Which recruit are you most excited about?

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

I could see Ellis being redshirted along one of Kyles/Murry. With the possibility of a JUCO SG coming in, I could see both being redshirted along with Ellis.

[pinstripers]

I didn't remember us looking at a juco SG, but if he can play, bring him in!

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

And I think that would be the exact situation. IF, notice the caps, there is a starting line-up JUCO SG available, allowing both Kyles and Murry to redshirt, I think it will happen. Can Dunson or Haddock fill the bill? Is there another one Coach is eyeing? I don't know.

I do know Coach hasn't been shy about his desire to redshirt FR.

[Snapshot9]

Did you notice in the paper this morning that Stefhon Hannah was kicked off the Missouri Team???

But going with another recruit that isn't a HS/prep point guard just doesn't make sense to me. Beckham might be out of the picture now, as the big boys are going after him now.

[pinstripers]

Agreed on the guards, but getting a juco 4-5 makes sense.

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

Snap,

I agree. But from what I read Beckham really likes Wichita State, and I'm not sure if HCGM really told him not to come visit if he wasn't going to commit, but that is the reason he didn't visit. If he had, I wonder if he wouldn't have committed.

I'm not scared by Kentucky or Georgia Tech. I think we have something they don't...

[Downtown Shocker Brown]

As far a SG goes, besides Mekel, we are not that strong. I have high hopes for Murry and Kyles, but expecting them to come in and contribute significantly right off the bat may be a little much. With a JUCO SG that can light it up to help relieve some of the load the next two years, allow those 2 to develop and get a couple players under them and then be ready to go to the next level.

[RoyalShock]

One thing we have to keep in mind as Marshall continues to recruit, is that he is limited in the number of official visits players can take to WSU. I think the maximum is 12. Since we've got four guys coming in next year, plus the other recruits have probably been to campus, it would not be surprising for him to be rationing them now. He probably wants to make sure a player is serious about WSU before using one of his precious remaining official visits.

[pinstripers]

Good point.

[Maggie]

Good point Royal. I love all this speculation. It is interesting. But I am going to hold off until things are a little more settled. I think there are several directions CGM could go – this team will have many holes to fill next year.

I think it would be wise not to over hype any of the freshman CGM has signed so far. Do not get me wrong, I am excited about this class as it exists right now; however, you never know how long it will take a player out of high school to adjust to the D-1 level especially in this league.

Speaking of expectations, in the short term, Hannah is the kid I am most excited about because I do expect him to start at PG next year. I think Mekel played well in MB's absence but if CGM doesn't believe his a point guard then I have to go with his judgment.

Next year the best I can see out of this team right now is 5th or so in the MVC. There will be too many new faces to expect much more. However, if some of these young players pan out WSU will be right in the mix the following year.

[SubGod22]

DSB. The down side to bringing in a JUCO SG is that you put the FR that much lower on the depth chart. There's something to be said about experience through PT and getting better. I'm all for RS if enough PT isn't going to be available to benefit, but I'd like to see at least one of the incoming FR guards be the backup.

[pinstripers]

Regarding the two incoming freshman guards, my guess is that one will backup somebody at 2G and one will redshirt.

[WstateU]

Regarding the two incoming freshman guards, my guess is that one will backup somebody at 2G and one will redshirt.

I hope they're both so talented that HCGM can't afford to red-shirt either one of them... that would be a great problem to have.

[ShockerWheelSU]

I am really excited Toure Murray. I can't wait to have a guy that when he shoots from the outside it has a great chance of going in. Kind of like Ogirri. I didn't like Ogirri because that is all he could do. He couldn't play defence if his life depended on it and he was lazy. From the way it sounds Murray is a great athlete and i take from that is the kid can play some D. Also i don't think Marshall would recruit a kid that can't play D.

[WSUwatcher]

Redshirts

How likely it is that Murry or Kyles might redshirt no doubt depends mostly on who is back next year.

Clearly, Hannah is the designated starter at PG. If Mekel is back, he would be a usable backup. But beyond that, there's no one currently on board until you get to the walk-on Michael, and to Preadom (if he's back as a scholarship player, which I personally do not expect), who this year was behind the freshman walk-on as a PG option. So if Mekel doesn't return, either one of the freshman guards or someone else who signs in the spring (which is likely), will have to be the #2 PG.

At SG, the current contenders are Mekel, Hatch, Preadom, and AJ Hawkins, who could also play SF. Inasmuch as I expect no more than one of Mekel / Hatch / Preadom to be back next year, it seems to me that there's playing time available at this spot as well.

Bottom line is that I won't be surprised to see both Murry and Kyles playing next year, and to make a meaningful contribution.

As for excitement, I'm excited about the whole class, which I think may well go down as one of the best in Shocker history and almost certainly the best since the days of Gene Smithson. Think about it: Hannah, Murry, Kyles, and Stutz; AJ Hawkins available after sitting out his transfer year; Orukpe if he finally manages to get out of Nigeria and his replacement if he doesn't; and probably at least one more in addition to all of those. That's the majority of the team.

Many are saying that they see the Shocks as a middle-of the-pack Valley team next year; and although I'm an optimist I can certainly understand that conservatism. But Turgeon's first team was 9-19, 4-14 in the MVC; and then after he replaced experienced mediocrity with better, if new, talent by adding Burns, Howard, and Kampman (plus Miller, who missed all but three games with an injury and ultimately got a medical redshirt; plus Sowers and Sherrell, who contributed 8 points a game between them but didn't last) his next edition was 15-15, 9-9.

Meanwhile, Marshall's first team is already better than MT's was, and I believe his first full recruiting class will also be better than MT's was. Also, nothing against Turgeon, for whose revival of the program I'll always be grateful -- but based on Marshall's track record and what I've seen this year, I expect him to get more out of his guys than MT did. With that in mind, I expect the newbies next year to provide even more of a lift than Burns, Howard, and Kampman (whose freshman year was the second best of his career, by the way) did; and even though Marshall's second group of Shocks will have less experience returning than MT did in his second year, I still expect them to be talented and well-coached enough to move up smartly in the league.

WSU may not contend for the championship so soon -- although who thought Drake would run away this year, either? -- but I do believe there's an excellent chance that next year's Shocks will be wearing their home unis on the first day in St. Louis. (And no, that won't be Thursday.) To my mind, especially at this point in this grind of a season, that's a pretty exciting prospect.