Wichita State vs. USF Game Thread 12-22-20

[shox526]

I need to see more RCIV, CJ, and JB minutes. Not that they’re clearly better than the starters + PB at the 3/4/5, but the upside and effort is there - more minutes needed to improve their BBIQ. Everyone in the front court especially should be going 100% every single possession, knowing we have good depth and can sub in and out without losing much (if anything) when someone needs a breather.

[ShockingButTrue]

USF was all discombobulated when the Shocks went back to man-to-man after playing zone for awhile.

Even Bobby Knight played zone at the end of his career. Hell, the NBA plays zone now, right?

[Shockm]

We didn't play well the first half. Not smart, didn't shoot well, lacked effort in getting rebounds, and loose balls. Otoh, in the second half, we played better. Shots started to fall, rebounded better (when we couldn't get the rebound, we put in the extra effort in batting the ball and keeping it alive, etc. especially Ricky C and CJ), had a spark to our step on defense, and got loose balls. We just didn't play as smart as we can to finish. I would like to see Porter take more shots in the future because I think he can shoot it too. The one shot was maybe a bit early in the shot clock at that time of the game, but he is good on offense. This was a good win on the road against a probable top 5-6 team.

[Dan]

I had to miss most of the game but saw the ending and read most of this thread. What I can say is that this team is defined by TEAM play, good defense and taking care of the ball. We are not the best at a lot of things but we have a lot of interchangeable parts that can be plugged in depending on the matchup. Learning from mistakes after a W is much better than learning from a loss.

[WstateU]

Oh Ricky, you so fine! Can’t say enough wonderful things about this kid. We will get to see a lot more of him this season, and as we do I’m sure the warts will begin to show, but until then I will enjoy the ride and every time something goes the wrong way for the Shox I will yell at the TV, “PUT RICKY IN!”

Coach Brown, don't lose Ricky's number...

[shock-it-to-me]

Man, is TE outstanding on the post game or what?! If you haven’t listened to it, you must. And HCIB seems much more comfortable and much more “head coach” like than he did in earlier interviews this year.

[pie n eye]

In a normal year with Marshall as our coach winning at Tulsa and at USF is expected. We lost a combined two games to those teams in three years.

In a year like this those wins are more significant.

The next test is Wednesday against an ECU team at home that we should beat. Beat comfortably? I would like to see it and would be further proof that we belong at the top of the league. I would also like Seymour and Jenkins to get some more action. ECU isn’t a bad team so anything can happen.

I’m still probably in “a win is a win” mode with this team but my expectations are slowly ramping up to our first game against Houston. The overall effort seen against Tulsa and USF probably results in a 10 point loss or more to Houston. Combine the first half against Tulsa with the second half (minus 10 seconds) against USF? Maybe it’s a ball game.

[molly jabali]

Right now, EVERY win is a good win... still figuring out an identity... need to rebound... love the apparent addition of positive spirit...
it is significant to notice that FOUR or our recent players are starting elsewhere RIGHT NOW... that’s a large amount of adjustment to deal with!!!
( Fernandes Burton. midtgaard. Sherfeld... Reaves if you go back a couple)

[wichshock65]

Right now, EVERY win is a good win... still figuring out an identity... need to rebound... love the apparent addition of positive spirit...
it is significant to notice that FOUR or our recent players are starting elsewhere RIGHT NOW... that’s a large amount of adjustment to deal with!!!
( Fernandes Burton. midtgaard. Sherfeld... Reaves if you go back a couple)

Yet I think we would have lost both games with those guys, and their attitudes, still here.

Love the feel of this team. Frankly, it's a welcome surprise in 2020.

[Kel Varnsen]

Didn't get to watch the game live last night, but here are my thoughts after digging a little deeper.

- Etienne is incredible. He is impressive in every way...on the court, off the court...every way.
- Council's ceiling is freakishly high. He can do things athletically that not many WSU players have ever been able to do. If they have, they haven't played much. And he can create for himself off the bounce.
- The last two seasons, we did not have nearly the athletes that we do now. Adding Council and Jackson has been a big positive in that department. It was frustrating having Grant Sherfield, SHJ, or Erik Stevenson try to guard players for Houston because they could not match up well at all.
- Udeze is bad, and not in a good way. He's our worst offensive player, both efficiency-wise and w/r/t his ceiling as a player. He really doesn't seem like he's going to get much better. When your efficiency is hovering around the .80 PPP mark and you're a starter/regular rotation player, that's a problem. He also was another victim of the "WSU big man who supposedly learned how to shoot well" curse...that has rarely worked out. I'd much rather have Bilau/Wade/Council/IPBC out there at the 5 and spread things out offensively. IPBC seems to understand his athletic limitations much better than Mo.
- Trevin Wade will be on the bench most of this season, unfortunately. Same goes for Chaunce Jenkins, although I'm excited for his potential. Craig Porter is too good and too smooth.
- As good as Gilbert is, the ball moves better without him in (or at least without him being the primary ball-handler). He's still fairly efficient, just something to ponder. Porter functions better as a distributor/facilitator and AG is better suited as a playmaker.
- Dex is struggling right now. I know he's capable of doing more, but he's struggling and it would be great to see him break out of his funk.
- Our ceiling as a group is pretty high...we may not reach it this season. We are a player or two away from being really good. Why? Well, in addition to some of the things I mentioned above, we've never had a 6'10" player who could do this:

- We just won a game we probably shouldn't have. We'll lose a few games this season we probably shouldn't (ECU seems like a trap game to me). This team will be up and down but they're certainly ahead of where I thought they'd be after watching the first two games. Our biggest limitations right now are our personnel inside and our inability to shoot the 3.

[WstateU]

Didn't get to watch the game live last night, but here are my thoughts after digging a little deeper.

- Etienne is incredible. He is impressive in every way...on the court, off the court...every way.
- Council's ceiling is freakishly high. He can do things athletically that not many WSU players have ever been able to do. If they have, they haven't played much. And he can create for himself off the bounce.
- The last two seasons, we did not have nearly the athletes that we do now. Adding Council and Jackson has been a big positive in that department. It was frustrating having Grant Sherfield, SHJ, or Erik Stevenson try to guard players for Houston because they could not match up well at all.
- Udeze is bad, and not in a good way. He's our worst offensive player, both efficiency-wise and w/r/t his ceiling as a player. He really doesn't seem like he's going to get much better. When your efficiency is hovering around the .80 PPP mark and you're a starter/regular rotation player, that's a problem. He also was another victim of the "WSU big man who supposedly learned how to shoot well" curse...that has rarely worked out. I'd much rather have Bilau/Wade/Council/IPBC out there at the 5 and spread things out offensively. IPBC seems to understand his athletic limitations much better than Mo.
- Trevin Wade will be on the bench most of this season, unfortunately. Same goes for Chaunce Jenkins, although I'm excited for his potential. Craig Porter is too good and too smooth.
- As good as Gilbert is, the ball moves better without him in (or at least without him being the primary ball-handler). He's still fairly efficient, just something to ponder. Porter functions better as a distributor/facilitator and AG is better suited as a playmaker.
- Dex is struggling right now. I know he's capable of doing more, but he's struggling and it would be great to see him break out of his funk.
- Our ceiling as a group is pretty high...we may not reach it this season. We are a player or two away from being really good. Why? Well, in addition to some of the things I mentioned above, we've never had a 6'10" player who could do this:

- We just won a game we probably shouldn't have. We'll lose a few games this season we probably shouldn't (ECU seems like a trap game to me). This team will be up and down but they're certainly ahead of where I thought they'd be after watching the first two games. Our biggest limitations right now are our personnel inside and our inability to shoot the 3.

That was a sweet no-look pass...

[pinstripers]

Mo got one rebound in 17 minutes. If these players stay, we have a pretty good supporting cast for a center to come in and get immediate minutes on a good team.

[apkbaum]

Man, is TE outstanding on the post game or what?! If you haven’t listened to it, you must. And HCIB seems much more comfortable and much more “head coach” like than he did in earlier interviews this year.

Is there a link to listen to the post game?

[SB Shock]

Is there a link to listen to the post game?

If you have an iphone, WSU basketball has a podcast where they place all the audio for the games (include post-game) and coaches show on.

[apkbaum]

If you have an iphone, WSU basketball has a podcast where they place all the audio for the games (include post-game) and coaches show on.

Thank you!