BAMANEWSBOT
Staff
Wichita State fans know it's entirely possible they just experienced the last game Gregg Marshall will ever coach at their school.
It's no guarantee he'll leave, but things are about to get very interesting. The big story from C-Town on Thursday night -- outside of that smothering Kentucky did against West Virginia-- is what Marshall's future holds. His season is now over. The time has come for others to bear gifts for Marshall's services. If he does leave Wichita, it will have some of the biggest ripple effects in college basketball this offseason. Will he take the Alabama job? Is Texas going to open, and if it does, will Marshall be the No. 1 target?
If so, that would be borderline impossible for Marshall to turn down.
Tuscaloosa? Depends on the money, really. Goes without saying that Marshall's built a really strong program in Wichita. He'll openly talk about how much he loves it, how he can see himself finishing out his days there. But will the school be willing to compete at that high a level to keep him? How much does Marshall mean to that program, and isn't it wild we're even talking about a Missouri Valley school attempting to flash grand money with a big-conference school in order to hold on to its coach?
When it comes to the business of coaching, when to leave and for what, the sport's changed so much in the past half-decade.
Marshall spent nine years at Winthrop before taking a deep breath and finally leaving in 2007. He didn't want to, really, but he saw a ceiling that couldn't be broken at Winthrop. No matter the wins, no matter the NCAA Tournament appearances (he took the Eagles to seven Big Dance appearances in nine seasons and openly admits it was discouraging how nobody cared outside the quaint hamlet of Rock Hill, S.C.), there was only so much he could do, so much recognition and prestige he could bring to that program on a national level.
Marshall's eighth season at Wichita State just ended, and he's achieved all the accolades and offers he hoped would come while at Winthrop. He's losing a tremendous player in Tekele Cotton, but he's got another two juniors -- all-time guys in the history of the program -- in Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker. Some wonder if the shaggy-haired Baker will take his shot at the NBA Draft this spring. Will that affect Marshall's decision? Not likely. What's probably going to happen is, Marshall's going to get the offers from the schools courting him, and that decision is going to be made before Baker and/or VanVleet decide on their futures.
"There's a lot of decisions to be made, but we've gotta control what we can control," Marshall said in the cramped, skinny hallway outside the Shockers' locker room. "Hopefully it works out for the best for all of us. I don't know what to say other than that."
Generational money could await Marshall and his family; retiring some years down the road with double-digit millions put away. It's a huge swing for a guy who lived in Rock Hill just eight years ago and wasn't making a tenth of what he stands to make now. In basketball terms, he's probably not going to exceed much more than what he's been able to accrue in the past five years. Wichita State has done the preposterous: won 151 wins, which is the second-most in college basketball in that span to, yep, Kentucky.
He's won an NIT title, gotten to the second weekend of the NCAAs twice, made a Final Four and reached 35-0. He's gone up against VCU, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Indiana, Ohio State and Kansas in the past four postseasons -- and won more than half those games. What Marshall's done at Wichita State is create a national profile, and team that is getting closer by the month to being perceived on the same level as Butler and Gonzaga.
It's one of the best coaching construction jobs of the past 15 years.
He's on record that he'll be forced to listen to Alabama's call when it comes -- if it's some type of "crazy offer." It will be. And now we wait. Marshall doesn't owe anything more to Wichita, and the city will love him forever. His legacy has been largely defined and written at this point, though he's just 52 and still has some prime coaching years left and still the ability to pad out the resume.
Marshall's turned down more than a handful of jobs before, but they haven't ever been for this kind of money (potentially) and with the lure of big-time conference athletics supporting him.
"I'm going to enjoy my family, friends that are here in Cleveland tonight, and celebrate a wonderful season," Marshall said.
He would be reflecting on a season and quite possibly a career in Wichita that's brought him and that program more exposure and recognition than even he thought possible back in 2007.
When you do something like that, and it feels that good, and someone's willing to offer you gobs more money to go out and try to do it one more time, how do you say no?
It's no guarantee he'll leave, but things are about to get very interesting. The big story from C-Town on Thursday night -- outside of that smothering Kentucky did against West Virginia-- is what Marshall's future holds. His season is now over. The time has come for others to bear gifts for Marshall's services. If he does leave Wichita, it will have some of the biggest ripple effects in college basketball this offseason. Will he take the Alabama job? Is Texas going to open, and if it does, will Marshall be the No. 1 target?
If so, that would be borderline impossible for Marshall to turn down.
Tuscaloosa? Depends on the money, really. Goes without saying that Marshall's built a really strong program in Wichita. He'll openly talk about how much he loves it, how he can see himself finishing out his days there. But will the school be willing to compete at that high a level to keep him? How much does Marshall mean to that program, and isn't it wild we're even talking about a Missouri Valley school attempting to flash grand money with a big-conference school in order to hold on to its coach?
When it comes to the business of coaching, when to leave and for what, the sport's changed so much in the past half-decade.
Marshall spent nine years at Winthrop before taking a deep breath and finally leaving in 2007. He didn't want to, really, but he saw a ceiling that couldn't be broken at Winthrop. No matter the wins, no matter the NCAA Tournament appearances (he took the Eagles to seven Big Dance appearances in nine seasons and openly admits it was discouraging how nobody cared outside the quaint hamlet of Rock Hill, S.C.), there was only so much he could do, so much recognition and prestige he could bring to that program on a national level.
Marshall's eighth season at Wichita State just ended, and he's achieved all the accolades and offers he hoped would come while at Winthrop. He's losing a tremendous player in Tekele Cotton, but he's got another two juniors -- all-time guys in the history of the program -- in Fred VanVleet and Ron Baker. Some wonder if the shaggy-haired Baker will take his shot at the NBA Draft this spring. Will that affect Marshall's decision? Not likely. What's probably going to happen is, Marshall's going to get the offers from the schools courting him, and that decision is going to be made before Baker and/or VanVleet decide on their futures.
"There's a lot of decisions to be made, but we've gotta control what we can control," Marshall said in the cramped, skinny hallway outside the Shockers' locker room. "Hopefully it works out for the best for all of us. I don't know what to say other than that."
Generational money could await Marshall and his family; retiring some years down the road with double-digit millions put away. It's a huge swing for a guy who lived in Rock Hill just eight years ago and wasn't making a tenth of what he stands to make now. In basketball terms, he's probably not going to exceed much more than what he's been able to accrue in the past five years. Wichita State has done the preposterous: won 151 wins, which is the second-most in college basketball in that span to, yep, Kentucky.
He's won an NIT title, gotten to the second weekend of the NCAAs twice, made a Final Four and reached 35-0. He's gone up against VCU, Gonzaga, Pittsburgh, Louisville, Kentucky, Notre Dame, Indiana, Ohio State and Kansas in the past four postseasons -- and won more than half those games. What Marshall's done at Wichita State is create a national profile, and team that is getting closer by the month to being perceived on the same level as Butler and Gonzaga.
It's one of the best coaching construction jobs of the past 15 years.
He's on record that he'll be forced to listen to Alabama's call when it comes -- if it's some type of "crazy offer." It will be. And now we wait. Marshall doesn't owe anything more to Wichita, and the city will love him forever. His legacy has been largely defined and written at this point, though he's just 52 and still has some prime coaching years left and still the ability to pad out the resume.
Marshall's turned down more than a handful of jobs before, but they haven't ever been for this kind of money (potentially) and with the lure of big-time conference athletics supporting him.
"I'm going to enjoy my family, friends that are here in Cleveland tonight, and celebrate a wonderful season," Marshall said.
He would be reflecting on a season and quite possibly a career in Wichita that's brought him and that program more exposure and recognition than even he thought possible back in 2007.
When you do something like that, and it feels that good, and someone's willing to offer you gobs more money to go out and try to do it one more time, how do you say no?
