AN EARLY PREVIEW OF THE WSU BASKETBALL 2012-2013 SEASON

[ShockerPrez]

This is an interesting backhand at Coach Marshall. There are very few teams (if any) who don't have seasonal ups and downs. It happens everywhere to every team at some time during the season. Do you really think that GM has a reputation for this?

MVC tourney, NCAA tourney, numerous games during the regular season that cost us possible NCAA bids? I dunno, call it a backhand if you want. I'll call it history.

[shockmonster]

MVC tourney, NCAA tourney, numerous games during the regular season that cost us possible NCAA bids? I dunno, call it a backhand if you want. I'll call it history.

I don't mind history with context. How many games did we lose last year? Did we win the regular MVC Championship? I remember when Turgeon had a reputation for losing big games too. What do you call the game with Creighton when we won by 20+ on the road last year? How about our road blow out at Davidson? Finally, what about those wins in the NIT Championship run against the Alabama, West Virginia, and Washington State? All of those games are history too.

[ShockTalk]

It should be very hard to be critical of our team/coaching staff that has won 81 games over the last 3 years. Nevertheless, those big wins like the blowouts on the road of Creighton and Davidson, home against UNLV, the NIT run, and other solid wins, make many of our losses even harder to swallow and understand. Yes, we did win the Valley last year when we were not favored, but many of those head scratching losses have caused us to come up short. No NCAA the previous two years, dropping a home NIT game, no MVC tournament championships (bowing out in the 2nd round the last two years), and one and done NCAA last year.

Providing Evansville with its only Valley win and the loss to Drake probably cost the Shox a ticket to the Dance 3 years ago. Two years ago our home losses, 3 Valley, including SIU, and VCU along with the 2nd round loss to IN St., were just too much for the selection committee to overlook. Last year the final 2 games were so, so tough to take. All this is history.

WSU's successes raise the bar of expectations. It makes the bad losses look unexcusable eventhough we all know there will be some. Perhaps it's the number of them that some point to. Maybe they have a point, maybe they don't. However, to a man, every player, every coach, will say that they should have won those games, because those games were not even considered toss up type games. One knows they will probably not win all those toss up games and can handle that, just as fans can. However, just as good teams are measured by their number of quality wins and key wins, they are also measured by their number of poor losses and key losses.

We are enjoying a great ride in Shocker basketball history. Let's hope it doesn't end anytime soon. While we want to be enthusiastic and have high hopes for our team, remember, they are college kids and odd things can happen from time to time. Heck, it can happen to grown men who are professionals. Just look at the first 3 weeks of the NFL.

Go Shox!!

[ShockerPrez]

I don't mind history with context. How many games did we lose last year? Did we win the regular MVC Championship? I remember when Turgeon had a reputation for losing big games too. What do you call the game with Creighton when we won by 20+ on the road last year? How about our road blow out at Davidson? Finally, what about those wins in the NIT Championship run against the Alabama, West Virginia, and Washington State? All of those games are history too.

I dont understand such hostility. I'm not a glass half empty guy. I said we have the talent to be awesome. Yeah, we won a lot of games last year. Lost in the semis in the Valley when we shouldn't have. Cost us seeding in the NCAA and lost in the first round. Call me hyper critical, but that was a huge disappointment for me as a Shocker fan. Then the season before, we were in the NIT because of 2or 3 games to horrible opponents. Yeah, we won the NIT. Because we were the best team, and should have been a no brainer NCAA team. Gloss over it if you want. Paint me as a pessimist. Whatever.

[150946shox]

I dont understand such hostility. I'm not a glass half empty guy. I said we have the talent to be awesome. Yeah, we won a lot of games last year. Lost in the semis in the Valley when we shouldn't have. Cost us seeding in the NCAA and lost in the first round. Call me hyper critical, but that was a huge disappointment for me as a Shocker fan. Then the season before, we were in the NIT because of 2or 3 games to horrible opponents. Yeah, we won the NIT. Because we were the best team, and should have been a no brainer NCAA team. Gloss over it if you want. Paint me as a pessimist. Whatever.

Maybe it is simply that the comment seemed to say that Coach Marshall teams have these tendencies to take games off as if it does not apply to other teams. The fact it that it does happen to virtually every team in the nation. We notice it mostly with the Shockers because it means so much to us. It happens to Bill Self teams too. Or to virtually any other coach in the nation. As Shock Talk said, these are college kids and it does happen. For that matter, NBA, NFL or MLB teams seem to occasionally take a day off and not play anywhere near up to par. The Chiefs occasionally win a game which proves that NFL teams sometimes fail to play up to par. :o)

I would love perfection out of the Shockers, or for them to always beat the teams that they should beat, but it will not happen regardless of who coaches them. Stuff happens. I am willing to admit that I occasionally am not up to my normal effectiveness. Not that I'm not trying, just that it doesn't always "click" like normal. Maybe you're different, but if you're perfectly honest with yourself, I doubt it.

[SpanglerFan316]

I don't mind history with context. How many games did we lose last year? Did we win the regular MVC Championship? I remember when Turgeon had a reputation for losing big games too. What do you call the game with Creighton when we won by 20+ on the road last year? How about our road blow out at Davidson? Finally, what about those wins in the NIT Championship run against the Alabama, West Virginia, and Washington State? All of those games are history too.

Well, since you asked, the lackluster performance in our last game (in Portland, Oregon) comes to mind with respect to this topic.

[WSUwatcher]

(1) Just because a team loses doesn't mean it took the game off -- sometimes the other guys just beat you.

(2) Every team in postseason play finishes with a loss in a "big" game unless they win their tournament. Obviously, it's better to win a couple or a few first -- but in the NCAA, for example, 34 teams finish with an opening loss, and sometimes those 34 include big name teams like Kansas (Fear the B's!).

[ShockerPrez]

I'll be the first to say that the players we have are as talenred as any and I believe we can be better than any team in the Valley. MTXE is gonna be the key.

[wufan]

Team chemistry (which I think is good right now) will be important as will learning the system quickly! Get out your playbook fellas!!!

[Kung Wu]

I love watching the preseason expectation train go chugging out the station! It's always entertaining! Woot woooot!

I really just hope our newcomers get settled in and can get cohesive before mid-season. Another deep run in the NIT would be a sweet warm-up for the next few years where we rock the NCAA's.

[shockmonster]

Well, since you asked, the lackluster performance in our last game (in Portland, Oregon) comes to mind with respect to this topic.

I never said that it never happened (although it didn't happen the whole game). I just asked if HCGM has a reputation for it and I say no.

[SubGod22]

And I wouldn't say that they "took the game off". I would say that they played poorly that first half and it cost them. But there's a difference between playing poorly and taking the game off which is what I believe started this whole thing. There is ZERO reputation of his teams taking days off though.

[ShockerPrez]

When I say take a game off, i dont mean not try. Maybe, oh, not as mentally crisp as usual. Not saying that they dont play hard, because they do. And they surely dont take losing well.

[SubGod22]

When I say take a game off, i dont mean not try. Maybe, oh, not as mentally crisp as usual. Not saying that they dont play hard, because they do. And they surely dont take losing well.

Fair enough. But I do think using those words is what caused the disagreement and it appears you can see that as well.

No, they don't always play as crisp or maybe even focused as we'd like. If they did, we'd never lose to the likes of Evansville, Drake or Indiana State. Sometimes shots just don't fall. Or the other team just can't miss even if they're blanketed. Lots of things happen, but effort isn't something that suffers for the most part. And we all know that won't be tolerated by 3G or the fans.

[WstateU]

I know all about “taking a game off”… I’ve been “taking a game off” for several weeks now, however I’ll soon be back on the top of my game after I sell a few assets.



3500 Watt Generator for sale… anyone interested?