Poll Watch, 2012-13 Edition

[Dan]

I gotta disagree here, if you think Carl Hall would chew Withey up you are wrong. I've seen KU in person 9 times, and I've only seen WSU 5 times due to location so I may be off basis with this. Withey gets away with Murder down low. He gets the benefit of the doubt on almost every single block he gets. Don't get me wrong some he gets are clean, but the Majority of them are with him with a ridiculous amount of body contact then a block up high. I've literally seen Withey land on a persons head while they are going up touch his hand on the ball and not get a foul call.

However, I will agree with your statement that we would beat them more times than not - as long as we don't give them atomic bombs that turn into a dunk for McLemore. Cotton can D up McLemore in the halfcourt easily. McLemore is poor to bad off the dribble. However, if you give McLemore any space his elevation will give him a clear shot at the rim. I've never seen anyone elevate like him in person, and I've seen DK plenty of times.

Malcolm would tear Elijah and Naadir up. They are playing really bad right now. Elijah seems to have lost athleticism from last year and his desire to do the little things to win does not seem very high. I don't know who would guard Releford, he's a near impossible match up forthis team. Having a guy like Ben Smith would really pay off if we were to play them this year in the tournament.

Williams and Releford would probably match up. Kevin Young/Perry Ellis at the 4 is a pretty weak combo as well. I just don't see it with Withey, he gets a lot of blocks, but he is not very strong, is slow and not very good offensively. I don't think he would be able to contain Hall.

[WuDrWu]

I saw Kansas play in person a week ago. We match up well with them and I think could beat them more times than not. They have McLemore and that's about it, the bench is shallow. Withey is weak, Carl Hall would chew him up.

Wow. I find Withey many things, but wouldn't count weak in that list. The kid is probably going to be All America.

[ShockerFever]

Somebody new at the top of the Pyramid:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21620773/pyramid-for-only-second-time-this-year-a-change-at-the-top

[CBB_Fan]

Williams and Releford would probably match up. Kevin Young/Perry Ellis at the 4 is a pretty weak combo as well. I just don't see it with Withey, he gets a lot of blocks, but he is not very strong, is slow and not very good offensively. I don't think he would be able to contain Hall.

You have to think about how Hall plays. He is not a player that gets the ball in the post and then uses a few post moves to get buckets. Instead, he operates more from the short corner and uses speed/strength to force his way to the basket with one or two dribbles. If he gets by his defender, he almost always will have rebounding position for his misses.

That is not Withey's ideal match-up. He prefers to stay in the paint, and he is very good against both normal post players (Sullinger in the Final Four game), and on help defense when KU gives lets a guard break free from his man. By pulling him out to the short corner, Hall would be able to exploit Withey's relatively slow foot speed (don't get me wrong, he has very quick hands and can get off the ground quickly). Additionally, he would have the backboard as to protect his shot from being blocked. However, I think Young and Ellis would have no more luck against Hall. Both are WAY too weak to stop him on the drive, from what I've seen.

The interesting matchup will probably be Releford. If Early can stay in front of him and keep him away from the basket, I'd say the big-man lineup would work great. If not, Williams would probably have to guard him, which could open up the perimeter for KU (Releford is an excellent 3PT shooter and would be able to shoot over the smaller Williams).

KU wins games by keeping its opponents from hitting shots inside the arc (#1 in the nation at 2PT FG% defense). However, I think the way we play would negate some of that. Early shoots a very hard to block jump shot, and Hall very rarely gets blocked despite his size disadvantage (possibly from practicing against Orukpe everyday). The real key will be exploiting turnovers by Johnson and Naadir, which would possibly be our biggest advantage. Withey can't block shots if he is on the wrong side of the court.

[Rocky Mountain Shock]

We're still unranked by Eric Sproft, Roger Clarkson and Ron Morris.

http://www.pollspeak.com/component/o...1,172/v,/w,13/

****ing ridiculous. These guys ought to be voting in the coach's poll.

[GoShockers89]

Pleased with the showing in the polls. Anything below 15 would have been ridiculous, but you can make a solid argument to have us exactly where we're at.

This program is earning respect. People (outside of the inbred SEC capitals, apparently) know that we're not a typical flash-in-the-pan non-BCS team that's careering it. We are building a powerhouse.

Make sure to take time to enjoy the ride. I watched a lot of really, really bad basketball for more than a decade while dreaming of seasons like this. It's a GREAT day to be a Shocker!!!

[bunck]

I thought that this was interesting in the CBS Power Pyramid

"Something you should know: No player in the country is as reliable in the post that plays as often in the post as Cleanthony Early. Carl Hall, the team's best player, is also a force in the paint, but according to Synergy statistics, Early's 40 touches with his back to the basket have led to 56 points this season -- an outstanding 1.4 points-per-possession average. No other player in the country is close to seeing the ball that often and scoring that reliably."

[im4wsu]

Somebody new at the top of the Pyramid:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...nge-at-the-top

Where do they get statistics like 40 touches with his back to the basket? Does "touch" mean shot attempts? I don't think I've seen him post up 40 times, unless you count rebound put-backs and slashing drives.

[ShockerPrez]

Where do they get statistics like 40 touches with his back to the basket? Does "touch" mean shot attempts? I don't think I've seen him post up 40 times, unless you count rebound put-backs and slashing drives.

Rectum!! Damn near killed 'em!!

[GoShockers89]

Gary Parrish has our backs in the Poll Attacks:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21621171/poll-attacks-feinstein-is-closer-to-right-than-wrong-with-miami-at-no-5

[Dave Stalwart]

Williams and Releford would probably match up. Kevin Young/Perry Ellis at the 4 is a pretty weak combo as well. I just don't see it with Withey, he gets a lot of blocks, but he is not very strong, is slow and not very good offensively. I don't think he would be able to contain Hall.

I really like being at a place where Ellis at the 4 is a weakness against what we can bring at the 4.

[newshock1234]

If we played KU in the tourney this year, the first team to 45 would win, both teams can seriously play some tenacious defense

[WuShock Reaper]

As long as we keep winning, it will now be tougher to keep moving up in the rankings, especially with not as many teams ahead. I know its logic but we also have to think that now 8 of the top 15 teams will be losing each week and we just keep moving up. It is now going to get a little tougher to keep moving up. But lets just keep winning is all i have to say!!!

Last week, I predicited the following AP Poll defeats:
Ranked 01-10 there would be 5 losses, there were 6,
Ranked 11-20 there would be 6 losses, there were 10, and
Ranked 21-38 there would be 11 losses, there were 10.


This week (01/28/13 thru 02/03/13):
Ranked 01-10 there will be 5 losses,
Ranked 11-20 there will be 5 losses, and
Ranked 21-38 there will be 10 losses.

[ShockerPrez]

Jack Harry really is a jack ass.

I do like when he rips into another jack ass - Kevin Keitzman

[ShockerPrez]

Somebody new at the top of the Pyramid:

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...nge-at-the-top

No Butler or VCU?

Oh, that's right, they're big time.