Belcher -- uh Bleacher Report -- We're No. 18

[Rlh04d]

I do get amused when something on BR ruffles feathers as I personally give the site no weight. Same if someone writes a glowing report of the Shox. I won't read it and give it no validity. I'm much more intrigued with what those who actually follow the sport and make their living doing it have to say about our program, good or bad, than some guy who fancies himself a writer but refuses to do much research or editing of his/her own work.

I completely agree that BR is garbage. I won't ever click on any of these links because I don't like supporting something of such poor quality -- I think it makes a mockery of writing as a profession, personally. ESPN does a good enough job of that a lot of the time that it doesn't need to be taken to the extreme of BR.

At the same time, though, it's still good publicity for the program. It certainly doesn't hurt us for people to still be talking about us. Whether they have us ranked #1 or #25, as long as we're ranked on these things, it's good for us. I'd rather be included on these than excluded.

[rialaigh]

Idk about the accuracy of the content of the article but ranking us 18th is probably not far off base, maybe even being generous given our past few years. We made the final 4 this year, thats great, It's not like we have been consistantly a top20 team for the past 5 years all season or anything...I'm more than happy with a preseason 18

[wufan]

"I completely agree that BR is garbage. I won't ever click on any of these links because I don't like supporting something of such poor quality"

"I refuse to read anything from that site because it is what it is. And that's a waste of space written by anybody and everybody that chooses to submit something regardless of experience or areas of knowledge."

I find these comments amusing…Both of you refuse to read the articles as they are [poorly written] and a [waste of time], yet both of you post on this forum about how bad it is and what a waste of time it is for the rest of us. Do either of you see the irony in that you have not read the article, yet you call it trash? How about that he is unqualified and it is a waste of time, yet this site seems to peak your interest?

[Dan]

Bingo. For being a waste of time it sure has generated a lot of discussion here.

[Shox21]

Everyone has a right to read or not read what is placed on the internet and what is posted here. I skip over quite a few posts here on SN, but there are a lot that have merit and some even have quite a bit of merit. Live and let live. Read or not read. It's up the individual. I believe everyone has a right to their opinion and to express that opinion here. I try very hard not to ridicule anyone's opinion. And I really don't find that what Sub posted is ironic in anyway. He didn't read the article because from past experience they are a waste of his time. I get that. Even though I don't feel that the BR articles have much substance (if they are incorrect about WSU, stands to reason they are incorrect about other programs), I still will read them if for no other reason than to smile.

[SubGod22]

I find these comments amusing…Both of you refuse to read the articles as they are [poorly written] and a [waste of time], yet both of you post on this forum about how bad it is and what a waste of time it is for the rest of us. Do either of you see the irony in that you have not read the article, yet you call it trash? How about that he is unqualified and it is a waste of time, yet this site seems to peak your interest?

Most posters on here have a much greater knowledge of the sport than the hacks on that site.

And it's not like we've never read the site. That's how we know what it is. And most agree with that. I didn't say a word about the site or the content until others brought it up. Most BR posts on here I completely ignore and there's rarely much discussion on them. I'd like to know if there's a single poster on here that actually puts any value to anything written on the site. And it's not just this board that feels that way. I've never come across a single message board that sees much value in BR. It's pretty universally disliked as a "news" source of any kind. I'm sure there are some that enjoy it. I'm just amazed at how often people post links to the site.

Like I've said, I've read plenty on there in the past. Nothing has ever changed. I know it's crap. Just like I know I hate mango. I've tried it multiple times and still find it repulsive. Does that mean I can't comment on how bad it is if the topic comes up? Do I have to eat it once again before I can comment on it? Maybe not a perfect analogy but close enough.

[forevershockerfan]

Will we be better than 18th next Season? Dunno, but I like our chances. Last Season, we hung out below the radar and sure was not picked this high after losing 5 of our 6 top scorers. Henceforth, we were only picked around 4th in the Valley and landed in the Final 4 We had more injuries than any other team anywhere in terms of teams with injured starters that made the Dance. Many of us picked us around 2nd in the Valley, thought we would win the Lew, and then win a game or two at the Dance. and the rest is History.

Thus, this prognostication is cool for now. Right now, we look deeper than last Season. It is hard to forget though that 2 of our big 3 are 'gone with the wind' and these 3 were huge at the Dance which explains in part our awesome finish. I also think we are deeper and will be improved inside, especially offensively.

Just watched our big win versus Ohio State. Who's betta--Craft or Armstead? In that game, this was a no brainer. Hall and Cle were injured in that game but we held the Buckeyes 'off at the pass' and won the game versus a team that was hot and won the Big 10 Tourney. Can ya dig it? Grooovy.

In the scheme of things, I like what I see now better than what I saw at this time last summer. Even an eternal optimist has restraints. With that said, 'on paper' which means about as much as monoply money at the '5 and dime', we are worthy of 18th at this juncture?. Will our beloved Shocks crest with another "grand finale" and surge into a "bracket buster" type squad again at the Dance? Stay tuned.

[Rlh04d]

I find these comments amusing…Both of you refuse to read the articles as they are [poorly written] and a [waste of time], yet both of you post on this forum about how bad it is and what a waste of time it is for the rest of us. Do either of you see the irony in that you have not read the article, yet you call it trash? How about that he is unqualified and it is a waste of time, yet this site seems to peak your interest?

This site doesn't portray itself as being journalism. I come to Shockernet to read fairly educated basketball fans talk about a program I enjoy learning more about and talking about -- and Shockernet fits that perfectly.

BleacherReport, meanwhile, is portrayed as being legitimate sports journalism, complete with constant television promotion, and yet is a lower quality of writing for the most part than most posts on this message board.

I'm sure there are random gems on BR. But if 90% of this forum was trolling garbage, I wouldn't be here anymore. 90% of BR is garbage, and so I don't click on it anymore. Just as like if Shockernet started portraying itself as being the premiere site for sports journalism regarding Wichita State University, and had Dofo as the lead "journalist," I would likely find a new WSU site to visit. I don't think I said it was a waste of your time, though ... maybe I said that in the past and don't remember. You are your own judge of what is or is not worth your time. But if I start up a new WSU forum, and it's complete garbage, and I blatantly manipulate every aspect of it to make myself money so that I can sell it ... would you go to it when you could get a better product here without being exploited?

[moshock]

IMO, a number 18 ranking isn't unreasonable and neither are the rest of his predictions. To call BR garbage is a stretch IMHO. I've seen plenty of garbage come out of the mainstream - especially during our F4 run - but they are still credible ??? This guy isn't totally out in left field. Hall was an incredible rebounder and Lufile was not a close second last season. I like what I see with Carter and Coleby but they haven't proven anything yet. I would have a difficult time ranking us much higher at this time. I do think we will be a better team than last season when it's all said and done.

[Shockeriffic]

I don't think it's a stretch to call BR garbage. It is a website designed with a sound business plan but unsound journalistic credentials. The creators of BR understood that sports fans have a strong desire to read more about their favorite teams and will click even subpar articles about them. So they put out a lot of articles designed to get page views and it's working for them. However, if they bothered to spend even 15 minutes looking at Coach Marshall's history at WSU they'd find that his teams here have never finished below 15th in defensive rebounding percentage with offensive rebounding numbers fluctuating between very good to above average. Simply put Marshall puts a lot of emphasis into rebounding and it shows. I don't have a problem with the actual ranking but the analysis is lacking.

[ShockerFever]

BR =

[Kung Wu]

BR =

LOL!

Those crazy environmentalists will go to ANY extent to feed birds, but this is ridiculous.

[WstateU]

BR =

LOL!

Those crazy environmentalists will go to ANY extent to feed birds, but this is ridiculous.

OK, did anyone else locate the 'tomcat' in the photo? :)

[rjl]

So what if Bleacher Report sucks. You know what sucks more? Shockernet as of late. Every damn thread here devolves into the same thing: lineup predictions, who will guard who, and, yes, bitching about Bleacher Report.

God forbid something new comes along. Right, wrong, or somewhere in between, it's new and Shockernet needs it.

[SubGod22]

I can take a picture of a pile of **** and post it on here. That'd be new....