Gorillas at Shockers

[SHOXAAC]

I don't see Wessel being unseated as the starting SF anytime soon. Can anyone say Graham Hatch 2.0.

[forevershockerfan]

100 points and around 18 assists? Nice night at the office for our Shocks. And how about them new Mod-Squad Specs by Carl? Only his eye doc knows for sure but Carl was stroking the rock tonight and lookin tough as nails. Armstead is the real deal. Heart breaker--rain maker-Baker is going to be solid to say the least. Cle was off his shot but does so many things so smoothly. Wessel and Wiggins performance tonight will cause me to sleep well, like a hibernating polar bear because they are looking good at the 3. EO will be fine and will get some minutes this year.. FVV, D-Will and Chadrack need to get healed up. We need them healthy. What about that Shock depth chart SN? NICE. This team should be a 70-73 percent throw team? Ya think? However, this team still has the potential to be a very special Defensive squad. If so, we are going places because that will add even more points to the Offense we already have. Sleep well tonight SN.

[1972Shocker]

I still like EO but for those who predicted a Triple Double average for him should be back to earth.

I missed that. Who made that prediction?

In any case, I stated it would be great if EO averaged a combined points+rebounds+blocks = 12 a game. He contributed 7+5+1=13 tonight, but that was against an undersized D-II oponent. That may prove to be a little optimistic, especially if Chadrack comes along and takes some of the minutes EO might otherwise get. A couple of nice baby hooks by EO that he could of only dreamed of in a game situation.

[ShockerFever]

Zach Bush is an eligible red-shirt walk-on, but has not played.

Bush signed with Washburn and transferred to WSU so he is sitting out this year and is not eligible.

[Aargh]

EO - Not going for as many blocks. Not fouling. Not an offensive liability. Offense doesn't run through him - doesn't need to.
Hall - May be the best PF in the MVC - Yeah, yeah, CU fans reading this - I know.
Early - How do you spell JuCo? Needs some time.
White - Played some Center. Looks "steady". Not as athletically gifted as the rest of the front court.
Wessel - Are you kidding me? I was SHOCKED! I'd be happy with his game if this was his Senior year. Probable starter until at least mid-season.
Wiggins - Quick on quick. Fast on fast. Led the team in "Marshall moments". Excels in "out of control" situations. J-U-C-O - needs some time.
Baker - You've heard for a year how he was going to be great. He's better than what you've heard. Can probably play 1, 2, or 3.
Cotton - Was Cotton. Scores when there's an opportunity. Defends. Handles. The most boring player I'd call outstanding I've seen in long time.
Williams - Quicker and faster than I recall - and he was obviously favoring his ankle. Explosive moves going to the hoop.
VanVleet - Nothing spectcular or particularly notable, but did not look like a Fr PG who's missed a lot of practice. Looked experienced.
Armstead - Doesn't shoot as much as Ragland, but is more aggressive in attacking the D. SOLID!
Green - Will go red. The only player who was an obvious drop off from the player he replaced.

Overall - Early and Wiggins aren't anywhere near where we hoped they would be. Baker and Wessel are so far past where we hoped they'd be it's ridiculous. There's no problem with where the scoring is going to come from. Hall, Wessel, Baker, Williams can light it up. The transition game is sick. Orukpe is sitting under the hoop when the ball gets to a wing near the baseline at the front of the initial break. Wiggins will put up points whenever Marshall can tolerate putting him on the court, but his points may not come out of the offense or the flow of thegame.

There were enough "street ball" stretches in the second half that Marshall has plenty of "coaching" available before the next game. Wiggins may be a quicker, faster, taller, higher-jumping version of David Kyles. Wessel may be Graham Hatch with better scoring. Ron Baker may be Sean Ogirri with a complete game.

At one point Marshall had both Armstead and VanVleet on the court, so he's teaching at least one of them how to play SG - or maybe he was just trying not to run the score up. There was no substitution he could make that wouldn't run the score up.

[1972Shocker]

Supposedly, the question mark with this team was where would the scoring come from. If tonight is any indication the answer is everywhere. The Shocks put up a C-note and that was with a bad offesnive game from CleAnthony, one of the guys we figured we would have to rely on for scoring.

Nick was a pleasant surprise tonight. CleAnthony, despite his shooting woes, contributed on the boards and defensively. The officials kept looking for Garrett to call a foul on and I guess they decided to settle for Jake. Fred received his baptism and probably had his eyes opened a little.

This is the 4th best team in the Valley????????????????????

[WuDrWu]

What we feel pretty good about after tonight:

Carl Hall, good last year, is a lot better.
Malcolm Armstead is going to be a real handful for every team in the Valley.
Wessel is a LOT better.
Did anyone not listen to me talk up Baker for the last 16 months?
We have greasy fast Italian speed.

[SHOXAAC]

I missed that. Who made that prediction?

In any case, I stated it would be great if EO averaged a combined points+rebounds+blocks = 12 a game. He contributed 7+5+1=13 tonight, but that was against an undersized D-II oponent. That may prove to be a little optimistic, especially if Chadrack comes along and takes some of the minutes EO might otherwise get.

There is a "small" sampling on SN that believe EO will perform at a rate which is just not logical. The triple-double reference might be an embellishment, but some have mentioned averaging a double-double, which is silly to say the least. He has improved and will definitely help this team overall. Once Chadrack comes back healthy, the 5 position will have three horses that will make that position to much to handle for the opposition.

[WuDrWu]

This is the 4th best team in the Valley????????????????????

Some think even worse....maybe even play in.

[ShockerFever]

This team caught me off guard. I knew they were gonna win by 20+ against an inferior opponent, but wow did the scoring come in bunches. Evan Wessel just joined the party I think. I did not expect the long-range bombs he was throwing down. His tenacity and intensity definitely reminds me of Graham Hatch, with apparently a better shooting touch. Really wished he would've redshirted last year. Baker was just as impressive with his 3-balling. CH was a beast, as expected, and will get his points this year. Our free throw shooting had not skipped a beat it appears. The first half had a great flow to it. It's too bad the refs had to steal the show in the second half. Overall, it was a great exhibition opener. FVV sure is stocky for a freshman. DW still surprises me with his quickness to the hoop - even when not 100%. White was quiet but had showed some range. I hope Early just had an off night. He has the physique of an MTXE type player. He just needs to simmer down and adjust. We just have so many freaking options and players, it's unbelievable. Our depth may be better than last year's, which says something.

The good news EO didn't foul out. The bad news is he didn't get his 18 points either. He still looks very shaky out there. He has no hands. I dunno how many times in passing or rebound situations did balls seem to fumble off his hands and away. His minutes will be more than last year but limited IMO. He had a couple of decent hooks late but those shots have very little margin for error with their line-drive trajectories. It was nice for coach to set him up with the alley-oop to start the game. Would have been awesome if he had connected in on it. Still a great start to the game.

I'm curious to see Cold's comments on EO's abilities and future prospects this season.

[SHOXAAC]

Just imagine all the assembled parts when all hands are on deck healthy.

[WuDrWu]

Just imagine all the assembled parts when all hands are on deck healthy.

Exactly. And some people will look and say, yeah but it's Pitt State...had we decided to keep a more regular lineup in there, I don't know what the score would have been but 147-35 comes to mind. The upside this team has is huge.

[1972Shocker]

EO did have a few instance where he showed his hands of stone, but he also had a number of instance where he showed very good hands.

While he had only 1 official block I think he probably had half a dozen psych-outs.

EO will definitely make a contribution of some value to this year's team.

[GoShockers89]

The upside this team has is huge.

I don't think this can be emphasized enough. We lost a lot in experience, but man, we have REALLY upgraded the talent. This year's roster is the best group of players we've had since the early 1980s.

We're going to have trouble not running up the score on some teams this year. Our scrub unit would be the starting 5 for two-thirds of the MVC.

[CBB_Fan]

Wish they would run the alley-oop type stuff more often. At least it would get EO involved on offense. I think the biggest thing you can take from the game is that his teammates don't trust him enough to pass to him, and you saw why several times.

I still think he'll have at least one great game though. And besides, the real impact of EO isn't in the stats. Its in the 10 missed shots that had no chance of going in because EO was in the paint, and the mismatches having Carl Hall at PF and Early at SF will create. And this was actually a good confidence booster for him (career high in points), especially the opening play.

Players I was really impressed with:

Carl Hall (Gonna be very hard to stop)
Evan Wessel (MIP in the Valley, from what I've seen)
Ron Baker (lot of skills, can score in bunches)
Malcolm Armstead (Thief!)

Players that I think will have their impressive moments, either later in the season or in their career:

Demetric Williams (gotta get healthy)
Fred Van Vleet (built like an ox)
Nick Wiggins (much better today than at the scrimmage)

Players that could have been better:

Cleanthony Early (So athletic! But needs to improve shooting percentages)
Tekele Cotton (Injury problems slowed him down)