When Mark Turgeon emerges from the public locker room at Heskett Center, he doesn’t like what he sees.

Cheerleaders, with boom box blaring, are practicing. A pickup game is in progress on one court. On another, pole vaulters are working on their technique.

Practicing in the student recreation center, however, is the least of concerns for Wichita State’s third-year basketball coach.

“We are just hanging on,” Turgeon said. “People have no idea what we’ve been through. You name it, we’ve been through it — injuries, defections, sickness.”

WSU also has played its home games off campus at Kansas Coliseum during the $25 million renovation of Levitt Arena.

Despite the distractions, the Shockers are having their best season in more than a decade. Wichita State (17-9 overall, 12-5 Missouri Valley) won Saturday at Southwest Missouri State, 71-65, for its first victory in Springfield, Mo., since 1955. The Shockers also clinched third place in the conference with one game remaining.

The 17 victories are the most for WSU since the 1988-89 season.

“We’ve had a heck of a year,” said Turgeon, whose team wraps up the regular season tonight at Creighton. “Obviously we want more, but I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished this year. It’s setting us up for better years in the future.”

Short-handed Shockers

Turgeon, a former Kansas University player and assistant coach, had high hopes for this season after the Shockers finished 15-15 overall and 9-9 in the MVC last year in his second season on the job.

Things started badly, though.

Wichita State coach Mark Turgeon reacts along with WSU players Jamar Howard (4) and Aaron Hogg earlier this season at the Kansas Coliseum in Wichita. Turgeon, a former Kansas University player and assistant coach, has led the Shockers to a 17-9 record this season.

Then they got worse.

Sasha Mijajlovic, a 6-foot-10 junior college transfer from Yugoslavia, never made it to WSU because he signed a pro contract to play in Europe.

Two games into the season, point guard Jerome “Fridge” Holman broke his foot. The junior couldn’t take medical red-shirt because he sat out last season with academic problems. He has played at less than 100 percent since returning late in the season.

Another starter, forward Jamie Sowers, left the team in December because he was unhappy with his role.

“We’ve had a tough year,” Turgeon said. “We’ve had some defections and injuries. We’re still not there. We’re still trying to figure it out. It’s been a year of survival, but it’s made us more resilient, a lot tougher. It’s made us a better team.”

Turgeon started the year with 10 healthy scholarship players but has played most of the season with eight. Four walk-ons have enabled the team to scrimmage five-on-five.

WSU recently went through a three-game stretch without 6-8 sophomore Rob Kampman because of an ankle injury. That left Turgeon with two post players. WSU played a 6-5 center and four players 6-2 or shorter Feb. 19 against Drake in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Shockers won, 80-70.

“There’s no question people are excited about our future,” said WSU athletic director Jim Schaus. “I have a tremendous amount of confidence in what Mark and his staff are doing. It’s remarkable what they’ve been able to overcome. To have the kind of season we’re having speaks volumes of the job Mark and his staff have done.”

Looking ahead

Turgeon already has high expectations for his fourth season. Guard Craig Steven is the only senior on this year’s team, and Holman and guard Aaron Hogg are the only juniors.

WSU signed two high school players in the early period, and Turgeon expects to land three more players in the spring.

“We’ll get to 13 scholarship players for the first time since we’ve been here,” he said. “Hopefully we can start red-shirting some players. We have a young team and we’re building toward that new arena.”

Levitt Arena, WSU’s home for 47 seasons, will be renamed Charles Koch Arena when it reopens in the fall.

The revamped, three-story building — designed by HOK+Sport+Venue+Event — will feature 80,000 square feet of new construction, including a two-court practice gym, weight room, locker rooms, academic center, ticket office, restaurant, athletic offices, lobby, museum, merchandise store and a new facade.

“We got a lot for our $25 million,” Schaus said.

The old roundhouse had 3,000 chair-back seats and a capacity of 10,556. The new facility will have 10,400 seats, all with backs.

“We really think it will be fantastic,” Schaus said. “There’s a buzz already in town.”

WSU averaged 8,300 fans a game last season in Levitt. WSU officials had feared that number would dip during the Shockers’ one year at the Coliseum.

It did, to 8,000.

“I think if a lot of other schools had to move off campus, the drop would be huge,” Schaus said.

While his boss worried about ticket sales at the Coliseum, Turgeon was worried about how his team would play in the multipurpose arena, home to a minor league hockey team.

“Early in the year we practiced there a couple of times, but it’s like 40 degrees because of the ice so we quit practicing there,” Turgeon said. “I was really concerned how we would play. We weren’t very good early in the building, but the more we got over there the better we started to play.”

The arena warms up when it’s full of fans, and 9,700 of them turned out Feb. 15 for an 80-74 victory against then-No. 12 Creighton. It was WSU’s first victory against a ranked team since 1990.

“They’re real hungry,” Turgeon said of WSU fans. “It’s been a while. They got a little spoiled in the late 1970s and early ’80s and they can’t let that go. They want some success. They’ve been great.”

WSU finished 12-4 in its temporary home.

Total package

Fans that aren’t showing up for games are tuning in instead. WSU will have 12 televised games this season.

“That’s the most we’ve ever had,” Turgeon said. “With our new building and our television package, I think it’s as good as it gets at our level. We’re trying to do all the right things and hopefully we can get our program to be one of the best so-called mid-majors soon.”

The Shockers had a 3.0 team GPA in the fall and four players were recently named to the all-conference academic team.

“I have total confidence Mark Turgeon is the right coach at the right time to lead our program back to excellence,” Schaus said. “He’s proven that time and time again and does things the right way.”

Schaus showed his commitment in November when WSU gave Turgeon, 38, a two-year contract extension through the 2006-2007 season.

For KU fans reaching for their calculators, Jayhawk coach Roy Williams will be 56 when Turgeon’s contract expires.

Turgeon is one of many coaches who have been mentioned as possible replacements should Williams retire or leave KU.

Turgeon’s name was tossed around recently when Internet and talk-radio outlets predicted Williams would bolt for UCLA after his 15th season in Lawrence.

“I’m just frustrated that the rumors are out there about coach,” said Turgeon, who worked for Williams from 1988 to 1992. “After saying no to North Carolina, I’d like to think he’s not even interested and not even thinking about it. We don’t talk about that. We talk a lot, but we don’t talk about that.”

Turgeon is part of the KU family Williams has created, but the former all-state guard from Topeka Hayden isn’t polishing his resume.

“I absolutely don’t dream about it,” Turgeon said of coaching KU. “I do think about it, but I think about it never happening. I hope coach is there another 15 years. When he didn’t go to North Carolina, I thought he had a good 15 years left in him. By then I’ll be thinking about retiring.”