How's This for Expectations

[jocoshock]

I definitely think we can do a lot of damage this year. Getting out of the Valley will be good for the Shox and bad for the other guys we face. I don't care what our seed is, but i want to face BCS opponents in at least the first 2-3 rounds. I want the Shox in this tournament to do what we did to the BCS teams in the NIT two years ago. Destroy them... If Malcolm stays focused, Ron stays hot, and just a couple of other guys can hit some outside shots, there is no limit to how far we can go...

[jocoshock]

This team is gonna be underdogs in every game of this tournament. I like that notion with this team.

And that is why I like a low seed...

[60Shock]

Just get in, win the first game, and fight like hell in every game from there to the finish.

[jocoshock]

Thirty years ago....

[1979Shocker]

Well to be fair, Detroit didn't subject us to any defense, but our "stuff" is very effective against first time opponents.

Ron Baker is a big time difference maker (for those of you that refuse to pay attention) and makes the team better, a lot better I believe, than they already were, and even that was pretty good.

It wouldn't surprise me to see Baker start in place of Williams.

[1979Shocker]

We are much better with Baker. It had been so long since we had seen him play that I had forgotten how athletic he is and just what a beautiful, quick release he has. He is the best pure shooter we have had at WSU in a long time. I love Hatch, Rags, Ben, Cle, Hannah, ArmStud, but nobody has a stroke like Baker. Wiggins is right there too. It's just too bad the rest of Nick's game has kept him out. I would love to see our guys get hot from the outside. As coach said, we hit 40% and we are gonna win. At least I think he said that.

Yeah, he said 40% overall (2's and 3's).

[jrschh]

I think the week and a half lay-off will be great for this team. It seemed like they lost some of their defensive intensity from what they had at the beginning of the season because they were a little worn out.

I think the loss of Baker and EW really impacted our rotation more than just how hard those two play. When both those guys were playing our back court players were only putting between 15-25 minutes a game (w/ a couple of exceptions). By the time we got to conference play MA, DW, TC were putting in ~30 minutes a game and playing 2 to 3 games a week. After a while that takes a toll. Especially for a back court that is so active on defense.

(Even w/ the loss of those players they put together a 26-8 regular season!)

With the time off, they'll get a chance to get their legs back and (as already mentioned) getting Baker back is going to be a huge impact for our depth. I think/hope we'll see a much more active defensive team (like VCU and Iowa) when we get to the tournament. If the team that played in those games comes to play, all the teams in the tourney should be scared!

I hope HCGM sits them down this week to watch tapes of the VCU and Iowa games to remind them who they are and what they can do defensively!

[Shocker-maniac]

Here's another tweet from Seth Davis:

@SethDavisHoops: 8-9 and so would I RT @sethkrug1: What seed does Wichita St. get? I would hate to be the high seeded team that has to play them early.

[IndyTreeFan]

Play in the 8-9 game in Indianapolis, win that one and then move on to BEAT the Indiana Loosiers. I have some black I can wear around town that weekend...:poster_wsu:

[forevershockerfan]

Wow!! Here I thought I was the eternal optimist on SN? Actually, I hope our players feel the same way Doc does. Kentucky was soooo good last Season. This Season, no team is so good that they can't be beat on a given day by a match-up they were not expecting. I remember us in the Final 4, the Elite 8, and the Sweet 16. That last Sweet 16, Billy P. was 'crying the blues' because 4 Valley teams were Dancing. Then Bradley beats KU and we beat Tennessee to make the Sweet 16 and silenced the critics and even the lambs. SHHHHH!!!

This Shocker team is quite resilient. They don't seemed to have the killer instinct, but you better not think you have beat us when you are ahead by 7 with 40 seconds, even though Illinois State did get 2 throws they never had coming. They sure thought they had us. Wrong!!! Sit down baby!!!

What if our Shocks started making shots like we know they can? Our D. is tough as nails. We are finally healthy and only missing Wessel. Our rotation is still being reformed and adjusted all Season long as the injured players re-enter the hardwood, and this process takes floor time. However, through it all, we won our 'fair share of games with a cherry on top,' and exceeded expectations. This has been a 'Season to remember' and our Program is still rising higher as we go and we are far from done. U like?

Sometimes, it is all about your bracket, the match ups, and who is hot and who is not. No team in this Dance better come in playing soft like milk toast. I don't give a "rip-van-winkle-in-his-little-brown-jug" who the hey you are. Our beloved Shockers have endured more adversity than most if not all teams that will be in this Dance. Let's put it this way, what if Creighton or any team Dancing lost 3 starters and their MVP Senior for 7 games? This was 3G's very best Coaching here ever and our players also deserve oodles of credit for stepping up and making a "mission impossible" not only possible, but real world Dancing in March.

[im4wsu]

Steven Williams?

Yeah, that's what we all though I meant.

DWill shot 25/80 3-pt shots in first 24 games (31.25%) and 6 of 30 (20.0%) in the last 10 games.

From inside the arc, he was 49/98 in the first 24 games (50%), ans 16/38 (42.1%) for the last 10.

[AZ Shocker]

So who's the "gimmick" team this year that the NCAA will most likely pair us against???

[kcshocker11]

So who's the "gimmick" team this year that the NCAA will most likely pair us against???

Butler

[im4wsu]

Yeah, that's what we all though I meant.

DWill shot 25/80 3-pt shots in first 24 games (31.25%) and 6 of 30 (20.0%) in the last 10 games.

From inside the arc, he was 49/98 in the first 24 games (50%), ans 16/38 (42.1%) for the last 10.

For comparison, Fred's numbers are as follows:

8/25 3-pt shots in first 24 games (32.0%) and 8 of 13 (61.5%) in the last 10 games.

From inside the arc, he was 21/56 (37.5%) in the first 24 games , and 12/30 (40.0%) for the last 10.

[AZ Shocker]

Butler

I haven't watched them play this year. What makes them so "gimmicky"???