Former Wichita State standout Ron Baker went public on Wednesday for his first interview about the Gregg Marshall situation. In an interview with “All Ball with Doug Gottlieb,” Baker shared his thoughts on Marshall and what his experience was like playing for the former Shockers head coach.
“He is a hard coach. Do I respect him? Absolutely. He’s been great to me and my family. That’s from my opinion,” Baker said.
Wichita State and Marshall parted ways amid an investigation into allegations of misconduct by the coach. Marshall was accused of punching a player and choking a coach.
Baker acknowledged that Marshall is “intense,” and his style can cause players to struggle.
“Super intense. Has his ways of coaching basketball, and has his system in play. He wants you to buy into his system. Play defense and rebound. Pretty simple concepts,” Baker told Gottlieb. “Were there days where I thought coach crossed the line? For sure, that happens.”
Baker, who played from 2013 to 2016 at Wichita State and was a part of the team's success, recalled the incident when Marshall punched Shaq Morris in a 2015 practice.
“Marshall just like flips a switch,” Baker recalled. “Obviously really upset. Kind of just goes in on Shaq. I’m sitting there just super uncomfortable. You can hear a needle drop in the gym. Super uncomfortable, like you don’t feel like playing basketball the rest of the day. Marshall kicks him out of practice.”
Baker said that only a few players witnessed Shaq being hit. He says that Morris and Marshall had a lot of tension in their relationship and it got “bad.”
Baker says at the time he didn’t know how to handle things and that he didn’t want to bring down the program.
“Didn’t know as a 21-year-old how to handle the situation. We’re a good basketball team. We don’t want the spotlight and resume to turn into ‘Coach Marshall hit a player.’ That’s why Shaq, I think, waited all these years to now circle back on the situation.”
Baker had trouble reconciling things because he feels Marshall’s style and the staff were helpful with his development as a player.
You can hear some of the interview clips below.
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