Tekele "The Clamp" Cotton

[jocoshock]

Here is the story on Cotton:

His personality is a pleaser. He wants to please his coach, teammates and Shocker fans. He is the Barry Sanders of college basketball (pretend you have done it before). That's why you don't see him over react to something extra-ordinary he does, or pout when he under performed (very rare) a specific task.

There is no pretending with Barry or Tekele. They HAVE done it before.... many times. They don't know any other way.

[shockmonster]

Superior defense doesn't get the credit from people who only see us play once in a while. Those of us who know can just refer to the three of them as "The Three Amigos".

[Blackmag]

tekele is one of my favorite shockers, always plays within himelf who has worked hard and made himself a better offensive player. His D is his street cred but I look for him to hit big shots because he has shown he can .

[mattdalt]

"It is hard to score, when you're wearin' COTTON!" Print the t-shirts now and thank my son!

[MadaboutWu]

Tekele plays the kind of defense that shows up all over the box score. Just not next to his name.

[jocoshock]

Tekele plays the kind of defense that shows up all over the box score. Just not next to his name.

That is Tweet-worthy...:tongue-new:

[1972Shocker]

There is no pretending with Barry or Tekele. They HAVE done it before.... many times. They don't know any other way.

Agreed. Abilities deeply imbedded in the DNA. Perhaps why these kind of guys are so consistent. And don't think that Tekele's quiet nature implies that he is not a leader. There is no doubt that his teammates hold him in extremely high regard and they no doubt are inspired by his effort and heart.

[1972Shocker]

Impressively the rule changes haven't seemed to had any negative impact on Tekele's defense at all. Proof that he probably has always played pure defense.

[another shocker]

Agreed. Abilities deeply imbedded in the DNA. Perhaps why these kind of guys are so consistent. And don't think that Tekele's quiet nature implies that he is not a leader. There is no doubt that his teammates hold him in extremely high regard and they no doubt are inspired by his effort and heart.

coach marshall has a great luxury in that if any shocker players are having trouble understanding exactly how d1 basketball defense is supposed to be played, they can just look at cotton as the model, day in and day out, at practice and during games. in fact, they all seem to be picking it up quite nicely, with the best yet to come.

(that also applies to van vleet as a passer btw. this is becoming a good passing, unselfish team, led by vv's example of all-angles passing)

[Kung Wu]

Tekele's the only one on the team that has played in two NCAA tournaments. Crazy.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Could he unseat Demetric Williams as the winningest Shocker ever?

[Dave Stalwart]

Could he unseat Demetric Williams as the winningest Shocker ever?

That award really needs to belong to Tekele someday

[WuShock16]

That award really needs to belong to Fred VanVleet someday

FIFY. Not sure how Ron will fit in with the missed games last year.

[wufan]

FIFY. Not sure how Ron will fit in with the missed games last year.

Highest winning percentage as a player. Shox were 15-3 in games he played last year.

[im4wsu]

FIFY. Not sure how Ron will fit in with the missed games last year.

Wessel has a leg up on playing most games because he has 8 games last season plus four complete seasons. Baker has a half-season last year. The others will have just four seasons.