three rebounds in that game. I mean, our guards are doing a good job of rebounding down, but I think it would be very helpful for our bigs and step up and get some rebounds."
 
… how impactful bench players have been:
"The best basketball teams I've ever been around are always teams that had depth. In practice, it's very competitive. So now we can hold everybody accountable and we've got five guys going up against another five guys that could easily be starters and they're competing hard in practice. That level of competition is just like it is in a game. So having Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler coming off the bench, giving us good minutes on the block, scoring the basketball and Ricky Council IV coming in the game, you know, getting 13 points and seven rebounds is huge for our basketball team when we can get points off the bench."
 
… Tyson Etienne's leadership:
"He's been a leader since he walked through the door. I think when he first got here as a freshmen, it was kind of hard for a freshman to be a leader because a lot of sophomores at the time they were the leaders of the team, but he's done a great job this summer just getting guys in the gym, keeping guys after practice. He's been the vocal leader of the team, him and Dexter Dennis, those guys have done a great job of communicating to the younger guys. Even Morris Udeze, he has stepped up. Trey Wade, we got good leadership in our locker room and that helps our team because as a coach, once they go to the locker room, you need somebody in that locker room telling them good things. And all four of those guys have."
 
… the anomaly that South Florida gives up a large number of threes, but allows a low percentage from the three-point line:
"They have good size and athleticism and I think they're contesting shots. And when you can contest shots, a lot of times they make it difficult for the other team to make those shots. I think that the fact they have good athletes, they close out well and they contest high, that's why teams are not shooting good percentages against them. They're a good basketball team. They've got a lot of size. We've got to do a great job of rebounding against them. We also have to step up and make some threes against them as well. We haven't shot the ball great, so hopefully we will keep shooting and start to shoot a little better."
 
… his team's lower than normal three-point percentage:
"I think when we started the season off, we weren't taking good shots. These last two or three ball games, I thought the shots have gotten better. We've just got to step up and make them. We want those guys taking wide open shots. We want those guys making the extra pass to get guys wide-open shots. I'm just telling the shooters, 'Just keep shooting, don't worry about making and missing shots. As long as you're taking good shots, as long as you're wide open, we want you to take those shots.' I just think eventually they're going to fall."
 
… if Ricky Council IV's freshman season reminds him of Markis McDuffie's sophomore season:
"Markis came in on that team and he did a great job of scoring. He did a great job of rebounding. Ricky just has a knack for getting to the basket. He's great off the bounce creating shots and he's athletic enough to go up in traffic and get tough rebounds, so it's good having a guy like him and Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler, Craig Porter and Clarence Jackson, all those guys coming off the bench. All those guys give us a lift because they come in the game and rebound for sure."
 
… if Tyson Etienne has the green light on deep threes:
"He has a green light. Tyson makes those shots in practice. I wouldn't allow him to take shots in the game that he didn't take in practice. I see him every day in practice make those shots and he makes it so there's no need for me to change it in a game. I just keep telling him, 'Take wide open shots.' I'm not really concerned about how far out, because again, the kid has the range to 25 feet, so he's allowed to take those shots. If he's wide open, he's in rhythm. I've seen him make those shots a lot in practice."
 
… how the mentality changes for conference matchups on the road:
"The mentality is just playing the right way. We want to defend. We want to rebound. We want to play with toughness. We want to make sure we do a good job of getting back on defense in transition. Defense is always huge on the road. We want to make sure we do a good job of rebounding against a big, physical, athletic team. We just want to play the right way. We want to defend, rebound, play with toughness, take good shots and go down and put forth a great effort."