Tulsa at WSU game thread

[ShockerPrez]

FVV is just one of guys with quick hands, like Perez had. Perez got tons of steals.

[WuDrWu]

This team continues to do things that I haven't seen, well, in a long time.

They hustle and get on the floor more than any WSU team in decades. They pick each other up more than any team in decades. They share the ball more than any WSU team I've ever seen; they WANT the other guy to score. They have fun....well, you know.

They aren't anywhere NEAR their ceiling, and yet still another double digit win (6 of 7), without their starting center, and at least 3 others not 100%. Cle' is fantastic and he's got no idea how good he can be.

Cotton is a freaking STUD. That inbounds play, Coach said "Run it all the way through" and I said to Mrs. Doc, "Pay attention and watch this"...reminded me of the Purdue inbounds play circa 1988 when they ran #5 to Everett Stevens.

Lufile and Wiggins...last 2 guys in our rotation....is there a team in the Valley that wouldn't kill for this 2 kids? Lufile moves like a 3 and Wiggins is mercurial.


They play D like NO WSU team I've ever seen.

I'm not going to try and convince anyone that this team is going to win every game. But I'm not about to try and convince THEM that they aren't either.

Anyone notice anything about Coach's demeanor? Is Lynn slipping something into his G2 mix?

[WuDrWu]

Oh yeah, almost forgot.


Fred VanVleet.

[jrschh]

Lufile and Wiggins...last 2 guys in our rotation....is there a team in the Valley that wouldn't kill for this 2 kids? Lufile moves like a 3 and Wiggins is mercurial.

I was thinking, at the 5 minute remaining mark for the game and HCGM "cleared his bench", how unfair that it was that we still had a top 100 recruit, a Juco All-American, a 4 year Senior who's been a "starter", a 6'9" athlete w/ solid BBIQ and a guy who was a HS All-American still playing in the game. Then I realized, that is our BENCH! I love having an unfair advantage!

[lemuel777]

If one was to look at the stat sheet without playing time listed, it would be near impossible to pick the five who started.

[pinstripers]

1. The refs sucked.

2. I was surprised that nobody booed Danning Manning. I was SHOCKED at the amount of applause he got. WTF?

3. Early on, Cleanthony hunted his shot a bit too much.

4. No idea where the minutes will come from, but Cotton needs more of them.

5. Wiggins explodes to the rim. Good God.

6. We missed EO. You could see it.

7. Have not yet been on FVV's bandwagon. Still don't understand exactly how he gets it done, but he is going to be very, very good.

8. Got a really bad batch of popcorn. That is rare, but it happened last night.

9. FVV, in the post-game interview, referred to Coach as "the old man." Liked it.

10. Jake played some 5, and Wessel played some 4. Interesting.

11. Lutz wore black and gold. Don't think I have ever, EVER, seen that before.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I'm not gonna lie, I love EO and all, but Lufile looked awfully good tonight. Mid range shooting, great vision and assist type passing, quick smothering guard like D (rather than goalie type D) among other things. He will be a a good post player but right now he almost looks like he would rather model his game after Cle than EO. It was a nice change of pace.

EO, Hall an Lufile are a very diverse three headed post monster.

How did you like that air ball? It must have been short by 3'.

Just kidding. I thought he played well.

[1972Shocker]

Yes, a few games ago I was questioning his athleticism. I now think it was mostly freshman tentativeness. He was great tonight.

The other thing to keep in mind regarding Fred's slow start was that he was coming off an ankle injury that no doubt slowed him down physically as well as costing him precious practice time as a freshman.

[1972Shocker]

FVV is just one of guys with quick hands, like Perez had. Perez got tons of steals.

Jason was a good athlete, but IMHO his high steal totals were primarily the result of a very high BBIQ and the ability to anticipate a play. I think Fred will be similar in that regard.

[jrschh]

10. Jake played some 5, and Wessel played some 4. Interesting.

HCGM has been experimenting w/ Wessel at the 4 all season (well, at least for the 4 games I've "seen" WSU play...VCU, Cancun and now Tulsa). Some games have been for a very short stint (DePaul, I think) and others a little longer. I guess he liked the results of a small forward playing the 4 last year (Smith).

[CBB_Fan]

HCGM has been experimenting w/ Wessel at the 4 all season (well, at least for the 4 games I've "seen" WSU play...VCU, Cancun and now Tulsa). Some games have been for a very short stint (DePaul, I think) and others a little longer. I guess he liked the results of a small forward playing the 4 last year (Smith).

Ben Smith is a very good comparison. They both add another dimension when they play at the 4, namely shooting. With Wessel as our 4, we can space out the perimeter a lot and start hitting a lot more threes. It isn't something you do all the time, but it is a trick that coaches like to have up their sleeve. And both Wessel and Smith can be good defenders, even guarding bigger opponents (correct if I'm wrong, but I remember Smith playing McDermott very well). And if you remember, Hall was playing well when he moved to the bench (didn't he lead us in scoring against Alabama?), but the team functioned better with Smith as the starter.

Adding White at the 5 does something similar, though it does so to a lesser extent because White hasn't found his outside shot yet and seemed to be trying to re-find his role on the team (which he found in the last two games last year).

On a side note, you can tell how much Marshall trusts our bench. Even when the starters are down, he feels no problems with putting most of our bench on court, content that they will make up the difference with their fresh legs. Instead of putting in Armstead on the last possession of the first half, he calls FVV over to the bench and tells him he's about to make a 3-pointer. He's doing a good job getting all of our guys to contribute, and honestly every player seems good enough to get serious rotation time (we are in the enviable position of not having "any" real scrubs!).

[wufan]

We have a nine man rotation with Wiggins, Lufile, and White just outside of that group. There are probably 4 MVC teams that would plug them in as starters tomorrow.

White or Lufile would likely start at Missouri State, Evansville, SIU and possibly Indiana State.

Wiggins would start at Missouri State, Bradley, SIU, Indiana State and possibly every other MVC school (especially those which favor offense over defense).

[1972Shocker]

Not much of game write-up in the Tulsa World: http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextr...B4_Bodyte92912

I guess you can't blame them.

[Dave Stalwart]

How did you like that air ball? It must have been short by 3'.

Just kidding. I thought he played well.

Haha I don't mind. It was like he had an open shot, hesitated (which blew the whole thing) and then frantically shot as he became covered and it was pretty funny. That's just him embarrassing himself and learning. I'm just looking at what I think his strengths are leaning toward and I like it.

I think I've seen Baker and Cle toss up some ugly ones too this year and I figure it won't be the norm

[Dan]

I'd just like to add one more thing on Fred VanVleet. He may not be "fast" but he is very quick. He has quick hands and the way he moves with the ball keeps the defender off balance. He is constantly changing directions while dribbling and as soon as the defender gets turned around he's gone. He's really deceptive the way he plays.