Koch Arena - great, but

[SHOXAAC]

So long as everyone keeps paying their monthly premium fees... oh wait... :)

Mine is in the mail. You are serious...right? ;-)

[1972Shocker]

To say this Shocker team is absolutely not tough enough, smart enough or patient enough is probably an overstatement. At times they are plenty tough and at other times they are not. At times they show good basketball IQ and smarts and at other times they do not. At times they are patient and at other times they get too sped up. Sometimes this applies to the team. Sometimes to individual players. Sort of like every other team in the country to varying degrees.

3G himself said his team was not tough enough in the 1st half against VCU and they were not smart enough in the 2nd half. I think he was on target with that assessment. I would add that I think the game plan employed in the 1st half was not the best based on recent VCU struggles and the end-of-game management was not the way I would have preferred to see the Shocks play it out. It probably should not have come down to that, but when it does it's kind of a crap shoot regardless what you do.

[SHOXAAC]

To say this Shocker team is absolutely not tough enough, smart enough or patient enough is probably an overstatement. At times they are plenty tough and at other times they are not. At times they show good basketball IQ and smarts and at other times they do not. At times they are patient and at other times they get too sped up. Sometimes this applies to the team. Sometimes to individual players. Sort of like every other team in the country to varying degrees.

3G himself said his team was not tough enough in the 1st half against VCU and they were not smart enough in the 2nd half. I think he was on target with that assessment. I would add that I think the game plan employed in the 1st half was not the best based on recent VCU struggles and the end-of-game management was not the way I would have preferred to see the Shocks play it out. It probably should not have come down to that, but when it does it's kind of a crap shoot regardless what you do.

My basis for saying not tough, smart, patient enough starts and ends with the talent on this team. The talent on this team might just go 9-0 on the road in a "watered down" MVC, but still 9-0. That same talent has already lost 4 games, with one to go, at home. Although still talented, this team is inconsistent with its tough, smart & patient components. Throw in lack of consistent leadership on the floor as well. Even SIU, a 203 RPI team can show flashes of toughness, smarts & patience. But we expect more out of this years team based on our perceived talent. Very good teams possess a consistency of toughness, smarts & patience. We aren't that team this year...sorry.

[1972Shocker]

There is no question we miss the steady hand of Clevin Hannah much more than most of us thought we would.

[ShockerFever]

There seems to be a lot of people quitting Shockernet this weekend. That is pretty weak!

Agreed.

People come off as bandwagoners if they leave because they don't see the sunshine all the time.



This is Division I basketball, not girls junior high basketball.

[kochHead]

If the NIT proves to be our lot this year then so be it. I will be there to cheer the Shocks on. The Shocks can really be furstrating at times, but they are still my Shocks so I will be there. I just would not feel right quitting on them.

:goshocks:

I would not quit on the shox, my comments where meant to be "Pullenesk". Although, the NIT being the ultimate disappointment is how i really feel.

[shockall]

We've struggled to find consistency at the point guard position. We have two 7 footers who can't earn enough minutes off the bench to help. We sometimes exhibit poor clock management, and sometimes poor effort.

Sorry, but a strong contender in the NCAA tourney might be a stretch for us, unless a whole bunch of teams absolutely fall on their face between now & selection Sunday.

[Aargh]

I used to think I could over-analyze anything. Then I ran into ShockerNet and found the true experts.

[wusphlash]

I used to think I could over-analyze anything. Then I ran into ShockerNet and found the true experts.

Well, let's try and figure out where you're coming from. Now in the first sentence I believe you're discussing a personal issue. The second indicates skepticism of your fellow boarders. Am I right? Can we delve into this deeper?

Just remember "Where facts are few, experts are many."
Donald R. Gannon

:)

[DwShock]

No team in the nation is going to win all their games on the road or at home. Its that simple. Sure its sad that WSU can't play 40 min at home. I still love the shockers and watch every game that I can. The Valley is having another down year and the Shox are a few dumb losses from having an at large bid. That is all in the past. Lets be POSITIVE and get behind our team in the remaining 2 regular season games we have left and then in the Valley tournament.

GO SHOX!!! :posterwu:

[Aargh]

There is another answer to the home/road difference.

There are distractions at home that are not available on the road. It can be harder to get mentally ready for a home game because it requires leaving the comforts of home, DVR, video games, girl friend, all the things young guys do to entertain themselves in their homes.

For a road game, the players get on a plane, travel to another city, practice in a different facility. That's a lot of prep time to get your head ready for a game of basketball.

I imagine by the time the players are upper classmen, basketball isn't that much fun any more. It might even become a "job". It's become a year-round mandated regimen.

When it's forced, even the dedicated guys can have burn out. Then, it can take more to get up for a game when you could be playing video games, watching TV, or anything else young guys do. When you pack your bags for a trip, you know you're leaving all that stuff behind for a few days.

As for coaching - Who here wants to risk their future employment on the actions and attitudes of a group of 18 - 22 year old guys?

Let's let the players play and let the coaches coach. We can watch. Let's let kids be kids and try to let them enjoy their college lives as much as possible and not be too critical when they do things (like losing focus or concentration) that 18 - 22 year olds do all the time. In exchange for an education, the players get to showcase their lapses in front of 10,000 screaming fans. That's a lot of pressure for a young guy. It sometimes makes them try too hard.

[SHOXAAC]

There is another answer to the home/road difference.

There are distractions at home that are not available on the road. It can be harder to get mentally ready for a home game because it requires leaving the comforts of home, DVR, video games, girl friend, all the things young guys do to entertain themselves in their homes.

For a road game, the players get on a plane, travel to another city, practice in a different facility. That's a lot of prep time to get your head ready for a game of basketball.

I imagine by the time the players are upper classmen, basketball isn't that much fun any more. It might even become a "job". It's become a year-round mandated regimen.

When it's forced, even the dedicated guys can have burn out. Then, it can take more to get up for a game when you could be playing video games, watching TV, or anything else young guys do. When you pack your bags for a trip, you know you're leaving all that stuff behind for a few days.

As for coaching - Who here wants to risk their future employment on the actions and attitudes of a group of 18 - 22 year old guys?

Let's let the players play and let the coaches coach. We can watch. Let's let kids be kids and try to let them enjoy their college lives as much as possible and not be too critical when they do things (like losing focus or concentration) that 18 - 22 year olds do all the time. In exchange for an education, the players get to showcase their lapses in front of 10,000 screaming fans. That's a lot of pressure for a young guy. It sometimes makes them try too hard.

Aargh -

As I was reading this post I was waiting for some kind of punch line that never came. For a guy who is so interested, for good reason by the way, in watching, enjoying, not being too critical of these 18-24 (in Graham's case) kids, you paid a backhand insult to them IMO by being critical.

You make it sound like these players are sitting around their room eating bonbons, watching replays of American Idol, playing Halo 2 on-line with Lucas O'Rear, with their girl friend giving them a back rub. Then by accident they look at the clock and think they better meander over to the practice gym and chuck up a couple of half court shots before HCGM blows the whistle for the first drill.

And the upper classmen comment about "you imagine they are burnt out, it's no fun any more, it's just a job" is beyond insulting if I was JT, Gabe, Graham & Aaron.

If that's what we have for players put me at the front of the line for showing HCGM the door for recruiting bums like that at Wichita State University (don't get crazy people, you obviously should see I don't buy into this ridiculous observation).

Rational perspective has officially left the building!!!

[ShockBand]

I think he was primarily referring to the fact that distractions are fewer and easier to control when on the road. Maybe we should be having the team stay in a hotel tonight and go through tomorrow as if it were a road game. Maybe we should have been doing that all along!

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

In college, we lost 2 home games, and coach made us spend the night before our last home game sleeping in bags on the field... protecting our turf.

We won the game.

[capnkirk]

As for coaching - Who here wants to risk their future employment on the actions and attitudes of a group of 18 - 22 year old guys?
d.

I know what you are talking about what came to mind was That it sounds like you are talking about a shift manager at McDonalds. :D