2019-20 Expectations for Shocker Basketball – “Fall-time Edition”

[Walker]

I get the whole Memphis being picked to win the conference but it's interesting that everybody in the media is picking Cincy to take 2nd. Brannen is a good coach and he still has Cumberland but I think the analysts are underestimating the transition from Cronin and what they lost in the off season.

[Stickboy46]

I get the whole Memphis being picked to win the conference but it's interesting that everybody in the media is picking Cincy to take 2nd. Brannen is a good coach and he still has Cumberland but I think the analysts are underestimating the transition from Cronin and what they lost in the off season.

I'm ok with it. Brannen at least has experience and having Cumberland really helps ease the transition. They added a couple good pieces also.

[Walker]

I'm ok with it. Brannen at least has experience and having Cumberland really helps ease the transition. They added a couple good pieces also.

I think they'll be really good too so it's not a crazy pick, but the ESPN writers unanimously picked them 2nd which I thought was odd because it just doesn't seem that clear cut. I admit though, I don't have a clue what they picked up in the off season. There's going to be some dog fights in the top tier of our league so it should be fun.

[Shockm]

It doesn't really matter but Walker's questions are legitimate but the same talent is at Cincy that they won with last year. Still adjustments will have to be made for Brannen to bring in a new system to apply to Cronin's players. He isn't Cronin.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I expect Cincy to struggle some in the nonconference as the team gets used to Brannen's system, then improve throughout the conference schedule--much to the dismay of the rest of the conference.

[wichshock65]

[Stickboy46]

Interesting. Trey Wade actually has the 5th most D1 minutes on the team. more than AM.

[RoyalShock]

[Cdizzle]

I have done well this offseason. I'm ready though. Time for the season to begin. ASAP.

[1972Shocker]

Interesting. Trey Wade actually has the 5th most D1 minutes on the team. more than AM.

This year's Shocker team is still quite young and relatvely inexperienced although not nearly as much as last year. 5 true freshman, 5 sophomores, 2 juniors (one with 1 year of D-1 experience) and 1 senior (who also has only 1 year of D-1 experience). This will be a very interesting year to follow.

The Shocks are getting older for sure and that will acclerate even more over the next couple of years. Hopefully, we will get to a point where it stays that way although 3G will have to manage around rotating through the large sophomore and freshman classes in a couple of years.

IMHO, being picked 4th in the AAC preseason poll with a team this young that needs to replace its two volume shooters who took 43% of the team's shots and provided 43% of the team's scoring shows a great deal of respect for Coach Marshall and the program he has built. I love those expectations. Will the Shocks be able to fulfill those expectations? I don't know but it will be fun as hell watching them try.

It certainly can happen but will require a total and cohesive team effort which I would love to see.

If it does happen I would attribute it to a strong off-season that featured a very high level of work-ethic, focus and determination. That can carry a young team a long way.

[Wuzee]

This year's Shocker team is still quite young and relatvely inexperienced although not nearly as much as last year. 5 true freshman, 5 sophomores, 2 juniors (one with 1 year of D-1 experience) and 1 senior (who also has only 1 year of D-1 experience). This will be a very interesting year to follow.

The Shocks are getting older for sure and that will acclerate even more over the next couple of years. Hopefully, we will get to a point where it stays that way although 3G will have to manage around rotating through the large sophomore and freshman classes in a couple of years.

IMHO, being picked 4th in the AAC preseason poll with a team this young that nees to replace its two volume shooters who took 43% of the team's shots and provided 43% of the team's scoring shows a great deal of respect for Coach Marshall and the program he has built. I love those expectations. Will the Shocks be able to fulfill those expectations? I don't know but it will be fun as hell watching them try.

It certainly can happen but will require a total and cohesive team effort which I would love to see.

If it does happen I would attribute it to a strong off-season that featured a very high level or work-ethic, focus and determination. That can carry a young team a long way.

100% a statement of respect for HCGM. After last season, you have to believe WSU’s floor with Gregg at the helm is 22 wins and extremely dangerous. Add to that the fact that I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so loose and happy headed into a season. He loves this team, and so will we.

Let’s do this!!!

[ShockerPrez]

Last year was frustrating. However, I think it truly was a 1 step back for 2 steps forward.

If we had Shamet, we obviously would have won more games. Enough to make the tourney?? Woulda been close.

However, had we had Shamet and Reaves would Dennis had gotten the experience to be in a position to lead this year?

I think we are better off this year than we would have been losing both Shamet and Duff at the same time.

Our arrow is clearly pointing up. Whereas we lose them both at the same time and this year is much less promising.

Excited to watch this year. Think our backcourt will be phoenominal. Not sure how long it will take to flourish.

[1972Shocker]

Taylor Eldridge: A look at how a consistent jump shot could unlock WSU guard Jamarius Burton’s game

Given some perspective, the freshman season of Jamarius Burton for the Wichita State men’s basketball team becomes even more impressive.

Even without the context, Burton’s debut campaign stands out: He made 28 starts (most by a WSU freshman in a decade), broke the WSU freshman assists record with 126, and averaged 6.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 24.0 minutes per game last season.

Unprecedented opportunity to play right away was available after unprecedented roster turnover at WSU, but Burton, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound bulldozer, made it easy to forget he was an unranked prospect coming off a major knee injury who was also a late signee in the spring of 2018.

Burton’s biggest blemish? His shooting. He shot just 39% from the field and 26% on three-pointers. So it’s obvious what Burton spent his summer doing.

It didn’t take long for defenses to catch on to Burton’s struggles with his jumper last season. When Burton dribbled up top, some opponents practically begged Burton to pull the trigger on a jump shot. They sent their defenders diving under screens set as deep as the free-throw line and sometimes left him all together.

When WSU ran its motion offense and Burton passed and cut through, his defender wouldn’t always follow him to the corner, instead planting two feet in the lane to clog driving lanes for WSU. After all, Burton made just 30% of his two-point jumpers, per Hoop-Math.com, a perfectly acceptable outcome for a defense to allow.

With this in mind, Burton was motivated this summer to make 500 jump shots every day. He refined his shooting stroke and spent more time than ever on a shooting gun to turn it into muscle memory.

---

As per usual Taylor includes some video footage to illustrate his points,

[wichshock65]

[Topshock]

Taylor Eldridge: A look at how a consistent jump shot could unlock WSU guard Jamarius Burton’s game

Given some perspective, the freshman season of Jamarius Burton for the Wichita State men’s basketball team becomes even more impressive.

Even without the context, Burton’s debut campaign stands out: He made 28 starts (most by a WSU freshman in a decade), broke the WSU freshman assists record with 126, and averaged 6.0 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists in 24.0 minutes per game last season.

Unprecedented opportunity to play right away was available after unprecedented roster turnover at WSU, but Burton, a 6-foot-4, 200-pound bulldozer, made it easy to forget he was an unranked prospect coming off a major knee injury who was also a late signee in the spring of 2018.

Burton’s biggest blemish? His shooting. He shot just 39% from the field and 26% on three-pointers. So it’s obvious what Burton spent his summer doing.

It didn’t take long for defenses to catch on to Burton’s struggles with his jumper last season. When Burton dribbled up top, some opponents practically begged Burton to pull the trigger on a jump shot. They sent their defenders diving under screens set as deep as the free-throw line and sometimes left him all together.

When WSU ran its motion offense and Burton passed and cut through, his defender wouldn’t always follow him to the corner, instead planting two feet in the lane to clog driving lanes for WSU. After all, Burton made just 30% of his two-point jumpers, per Hoop-Math.com, a perfectly acceptable outcome for a defense to allow.

With this in mind, Burton was motivated this summer to make 500 jump shots every day. He refined his shooting stroke and spent more time than ever on a shooting gun to turn it into muscle memory.

---

As per usual Taylor includes some video footage to illustrate his points,

As always good analysis by Taylor although to call Burton "an unranked prospect" is a little misleading even if technically correct. After all he was recruited by North Carolina before his knee injury so he wasn't exactly and unknown commodity.