In Coach Marshall We Trust

[C0|dB|00ded]

He never planned on losing. Why did you?

We had people on this forum saying, "no way can we handle their defense", based on a few turnovers witnessed against Carolina Directional. Did Shocker fans think HCGM wouldn't address the issue of VCU defense to his players? Did Shocker fans think we would just walk into VCU's tiny arena and get run out by 30 points with surprised looks on our faces? This is not HCGM's first rodeo. He has a roster full of his kind of players. You can be pretty confident from here on out that on any given night, we will be competitive with ANY team in the country.

Repeat after me: "In Coach Marshall we trust."

Now start ACTING like winners.

CB Out!


T


...:cool:

[SubGod22]

I never understood why so many thought we'd get blown out tonight. Just because we're young and inexperienced doesn't mean we suck. I figured it'd be close because of those factors, but we shouldn't even be thinking about getting stomped by a team like this.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

I'm having some of Cold's koolaid while I'm eating this crow. Pretty tasty. I have no intentions of underestimating our boys again.

[ShockerPrez]

I think we all agreed that the talent level is upgraded from last year. It was a question of melding together, and that question still remains offensively. But, no doubt, our defense. Yeah. And if our defense plays like that, we will need much more work on our transition offense. But we have the horses and speed to be very potent in that regard. Any D less than VCUs is going to be in for a beat down.

[small tyme baller]

I didnt figure we'd get "blown out" ... but I did anticipate a loss. Did I cheer any less for our guys last night?: NO .... I have full confidence in HCGM & Staff as well as in our players. Late in the game I was up in the living room yelling at the tv like I was in CKA.

Just looking at the game objectively and how we matched up with them ... I expected a close game and them pulling away late. Glad I was wrong and thats why I'm not a sports gambling guru. But with a relatively inexperienced and young team ... I fully expect some ups & downs ... highs & lows, but seeing up play our hearts out no matter who the opponent or what the score may be. And thats why its a great day to be a shocker!!

[CBB_Fan]

I believed that if were going to lose big, it would be in this game. The difference, I believe, was Marshall's gameplanning. He must have spent countless hours in the offseason dissecting that VCU game that ended last season in order to learn how to beat them. His coaching made up for the lack of offensive cohesion that I thought would lose us this game (thank you Armstead for being a stalwart pillar with the rock in your hands).

[1979Shocker]

I also thought we were going to lose this game even though I thought it would be close. If someone would have said before the game that if our FG% is in the 30's and our 3FG% is in the teens, and on top of that, if our free throw shooting is only around 60%, then I would have said there is no way we can win this.

[ShockerFever]

Count me in the "thought this was gonna be a loss" club. I even went on to say it could be by 15+. Boy do I feel foolish now. Marshall gave Shaka Smurf a taste of his own medicine and prevailed. That was a masterfully coached game and the team executed it to perfection with an all-out defensive assault. We made just enough shots and plays to win and really that's all that matters in these types of games.

We definitely rushed a lot of shots and were out of sync on offense. I think it was a combination of the VCU defense and our youth and inexperience still fresh out of the gates. We definitely had flashes of offense brilliance though. Once the team gets it, we could be scary good.

I underestimated our coach and team last night. I'm glad they proved me wrong.

[Capitol Shock II]

I didn't comment but I was thinking loss like many. With that said I thought we played terrible. Too many bad shots, too many turnovers and in general poor decision making. I do think that VCU was the cause of a lot of these problems. However I also believe that VCU played poorly because of our defense. I thought our defense was excellent. I also think that we have a whole bunch of Stallions and a great team wins games when they aren't playing well. I think we were in that category last night.

[tw805]

So I have this clear:

1. We lost to this team two years in a row when we had more experienced teams;
2. We have eight newcomers to the team;
3. VCU returns nearly everyone;
4. VCU is really good, and has consistently turned our guys over repeatedly in the prior games;
5. The game is on the road.

And it's unreasonable to have developed an opinion that the game was more likely than not to be a loss? No one assumed that Marshall wouldn't address VCU's defense. It's quite the opposite. I think all of us assumed that he addressed their defense on the prior occasions too, but it didn't matter. The VCU defense is really good. If you were capable of assuming that a bunch of young guys who have never experienced it before would handle it better than our four seniors from last year's team, more power to you.

[SubGod22]

I wasn't surprised with some predicting a loss. Those predicting a big loss shocked me. If there was going to be a big loss last night, it would have been with us victorious as we have the offensive style to put points on the board and VCU was going to want to dirty up the game with their D and slower play. I figured it'd come down to the end and that we'd have our chance to win it. And I'm glad we did.

[shockerfan]

It wasn't unreasonable to think this would be a loss. That was a VERY realistic possibility. It didn't mean that we didn't believe the team COULD win. Or that we are lesser fans because we felt like this could be a loss. I will definitely look back at this win when I make future predictions. However, I still expect inconsistencies (especially on offense) for the next few weeks as this team continues to grow and learn. The one thing I now expect in every game is good defense. Defense is a lot of effort and heart. I didn't give this team enough credit for having those intangibles. That is one thing they should be bringing to every game. What does that mean? It means that I don't feel we will win every game that is on the schedule. But I definitely feel we will have chances in every game to win thanks to our defense.

[C0|dB|00ded]

So I have this clear:

1. We lost to this team two years in a row when we had more experienced teams;
2. We have eight newcomers to the team;
3. VCU returns nearly everyone;
4. VCU is really good, and has consistently turned our guys over repeatedly in the prior games;
5. The game is on the road.

And it's unreasonable to have developed an opinion that the game was more likely than not to be a loss? No one assumed that Marshall wouldn't address VCU's defense. It's quite the opposite. I think all of us assumed that he addressed their defense on the prior occasions too, but it didn't matter. The VCU defense is really good. If you were capable of assuming that a bunch of young guys who have never experienced it before would handle it better than our four seniors from last year's team, more power to you.

There was doom and gloom all over our board. Multiple comments about Carolina Directional surprising us a few times with traps and "how could we ever handle VCU if we can't handle CCU" comments.. It was like people thought HCGM was just going to overlook the part of his job where he prepares strategy for this game. I had no idea if we were going to win or lose, but I certainly wasn't going to whine and cry online about how we are going to be beat like a bunch of ShockerNetters did. If I was a Shocker player reading this board.. or God forbid, the coach.. I would have executed the face palm of the century.

All I'm saying is, Shocker fans, have a little confidence in your coach and maintain an air of quiet confidence at all times. Our coach likes his players "confident if not a little cocky". So goes the coach, so goes his players, and so goes the fanbase. We are a major program, don't have a mid-major attitude. This isn't HCGM's first two years.. he has his own players and he has proven over the last 3 years or so that we aren't going to get spanked...ever. If we lose it's going to be close. History shows that.


T


...:cool:

[Dave Stalwart]

I'm trying to imagine what the face palm of the century might look like.

[C0|dB|00ded]

I'm trying to imagine what the face palm of the century might look like.

It would be like both of his palms on his face, then bending over and laying his entire face (and palms) into his food tray (on his chartered flight to Virginia), during which he would smudge his 24k gold glasses causing them to sit crooked on his face, with EO eventually putting an arm around our shamed and rattled coach and lifting him back up.


T


...:cool: