wsu @ Missouri State game thread

[moshock]

After seeing the Shox in person last nite, here are a few of my takes:

Cle has stud written all over him. I do wish that after he gets called for his first foul in the first half - he would continue to play hard but quit reaching or commiting foolish fouls. Early was taking the game over when he picked that second foul up. I don't like the way Doug McD plays D but he is in the game most of the time. IIRC, we didn't score again in the first half after he went out with his second foul. He could have easily scored 30 last nite. He has been his own worst enemy.

Cotton needs to wear a cape when he's flying around out there

I love this teams demeanor. They don't whine about bad calls or panic when the other team makes a run. They just take care of business.

I got to JQH at about 6:15. MSU was already having their shoot around and it lasted around 25 minutes. The Shox didn't come out for while and then only shot around for what seemed like a few minutes. I don't know if it affected anything, but our outside shooting seemed to be lacking.

MSU has a couple of really good young athletes - probably top 4 as a team (athletic-wise) in the Valley. GT obviously wanted this one bad. He is a great offensive player but still coast when the ball isn't in his hands.

I couldn't figure out why Lusk called timeout with about 50 seconds left and then conceded.

I had to laugh during timeouts - 3G was teaching from the whistle until they made the Shox return to the court. Lusk would speak with his guys and had them out of the huddle before the buzzer sounded. It was the master teacher (3G) on one end and the guy with no answers (PL) on the other. I do think that Lusk will get it figured out if given enough time.

The crowd was pathetic. They had a contest to guess the attendance. The three options were in the 6000 to 6500 range. I think the guy was looking for "none of the above" option. If there was 4000 there I would be suprised. It may have been worse than that.

I was glad to get to see our team. I can't wait for St Louis.

Go Shox !!!

[ShockerKhan]

I don't understand why, when we have Wiggins in, we don't try to get him at least 1 look for every segment he's in. He seems to be the only legit perimeter shooter we have.

I gotta believe that we are waiting to unleash him at some point before all is said and done.

Seems to me like our guards don't really look for Nick. Once the clock gets down under 10 whoever has the ball is going to fire a three or drive the lane.

[pinstripers]

Seems to me like our guards don't really look for Nick. Once the clock gets down under 10 whoever has the ball is going to fire a three or drive the lane.

it certainly seems that way

[Ta town]

I really hate to say this but it just keeps looking this way. it is looking like the Shockers of today (with much better athletes) play like the Salukis of yesterday. Very tough defensive team with ugly wins. They did make it to the Elite Eight and should have beat Kansas in that game. The chicks didn't know what hit them.

I think they lost to Kansas in sweet 16, not elite 8.

[giskard]

I love this teams demeanor. They don't whine about bad calls or panic when the other team makes a run. They just take care of business.

I hope they take that kind of demeanor to St Louis. They aren't going to in in the Lou until they realize that they need to not let the officiating get under their skin.

[WuDrWu]

I realized why the Shox came out slow. Didnt they go eat chicken fried steak on Sunday? Yeah, it must have been soooo good, they had 2nds and 3rds. I know that when I have chicken fried steak, it takes me a few days to recover.

Is there still a Grandy's open anywhere?

Gotta head south for a trip through the gravy shower. The double chick-fry was one of the great guilty pleasures. And whose mother do I have to strangle to get a steak egg and cheese biscuit? Those babies were incredible.

[GoShockers89]

I think they lost to Kansas in sweet 16, not elite 8.

Yep. The last Elite 8 appearance by a current MVC member was WSU in 1981.

[1979Shocker]

Next year we should have better outside shooters. Wiggins, Baker, and Early will be one year older and more experienced and we'll have Wessel back and Derail Green will be available.

[WuDrWu]

I noticed that Fred got a lot of minutes (22) in spite of the poor shooting. Gregg wanting him to get some minutes when they counted. Already thinking about next year?

Fred's minutes have been strong of late, despite the below average shooting. I am pleasantly surprised at his ability to get to the cup. He probes the zone more efficiently than anyone on the team.

[pinstripers]

Fred's minutes have been strong of late, despite the below average shooting. I am pleasantly surprised at his ability to get to the cup. He probes the zone more efficiently than anyone on the team.

YOU can outrun him, however

[WuDrWu]

Next year we should have better outside shooters. Wiggins, Baker, and Early will be one year older and more experienced and we'll have Wessel back and Derail Green will be available.

With Coleby, Early, White, CJ and Watson inside, we'll light people up from the arc.

I could have just said "Coleby" and left it at that, but I don't want some of you to get into a salivation frenzy.

[ShockerPrez]

Fred's minutes have been strong of late, despite the below average shooting. I am pleasantly surprised at his ability to get to the cup. He probes the zone more efficiently than anyone on the team.

My only complaint with FVV is that he tends to walk the ball up the court and then things seem to be slow. Wish he would push it up court with some urgency.

[WuDrWu]

YOU can outrun him, however

I most certainly CANNOT outrun him, or anyone else for that matter. I am still concerned about his athleticism.

[Aargh]

Seems to me like our guards don't really look for Nick. Once the clock gets down under 10 whoever has the ball is going to fire a three or drive the lane.

Sometimes it looks like our guards intend to dribble back and forth until they get an opening to drive and if that never happens, then it's time to take a 3. When the 3 misses, the front court guys are there to grab the rebound and pass it back to a perimeter guy to try that play again.

Here's the logic: WSU is winning games by getting a lot of offensive boards. If the guards pass it to the front court guys, those are high percentage shots, so there aren't as many offensive rebounds available. The guards can't pass it to the interior players or to players who shoot well. If they did, WSU wouldn't have the big edge in offensive boards. WSU is winning games because of their offensive boards, so passing the ball to someone with a good probability of making the shot would cost WSU games.

Besides that, the interior guys can get plenty of points on put backs. They don't need to get passes to maintain WSU's balanced scoring attack. The guards need the extra opportunities, so they can't pass to the interior guys or WSU wouldn't be able to maintain the balanced scoring attack.

Anyway, why do things the easy way, when the real challenge is to do them the hard way and then really have to work to beat inferior teams.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Sub 45 field goal percentage is not going to get it in post season play and may cause severe heart burn, during the balance of regular season play.

I am somewhat mystified that Nick does not have a bigger role in the offense. He impresses me with his dribble drives, even though he missed two layups in the Blue Bird game. Also, he is very good, when he has open 3 ball shots. I would like to see more plays run for him. Also, I would like to see more dribble drives from him. I would like to see more 3 balls from him. I would like to see more minutes for him....but I don't think it is gonna happen.

Other:
1. On the post game show, Coach Marshall said Jake will not shoot 3 balls. He is shooting at a 9% rate. The 3 ball that he threw up in the Blue Bird game was just plain awful. It clanged off the left side of the rim. It barely drew iron.
2. I would not allow Tekele to shoot 3 balls. He is firing them up at a 13% rate.
3. An overall reduction in 3 ball attempts would be fine with me.
4. If Demetric was put on a 3 ball diet, it would be fine with me. He is shooting 29%.
5. Ditto for Fred. He is shooting 27%.
6. The Shocks are shooting 52% from 2 and 32% from 3. More 2, less 3.
7. By the way, Tekele shot 35% from 3 last year. The fall off is a mystery.
8. Armstead is shooting 35%, but it seems he is very streaky.

Field goal percentage is the Achilles heal of this team. Duh.