Tekele Cotton

[WuDrWu]

I was thinking about this yesterday....when was the last time Tekele was even in foul trouble? He does all that he does...especially guarding the top threat of the other team, without fouling. In fact he has committed the fewest fouls of all the starters.

Unreal.

[Mr. Pickle]

I was thinking about this yesterday....when was the last time Tekele was even in foul trouble? He does all that he does...especially guarding the top threat of the other team, without fouling. In fact he has committed the fewest fouls of all the starters.

Unreal.

Excellent point. Off the top of my head, I can't even remember a game. Speaks volumes of his effort and intelligence.

[WuDrWu]

He has committed 29 fouls in the 19 games he's played. Way less than 2 per game. Seriously, that's not real is it??

[_kai_]

He has committed 29 fouls in the 19 games he's played. Way less than 2 per game. Seriously, that's not real is it??

I could be way far off on this minor analysis, but as players age, their reputations live up to themselves with the best players. Something could be that Cotton shuts these players down so well in the past, they actually gameplan around Tekele more now than in previous years. It's apple's and oranges, but during Eric Berry's 2nd year at UT, he has 7 or 8 interceptions, in his 3rd and last year he had 2. He hadn't lost any skill, the other teams just knew better than to pass to his side of the field. I guess where I'm going with this would be I wonder what Cotton's man's Usage % stat is for each game. Meaning, how much offense is that person responsible for, I'd bet Cotton's man has a lower usage % this year, than last year. Or I could be totally wrong. Regardless of my crazy grabbing at straws, Tekele is the premier defender in the country, and such few fouls are a testament to his ability.

[wusphlash]

He has committed 29 fouls in the 19 games he's played. Way less than 2 per game. Seriously, that's not real is it??

"Don't foul a jump shooter", Tekele has taken this to heart. If they make a tough shot, if they make a great move, he simply says "well played, I'll get you next time" and moves on.

[jdshock]

I could be way far off on this minor analysis, but as players age, their reputations live up to themselves with the best players. Something could be that Cotton shuts these players down so well in the past, they actually gameplan around Tekele more now than in previous years. It's apple's and oranges, but during Eric Berry's 2nd year at UT, he has 7 or 8 interceptions, in his 3rd and last year he had 2. He hadn't lost any skill, the other teams just knew better than to pass to his side of the field. I guess where I'm going with this would be I wonder what Cotton's man's Usage % stat is for each game. Meaning, how much offense is that person responsible for, I'd bet Cotton's man has a lower usage % this year, than last year. Or I could be totally wrong. Regardless of my crazy grabbing at straws, Tekele is the premier defender in the country, and such few fouls are a testament to his ability.

It would be equally interesting to see his man's usage % compared to that guy's usage percentage as a whole across the season.

I think your thought is interesting that this season team's might respect him more. He tends to guard the star player that is a 1, 2 or 3. I guarantee that player has a lower usage % than his yearly average.

[Shox21]

On Senior Night, we absolutely must see a montage of all of Tekele's SC-worthy dunks. Without it, there will be no justice.

That would be a fine testament to TC (who, by the way is one of my favorite players) but you do remember we have two seniors playing their last home game that night? Some of Carter's really nice plays need to be included. True, there won't be as many but Darius has only been here two years.

[pie n eye]

It would be equally interesting to see his man's usage % compared to that guy's usage percentage as a whole across the season.

I think your thought is interesting that this season team's might respect him more. He tends to guard the star player that is a 1, 2 or 3. I guarantee that player has a lower usage % than his yearly average.

It seems unlikely that an opposing team would make a concious decision to keep the ball out of their best players hands because of who is defending him. Tekele does a great job of denying his man the ball which keeps it away from their best player as much as possible. Tekele is a smart, relentless defender who also happens to be incredibly athletic. I give him all the credit for the "interesting nights" we've seen great opposing players have.

[Cdizzle]

Interesting that this has been brought up, as I've been looking at some stats trying to define Cotton's defensive impact on opponents. So far, the numbers would show that the usage% does not drop much. The FGA are generally in line with season averages, possessions ending in FT shots are the big dropoff, but there are more TOs than average. A caveat is that I'm making rather wild generalizations. For instance, I cannot guarantee that Cotton is guarding the player I've chosen at all moments in the game. But I know that these players were his primary defensive assignment. As such I've attributed their numbers all to Cotton whether deserved or not. I figure it evens out, given that Cotton may not guard them at times and another WSU defender does a tremendous job, while at other times the player gets to pad his stats against JRS (no offense meant) while down 25.

I've started with a small sample size, as it occurred to me to do this after Cotton shut down Doyle, Beane and Balentine in consecutive games. I have been a huge Cotton fan, and thought his defense had been WELL below his standards for much of the early part of the season. I thought it returned when the team did from Hawaii, and his shutting down 3 of the leagues premiere scorers, in succession, warranted a look. The biggest differences are in FG%, 3pt%, FTA, and Points.

In the past 5 games (Doyle, Beane, Balentine, Ruder(the poor sap), Ricks) the FG% is 8% lower. The 3PT% is 31% lower. The FTA is 39% lower. And the Points scored are 32% lower.

[1972Shocker]

There is a good video of Tekele's dunk vs Drake on the Shocker Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/WichitaStateUniversityAthletics

I could not figure out how to post it here. However, I did think it was appropriate that the poster boy was #32 Kory Kuenstling, a 6-11 Freshman, from Dunkerton, Iowa.

[Cdizzle]

Most excellent. From Dunkerton, but now he has been to DunkerTown.

[WstateU]

There is a good video of Tekele's dunk vs Drake on the Shocker Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/WichitaStateUniversityAthletics

I could not figure out how to post it here. However, I did think it was appropriate that the poster boy was #32 Kory Kuenstling, a 6-11 Freshman, from Dunkerton, Iowa.

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10153031224973834&set=vb.74146548833&type=2&theater

[Steeleshocker]

Tekele's huge ally oop throwdown makes college gameday opening montage.

[Shocktoberfest]

How badly does he want back that one he missed the other night? Dang!

[Dave Stalwart]

How badly does he want back that one he missed the other night? Dang!

I fear for the rim at UNI and I fear for whoever tries to get between Cotton and the destination.