It's going to be a long off-season....

[Capitol Shock II]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/7767401/indiana-hoosiers-continue-moving-2012-13

If the hype is already beginning for vcu, ksu, ku and Perry Ellis I may have to move. Not to mention Creighton. I guess I'll just have to be content with the role of spoiler next year because we are completely off the radar.

[SB Shock]

Until wsu proves they are a "reloading" program instead "rebuilding" - they won't get much preseason love. Most programs lose the #of seniors will be going into rebuilding mode.

I think a lot of us see what Marshall is buildimg and believe he has got the program to the point where this program can reload each year and compete for a valley title and at large bid (I guess there are a few on here that don't believe that). This next year will really be telling. Reloading after you lose 4 guys can be a fluke, reloading a second year after losing another core group is a "trend" - a trend that our friends from other valley schools don't like to see I might add.

[_kai_]

A day after the season is over and they're releasing a 2012-13 preseason top 25? They really must like just having content on the college hoops portion of ESPN. The Top 15 is just a list of blue-bloods. That list will drastically change by the beginning of next season, but Katz does state that.

Also, Creighton was the odds on favorite to run the table in the MVC this year, and that didn't really turn out for them. We are a team of unknowns at this point. We don't know how well the new incoming juco's and possible transfers are going to assimilate to the team, so we have no where to really pin ourselves down. I imagine next season will be a lot like this one. No respect for the beginning of the season, and our record will end up speaking for itself at the end.

[choida]

Mr KAI you hit it spot on...next year is a crapshoot. It all depends on Orupke's development, Cleanthony's impact and how well our guards play together. We know what we will get from Hall and D-Will, and I am not counting on our freshmen to come in and pull a Anthony Davis and just be miles ahead of the learning curve. Just depends on who else we bring in and the meshing process. It is truly a good time to be a Shocker fan!! #GOSHOX

[_kai_]

Mr KAI you hit it spot on...next year is a crapshoot. It all depends on Orupke's development, Cleanthony's impact and how well our guards play together. We know what we will get from Hall and D-Will, and I am not counting on our freshmen to come in and pull a Anthony Davis and just be miles ahead of the learning curve. Just depends on who else we bring in and the meshing process. It is truly a good time to be a Shocker fan!! #GOSHOX

I think we could actually see something like VCU did this year. They went from an explosive offensive and defensive team, to strictly just a lock down defensive team this past year. I could see Marshall putting more emphasis on the defensive end of the game, and have players like Tekele get more minutes than we expect, just for his defensive prowess. But I think that happens only if the incoming juco's like Cle and Teddy don't have an impact like we expect. Also like you said, depending on EO's development. If he doesn't develop offensively like we want, it would point even more towards focusing on the defensive end of the game.

Also, another thing that I think will affect how this team plays next year is late signing period pick ups. Do we try to plug a hole in the post and get a Center? Do we go after wings? I'm not completely sure where the coaching staff is going with their late period pick ups. It will be interesting to say the least.

[Ricardo del Rio]

It all depends on the five.

Call me sunshine, but I think EO will work out better than most expect.

[pogo]

It all depends on the five.

Call me sunshine, but I think EO will work out better than most expect.

OK sunshine, I agree with you.

[Rlh04d]

You mean you can't predict the top 25 teams for next year the day after the season ends when players aren't even on campus yet? Craziness.

Early projections are worthless. If they mattered my Seminoles would have several more football championships than they do ;)

Creighton is the clear favorite in the Valley, because they were a good team this year and return their key players. We lose most of our starters so we're an unknown. The potential is certainly there for us to do well, but at the end of the day, Creighton deserves the hype because the players they will have on the court next year have earned it. Ours haven't. We deserve to not be in the discussion because we haven't proven anything yet.

I'm just fine with us being spoilers. Whether we can be more than that depends on HCGM and the guys on the court.

[ShockTalk]

Chemistry, chemistry, chemistry. This usually doesn't happen over night for a team with a lot of new, and important, faces. I feel this, more than anything else, will determine how this team finishes next season.

Potential, potential, potential. Most may call this simply the unknown, but what the Shocks have going for them is the number of quality players and they are bound to hit on a number of them. Hall and Williams are about the only knowns and both should improve. Among the kids, White and Cotton are the real deals, are mature, and should continue their climb. Wessel is a question mark for me. Personally, red-shirting this year, would be huge for him and WSU. Then there's EO. Guessing what impact he will have is like flipping a coin, but if he "gets it", it will make for a fun year.

Wild Cards = Red-Shirts. Armstead's D-I experience at PG and Baker's outside shooting could answer a lot of question marks for the Shocks. Not sure where Mitchell fits in to everything and that's not a knock on him. Armstead is a PG only and FVV coming in will lead to him seeing as many minutes as possible once he knows the system. Mitchell is too short to fill the SG spot nor will do I believe he take DWill's, Cotton's, or Baker's minutes.

Just How High Is The Ceiling? The newbies should answer that. Early looks to be an immediate impact player and FVV will be an impact player, the only question is how soon. Will Green be good enough to take Hawkins' minutes (if he gets here) or will he red shirt? Both look to be real players for the future, just maybe not this year. And just who is Henry Uwadiae?

Last, but definately not the least, is whether WSU signs another 1 or 2 players. One or both may make the difference in WSU staying near the top of the Valley, having a shot at winning the MVC Tournament, and/or making the Dance.

White, Cotton, EO, Baker, Early, Hawkins, Green, FVV, and potential signee(s). If we can hit on half (4 or 5) having a quality next year, added to Hall, Williams, and Armstead, should be enough to keep the Shocks strong and dangerous.

[shockmonster]

I think we could actually see something like VCU did this year. They went from an explosive offensive and defensive team, to strictly just a lock down defensive team this past year. I could see Marshall putting more emphasis on the defensive end of the game, and have players like Tekele get more minutes than we expect, just for his defensive prowess.

VCU this year is a possibler comparison if one wants to be optimistic about next year. They didn't really come on until the middle to end of the year. If our players find the chemistry, some players step up and show some improvement, and everything goes right, this could happen.

[DwShock]

I say we have the best coach in the nation, the best University in the nation and the best fans in the nation. Shockers can win the valley, win at the Lou and make a final four run. Hey the season is over. One can wish all they want right?