#13 WSU vs Tulane Game Thread

[wusphlash]

As far as last night's game.
Shaq has that end of career motivation going full steam and I expect it to continue the rest of the year.
Conner obviously understood the situation last night and stepped up big time.
Markis is looking more and more like last year's version. Stay under control young man.
I had no problem with Austin's game last night other than the fouls. Two of them were trying to draw charges. Probably shouldn't have tried one with 3 fouls. I'm not sure there was a single charge called last night?
No matter what CJ does gong forward he should be proud of what he did last night. Making all his free throws, including in crunch time, was major.
Like everyone else I questioned some of the coaching moves, especially towards the end. But then again, a win is a win.
And before discounting Tulane's capability, remember they won at Temple and beat both SMU (full strength version) and Houston.

[SHOXAAC]

This just coming across the news wire..... "He ain't coming back!"

He will be back. He is not ready for prime time, no way. He needs one more year here.

[pinstripers]

If he thinks that he will be drafted in the first round (guaranteed contract) he will go, ready or not.

[ShockerDropOut]

My wife and I were able to attend the game last night, our first of the season. Some thoughts:

I thought Markus was good. He is starting to let the game come to him. Not always, but mostly. He had a game like he was having last year, an unassuming 15 pts, 4 reb, 2 assists in 25 min.

Shaq is what we all hoped he would be when he came here 5 years ago. He is the MAN in the middle. Great game. Worked hard, shot well, played tough and led this team. I couldnt be happier to see this from him. It has been a long, tough road to get here but here he is. Well done young man!

CJ got his chance to shine and took advantage. His free throws were critical and he is an attack the rim type of player. Sure there are areas in his game that still need work, but for the first time I was able to see in him what I am sure HCGM sees in him all the time.

Connor was nails. That is one tough minded dude. He looked to pass more earlier in the game, but later was more willing to penetrate and hunt his shot. He knew what was going on in the game and what was needed from him as our floor general. His BBIQ is tremendous. Of course he has difficulty defending taller, faster, more athletice opponents, but he will never lack for heart and hustle.

Having LS sick and AR in foul trouble most of the game left us short handed by 2 guards essentially. It was good that we were able to overcome this and still get the W. Not the prettiest game for sure, but win and advance.

There were a few questionable lineups that I saw. Late we had a lineup where CJ was our only potential ball handler. I didn't understand that, but whatever. I think HCGM did a lot more offense/defense substitutions than I have seen before. Not sure if that was game planned or just happened but even I was able to see it.

Tulane just shredded our press. All night long. Especially in the second half. I was wishing we would get out of it and make them play more half court sets. They consistantly beat us down the court after made baskets too. This concerns me going forward.

We are not a good zone defense team and it should not be used often or for long streches. As a changeup, ok, but that is about it.

One issue with the fans, how can you leave a 5 point game with 50 seconds left? That is just something I will never understand.

We had a great time and loved seeing out team! Way to go Shockers!

[BOBB]

Fact, the 16/17, 17/18 teams are not as good defensively as the 14/15, 15/16 teams.
Fact, the 16/17, 17/18 teams are superior offensively to the 14/15, 15/16 teams.
Fact, the 16/17, 17/18 teams lost 10 games (albeit so far), the 14/15, 15/16 teams lost 14 games.
Some believe that this team cannot succeed without playing defense comparable to Fred and Ron's last two. Maybe those two teams would have been more successful if scoring came easier.
The bottom line is that all four of these teams have been successful, different but successful. Don't write this team off just because they're doing it differently.

Success is defined by capability. I hoped to win the league this year. We are within spitting distance of that. Matchups determine tournament success. As a 3 or 4 seed we should win our first gamegin the tourney. 50/50 on second game and S16 us is house money.

A top 3 or 4 league finish next year, with late improvements and sneaking into the dance would be terrific.

[shoxlax]

Fact, the 16/17, 17/18 teams are not as good defensively as the 14/15, 15/16 teams.
Fact, the 16/17, 17/18 teams are superior offensively to the 14/15, 15/16 teams.
Fact, the 16/17, 17/18 teams lost 10 games (albeit so far), the 14/15, 15/16 teams lost 14 games.
Some believe that this team cannot succeed without playing defense comparable to Fred and Ron's last two. Maybe those two teams would have been more successful if scoring came easier.
The bottom line is that all four of these teams have been successful, different but successful. Don't write this team off just because they're doing it differently.

Can I double like this post?