Team Observations

[Dan]

Lots of chatter on different threads about the players, upcoming season, etc. Thought I would start a new thread so we can have a general discussion about the team and upcoming season.

I've noticed a lot of players talking about Samaje, he's getting a lot of respect from the team. Landry and Markis both said he's probably the best 1-on-1 player on the team. Looking forward to seeing him play.

[FadedCrown]

He should start in the Exibition

[im4wsu]

Looking forward to an informative and perhaps animated discussion o nthis thread tomorrow, after we've witnessed the scrimmage. I won't get home until late tonight, so it will be tomorrow for me.

[ShockingButTrue]

Listened to some of the Shockers on the Media Day edition of SportsTalk this morning. The fact that they are all upper class-men came through in the interview/s. They sound like a very confident bunch, which is to be expected of Seniors. Very encouraging!~:bball_spin:

[Bluzrover]

I think it will be interesting to see how the team competes the first few weeks without Landry and Markis, two players who might not be here next year but are most definitely key to this year's success.

[Walker]

So many different aspects that make this season make it so exciting. We know our guards will be stellar, especially when Landry is back in the fold. I think Conner is going to have a great senior campaign and Austin will build on that great freshman season. He'll be more composed and won't pick up his dribble too soon when defenders press like he did a time ore two last year. I have to admit, I was pretty bummed about Daishon Smith deciding to leave because I really think he would have had such a great impact with year of experience under his belt, but it sounds like Samaje is going to fill that void just fine. With him winning the NJCAA title with Hutch and being 2nd team JC All-American (I think?) he may be a bit more refined. Even more exciting with him being one of our very own.

Markis being out for a bit will be tough but we know Zach Brown will hold down the wing just fine and it's going to be such a great opportunity for CJ to become battle tested along with Rod Brown if he ends up not redshirting.

Our frontcourt...holy crap, how can you not be excited for that? Every year Kelly has grown and he's that guy now that we know will out hustle everybody for loose balls, make heads up plays, etc. He's like Han Solo and Yoda rolled into one. With Willis having a year under his belt and time to improve on his weak areas, what a one-two punch that will be. And those behemoths at the 5. Shaq, Rauno and the Asbjorn the son of Odin. I know we've had some good ones in years past, and it's tough to beat the 3 headed monster of Hall, Coleby and Lufile but just maybe these guys become the best 3 headed monster Shockernation has seen. Have we ever had this much size, muscle all at once in the past? I know we need to let Asbjorn play before we anoint him anything, but wow, you can't coach size, especially his size. It's going to be so crucial going forward in this conference.

Have we got some battles ahead in this conference or what? Long gone are the days of 30+ point beat downs and snooze fests. I anticipate the sale of Tums to skyrocket in the Wichita area. ENT doctors are going to be raking in even more dough from all the tinnitus they'll be treating with the decibel levels being at epic levels every night.

6 seniors with 8 NCAA games under their belt
New Conference

[1972Shocker]

Lots of chatter on different threads about the players, upcoming season, etc. Thought I would start a new thread so we can have a general discussion about the team and upcoming season.

I've noticed a lot of players talking about Samaje, he's getting a lot of respect from the team. Landry and Markis both said he's probably the best 1-on-1 player on the team. Looking forward to seeing him play.

Paul with an article about Samajae that touches on your points.

[Dan]

Shockernet still the best source for stories by the media

[Shockm]

Someone on here compared Samajae to a Tyrone Taylor. We will see if Samajae is a scoring point guard who can run the offense, and include other teammates, or like TT a point guard who doesn't know how to pass and include teammates in the offense.

[Dan]

Someone on here compared Samajae to a Tyrone Taylor. We will see if Samajae is a scoring point guard who can run the offense, and include other teammates, or like TT a point guard who doesn't know how to pass and include teammates in the offense.

Hope he’s just similar in size and not in ability

[Aargh]

I believe the comparison to TT originated with me and it wasn't a comparison of the two as players. I merely stated that if SHJ was thrown into the PG position too early, he might look like TT did. The comparison was to the inexperience at the position. Not to the abilities of the players.

After seeing SHJ at Shocker Madness and getting more info (especially the part about tapping Shamet for instruction), I think SHJ will be able to run the point more effectively than TT. If SHJ hunts his own shot, he seems to do that at the rim - and he can get there.

The fact that Reaves and SHJ were the PG's at Shocker Madness said a lot. Frankamp is "capable" of playing PG, has played the position previously, and knows the system. When FVV got hurt, there wasn't much choice but to pull an AA SG out of that position and use him as probably an all-league (as opposed to AA) PG. The Shox effectively lost 2 AA's when FVV went down. It looks like this time around, Marshall intends to not disrupt the lineup so severely because of Shamet's injury.

If Shamet is cleared for light practices now, I think he'll be going well, even if not 100%, by Maui. That will give a few games under SHJ's belt and a few games where Marshall can search for teachable moments in game films.

[AndShock]

TT was the first player that came to mind when I watched SHJ play in the JuCo playoffs. SHJ can score with the best of them. I don’t know if he will be counted on to do that when he’s on the court for Wichita State.

[ShockingButTrue]

Joe Ragland comparison is not a leap.

[Dan]

Joe Ragland comparison is not a leap.

Joe was an outstanding shooter but I don’t think he had the speed and moves that it sounds like SHJ has.

[Shockm]

TT was the first player that came to mind when I watched SHJ play in the JuCo playoffs. SHJ can score with the best of them. I don’t know if he will be counted on to do that when he’s on the court for Wichita State.

When I watched him, TT didn't enter my mind. SHJ was playing Juco ball against other Juco players. Gregg will get much of that out of him, provided SHJ wants to listen. TT just didn't listen and try to be a scoring point guard who includes his teammates. I like the comparisons of Joe Ragland. At least I hope that he is more like Joe Ragland. However, the proof will be in the pudding.

[ShockTalk]

When I watched him, TT didn't enter my mind. SHJ was playing Juco ball against other Juco players. Gregg will get much of that out of him, provided SHJ wants to listen. TT just didn't listen and try to be a scoring point guard who includes his teammates. I like the comparisons of Joe Ragland. At least I hope that he is more like Joe Ragland. However, the proof will be in the pudding.

I'm not going to be that rough on Tyrone. He was a freshman PG that, under different circumstances, may have redshirted that year and should have. We've seen the adjustments and time needed that very good Juco PG's have gone through at WSU. FVV as a freshman looked little like FVV the sophomore, especially early in that year. That's not putting FVV down. He looked great, IMO, for a freshman PG, but that's very rare for someone that's not one and done.