Wichita State vs VCU Game Thread

[ShockerPrez]

I see only 2 more OOC games. Abilene Christian a week from tomorrow and Ole Miss the following Saturday sandwiched around the conference opener against ECU. After that it's a tough AAC road swing to UConn and Temple.

My bad, thought there were 3.

[WuShock16]

Yesterday I posted 71 - 60 shockers win. But I was wrong ... we only won by 10 points ... really enjoyed the game.

For God sakes, get it right next time. We don’t take kindly to those kinds of prognosticating errors around here.

(Tongue firmly planted in cheek...)

[BOBB]

You'd just give anything to steal his pain and wear it for him so he can do what he's earned

Unless we wouldn't. I heard from a coach's wife that the issues some of these guys face are terrible and that dealing with these kids' suffering is the hardest part og being a coach.

I can wear a lot, but some things I don't know. I hope for Dex's sake it is the type of crisis that seems insurmountable at the time only to clear up and give perspective for the next one.

[1972Shocker]

Gregg Marshall post-game radio interview:

[1972Shocker]

They said before the game that VCU is one of the oldest teams in basketball. Average age over 21. At least 2 fifth year players.

Head Coach GREGG MARSHALL on…

… Whether he felt the team played a complete game:
"Maybe. We held them to 63 (points). They shot 38 percent (from the floor) and we out-rebounded them by five. I saw a stat on their last game where they have seven guys on scholarship that are 22 years of age or older, and several of them are 23 and at least two of them are 24 -- so this (VCU team) is a grown-man team, and we've got 10 underclassmen. Now they are not all 18, but we have 10 underclassmen that are 20 (years of age) and below. From an experience standpoint, we were stepping up a weight class or two, but you couldn't tell it. Our guys were so focused and locked in."

[Blackmag]

Kinda late on post game remarks, was on the run after the game. Really proud of the team. We really matched and surpassed VCU’s defense, we were probably the best defense they’ve seen this year. Love the way we’re competing on the boards since the West Virginia game. Echenigue is the glue for this team in the paint but the improvement of Udeze is huge. Poor Bear had a nice second half, the move on the baseline was “sweet”. Bear has good feet. Our guard play today was really, really good and getting better every game. Sherfield and Burton took charge today. Love Etiennes game and even though Stevenson wasn’t at his best his hustle never wavers. Love this team and the upside is through the roof. Good job kU

[Cdizzle]

That had to be Poor Bear's best game. He gave us great minutes, not just hold-the-fort minutes.

Fernandes gave hold-the-fort minutes, which is pretty solid for a freshman PG against VCU.

I am on team Mitdgaard. But I kinda like that he didn't play. I like that we seem to have a staff that is putting together useful gameplans and players that are doing a good job of executing them. Against UCF last year they got Mitdgaard ready from the deep bench to be a big part of the game plan. This week they made it pretty clear this game just was not to his strengths. Love having those options.

That officiating crew was overmatched by the pace and physicality of that game. Not in a 'they screwed WSU' way, but they could not keep up. A number of blatantly obvious fouls and violations that were missed because they weren't in position.

Burton recovered from his horrible game against OU to have the second great game of his career. Hopefully it doesn't go to his head this time. (I kid because I care, ShockerFever ).

Trey Wade was not great in Cancun. He has responded tremendously since then, and certainly not against patsies.

Stevenson has really figured out how to make a major positive impact on the game and the scoreboard without being a chucker. It is a joy to watch.

Those were freshmen guards????!!!

Watching these guys fly around the court and play for and through each other is the best. I get hyped thinking about it. They are absolutely playing the right way. Something that had been missing since 2016, IMO, (there was a lot good going on the last 60% of last season as well).

[Teddy Graham]

Totally agree with Cdizzle's post above.

Poor Bear showing he can play the 4 against a team as active as VCU is huge for us this year and next. Big strides. That move off the dribble for the layup was tremendous - especially for such a big guy.

Mo was a man out there. I love his tenacity. He and Poor Bear remade their bodies and it is helping a lot. We are certainly going to miss Jamie, but if the young bigs continue to make strides we'll be in good shape.

Is JB always the strongest guy on the court. Seems every game he just takes a ball away from someone. His work is paying off big time.

Uncanny how many balls ES deflects. Loved his post game comments about OU - he doesn't like the opposing team and I like that.

To quote Cdizzle…"Those are freshmen guards???!!!" Wow.

This team has so many different options at so many positions. Different looks and strengths.

The defense and rebounding reminds me of 2013 - 2014...every shot is challenged, help is everywhere, and we seem to have 6 guys hitting the boards.

I've been thinking this team is going to be really good in Feb...they are really good now and will be better in Feb.

Like everyone, I really hope Dex gets things addressed. Seems like a great young man and I want the best for him.

[WeWillShockU]

Great win for the program. VCU is a good team. They kept coming even when they got down 18. Our guys played tough defense, great rebounding and we pretty much handled their pressure until the last 4 minutes or so. Make our regular free throw percentage and we win by 15 or more. It was a great atmosphere. Kudos to Shocker Nation. Merry Christmas everyone. This 3 game stretch is a great present!

[ROOT ANGRY!]

VanVleet was crafty. Sherfield just blows by defenders.

Sounds like Gottlieb'd love him.

[Aargh]

Etienne and Sherfield look like Jr's instead of Fr. Both are still a little up and down - and I will emphasize "a little" - it's not much. Fernandes looks more like a Fr, but he seems to understand how to run an offense and he's quick on quick.

Midtgaard seems willing to accept his role. He's not going to be exposed against bad matchups, and he will get his minutes when he's likely to have his better games.

If you would have told me in October that we'd be playing VCU without Dennis, I would not have been optimistic. Stevenson and Burton have made incredible strides in their games since last year. Throw in Etienne and Sherfield who appear to be D1 ready from the opening tipoff and we've got spots 1-3 covered.

It was later in the season when the Fr last year started figuring it out. I doubt Etienne and Sherfield can achieve the mid-season improvements that last year's Fr showed. This year's Fr started at a pretty high level. If we haven't seen half of what they can do by now...that would be too much to hope for.

I think all the post players are getting better. There's every indication that the team we'll have in March will be significantly better than the team we have now. Other schools have the same situation, but with the youth on this team, I think the Shox have more headroom (higher ceiling) going into the heart of the season.

[ShockAzs]

I really really like this team.

[wsushox1]

I know others have said as much. But the improvement of Udeze not only from last year to this year but from the start of this year to now has been so fun to watch. He is starting to believe he belongs and he has such a good motor.

[shox1989]

Great game today! This is the game re-cap from the VCU athletic web site: The short story: Senior guard Marcus Evans scored a team-high 15 points and helped VCU mount a second-half comeback attempt, but it wasn't enough to overcome Wichita State Saturday inside a frenzied Charles Koch Arena.

https://vcuathletics.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/releases/20191221mw7r98

[Dan]

This move from the big fella....

https://twitter.com/Chris_LillyTV/status/1208529152837586944