Wichita State men's basketball coach Isaac Brown met with local media Monday afternoon for a preview of Tuesday night's season opener against Jacksonville State. Read on for the transcript:
 

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HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN ON…
 
… Opening statement:
"I'm excited about the new year. It's been a long summer. The guys got here in June and started practice then July, August, September. Things have gone really well. We've added a couple of new pieces: two transfers, three high school guys that really gelled well. We had an exhibition game and a scrimmage game that felt like they went really well."
 
… What he's most looking forward to Tuesday night:
"I'm just excited to be back playing in front of the best fans in the country. I think that'll be huge for our guys having that home court advantage again."
 
… Tuesday's opponent, Jacksonville State:
"Jacksonville State is a really good basketball team. Coach (Ray) Harper does a great job. He won a national championship at the Division II level. He's been to the NCAA tournament as a head coach. They return a lot of guys: five starters, six guys off the bench, so they've got a veteran ball club. They won 18 games last year in the always-tough OVC, and those guys have moved to a new league, but, again, a really good basketball team, a veteran team, and we've got our hands full."
 
… What Jacksonville State does well:
"They rebound. We've got to do a good job on the glass, of getting them all, not giving up second shots. They've got a big kid inside, Huffman, who transferred from UNC. He's a really good player. We have to double him in the low post. We've got to make sure we do a good job of not letting him seal us under the rim, and then we've got to box out. At the four-spot, they've got a kid named Kayne Henry who's a really athletic guy. They've got another guard named Adams who's really good. He was one of the top scorers in that league, and they've got a veteran point guard in Finch, who played 34, 35 minutes-per-game last year."
 
… Udeze's responsibilities against Huffman:
"We've got to do a job of making sure we get double-teams there early, making sure we're digging in low post, and just making sure we're in the right position. That's what we talked about with Morris (Udeze) all summer long, about being in the right position, and that'll help keep you out of foul trouble."
 
… Realistic goals and expectations for the first game:
"Just seeing all the guys trust their teammates. We've got to trust our teammates in this game, really share the ball, make sure we're connected on the offensive end and the defensive end and have low turnovers. We can't turn the ball over. We don't want to make it easy for them. We've got to go out, execute our offense, try to get easy baskets, and on defense defend, rebound and play with toughness. We've got to rebound because this is a really good rebounding basketball team."
 
… Why they wanted to play such a tough test early on as the first game:
"You want to play a good non-conference schedule and Jacksonville State is always at the top of their league. Again, they have an experienced coach with a lot of guys coming back. It wouldn't surprise me if they won their conference championships. They're that good. Last year, they won 18 games. They return 12 players. All five starters are back, so they've got a good basketball team. We've got to get up for the challenge. They're really good."
 
… On prepping his team to face a deceptively-good JSU team:
"I told them that anybody can beat you on any given night if you're not ready to play. This team has a bunch of transfers… It's a veteran ball club. They're actually older than we are… So we've got to be ready to go."
 
… Last Monday's exhibition game:
"I thought we played well in the exhibition game. I thought we got off to a slow start. We weren't [competing] at a high level. We weren't rebounding at a high level. I thought we cleaned that up the last 10 minutes of the (first half). We started to push the pace on offense. We started to get at them with our pressing, our picking up full court, and got our athleticism into the game. I thought, offensively, we shared the ball. We had a lot of assists, and we were able to make wide open shots."
 
… Opportunities for improvement:
"We've got to make sure we're not turning the basketball over on offense. That's the No. 1 offensive key. We've got to make sure we're sharing the basketball. We've got to keep the floor spread. We've got to be able to take good shots, and we've got to be able to move more. We can't let the ball stick in our hands trying to go one-on-one. On defense, we've just got to defend at a high level. We've got to rebound. We can't allow teams second shots. We weren't one of the better rebounding teams in the country, and that's something we really worked on this summer. We talked about rebounding, rebounding, and just making sure we check guys out. That's going to be something going into the game, if you don't get a checkout, you're probably going to come out, so you've got to rebound."
 
… What he's looking forward to this team being able to consistently do:
"Hopefully this team can make wide open shots. We didn't shoot it well last year, but we were able to win a championship. I thought we were a good defensive team. Even though we gave up second shots, we were good in the first possession. We've got to become a better shooting team. We've got to shoot it better at the free-throw line. We've got to continue to share the basketball, and we've just got to take good shots. In order to be a good shooting team, you've got to be able to take good shots and make wide open shots, and we worked on that all summer long. I thought guys got in the gym and tried to get up 500 shots per day, and hopefully we improved there."
 
… Shot selection vs. MSSU:
"I thought it was good. I thought those guys drove the gaps and tried to get their teammates extra shots. Guys were setting screens trying to get someone else open, and that's the key for us. Trying to get somebody else a shot is always good for your basketball team, any time you can spread it out. If you can drive it and make two people guard you, kick it to a wide-open shooter, those are the shots you have to take in order to be a high-level offensive basketball team."
 
… Being back in a full-capacity Charles Koch Arena:
"We have the best fans in the country. I'm sure we'll have a really good crowd, and any time you've got an atmosphere like that, it gives your guys a lot of energy. Last year, they weren't able to play in front of the fans due to COVID, so I'm just excited and they're excited. They've been talking about it all week long, and hopefully we have a packed house tomorrow night because we really need that in order to beat a really good Jacksonville State basketball team."
 
… Tyson Etienne being added to another preseason watchlist:
"That tells you that he put the work in, and now he's got to go out and play basketball games… He improved so much from his freshman year to his sophomore year, being the player of the year in the league. Now the expectations are higher, and he'll be the No. 1 guy on every scouting report. I think he put the work in this summer, working on his ball handling and his point guard skills, and that's what he did in every practice. He was always trying to get his teammates involved and being a leader in practice. We still need him to score, too, so I'm expecting a lot from him."
 
This year's mindset vs. last:
"We've got a lot of new guys, but the biggest difference is that last year there were no expectations. People were sleeping on us, and I think our guys played with a chip on their shoulder. I told them that in order to be a good team that competes for a conference championship, you've got play with that same chip on your shoulder because now, everybody knows the expectations are really high. Those guys put in the work this summer. We had good leadership, and new guys came in this summer that got in and bought into the system. The veteran guys and coaches on the floor and in the locker room have really gelled, so I'm just excited for the season to start, and I can't wait to play in front of our fans."
 
… The potential for getting another player this year with only 12 currently on scholarship.
"We're working on it. Hopefully, we can sign a guy and bring him in in January. That would be great if we could do that, but right now we don't have any word from the NCAA on that. We're going to try to do a waiver. Hopefully, that works out, and if it does, we do have an extra scholarship to bring somebody in in January and maybe sit that guy out. There's a possibility they could play, but I think, more than likely, it'll probably be a waiver, and they would be sitting out."