March staples: basketball, Wichita State, big programs hunting Marshall

This is such a thrilling time for the Wichita State basketball team and its fans. The Shockers just knocked off Kansas to reach the Sweet 16 this week in Cleveland. Who knows how far this team can go. Not even Kentucky seems like a stone wall.

This is the good life.

But, as seems to happen every March, there is some noise outside the walls of the party. The buzz has to do with the possibility of Wichita State coach Gregg Marshall leaving.

He’s going here, he’s going there. The grass – and the money – are greener.

The latest rumor centers around that great basketball power in the south – Alabama.

Finished laughing?

Gary Parrish of cbssports.com reported Monday that Alabama is ready to throw lots of loot at Marshall and that the Tide is just about ready to get serious about basketball.

To which Alabama fans replied: “Basketball? What is basketball?”

Parrish’s sources told him Alabama officials are ready to spend $3 million to attract a coach who might be able to go toe to toe with Kentucky’s John Calipari and the other powers in the SEC. OK, there are no other powers outside of perhaps Florida.

But that’s beside the point. Apparently, Alabama is serious about improving its basketball program and it’s going to start with a high-profile coach. According to Parrish, Alabama football coach Nick Saban is willing to step in and do what it takes to get a big name to come to Tuscaloosa.

To which Saban commented: “Basketball? What is basketball?”

I’m not saying Marshall is going to stay at Wichita State for the remainder of his coaching life, although such a notion doesn’t seem as far-fetched as it did just a couple of years ago.

And if Marshall does decide to leave, I’d be shocked if it was for a place like Alabama.

The Crimson Tide has appeared in 20 NCAA tournaments, but has only one win since coming within a game of reaching the Final. Four in 2004.

Marshall has always made it clear that the thing he looks for first and foremost in a coaching job is a realistic opportunity to get to the NCAA tournament and to win games. He’s doing that regularly now at Wichita State and at a place like Alabama it would be a crapshoot.

Yes, the SEC is a better basketball conference than the Missouri Valley. But the Tide has had trouble competing.

In 2009, Alabama made what looked like a slam-dunk hire by luring Anthony Grant away from VCU, where he was 76-25 in three seasons. But Grant led the Tide to only one NCAA appearance in six seasons before he was fired after this season.

Now, it appears, Alabama is going to throw a lot of money – perhaps as much as $3 million per year – at this problem.

Marshall makes a base salary of around $1.8 million at Wichita State with a lot of nifty incentives. He’s not hurting and has always said he’s comfortable in Wichita and, even more importantly, his family loves it here.

Why would he leave?

Last week in Omaha, where the Shockers defeated Indiana and Kansas to reach the Sweet 16, somebody referred to Marshall as the “Bill Snyder of college basketball.”

Snyder arrived at Kansas State, built a dynamic program where there had never been one, and stayed. He’s in his mid-70s now, loves Manhattan and is as purple as they come.

Marshall is in his eighth season at Wichita State and there’s definitely a lot of yellow and black in him. He’s got it made, really, with charter flights for road trips, private jets for recruiting and no football program to overshadow him. Not that what the Shockers are doing in basketball these days could be overshadowed.

Marshall has never come out and said that he’s never leaving Wichita State. No coach says such things. If Duke decided someday it wanted Marshall, he’d be crazy not to listen.

Um, Alabama ain’t Duke, the way Duke ain’t Alabama in football.

Wichita State has reached the NCAAs four years in a row. The Shockers made a run to the Final Four two years ago and they’re one of 16 teams that still has a chance to do so this season.

Marshall is the toast of a city. Wichita State has never won like this, which means Shockers basketball fans have never won like this. They like the feeling almost as much as Marshall and his players.

And, of course, they fret every year when these “Marshall could leave” stories start appearing.

We might just be getting started. What if Rick Barnes doesn’t survive at Texas? What if Indiana decides to go with someone other than Tom Crean?

What if … what if … what if?

The “what ifs” are a distraction, an irritant, a nuisance.

Marshall is going somewhere, though. He’s headed to Cleveland to try and get the Shockers to another Final Four. Enjoy the party and tune out the static.

This story was originally published March 24, 2015 at 4:58 PM with the headline "March staples: basketball, Wichita State, big programs hunting Marshall."