Shox Vs UNCC Game Thread

[wu_shizzle]

I think Ron Baker answered the "can he do it in a game" question.

[forevershockerfan]

"Heart Breaker, Rain Maker, Trey Taker, Net Shaker, Shot Maker, MVP of game Baker" has a debut of 18 points which was phenominal. When was the last time a new player scored 18 in their first game as a Shocker?? Dunno, but we like it, we like it oodles!!!

Hall is so much improved as we predicted. EO is swatting shots but has to watch his passing. Early scored 10 and will only get better. In the 1st half, they stole 5 and we only stole 1 pass? Yikes!!! What about that Cotton thunder dunk? Their team will win their fair share of games. Their zones and traps bugged us for a spell which will not compare to what VCU slaps on us. Green is redshirting which was wise.

I like our squad and it was nice to see Malcom get 6 assists. It was also cool to see our injured players in the mix. We will need a healthy squad.

[forevershockerfan]

Double-double for Carl Hall

Reply #77 which means this will become a pattern for Carl and it will not be luck but rather earned!!!

[wusphlash]

I'll throw this out for comment from all of you that have actually seen us play. Before a season starts, Shockerneters usually think we are deeper than it turns out. Perhaps that will again be the case this year.

I think we will have great depth...................come January/February. Between the new guys feeling their way around and the nagging injuries we've got aways to go before Gregg will completely trust the bench. Athletically the is no drop off. I think we will see a pretty short bench in Virginia.

[pogo]

Not nearly as pretty as last week. I hope the team looks at this game film and figures out how poorly they handled a press and trapping. We also need some work against a zone D. VCU will kill us if they don't figure it out. Baker and Hall were outstanding, MA, EO and CE played well, everyone else had their moments some good some not so good. I just noticed tonight that when one of our guys goes to the line his stats flash on the screen. This is one of the cooler things in a long while. I'll take the ugly win but I feel less confident against good competition than I did 5 days ago.

[Kung Wu]

I'll throw this out for comment from all of you that have actually seen us play. Before a season starts, Shockerneters usually think we are deeper than it turns out. Perhaps that will again be the case this year.

Against the D2 squad our team talent was so overwhelming that every player looked fantastic and it was hard to tell who is on what level. But against this decent/mediocre D1 team you really start to notice the level where each guy is at.

[ShockerFever]

I feel pain is coming on Tuesday.



And not good pain either.

[GoShockers89]

I feel pain is coming on Tuesday.



And not good pain either.

Hate to say it but I agree.

At least overconfidence won't be an issue after tonight.

[pogo]

I feel pain is coming on Tuesday.



And not good pain either.

I feel your pain.

[SHOXAAC]

The three times combined I have seen Ron Baker play, he plays like a 5th year senior. He is for real. He simply lets the game come to him. I don't expect him to shoot like a sniper every game, but the results tonight will happen again and again and again. D-Will getting 100% healthy won't change Baker starting and playing 22-25 minutes per game.

Hall is a man beast, pure and simple.

EO did tonight what I have been expecting. He became an offensive rebounding machine. His first two years his offensive rebounding has been 13%...unacceptable. Tonight 5 offensive rebounds. No one can keep him off the boards if he really wants it. That will be his offensive contribution. He can't shoot a lick, so pounding the boards is his ticket. Great job.

I haven't seen a Shocker dunk like Cotton's over a posterized Ray Willis in quite some time...wow!!!

Early is making progress. What an athlete. He will cause havoc as the point in that zone press. His offense will keep getting better and the different ways he can score is going to be special.

[SubGod22]

3G will shorten the bench on Tuesday if need be. He got a little loose with things with the big lead in the 2nd and that seems to be when things started to go a little south. Not that we don't have things to work on, but I don't think Tuesday is going to be overly painful. We may not win, but we'll compete.

I feel pretty confident in Ehimen, Armstead, Baker, Wessel, Hall, Cotton and Early. Williams just needs to get back into the flow of things. Not sure if that'll happen in the next few days. I think White, Wiggins and FVV will be OK. That's still 11 right there. But I could see where a couple of them don't see much if any of the court Tuesday. They'll learn from tonight and be prepared.

[Dave Stalwart]

I've been really enjoying the lack of fouls on our big men. EO had foul #1 in the second half and hall didnt have many either until maybe a few later on. This team is giving me a lesson on what higher athleticism can do to the foul game. We were sloppy with the second wave of players but we were dominant with the first wave. If we stay out of foul trouble at VCU we will compete. I certainly wouldn't expect a win there after this performance against the press and traps. Maybe this will be a wake up call at least.

[tropicalshox]

Were we able to get somewhat of a take on Lufile?

[CBB_Fan]

Biggest positive is that our defense will keep us in games. I expected our offense to be behind our defense, but that didn't happen in the exhibition game. It definitely happened in this game. Still, we have 3 very legitimate shot-blockers in Orukpe, Hall, and Early, and maybe Lufile will chip in some later in the season as well. Combine that with our perimeter defense (Armstead), and we should be the best team in the Valley.

Right now, our offense comes from Baker's shooting, Hall getting to the line, and highlight plays. I didn't see a lot of penetration or very great ball movement, but hopefully we can get some offense from the rest of our team other than a few tip ins. Orukpe will be "good enough" on offense, but he has to limit his mistakes. I expect Wessel, FVV, and Wiggins to have better games later on, and I think we'll be a good perimeter shooting team once everyone gets in rhythm.

VCU should eat us alive, but that will be good for this team. VCU's defense is going to attack the weakness of this team all night long, and hopefully we will be better because of it. While I still think we can come out of there with a win, it will probably benefit us most as a learning experience. Our teams in the next couple seasons are going to be great.

[WuDrWu]

Highlights of the Game:

1. Baker
2. Cotton's thunder dunk and 1
3. Section 126 Row 7 seat 20