OFFICIAL: 2014-15 National Poll Rankings

[Aargh]

My "Wichita State" Twitter search is kind of funny. A few Syracuse fans seem quite butt-hurt over being ranked below lowly, midwestern mid-major WSU. Awww, those poor, orange fans.

I think we have a better team now than we did the last time we played them.

[Dave Stalwart]

I think Casey married the former Sarah Lungren, so I will reserve my sympathy for others for now.

That is an excellent point!

[1979Shocker]

:highly_amused:

Sorry, I can't read the word 'Buzz' without thinking of this classic...

What is it about KSN newscasters? They also had this one.

[Shocker-maniac]

No 12 in the NBC Sports preseason top 25.

http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/10/23/top-25-countdown-no-12-wichita-state/

[Shocker-maniac]

Shockers are #10 in Ken Pomeroy's preseason ratings.

http://kenpom.com/

[Shocker-maniac]

No. 11 in USA Today.

This is a similar blueprint to one Marshall followed at Winthrop: Building greatness at a program instead of leaving prematurely for something that's perceived as better elsewhere. Will Marshall ever leave? "Why would I? If I ever did, it'd have to be the right timing," Marshall said. "And it'd have to be a really, really good job. Because I've got one here."

Granted, Wichita State has shed the mid-major label in many ways in the same way that Gonzaga did in the last decade. But don't label Wichita State as a powerhouse just yet. Marshall's not tracking down top-50 mrecruits. He's still bringing in Division I transfers, junior college transfers and diamond-in-the-rough freshmen. And the key ingredient for all of his players remains the same — they play with a chip on their shoulders and are willing to sacrifice.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2014/10/26/college-basketball-countdown-no-11-wichita-state/17908307/

[Shocker-maniac]

No 10 in ESPN Power Rankings.

http://espn.go.com/espn/feature/story/_/id/11754505/college-basketball-top-25-power-rankings

[Cdizzle]

"For seven years, the Shockers have been top 15 in defensive rebounding. But with Chadrack Lufile, Cleanthony Early and Kadeem Coleby gone, WSU could have a hard time grabbing boards."

I suppose WSU "could"....

Quotes like this don't make any sense to me. The writer is willing to praise Marshall as a coach. The writer is willing to do a little research to find that WSU has been a Top 15 rebounding team for 7 years running. But then the writer makes an illogical leap that losing some of last year's front court players will lead to a team that can't rebound.

Personally, I would be more willing to bet that the 7-year run of rebounding prominence coincides rather nicely with a certain coaches tenure, and that he has lost his frontcourt before yet continually cranked out another quality rebounding team. No offense to Lufile and Coleby, but who were they to this writer before last year? Irreplaceable parts of a rebounding juggernaut? I think we'll be ok.

That said, the write-up really is quite good, and complimentary.

[_kai_]

No. 11 in USA Today.

This is a similar blueprint to one Marshall followed at Winthrop: Building greatness at a program instead of leaving prematurely for something that's perceived as better elsewhere. Will Marshall ever leave? "Why would I? If I ever did, it'd have to be the right timing," Marshall said. "And it'd have to be a really, really good job. Because I've got one here."

Granted, Wichita State has shed the mid-major label in many ways in the same way that Gonzaga did in the last decade. But don't label Wichita State as a powerhouse just yet. Marshall's not tracking down top-50 mrecruits. He's still bringing in Division I transfers, junior college transfers and diamond-in-the-rough freshmen. And the key ingredient for all of his players remains the same — they play with a chip on their shoulders and are willing to sacrifice.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports...tate/17908307/

Kerwin Roach was #33 in the country on Rivals I think. We've elevated the level of recruit we go after since the F4. Not sure I agree with that line about not tracking down top 50 recruits.

[Cdizzle]

Kerwin Roach was #33 in the country on Rivals I think. We've elevated the level of recruit we go after since the F4. Not sure I agree with that line about not tracking down top 50 recruits.

That's true. I also think it's more important, though more difficult to convince the national media, that a powerhouse program is not predicated on the number of stars your recruits have. It's about what the players do on the court.

[Dave Stalwart]

"For seven years, the Shockers have been top 15 in defensive rebounding. But with Chadrack Lufile, Cleanthony Early and Kadeem Coleby gone, WSU could have a hard time grabbing boards."

I suppose WSU "could"....

Quotes like this don't make any sense to me. The writer is willing to praise Marshall as a coach. The writer is willing to do a little research to find that WSU has been a Top 15 rebounding team for 7 years running. But then the writer makes an illogical leap that losing some of last year's front court players will lead to a team that can't rebound.

Personally, I would be more willing to bet that the 7-year run of rebounding prominence coincides rather nicely with a certain coaches tenure, and that he has lost his frontcourt before yet continually cranked out another quality rebounding team. No offense to Lufile and Coleby, but who were they to this writer before last year? Irreplaceable parts of a rebounding juggernaut? I think we'll be ok.

That said, the write-up really is quite good, and complimentary.

I agree. I actually think it's more likely that our current group will be better players than those guys. I definitely liked them, but the general view during their time here was that they were more of a weak link (admittedly because of where Marshall has the program...not that they wouldn't be standouts in 2008) than something hard to replace. Replacing Early is really the only point to be made.

Our current center position is going to be stronger than what we had last year. Now, obviously our center position on March first last season was better than our center position on November 1st this season, but I am fairly certain these guys we have will be better by March, having arrived here at a generally higher talent level plus a year of Marshall's wisdom.

[wu_shizzle]

Kerwin Roach was #33 in the country on Rivals I think. We've elevated the level of recruit we go after since the F4. Not sure I agree with that line about not tracking down top 50 recruits.

I'd much rather we go after kids that end up in the Top 50-100 than who have been there since they were 15 years old.

Some kids are 3*/4*/5* based on their physical maturity to their class, I'd rather have the kids we're getting with 5* intangibles who are waiting to fill out.

They seem to have more to prove as well.

[Dave Stalwart]

I love that people are questioning Marshall's ability to land top 50 recruits when he has been consistently beating everyone without them.

Isn't this one of those perfect moments when the establishment needs to just admit that sometimes a great coach doesn't need to do things their way?

What is the point of a top 50 recruit if not to produce final fours and undefeated seasons? Okay, so what was their point again?

One more point: Which is better, recruiting an undiscovered "regular" player and transforming him into one of the best players in the game or recruiting a high level player and just helping him live up to his hype? Which one implies the more talented coach? Marshall's players LEAVE as top 50 players. It matters a whole lot less how they arrived.

[im4wsu]

"For seven years, the Shockers have been top 15 in defensive rebounding. But with Chadrack Lufile, Cleanthony Early and Kadeem Coleby gone, WSU could have a hard time grabbing boards."

I suppose WSU "could"....

Quotes like this don't make any sense to me. The writer is willing to praise Marshall as a coach. The writer is willing to do a little research to find that WSU has been a Top 15 rebounding team for 7 years running. But then the writer makes an illogical leap that losing some of last year's front court players will lead to a team that can't rebound.

Personally, I would be more willing to bet that the 7-year run of rebounding prominence coincides rather nicely with a certain coaches tenure, and that he has lost his frontcourt before yet continually cranked out another quality rebounding team. No offense to Lufile and Coleby, but who were they to this writer before last year? Irreplaceable parts of a rebounding juggernaut? I think we'll be ok.

That said, the write-up really is quite good, and complimentary.

There is very GOOD reason why Marshall's teams rebound so well. They are coached to rebound, they practice it diligently and very intensely. There are no holds barred in the rebounding drills. You better have a man blocked out, or you will benefit from the wrath of more than one coach.

[wufan]

When we start landing top 50 players (the argument being that none have signed) they will bump it to not landing McDs AAs. We've nailed down 3 top 100s in the last 3 years. We've also been locking up JC AAs for some time now.

This is as good a place as any to post this little tidbit: On a per minute basis, DC was better than Carl Hall as a junior and senior. If his numbers hold, he will project out for 27 mpg, 12 points, 7 boards, 1.5 blocks and 1 turn over. That will take a lot of pressure off of the newbies for sure. I have a lot of confidence that 2 or 3 will rise to the occasion in their first year on the court.