Wichita State head coach Isaac Brown has spent the past few days emphasizing "effort" and "urgency" heading into Thursday night's road debut against a Richmond team that reached the second round in last year's NCAA tournament. Not surprisingly, those were frequently used phrases during Tuesday's press conference with local media. Read on for the transcript:
 
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HEAD COACH ISAAC BROWN ON…
 
… Thursday's game against Richmond:
"They've got an NBA-type player in (Tyler) Burton. Last game versus College of Charleston, he had 38 points. We have to do a good job on him. They've got a big kid inside who can really score on the block. They have another big kid who plays the four and five (Matt Grace). (They are a) good basketball team, that's 2-1 right now. They're really good on their home floor. We just have to go out and play hard… That's the key to the game. Let's play hard."
 
… Lessons learned from studying the Alcorn State film:
"I thought the biggest thing was just effort and playing hard. Other than that, I thought we defended, we contested shots. They made some tough ones. We didn't make wide-open shots like you need to at this level. It was just competing and rebounding. We didn't rebound well in that game. That's something we've got to do against a smaller team. You've got to take advantage of those guys on the glass, and we didn't do that very well."
 
… Potential changes to the game plan in light of the team's early shooting woes:
"We may make some changes. It just depends on who practices well. I like our lineup. We've got guys that have been making shots in practice. They've just got to make those shots in the game. I thought, for the most part, we drove and we kicked the ball and we got open looks, but if you don't make threes, teams are going to continue to just pack it in. I think the one thing we need to do is try to get the bigs more touches on block.  James (Rojas) did a great job at passing out of the post. Kenny Pohto was excellent. He's doing a better job of scoring the ball on the block in practice, and he took that into the game. We've got to play more inside-out. But again, if we don't make shots, (teams are) just going to pack it in (defensively).
 
… Response from the team's veteran leaders:
"I thought everybody in practice had more energy. They were talking, they gave more effort. And that's what you got to do in a game. You can't just do it in practice. You've got to do it in the game. We practiced hard yesterday.  We took care of basketball. We were able to make some shots, but now we've got to take that into the game."
 
… Monday's film session with the team:  
"We had to show the poor effort plays, and we just said it won't be tolerated. It's unacceptable to play that way. In order to win at this level, you've got to play hard. Every team in college basketball can beat you if you don't go out and give 110%. That can happen. There are going to be nights where you don't make shots. There are going to be nights where you defend and contest shots well, but they (go in). But (you control) the effort and energy."
 
… The challenge of going on the road for the first time with a new group:
"It'll be tough, but we've got some experienced guys with Craig Porter and Kenny Pohto who have been on the road before. This is our first road trip with a new team, with 12 new players… Richmond is really good at home… We've got to go out and play well if we expect to win.
 
… Facing a Richmond team that is also hungry for redemption after falling in overtime to Charleston on Monday.
"You've got to have a sense of urgency to be able to go on the road and win. Richmond coming off a tough loss. They got down 20-something points and they battled back. That shows you that those players have the will and fight to battle back in any type of game. Burton is a big-time player who had 38 points in that game, and I'm sure they will have some tough practices this week. After losing a game, going into that film session, it will sting a little bit because they didn't defend early. Richmond allowed Charleston to get some wide-open shots. We had a tough film session as well. So now that's two teams coming off a hurtful loss. They're (Richmond) is playing at home. We're going on the road for the first time. I think the team that competes at the highest level and gives the most effort is going to be a team that wins the game."
 
… Gang rebounding:
"On the defensive rebounds, we had guys leaking out. We have one or two guys at all times leaking out, trying to get a layup, and then they don't (rebound). (Alcorn) picked up all those loose balls, made those extra effort plays. I thought that hurt us. On the other end, (there should be) four of us going for the offensive rebound. We wanted the (point guard) to get back but our three-man never hit the glass, and that's something we talked about. We've got to get three or four guys on the (offensive) glass at all times."
 
… Containing Richmond's Tyler Burton:
"That's on the entire team, obviously… We;ve got to do a good job of defending him in the post and limiting his touches. He's a guy that can draw a lot of fouls on the perimeter any time he comes into a ball screen. W've got to make sure we do a good job of just being at the level and not allowing him to come off of the ball screen and get an easy look. He's a NBA-type player. He had 38 points the last game. We have to do a good job of limiting his touches, for sure."