2020–21 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team will represent Wichita State University in the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. They will play their home games at Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas and will led by interim head coach Isaac Brown who took over as interim coach after Gregg Marshall resigned before the start of the season. They are members of the American Athletic Conference.

2020–21 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball
Conference	American Athletic Conference
2020–21 record	11–4 (7–2 AAC)
Head coach	Isaac Brown (interim) (1st season)
Assistant coaches	Tyson Waterman Lou Gudino Billy Kennedy
Home arena	Charles Koch Arena

2020–21 American Athletic Conference men's basketball standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 5 Houston	10	–	2		.833			16	–	2		.889
Wichita State	7	–	2		.778			11	–	4		.733
Memphis	8	–	3		.727			12	–	6		.667
SMU	6	–	4		.600			10	–	4		.714
Tulsa	6	–	6		.500			9	–	8		.529
South Florida	3	–	3		.500			7	–	5		.583
Cincinnati	3	–	4		.429			5	–	7		.417
Temple	3	–	7		.300			4	–	7		.364
UCF	3	–	8		.273			5	–	9		.357
East Carolina	2	–	7		.222			8	–	7		.533
Tulane	2	–	7		.222			7	–	7		.500
† 2021 AAC Tournament winner As of February 7, 2021; Rankings from AP Poll

Previous season

The Shockers finished the 2019–20 season 23–8, 11–7 in AAC play and finished in fourth place. They entered as the No. 4 seed in the AAC Tournament, which was ultimately cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason
Jamarius Burton	2	G	6'3"	200	Sophomore	Charlotte, North Carolina	Transferred to Texas Tech[1]
DeAntoni Gordon	3	F	6'7"	210	Freshman	Mobile, Alabama	Transferred to Northwest Mississippi CC[2]
Erik Stevenson	10	G	6'3"	198	Sophomore	Lacey, Washington	Transferred to Washington[3]
Noah Fernandes	11	G	5'11"	172	Freshman	Mattapoisett, Massachusetts	Transferred to UMass[4]
Jaime Echenique	21	C	6'11"	258	Senior	Barranquilla, Colombia	Graduated
Tate Busse	32	G	6'2"	185	Freshman	St. Francis, Kansas	Walk–on; transferred to MSU Denver[5]
Asbjørn Midtgaard	33	C	7'0"	267	Junior	Helsingør, Denmark	Transferred to Grand Canyon[6]
Grant Sherfield	52	G	6'2"	189	Freshman	Wichita, Kansas	Transferred to Nevada[7]

Morris Udeze initially entered the transfer portal in March before deciding in late April to remain with the Shockers.[8]

2020 Recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Ricky Council IV G	Durham, North Carolina	Northern High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Mar 29, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Chaunce Jenkins G	Newport News, Virginia	Menchville High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	165 lb (75 kg)	Mar 29, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: NR
Jaden Seymour F	Charlotte, North Carolina	Northside Christian Academy	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Apr 3, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals:   247Sports:    ESPN grade: NR
Overall recruiting rankings:
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved 5 April 2020.

Incoming transfers

Name	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Alterique Gilbert	G	6'0"	180	Graduate Student	Atlanta, GA	Transferred from UConn after graduating. Will have one year of eligibility beginning immediately.[9]
Craig Porter Jr.	G	6'1"	165	Junior	Terre Haute, IN	Junior college transferred from Vincennes University.[10]
Clarence Jackson	F	6'6"	185	Sophomore	Dublin, GA	Junior college transferred from Polk State.[11]
Trevin Wade	G	5'11"	166	Junior	Marietta, GA	Junior college transferred from Georgia Highlands.[12] Brother of forward Trey Wade.
Remy Robert II	G	6'2"	183	Junior	Baton Rouge, LA	Walk–on; junior college transferred from State College of Florida.[13]

Preseason

AAC preseason media poll

On October 28, The American released the preseason Poll and other preseason awards[14]

Coaches Poll
Predicted finish	Team	Votes (1st place)
1	Houston	99 (2)
2	Memphis	90 (2)
3	SMU	80
4	Cincinnati	77
5	South Florida	61
6	Tulsa	50
7	Wichita State	44
8	UCF	37
9	East Carolina	34
10	Temple	18
11	Tulane	15

Roster

2020–21 Wichita State Shockers men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Dexter Dennis 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jr Believe Academy Baker, Louisiana G 1 Tyson Etienne 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Putnam Science Academy Englewood, New Jersey G 2 Craig Porter Jr. 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Jr Vincennes University Terre Haute, Indiana G 3 Alterique Gilbert 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) GS UConn Atlanta, Georgia G 4 Ricky Council IV 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Northern HS Durham, North Carolina F 5 Trey Wade 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 221 lb (100 kg) Sr South Plains CC Marietta, Georgia G 10 Remy Robert II (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 188 lb (85 kg) Jr State College of Florida Baton Rouge, Louisiana G 11 Chaunce Jenkins 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Fr Menchville HS Newport News, Virginia G 12 Trevin Wade 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Georgia Highlands Marietta, Georgia G 14 Jacob Herrs (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr Andover HS Wichita, Kansas G 15 Brycen Bush (W) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 172 lb (78 kg) Sr Eisenhower HS Wichita, Kansas F 22 Jaden Seymour 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Northside Christian Academy Charlotte, North Carolina F 24 Morris Udeze 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Jr Montverde Academy Houston, Texas F 25 Clarence Jackson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) So Polk State Dublin, Georgia F 40 Josaphat Bilau 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 232 lb (105 kg) RS Fr Spire Academy La Roche-sur-Yon, France F 44 Isaiah Poor Bear-Chandler 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Jr Sunrise Christian Academy Omaha, Nebraska	Head coach Isaac Brown (Interim, ULM) Assistant coach(es) Tyson Waterman (Winthrop) Lou Gudino (Incarnate Word) Billy Kennedy (Southeastern Louisiana) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on Injured Current redshirt Roster Last update: August 20, 2020

Schedule and results

COVID-19 impact

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Shockers' schedule is subject to change, including the cancellation or postponement of individual games, the cancellation of the entire season, or games played either with minimal fans or without fans in attendance and just essential personnel.

• The Shockers were scheduled to participate in the 2020 Crossover Classic, but withdrew after multiple players tested positive for COVID-19.[15]

• The game vs. East Carolina scheduled for Dec 30th was postponed due to positive COVID-19 tests in the East Carolina program.[16]

• After the East Carolina game was postponed, Dec 30th was filled with a non-conference game vs. Newman.

• The game @ SMU originally scheduled for Jan 17th was moved to Feb 14th due to COVID-19 issues.[17][18]

• The game vs. South Florida scheduled for Jan 24th was postponed due to COVID–19 issues.[19]

• The game @ Cincinnati originally scheduled for Jan 27th was postponed due to COVID-19 issues.[20]

Schedule

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
December 2, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Oral Roberts	W 85–80	1–0	26 – Etienne	8 – Jackson	3 – Tied	Charles Koch Arena (100) Wichita, KS
December 6, 2020* 1:00 p.m., ESPN2		Missouri	L 62–72	1–1	14 – Tied	7 – Tied	6 – Gilbert	Charles Koch Arena (100) Wichita, KS
December 12, 2020* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Oklahoma State	L 64–67	1–2	19 – Etienne	6 – Trey Wade	2 – Etienne	Charles Koch Arena (625) Wichita, KS
December 15, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Tulsa Rivalry	W 69–65	2–2 (1–0)	13 – Council IV	8 – Council IV	5 – Porter Jr.	Reynolds Center  Tulsa, OK
December 18, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Emporia State	W 73–57	3–2	18 – Udeze	8 – Council IV	4 – Etienne	Charles Koch Arena (1,050) Wichita, KS
December 22, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at South Florida	W 82–77 ^OT	4–2 (2–0)	25 – Etienne	8 – Trey Wade	5 – Gilbert	Yuengling Center (519) Tampa, FL
December 30, 2020 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		East Carolina	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[21]					Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
December 30, 2020* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Newman	W 81–43	5–2	13 – Dennis	8 – Jackson	5 – Etienne	Charles Koch Arena (1,575) Wichita, KS
January 2, 2021* 5:00 p.m., ESPNU		at Ole Miss American/SEC Alliance	W 83–79	6–2	29 – Etienne	10 – Trey Wade	5 – Trey Wade	The Pavilion at Ole Miss (860) Oxford, MS
January 6, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at No. 11 Houston	L 63–70	6–3 (2–1)	25 – Etienne	8 – Etienne	4 – Gilbert	Fertitta Center (1,859) Houston, TX
January 10, 2021 3:30 p.m., ESPN2		Cincinnati	W 82–76	7–3 (3–1)	23 – Council IV	6 – Council IV	3 – Tied	Charles Koch Arena (2,025) Wichita, KS
January 13, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Tulsa Rivalry	W 72–53	8–3 (4–1)	20 – Tied	8 – Udeze	8 – Gilbert	Charles Koch Arena (2,048) Wichita, KS
January 21, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN2		at Memphis	L 52–72	8–4 (4–2)	13 – Council IV	7 – Council IV	4 – Gilbert	FedEx Forum (2,118) Memphis, TN
January 24, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPNU		South Florida	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[22]					Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
January 27, 2021 5:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Cincinnati	Postponed due to COVID-19 issues[23]					Fifth Third Arena  Cincinnati, OH
January 30, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPNU		UCF	W 93–88 ^OT	9–4 (5–2)	29 – Etienne	8 – Jackson	7 – Gilbert	Charles Koch Arena (2,100) Wichita, KS
February 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Tulane	W 75–67	10–4 (6–2)	22 – Etienne	7 – Trey Wade	4 – Gilbert	Charles Koch Arena (2,100) Wichita, KS
February 7, 2021 1:00 p.m., ESPNU		Temple	W 70–67	11–4 (7–2)	20 – Etienne	7 – Udeze	5 – Etienne	Charles Koch Arena (2,625) Wichita, KS
February 10, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPNU		at UCF						Addition Financial Arena  Orlando, FL
February 14, 2021 3:00 p.m., ESPN+		at SMU						Moody Coliseum  University Park, TX
February 18, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Memphis						Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
February 21, 2021 11:00 a.m., ESPNU		at East Carolina						Williams Arena  Greenville, NC
February 25, 2021 6:00 p.m., ESPN/ESPN2		Houston						Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
February 28, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPNU		SMU						Charles Koch Arena  Wichita, KS
March 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Tulane						Devlin Fieldhouse  New Orleans, LA
March 6, 2021  ESPN2		at Temple						Liacouras Center  Philadelphia, PA
American Conference Tournament
March 11–14, 2021 TBD		vs.						Dickies Arena  Fort Worth, TX
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time.

References

1. Marty, Sean (13 April 2020). "Former Shocker guard Jamarius Burton commits to Texas Tech". thesunflower.com. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
2. Arnold, Chris (27 Apr 2020). "Former Shocker Gordon lands at junior college". ksn.com. KSN. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
3. Allen, Percy. "Washington gets commitment from Wichita State transfer and Lacey native Erik Stevenson". seattletimes.com. Seattle Times. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
4. Kurie, Brendan. "Noah Fernandes returns to home state with transfer to UMass". southcoasttoday.com. South Coast Today. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
5. Busse, Tate [@tate11busse] (23 Mar 2020). "Excited to say I have committed to Metro State University. Thank you to everyone who has helped and supported me throughout the years" (Tweet). Retrieved 30 April 2020 – via Twitter.
6. Rothstein, Jon [@JonRothstein] (11 April 2020). "Wichita State transfer Asbjorn Midtgaard tells me he has committed to Grand Canyon" (Tweet). Retrieved 11 April 2020 – via Twitter.
7. Murray, Chris. "Nevada basketball lands Wichita State transfer Grant Sherfield". nevadasportsnet.com. Nevada Sports Net. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
8. Rocca, Taylor (20 April 2020). "Center Morris Udeze is coming back to play for Wichita State". ksn.com. KSN. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
9. Borges, David. "Alterique Gilbert transferring to Wichita State". Retrieved 2 April 2020.
10. Eldridge, Taylor. "Gregg Marshall's recruiting momentum continues, as WSU lands a top juco combo guard". Retrieved 2 April 2020.
11. Eldridge, Taylor. "Latest Wichita State commitment has been dreaming of 'Playing Angry' for years". Retrieved 2 April 2020.
12. "JUCO Guard Trevin Wade Joins Spring Class". 17 Apr 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2020.
13. Marty, Sean (10 July 2020). "WSU walk-on Remy Robert II hopes to create an impact at the Division-I level". Retrieved 20 August 2020.
14. "Houston Tabbed as 2020-21 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Favorite". theAmerican.org. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
15. "Wichita State basketball out of tournament after 'multiple' positive COVID-19 tests". Kansas.com.
16. "East Carolina-Wichita State Game Scheduled for Dec. 30 Postponed". theamerican.org. 28 Dec 2020.
17. "Wichita State-SMU Men's Basketball Game Rescheduled for Feb. 15". theamerican.org. 15 Jan 2021.
18. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theamerican.org. 27 Jan 2021.
19. "Pair of American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Games Postponed". theamerican.org. 20 Jan 2021.
20. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". 26 Jan 2021.
21. "East Carolina-Wichita State Game Scheduled for Dec. 30 Postponed". theamerican.org. 28 Dec 2020.
22. "Pair of American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Games Postponed". theamerican.org. 20 Jan 2021.
23. "The American Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". 26 Jan 2021.