Glue Guy of the Week: Tekele Cotton

[n8]

From Seth Davis's Monday Fast Break column: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/col...20/fast-break/

Glue Guy of the Week: Tekele Cotton, 6-2 sophomore guard, Wichita State

If a guy is going to play two-guard and make just 13 percent of his three-point attempts, he better excel in all the other areas of the game. That's what Cotton does. Yes, he shot 0-for-10 in the Shockers' win over Creighton, but he also had eight rebounds (including three offensive) and played tough defense on Doug McDermott, the Bluejays' 6-8 All-America forward. McDermott finished with 25 points, but he did not score in the final two minutes while the game was being decided. Cotton also made the game's most important defensive play when he jumped at Bluejays forward Ethan Wragge without fouling on Wragge's three-point attempt with six seconds to play that would have tied the game. Cotton also had seven points, seven assists and two rebounds in Wichita State's win over Illinois State on Wednesday night. That's some sticky stuff right there.

[WuDrWu]

Seth Davis be loving some Shocks long time.

[GoShockers89]

Tekele is an absolutely off the charts defender and rebounder for his height. His intangibles are A+ and this post is not a knock on him in any way.

However, he MUST find some semblance of a threatening jump shot before March. Thumb injury be damned, he's got to do it. It does not have to be lethal, it just needs to have a 1 in 3 chance at going down so that the defense has to extend beyond the free throw line against him. Creighton's defense was not long and athletic enough to make us pay for letting them clog the middle and deny entry passes, but you can bet the farm that a team like Syracuse would have a field day against a squad sporting a 6'2" Doug Gottlieb on offense. Teams are going to sag more and more off TC as the season progresses if he cannot develop a serviceable 15-18 footer.

The difference between him being the perimeter equivalent of EO on offense vs. having a shot that commands the defense's respect could be what separates us from being a top 25 team vs. a top 5-10 type squad. I hope he can make it happen.

[150946shox]

Tekele is an absolutely off the charts defender and rebounder for his height. His intangibles are A+ and this post is not a knock on him in any way.

However, he MUST find some semblance of a threatening jump shot before March. Thumb injury be damned, he's got to do it. It does not have to be lethal, it just needs to have a 1 in 3 chance at going down so that the defense has to extend beyond the free throw line against him. Creighton's defense was not long and athletic enough to make us pay for letting them clog the middle and deny entry passes, but you can bet the farm that a team like Syracuse would have a field day against a squad sporting a 6'2" Doug Gottlieb on offense. Teams are going to sag more and more off TC as the season progresses if he cannot develop a serviceable 15-18 footer.

The difference between him being the perimeter equivalent of EO on offense vs. having a shot that commands the defense's respect could be what separates us from being a top 25 team vs. a top 5-10 type squad. I hope he can make it happen.

If he just goes back to the 34.8% he shot last year from 3, I'll be happy. I fully expect it to happen. He's a better jump shooter than he has shown this year and DWill is a much better free throw shooter. He shot 87% last year and 80.6% in 2010-2011.

[McShocker]

Tekele is an absolutely off the charts defender and rebounder for his height. His intangibles are A+ and this post is not a knock on him in any way.

However, he MUST find some semblance of a threatening jump shot before March. Thumb injury be damned, he's got to do it. It does not have to be lethal, it just needs to have a 1 in 3 chance at going down so that the defense has to extend beyond the free throw line against him. Creighton's defense was not long and athletic enough to make us pay for letting them clog the middle and deny entry passes, but you can bet the farm that a team like Syracuse would have a field day against a squad sporting a 6'2" Doug Gottlieb on offense. Teams are going to sag more and more off TC as the season progresses if he cannot develop a serviceable 15-18 footer.

The difference between him being the perimeter equivalent of EO on offense vs. having a shot that commands the defense's respect could be what separates us from being a top 25 team vs. a top 5-10 type squad. I hope he can make it happen.

Aside from the 3 point attempts (I think he took 3) most of his attempts were from areas where he often scores. I have to give Cy some credit for bothering his attempts at the rim without fouling him. Tekele usually goes to the line when he attacks the rim that strongly. Also, he has been shooting the 8-15 foot jumpers at a much higher rate than his 3 balls, and while his 3 point attempts were pretty ugly, his mid-range shots looked good until they rimmed out. Bottom line, he had a bad offensive game, but it wasn't really because he was trying to do more than usual. It was just because he shot poorly from areas he normally shoots well. Even with his bad offensive game, we lose without him, and THAT is the most important thing to consider.

[KC Shox]

If Mr. Cotton could ever refine his shooting skills, the Shox would be Final Four material.

[1979Shocker]

So is his defensive intensity messing up his offense? Maybe he's so intense on the defensive end, that when he gets to the offensive end, he's not relaxed enough.

[GoShockers89]

It's either physical or mental, because he has historically always been at least an average perimeter shooter (high school + freshman season).

I am leaning towards physical.

[ABC]

. . . or he could simply be in a shooting slump. It happens.

[1979Shocker]

He does seem to be able to make his free throws when he has a chance to relax.

[1972Shocker]

Tekele isn't a glue guy (make that super-glue guy) because he is a shrinking violet. I think he will bring the same competitive resolve to fixing his shooting has he does to the rest of the game.

I can see 3G telling Tekele to be very selective with his shots, but I certainly don't believe 3G will or should tell Tekele to quit shooting.

Tekele shot 50.8% from the field as a freshman including 34.8% from beyond the arc. This year, even after the 0-10 game against Creighton, he is still at 39.6% from the field. Not great but not horrible. His 3 of 23 on treys is problematic. He is shooting 47.4% inside the arc.

Confidence is such a critical factor for a shooter. At this point Tekele seems to be in one of those cycles where the worse he shoots the lower his confidence goes and the lower his confidence goes the worse he shoots. Perhaps he should concentrate on his mid-range and in game for now and simply try to recapture some confidence. Once he does that he can perhaps see if it translates to a better stroke from long range.

In any case, I am really pulling for Tekele, as are all Shocker fans, and I think he will eventually break out of his current shooting slump.

[ShockTalk]

Has anyone noticed that TC has averaged over 28 mpg since Valley play started? It's not for his 5.8 ppg. As @forevershockerfan: would say, if TC has a good offensive night, that's groovey gravy bay bay.

[CBB_Fan]

I thought I remembered something about an injury throwing off Cotton's shot. Am I making that up? If not, it seems a reasonable excuse for his shooting so far.

[1972Shocker]

I thought I remembered something about an injury throwing off Cotton's shot. Am I making that up? If not, it seems a reasonable excuse for his shooting so far.

Tekele has been banged up this year. Earlier in the year I recall that he had his right hand (thumb?) taped for games. And then he also pulled a muscle in his back picking up a weight in the weight room. I don't think he missed any games but he did have his torso taped pretty heavily taped for at least a few games. Hard to say what, if any, impact those aches and pains had on Tekele's shooting this year. I have not heard any comments from the Coaching staff that would indicate that those injuries are the issue, but it's possible they are a contributing factor.

[pogo]

If Mr. Cotton could ever refine his shooting skills, the Shox would be Final Four material.

I must be in an alternate universe...KC used final four material and the Shox in the same sentence.