Wichita State is conducting an internal investigation into men’s basketball coach Gregg Marshall’s behavior, Marshall told The Athletic on Thursday.
The Athletic reported that school officials have interviewed former and current players.
“I’m aware the university conducted interviews and I fully participated in the process,” Marshall told the website in a text message. “I look forward to having it wrapped up as I continue to focus my energy on our team.”
Neither Wichita State nor Marshall responded immediately to ESPN’s request for comment.
The Athletic reported multiple allegations against Marshall from the 2015-16 season, including Marshall pushing and later punching former player Shaquille Morris; Marshall putting one of his hands around a staff member’s neck; and Marshall following and trying to punch a student-athlete in another sport who parked in his parking spot.
Morris told Stadium that Marshall punched him during a practice. Following a foul, Morris said he went to help teammate Zach Brown up and was then struck with a punch by Marshall.
“He punched me while I was facing away over my right shoulder, hit me in my jaw,” Morris told Stadium. “I turned, and coaches are surrounding us at the time.”
The incident, according to Morris, came the same day he told Marshall that his mother was stricken with cancer. Stadium also reported that the staff member whom Marshall attempted to choke was former assistant coach Kyle Lindsted, who is now at Minnesota.
Other allegations reported by Stadium, which talked to more than 30 current and former members of the program, include Marshall body-shaming a player who is now dealing with anxiety and depression; Marshall making “Indian howling noises” and telling Isaiah Poor Bear Chandler, who is of Native American descent, “to get back on his horse”; Marshall telling Colombian center Jaime Echenique he would be “a great coffee bean picker”; and Marshall telling Erik Stevenson that he was “afraid of brothers, guys raised by their grandparents eating PB&Js.”
Wichita State saw a mass exodus from its basketball program last spring, with eight players initially entering the transfer portal. Morris Udeze ultimately returned to the Shockers, but Asbjorn Midtgaard (Grand Canyon), Grant Sherfield (Nevada), DeAntoni Gordon (Northwest Mississippi Community College), Noah Fernandes (UMass), Stevenson (Washington), Jamarius Burton (Texas Tech) and walk-on Tate Busse all departed.
Marshall has been the head coach at Wichita State since 2007, leading the Shockers to a Final Four appearance in 2013 and five Missouri Valley Conference championships. In 2013-14, Wichita State entered the NCAA tournament with a 34-0 record before losing to Kentucky in the second round. Wichita State moved into the American Athletic Conference in 2017 and hasn’t been to the NCAA tournament since its first season in the league.
The Shockers finished 23-8 last season and were squarely on the bubble before the NCAA tournament was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
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