Wichita State vs. Southern Alabama Game Thread

[molly jabali]

Sunshine pumper vs Doom and Gloom. Usually I prefer to try and see some positive things even in an UGLY ballgame as was the one yesterday. RCIV is a better ball player this year and Kenny Pohto is going to be a better player sooner than later. DD should only shoot from outside if the shot clock is winding down, whereas MU should NEVER shoot from outside. DD is still a beast on defense but RCIV is making strides to close the gap IMO. Mo looked as did KP bad against a quicker shorter man. Monzy still needs to slow it down one notch or learn to play better at this speed. I thought our tandem point guard duo did well together and as was pointed out each brings a different look for the other team. One weakness last year was rebounding and I was worried about it this year but so far the Shocks seem to be a little scrappier going after the loose ones. It's still early so I will be cautious in my hopes. Mo is an undersized big man and had success last year by getting better position but this year not so much. I don't have the benefit of watching tape so I don't know what is different this year but he seems to be pushing too hard and making more mistakes. Don't know if he feels he HAS to score rather than kicking it back out this year or not. TE should probably not have played because he looked slow and not his normally engaged self on defense where again he seemed to be a couple of steps slow. Liked the playing zone in that it slowed USA down and at least made them work the ball instead of throwing it down low so they could abuse MO or KP. Good question of when is the best time to use a zone? This is one of the reasons I like reading SN. The trapping zone didn't look good tonight so was this due to the other teams quickness or were we not fully engaged? I don't know if Joe Pleasant is a player waiting to break out or if he is just going to be ', Hoping for the former. Anyway these are the thoughts of what some think of me as a Sunshine pumper as akin to someone that thinks the season is already a waste and time to start all over because there is no hope. Go Shocks

Enjoyed this approach

[Shockm]

Time will tell if they are a good team. In the past, teams like that (if they would win and go to the NCAA Tourney) would build up another teams resume, but with the new Q1,Q2, Q3 system, not necessarily. But while they may or may not be a good team, and win down the road, they did have a couple of really good individual players. One of their cast offs was Mr. Basketball in Tennessee for example. Last year's game with Oral Roberts wasn't a blow out either, and in years past, we had close calls during our early season OOC schedule. Hopefully, we win Tuesday, but next weekend could be a blood bath.

[Shockm]

That's odd. I don't remember that. What I remember is GGG's defenses playing zone for about 2 possession's and then not seeing it again until a few weeks later.

It appears the zone D was the difference last night though, thankfully.

Marshall played a lot of zone during the last 3-4 years during the 2nd half of games. Go back and watch. Now during our years with Tekele, Ron, Evan, and Fred, we played almost no zone, because they could keep players in front of them.

[WeWillShockU2]

That's about the only way to put a positive spin on it. We better hope IB figures out how to make some sort of effective offense out of the players he's got because I doubt the athletic department can afford paying two buyouts, although IB's is small for a couple years, as I recall.

This letting inferior teams hang around and winning close games is skating on thin ice. I'm starting to think Pomeroy was on to something last year with the "Luck" factor he assigned to WSU.

These “inferior” teams are getting high major transfers thru the transfer portal. Can’t overlook the buy teams anymore.

[WstateU]

[WstateU]

[ShockerFever]

IB riding and dying with TE, even when he clearly doesn’t have it, shows the coaching shortcomings that are sure to follow. That is such a shortsighted mindset. He appears to be a coach that’ll make little adjustments, require no accountability for bad play, and just “roll the ball out there”.

Consider me worried.

[TheShocktocles]

Time will tell if they are a good team. In the past, teams like that (if they would win and go to the NCAA Tourney) would build up another teams resume, but with the new Q1,Q2, Q3 system, not necessarily. But while they may or may not be a good team, and win down the road, they did have a couple of really good individual players. One of their cast offs was Mr. Basketball in Tennessee for example. Last year's game with Oral Roberts wasn't a blow out either, and in years past, we had close calls during our early season OOC schedule. Hopefully, we win Tuesday, but next weekend could be a blood bath.

Next weekend? Man we better come ready to play on Tuesday. This team needs to make some improvement in a lot of areas. I am sure were all glad that they are rebounding and making free-throws. But why do we have problems keeping the other teams player in front of us and stoping them from penetrating to the cup. Hope they figure that out because Tarleton State has a lot of quick players that can get to the cup and Finish.

Having some good shooting on offense would help this team too. And it would be nice if SOMEBODY could make an entry pass to our centers. And of course the center has got to catch it first and then not blow the layup or dunk. Go Shocks.

[1972Shocker]

Imagine if the public address announcers had asked the crowd to not "fart" instead of not to "whistle"?

One way to get everyone to mask up.

[WuDrWu]

Imagine if the public address announcers had asked the crowd to not "fart" instead of not to "whistle"?

When Ted addressed this all I could think about was Billy Tubbs. That request certainly did not end the way the official intended it to end.

[WuDrWu]

Hey ShockRef and any other experts out there....2 games in and, to me at least, it seems like there is an effort to keep the game moving and prevent a FT shooting competition from developing.

There seems to be a substantial amount of contact that is given a pass, as if we're resorting to maybe 10-15 seasons ago, and one of the consequences (best word I can come up with) of this is that they are allowing a guy knocked off his feet to travel without a call. Mo shuffling his feet under the basket was so bad I just couldn't believe they passed but then I started to combine that thought will what I perceive as added contact this season.

Are there points of emphasis in this area? Or am I just way off base?

[Kel Varnsen]

When Ted addressed this all I could think about was Billy Tubbs. That request certainly did not end the way the official intended it to end.

One of my favorites. “Regardless of how terrible the officiating is!”

[1972Shocker]

That would be a bad coaching mistake at this level. TE is an outstanding player, but he literally about shot us to an L today.

Agree gut Tyson had plenty of help from Dex and Mo. The 3 combined to shoot 5-26 from the field including 1-12 from 3 point range.

That being said all three of these guys did contribute some solid plays late in the game. Dexter's only 3 pointer set up by a very nice penetrate and pass out from RCIV put the Shocks up 54-51 with 5:51 in the game. Mo's lefty layup after getting the USA defenders off their feet off a a nice pass from Tyson put the Shokcs of 59-56 with 3:32 to play. Dexter's left handed tip in from about 5 feet out, ranted with a big dollop of luck, put the Shocks up 61-56. Tyson's hustling rebound on Dexter's 3-point miss with agout 20 seconds left and the 2 free throws after being fouled after grabbing that rebound put the Shocks up 63-58 and pretty much sealed the win.

Mo and Dex a good rebounding games with 12 and 8. Perhaps the best rebounding game of Mo's career against a good group of athletic players.

But perhaps the real silver lining to this game was the lack of offensive production from Tyson, Dex and Mo pretty much forced someone to fill in the void and RCIV took the bulls by the horn and had his best game as a Shocker to date. 19 points on 7-11 from the field (3-4 treys), 2-3 from the line, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and only 1 turnover and a steal. Let's hope this becomes a regular occurrence. Certainly would help taking some of the defensive focus off of Tyson and perhaps Dex. RCIV certainly saved the day for the Shocks against USA.

Tyson, Dex and Mo are good players and I think they will be okay. They just need to realize they don't need to carry the whole load.

[TheShocktocles]

Agree gut Tyson had plenty of help from Dex and Mo. The 3 combined to shoot 5-26 from the field including 1-12 from 3 point range.

That being said all three of these guys did contribute some solid plays late in the game. Dexter's only 3 pointer set up by a very nice penetrate and pass out from RCIV put the Shocks up 54-51 with 5:51 in the game. Mo's lefty layup after getting the USA defenders off their feet off a a nice pass from Tyson put the Shokcs of 59-56 with 3:32 to play. Dexter's left handed tip in from about 5 feet out, ranted with a big dollop of luck, put the Shocks up 61-56. Tyson's hustling rebound on Dexter's 3-point miss with agout 20 seconds left and the 2 free throws after being fouled after grabbing that rebound put the Shocks up 63-58 and pretty much sealed the win.

Mo and Dex a good rebounding games with 12 and 8. Perhaps the best rebounding game of Mo's career against a good group of athletic players.

But perhaps the real silver lining to this game was the lack of offensive production from Tyson, Dex and Mo pretty much forced someone to fill in the void and RCIV took the bulls by the horn and had his best game as a Shocker to date. 19 points on 7-11 from the field (3-4 treys), 2-3 from the line, 8 rebounds, 3 assists and only 1 turnover and a steal. Let's hope this becomes a regular occurrence. Certainly would help taking some of the defensive focus off of Tyson and perhaps Dex. RCIV certainly saved the day for the Shocks against USA.

Tyson, Dex and Mo are good players and I think they will be okay. They just need to realize they don't need to carry the whole load.

Agree. I know RC4 had his best game as a Shocker. I am happy for him. He has put in a lot of work. But I hope he doesn't get into the habit of celebrating his dunks. Let the dunk speak for itself. And I hope he doesn't let his man continue to get back door layups on him. Go RC4 and Shocks.

[Ted Lasso's Neighbor]

Random Observations

- South Alabama coaches asked for the handshake line to be used after the game as it's part of their recruiting process for next year's players.

- Looking forward to Taylor being bored at work and writing an article titled, 'Why Playing a Sick Tyson Wasn't a Good Idea". It will then be followed with a thread about the article with tens of posts until people get sick of it.

- WSU will encourage recycling by asking fans to drop off their cardboard cutouts from last year in empty seats that appear on tv.

- Free donuts can be picked up today at Dillons. Look for a bucket full of donuts by the checkout stand that says Free Roses - Please Take One, that has the word Roses crossed out and replaced with the word Donuts.