Wichita State vs. Tulsa Game Thread 1-13-21

[WeWillShockU]

I think the Alterique Gilbert transformation continued last night. It’s easy to forget he’s brand new to the program and has room to grow even though he’s a 5th year senior.

He seems to be looking to pass first now and is more confident where the shots will be within the offense.

We were so short handed early in the year that we really needed him to score as much as he could. Now we’re better served by him as the floor general who runs the show. As he evolves he should continue get a better feel for when he needs to take a back seat and when he needs to go get a bucket.

And of course his on ball defense is really good. It’s nice to have guards who can stay between their man and and the basket by moving their feet and not fouling all the time.

Excellent analysis! He probes with the dribble drive and does occasionally turn it over but we need him to do this to create spacing. He has been a terrific addition to the team.

[ShockerDropOut]

At 82%, his FT shooting is an asset.
Last year it was 48%.

Remarkable.

Outstanding. After he had his shoulder tweaked, I was wondering how he would shoot. He calmly sank them both. I can't give him enough props for how he has transformed that part of his game from a huge liability to such an asset. His game last night was probably his best as a Shocker. I look forward to seeing what he does going forward. Well done young man!!!

[pinstripers]

2 questions.......did JoBu not play last night because of nagging injury or simply because Mo was so effective? Also, has there ever been anybody in the history of the program improve his FT % as much as Mo?

[1979Shocker]

2 questions.......did JoBu not play last night because of nagging injury or simply because Mo was so effective? Also, has there ever been anybody in the history of the program improve his FT % as much as Mo?

When shooting FT's, you also have to take into consideration the environment you're in — an empty arena vs a full arena. See these articles.

The NBA Bubble Really Is a Hooper’s Gym - The Ringer

The World’s Best Athletes Are Now Better at Shooting - WSJ - behind a paywall

[Shocker Mama]

I am surprised that TE and DD are not shooting a higher percentage from the free throw line. I thought last year both were close to 80%. And agree some fine tuning on what is a good shot for TE will probably make his percentage of 3 point shooting rise. Go Shocks.

Tyson is at 79.4 percent.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/conferences/statistics/player/_/id/62/stat/free-throws

[pinstripers]

that's fairly close

[Wuzee]

that's fairly close

Not Dex, though. He's 20% lower this year. 84.6% to 64.7%.

Still time, though, and he has started to get to the line more now, which has to help. First 8 games: 5 FTA; Last 2 games: 12 FTA.

[TheShocktocles]

Not Dex, though. He's 20% lower this year. 84.6% to 64.7%.

Still time, though, and he has started to get to the line more now, which has to help. First 8 games: 5 FTA; Last 2 games: 12 FTA.

Oh yeah. I hope that trend continues. Having DD shoot more free throws in a game will be good. He is getting his stroke back. I think his percentage will go up.

[Shockm]

Tyson is at 79.4 percent.

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...at/free-throws

If Tyson is the sniper shooter he and we all think he is, he should be, at the least in the 86-90% category on free throws. At this time, MU is better than he is on free throws. This shouldn’t be.

[pogo]

Excellent analysis! He probes with the dribble drive and does occasionally turn it over but we need him to do this to create spacing. He has been a terrific addition to the team.

The dribble drive of our players this year is a big reason the offense looks so much better. Hate to keep saying it but last years guards spent all of their time going east and west. One other thing...I have never seen a Shocker team so effective against a match up zone as they were last night. Also kudos to IB for throwing a little zone at the opponents as well.

[proshox]

I had a lot of fun at last night’s game. First bit of normalcy I have experienced in quite some time.

There remains a lot to like about this team and the coaches. We seem to be able to find a way to unlock just about every opponent before it is all said and done. In fact, WSU might have been better off playing from behind against Houston.

Random - At the end of the first half WSU had four fouls to give with two minutes remaining. I wish the shockers would have tried to completely body up and disrupt Tulsa until it created a turnover or a foul. In my opinion - Tulsa should not have had the opportunity to begin a shooting motion never mind a wide-open three (missed) and a lay-up attempt (made). I know it was only two points, but it seemed like such an easy strategy to implement.

[Aargh]

The dribble drive of our players this year is a big reason the offense looks so much better. Hate to keep saying it but last years guards spent all of their time going east and west. One other thing...I have never seen a Shocker team so effective against a match up zone as they were last night. Also kudos to IB for throwing a little zone at the opponents as well.

Dennis is working on his dribble drive and trying it. Unfortunately, he has trouble maneuvering while dribbling. But he's trying, and he's not getting pulled if he tries and ends up losing the ball. It seems that mistakes are tolerated if those mistakes are made in an effort to work on an area of a player's game that would benefit the team, but needs some repetitions in game situations.

Players do get pulled if they're having an off night and their replacement is having a better game (Gilbert/Porter vs. Cincy). That's probably more easily accepted by players than getting pulled for a single mistake. Gilbert had a great game, with 8 assists, on his nest outing.

The Shox pretty much shredded Tulsa's match-up zone like I've never seen a Shocker team shred a zone in recent memory. Tulsa switched to a man defense, because the D they used to be a highly respected defensive team wasn't working against the Shox.

There was a game earlier in the season where the Shox were having problems on D and switched into a zone and stayed in it, which totally disrupted the opponent in that game. I can't remember which game that was, was it Tulsa?

[60Shock]

Words I never thought I'd ever say - Other than Tyson, there has been no other player I'd rather see get fouled than Udeze.

[pinstripers]

Words I never thought I'd ever say - Other than Tyson, there has been no other player I'd rather see get fouled than Udeze.

it just cannot be.....and yet it is

[TheShocktocles]

it just cannot be.....and yet it is

MU is a good example of a person who was almost led astray by the voices of people that did not know what they were talking about. In my opinion those people did not have MU best interest. He took some time off to get away by himself and figured out what was best for him. I was so happy when he said he was coming back to WSU. And we are all happy for him that he put in the time this summer to do what he needed to do to become a better player. That is what a mature man does. A mature man accepts his weakness and does something to remedy it. A mature man does not lie about his shortcomings. Free throw shooting is not a MU weakness now. Go Morris. And go Shocks.