Gregg Marshall and the Wichita State Shockers fell to Kentucky in the second round of the NCAA Tournament this weekend. Indiana could help Marshall with his fury for lack of respect for his program.
The first weekend of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is over and Gregg Marshall’s Wichita State team is headed home. His frustration with his program’s ‘lack of respect’ from the NCAA community is continuing to boil over.
The No. 10 Shockers fell to the No. 2 seed Kentucky Wildcats 65-62, in what felt more like a Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight atmosphere on the tournament’s first weekend. It became about what head coach Gregg Marshall said in the post-game press conference that should interest Hoosier fans.
Gregg Marshall was asked specifically about how Wichita State would look as a program around the country. His comments to the question were fueled with the anger of the Shockers undervalued seeding by the NCAA committee.
"“How many years do we have to do this to make people respect our program? I don’t know. That’s up to you guys.” – Gregg Marshall"
Marshall went on to talk about his knowledge of where the Missouri Valley Conference stands in the eye of the public. The Shockers being under-seeded resulted in a second-round matchup with Kentucky, a preseason Final Four favorite.
"“It matters what we think. And we can’t change people’s perception of our program. We can’t change people’s preparation of the Missouri Valley Conference or the talent level. It’s more important that we know what we’re about, and we sleep really well at night knowing what we have and what we continue to prove and what we continue to do as a program.”"
Indiana could be here to help Gregg Marshall with some of those respect issues he is having. Indiana has proven credibility within the NCAA committee. Indiana wants a coach that can come in and make an immediate impact on the program. The type of coach that has proven to do more with less. Gregg Marshall fits the bill for that narrative.
Even with all of the rumors swirling of Steve Alford being the favorite to land the job, Marshall’s resume could be more suiting. Marshall has lead Winthrop and Wichita State to 12 NCAA Tournament appearances in his 18 seasons. Marshall is 260-90 at Wichita State including six straight tournament appearances, three Sweet Sixteens, and one Final Four appearance. He was named the AP Coach of the Year in 2014.
There has been no indication that Gregg Marshall would even want to leave Wichita State until this weekend. Yahoo Sports Brad Evans went on Chicago Sports Radio 670 The Score and said that Marshall would only be interested in leaving for two other jobs. Those jobs include Indiana and North Carolina. While Marshall has not explicitly stated that publicly, it could indicate that he at least has some interest in the position.
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Many believe that it would be difficult to draw Marshall away from Wichita State. If he is truly interested in the opening at Indiana, it should be one the Hoosiers continue to pursue. Marshall would be able to have instant credibility with the NCAA committee at Indiana. He would be playing in the Big Ten Conference and have no problem scheduling virtually any school he wants in non-conference play. His frustrations with the lack of respect for the mid-major Shockers would be eliminated coming to Indiana.