The RoundHouse | 3/11/2021 3:48:00 PM

 
 
Lou Gudino calls it "offensive sensitivity." Dexter Dennis' resistance to that ailment might be his greatest strength.
 
Some players sag on defense when they aren't scoring. 
 
Dennis is the Shocker stopper and his effort remains constant on defense. That was true for the first two months of the season when his shot slumped. It remains true over the past six games in which he is 15 of 31 from three-point range.
 
His "offensive sensitivity" is not noticeable, which is why he is one of the American Athletic Conference's top defenders. 
 
"He's defended from the day he got here," said Gudino, Wichita State assistant coach. "He knows he can help the team, regardless of putting the ball in the basket."
 
The top-seeded Shockers (15-4) play eighth-seeded USF (9-12) at 11 a.m. Friday (ESPN2) in the quarterfinals of the American Athletic Conference Championship in Fort Worth. 
 
Dennis, a 6-foot-5 junior wing, will again take on the top defensive assignment, likely against USF guard David Collins, who scored 23 points in Thursday's 73-71 win over Temple.
 
Coach Isaac Brown used Dennis as an example to the newcomers early in the season. Dennis played significant minutes even when he didn't score much. His defense and teamwork made him valuable. Now that he is on a hot streak, the Shockers are a more difficult team to defend.

Nothing changed as the Shockers entered February, Dennis said. He stuck to his routine of shooting outside of practice, often with Gudino rebounding and passing.
 
"I knew eventually it was going to fall," Dennis said.
 
Hot and cold streaks are a familiar part of Dennis' career at Wichita State. 
 
"I go through this thing every year," he said. "At the end of the year, I start finding myself and figuring out things a little bit more."
 
As a freshman, he shot 43.8 percent from three-point range over the season's final 18 games after enduring a 5-for-26 stretch. Last season, he went 5-for-38 during a time that carried into early January. He made 40.2 percent of his threes over the remaining 13 games, including 7 of 14 at SMU.
 
Those experiences helped out ride out this season's slump.
 
"When they're not going in, I just have to keep motivated and don't get down on myself," he said. "My attitude is always to do anything I can to help the team, whether I'm making shots or not."
 
That might be the hardest thing asked of a basketball player. So many take their energy and derive worth from scoring. They let missed shots haunt them on the defensive end. Gudino doesn't worry about that with Dennis.
 
"He relied on his preparation and his mechanics," Gudino said. "He's mature and level-headed."
 
Dennis enters the tournament averaging 13.4 points over the past five games. He lifted the Shockers to the regular-season title by averaging 17 points and eight rebounds, while shooting 60 percent from the field, in wins over Tulane and USF.
 
"We just continued to tell him 'Keep taking shots,'" Brown said. "'Don't worry about making and missing.' Now he's starting to make those shots."
 
Paul Suellentrop covers Wichita State Athletics and the American Athletic Conference for university Strategic Communications. Story suggestion? Contact him at paul.suellentrop@wichita.edu.