The RoundHouse | 2/19/2021 3:20:00 PM
It is easy for us to see that
Alterique Gilbert is making more shots to help Wichita State make a charge in February.
He made a bunch of big ones in Thursday's 68-63 win over No. 6 Houston at Koch Arena.
Less obvious are some of his other contributions that indicate a growing confidence and effectiveness. The Shockers (13-4, 9-2 American Athletic Conference) won five straight games to take over first place and help their NCAA Tournament resume.
Gilbert, according to Ken Pomeroy's offensive rating statistic, recorded three of his top six performances this month. In February's four games, he averages 14 points on 8-of-15 shooting from three-point range.
"It's really a mind-set, confidence, of course, getting the right amount of reps up," he said. "Then it's having your teammates and coaching staff believe in you, to really make that next shot, make that next play."
Entering February, Gilbert averaged 9.5 points on 32-percent shooting, 25.9 from behind the arc. Four games later, he averages 10.5 points and his three-point shooting percentage is up to 31.9. His foul shooting is up to 74.1 percent after going 14 for 16 this month.
"I felt like Alterique was playing good, but I felt like he still could give us more," interim coach
Isaac Brown said. "Now, he's making shots. The good thing about a guy like Alterique – he thinks he can make every shot. He thinks he can break anybody down off the bounce. That's a good thing to have that type of confidence and it showed last night."
In addition to his shot-making and clever passing, Gilbert also thought with and ahead of coaches to call a defensive change against the Cougars. The Shockers are using a three-quarters court press that pulls back to a man defense in recent games. When Brown ordered it up against Houston, Gilbert was ready.
Gilbert guarded Houston's Marcus Sasser and helped limit him to nine points, five below his season average. Gilbert is a constant pest who fights through screens and presents an obstacle for opposing guards attempting to drive the lane. Team him with forward
Dexter Dennis and Brown believes he can use two strong defenders on the perimeter.
"He's an elite defender," Brown said. "You can put him a guy and it's Dexter-like. He guards smaller guys that can shoot and we put Dexter on the bigger guys."
In practice, he uses his voice more to help youngsters and team with guard
Tyson Etienne as leadership strength in the backcourt. After practice, he consistently stays to shoot 200 or more shots.
Against Houston, in one of Wichita State's biggest wins, Gilbert put all those skills on display.
He scored 16 points, making 6 of 11 shots and 3 of 4 three-pointers. He scored 10 of those points in the second half – six during an early stretch that gave the Shockers a 10-point lead. Late in the game, he slithered through the Houston defense to create a dunk for
Trey Wade and his own layup at a time the Shockers desperately needed points.
"Super important," Dennis said. "He's like one of the only people I really can't stay in front of. He's so fast and so quick with the ball."
In a season full of challenges and change, Gilbert's journey stands out.
He transferred to Wichita State from Connecticut and arrived on campus without making a recruiting visit. He endured COVID-19 quarantine and the departure of coach Gregg Marshall.
On Thursday, he helped the Shockers author one of the program's biggest wins, one that stands with almost any regular-season win in any era.
"I'm just blessed to be here at Wichita State and we're just going to keep it going," he said. "We're just going to keep getting better. You know, we come in each and every day, work hard, and we're becoming closer."
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.
