Early #7 Wing

[shockmonster]

Baker is obviously suffering from the ankle. His game has not been the same since he hurt it. That's giving Cle more opportunities to put up some stats. Cle also seems to have a pattern (2 is a small sample size) of staarting the season a bit slow and then coming on.

Cle had a nice game and we wouldn't have won without him, but MSU had no inside game. They mucked it up inside and constantly had their hands on our inside guys. MSU' s strength was on the outside and they had a nice perimeter defense. All they could do to Early is foul him and he made a lot of free throws. Baker looked pretty good to me but their guards were quick and outside points were not easy to come by. Bakers shot was on tonight. Fred, NW, and TC did nothave good shooting games. Until the dive at the end Bakers movement/ankle was pretty good.

[wufan]

Baker has looked much better over the past two games. His elevation and explosiveness are no longer noticeably lacking.

[Play Angry]

Baker has looked much better over the past two games. His elevation and explosiveness are no longer noticeably lacking.

Agreed. He's not back to normal yet, but he's getting close.

[Play Angry]

Could have put this any number of places. WSU #5 in Bilas's latest rankings with the following blurb:

5. Wichita State Shockers (Previous ranking: 5)
The Shockers were on the ropes at Missouri State but made a furious comeback in the second half and won in overtime. Wichita State ranks in the top 25 nationally in both overall offensive and defensive efficiency, and Cleanthony Early is playing his way into All-America status. He is the real deal.

[Cdizzle]

I have liked Early's decision-making much more over the past month. I hope he keeps it up. Seems like maybe it has helped now that they are in the grind of the season. I am also wondering if a lot of the national praise being shared with Baker and FVV has helped to relieve the pressure he was putting on himself.

[im4wsu]

I have liked Early's decision-making much more over the past month. I hope he keeps it up. Seems like maybe it has helped now that they are in the grind of the season. I am also wondering if a lot of the national praise being shared with Baker and FVV has helped to relieve the pressure he was putting on himself.

Whether it has helped relieve the mental pressure,it certainly has to have spread the opponent's attention making it a bit easier to do his thing.

[Play Angry]

Bilas (along with Seth Davis and maybe Dick Vitale/Andy Katz) is one of the most important and influential guys you can have on your side for things like AA hype. It's sorta like getting a key endorsement in a political race- AA is heavily dependent on perception, and a handful of gatekeepers help mold that image for the public.

Keep doing your thing Cle, the right people are noticing.

[wsushox1]

I think the emergence of Ron and Fred as legitimate threats to score 20+ a night has helped Cleanthony tremendously.

[Bluzrover]

Cle had a nice game and we wouldn't have won without him, but MSU had no inside game. They mucked it up inside and constantly had their hands on our inside guys. MSU' s strength was on the outside and they had a nice perimeter defense. All they could do to Early is foul him and he made a lot of free throws.

And this is why Cle's game is improving. The running commentary on him up until that game (and even during the game) was that he needed to drive the lane more and draw more attention, i.e., fouls, from the opponents and that's exactly what he did. I trust his BB IQ that he recognized MSU had no inside game (with a little nudging from HCGM) and got himself to the foul line no fewer than FOURTEEN times! It don't really matter how you get your points. Hitting threes all day makes for great highlights but getting to the line 14 times means the other team is probably losing some key players to fouls and sitting on the bench. And CLe's FT percentage of .824 is pretty damn good. I'll take it.

[wsushox1]

With the nation watching. Cle delivered.

5-10FG, 9-11 FT's and most importantly a W.

[kcshocker11]

Da Man.

[wufan]

Looked like an All-American tonight!

[wusphlash]

Last year there were big swings in his performances. This year he has been much more consistent. That will help his stock.

[TheDover1018]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebasketballnation/post/_/id/93590/brennans-wooden-watch-week-12

#6 on Brennan's Wooden Watch.

[Cdizzle]

http://espn.go.com/blog/collegebaske...-watch-week-12

#6 on Brennan's Wooden Watch.

"Wednesday night’s win at Indiana State (their toughest regular-season game to date, and remaining)"

Ummmmmmmm, no. Conference season, perhaps. I swear that Saint Louis game was even on TV.