Official Wichita State versus Louisiana Tech Game Thread

[asiseeit]

SHJ and MM simply are NOT smart players. Both have all the physical tools to be great players but
neither have anything between the ears. As for our centers. I think ALL four have potential and all
four are going to get minutes but we need some guys to play with their heads up, stop dribbling so
much / looking to score themselves, and make some decent interior feeds. Yes, the centers will look
awkward sometimes but they will also gradually develop. They HAVE to be a part of the offense or
we are not going anywhere. In a few games teams will take ES away and we will be in even more
trouble if we can't establish some kind of inside / outside game. SHJ and MM DON'T get that ! TA could
make a big difference. For one thing he would get most of MM's minutes and give us someone who
can work inside.

[TheShocktocles]

Totally agree with you that Smj and MM are not smart players. The decisions that they make are just ridiculous. And you are so right when you say we are going nowhere if we don't establish an inside game. We got size and athletics and guys that can score down in the paint. We don't even try and get them shots before the two knuckle heads are cranking up guarded 3 pointters. It sems like everybody in college basketball utilize their big men better than the shocks. And MM grabbing 1 rebound in the game should be a crime.

[ShockerFever]

You forget quickly. Remember the team when FVV was hurt early in the year. Baker was the PG and we struggled early and lost several games. Shaq wasn’t ready yet. That team still had lots of experience and had to find their way. There will be changes made, the players who play will be trimmed, and rebounding will improve. We will get better. However, I predicted 18 wins and may have been optimistic. I just hope we aren’t mauled by Providence. We have some good young pieces but they aren’t ready for prime time yet. Our bigs are all projects. They will improve but may not soon enough.

No comments on SHJ?

Im shocked.

[MelvinLoudermilk]

Markis McDuffie is a good player who has lost his way. He can shut people down on defense with his length and athletic ability. He needs to focus all his efforts there and let the offense come to him. He led the team in scoring a couple years ago, was an NBA prospect, and was in no way a machine gunner like he is today. Go back to what worked Markis.

SHJ is not a good decision maker He shows no interest in making anyone around him better which regulates him to being a under 6' shooting guard. He is super quick and can get into the lane with ease but refuses to pass when the help comes and has an alarming number of shots blocked.

Lebron to his teammate: "Anytime you fall, stay down ... your brother come pick you up."

A number of times last night Shockers were on the floor and their teammates just stepped over them and refused to help them up. I thought the play where Stevenson hustled back, made a good foul to stop a layup, and hit the deck hard was particularly disgusting. He was laying there and Dexter literally almost steps over him while not helping him up. Markis and the rest of the teammates were close by and just left him there. Weird!

Burton looks like a guy who makes others better. I think Burton and Stevenson look to be the future for the backcourt.

[proshox]

In fairness, it was an odd play... the best player for the opposing team was rolling around like somebody shot his ankle (I assume it was painful).

[WstateU]

DD
MM
JB
RT
SHJ
RB
ES
EF
MU
JH
BB
JE
AM
TB
TA
CM
IPBC
GM
LG
DO
NJ
JRS
IB
TW
DS
TF

[pinstripers]

WTF

[Shock Top]

Hard to believe MM was a Top 100 guy (ESPN) and it’s odd he has regressed so much since his Sophomore season. You can only say “he’s coming back from injury” so long before you have to just say he may not be coming back at all.

We are all pulling for him and the moments when he flashes are great, but those are happening fewer and fewer as time goes on.

Perhaps going back to being a role player will be best for him. Nothing wrong with being the glue guy. He rode that to being the leading scorer and rebounder two seasons ago.

[Slim]

Would C.J. Keyser been able to help this team?

[Aargh]

No

[SHOCKvalue]

Would C.J. Keyser been able to help this team?

I'd absolutely have taken Keyser over some of what I saw last night for sure. The biggest "what if" departure I can recall in the 3G tenure, at least from my perspective (which is to say just my amateur take). Dude was considered top 20 at his position by ESPN; not exactly chopped liver.

And running Keyser off also effectively ran off Reaves, right? Wasn't that the story?

[Shock Top]

That story will likely never be talked about on SN.

[Aargh]

The thought of trying to set up McDuffie, Haynes-Jones and Midtgaard on the offensive end may have driven Reaves off.

[pinstripers]

Would C.J. Keyser been able to help this team?

NO

[Jhook89]

After thinking over last night's game and letting the emotions subside, I honestly feel for about half the game (first 10 min and 10 min in the middle of the second half) the team performed better than I expected. There were many on here looking at this team through yellow tinted glasses, but the reality of the situation this team is facing with losing 9 player, 2 coaches, having the pg of the future bolt, and only 1.5 of the 4 players coming back having any real experience is a huge mountain to overcome. We can not just expect this team to be good, because Marshall is the coach. Marshall is a amazing coach, but he is not a wizard. These type of things take time. Even over this great run this last decade how many impact true freshmen have we had? 4 or 5? and now everyone is expecting we have 4 or 5 in the same season? lol it doesn't work that way. This will be a rebuilding year. We will struggle to even get .500 this year. And you know what, that is ok. We should not expect or demand more than that from this team. This team will grow and get better each and every game. Burton, Dennis, and Stevenson already look like future stars. The future is incredibly bright with this team, we just need to give them time.

Side note, we are set to have 8 players use up their eligibility 3 years from now. This can not happen. After the season is finished there needs to be a serious discussion about red-shirting as many many people from this class as possible (looking at you Moore, Udeze, and Chandler), so that we do not have to face this sort of turnover again.

[Dice260]

You absolutely hit the nail on the head, Jhook. I was expecting a better performance, but when you step back and realize what all this program has gone through since last season ended, it's amazing we are where we are. We have talent on this team. There is no denying that. It's just going to take time to develop a cohesiveness. Once they catch up to the speed of Division 1 basketball, you will see marked improvement. The only way they are going to catch up to that speed is by playing real games. They are in the learning curve, and that learning curve is a beast. They'll be fine, they'll learn, and they'll be improving on a daily basis.

[60Shock]

All I am looking for out of this season is to see our young, inexperienced team, gain experience, improve their level of skill, and have fun playing the game they love to play, and we love to watch, and yell, and scream, and shout.

If they can manage to accomplish this, it will be a successful year. How you choose to interpret it, is your own opinion.

[SHOCKvalue]

Keyser:

https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article193582304.html

Coming out of Baltimore in the class of 2015, Keyser was rated by ESPN as a four-star recruit, the No. 2 prospect in Maryland, and the No. 20 shooting guard in the country.

[shoxlax]

And always in the doghouse for things off the court he should've been taking care of. That is the sum total of my input on that subject.
I wish CJ well...he is playing for a good coach

[1972Shocker]

After thinking over last night's game and letting the emotions subside, I honestly feel for about half the game (first 10 min and 10 min in the middle of the second half) the team performed better than I expected. There were many on here looking at this team through yellow tinted glasses, but the reality of the situation this team is facing with losing 9 player, 2 coaches, having the pg of the future bolt, and only 1.5 of the 4 players coming back having any real experience is a huge mountain to overcome. We can not just expect this team to be good, because Marshall is the coach. Marshall is a amazing coach, but he is not a wizard. These type of things take time. Even over this great run this last decade how many impact true freshmen have we had? 4 or 5? and now everyone is expecting we have 4 or 5 in the same season? lol it doesn't work that way. This will be a rebuilding year. We will struggle to even get .500 this year. And you know what, that is ok. We should not expect or demand more than that from this team. This team will grow and get better each and every game. Burton, Dennis, and Stevenson already look like future stars. The future is incredibly bright with this team, we just need to give them time.

Side note, we are set to have 8 players use up their eligibility 3 years from now. This can not happen. After the season is finished there needs to be a serious discussion about red-shirting as many many people from this class as possible (looking at you Moore, Udeze, and Chandler), so that we do not have to face this sort of turnover again.

What I find interesting is this situation is not totally unique among Shocker athletic teams this year. In fact, I can never remember having so much turnover of experience from one year to the next as Shocker programs have experienced from last year to this year. Although clearly the situation with men's basketball is the most visible and most important since it pretty much finances the entire athletic department.

Volleyball is somewhat in the same boat although not quite as severe as the men's basketball and they also have been hit with a plethora of injuries this year but they are very young and inexperienced.. Perhaps Lambo's most challenging year since his first 2 years at the Shocker helm in 2000 and 2001.

Women's basketball is every bit as young and inexperienced as the Shocker men with a very, very similar roster make up. One 4-year senior and one 1-year senior that was a juco transfer (and who is currently injured), 3 juniors all juco transfers, 1 sophomore and 9 freshman (1 a redshirt from last year). Now HCKA pretty much inherited this situation from her predecessor but she left a somewhat similar sitatuation she oversaw at UTEP.

The Baseball team had a record year in terms of players drafted plus Travis Young electing not to return for his final year of eligibility. Arguably, the Shockers, despite finishing near the bottom of the AAC, lose more and return less experience than team in the AAC.

I guess an interesting question for coaches' shows would be is it getting tougher to maintain class balance on your rosters? Is class balance something our coaches think is important?

One of the big challenges this can cause and I think we are seeing with the Volleyball program and so far with the Men's Basketball program is the impact on and difficulty in replacing team leadership and the inconsistency that comes with inexperience.

In any case, Shocker fans may be well versed in being patient with youth and inexperience by the end of this school year..

I expect Volleyball and the two basketball teams will rebound just not sure how long it will take. Baseball is less certain. However, I hope we don't find ourselves in a boom or bust cycle 4 years. 1st year struggle, 2nd year stabilize, 3rd year break out, 4th year really good. Wash, rinse and repeat.

[MelvinLoudermilk]

"That story will likely never be talked about on SN"

well where can one one go to get the story?

[rjl]

Keyser:

https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article193582304.html

See any random "what you ordered online vs. what you actually got" meme.

Keyser was a 4-star recruit in the same world that Baker was a 0-star recruit.

[MelvinLoudermilk]

Keyser earned his way into the rotation a couple of times last year with very, very good players on the team.

Of course he would help. Did you see that last night???

Last year when I heard Keyser was leaving, I knew SHJ wasn't and I got sick feeling in my gut.