2014-15 Media Love Thread

[Play Angry]

Yeah, Diamondhead is probably the best "non-glamorous" exempt tournament in the country this year. WSU, Nebraska, Colorado and GW are all at-large caliber teams (with WSU and probably Nebraska being top-25 level). Not many tournaments feature 4 at-large teams. It doesn't have the sexy names of a Maui or Battle 4 Atlantis, but it will get the job done nicely from an SOS/tournament resume standpoint.

I'm hopeful Alabama rebounds enough to be a decent win this year. Losing Releford is big, but they return a lot of talent from a team that was supposed to be a top 40 squad last year. With Grant coaching for his job, they'll probably either overachieve and regain respectability or totally implode and lose almost 20 again.

Crews has his work cut out for him at SLU. I'll be wildly impressed if he keeps them in the top 100 this year.

[Mr. Pickle]

http://www.hoopspulse.com/previews/c...issouri-valley

2014-15 Projected Standings:

10. Drake (5-13)
9.Bradley (5-13)
8. Indiana State (7-11)
7. Illinois State (8-10)
6. Southern Illinois (8-10)
5. Missouri State (9-9)
4. Loyola (10-8)
3. Evansville (10-8)
2. Northern Iowa (13-5)
1. Wichita State (17-1)

5 Most Likely Candidates for the MVC Player of the Year:

5. Tekele Cotton-Wichita State (3%)
4. Ron Baker-Wichita State (9%)
3. DJ Balentine-Evansville (16%)
2. Seth Tuttle-Northern Iowa (25%)
1. Fred VanVleet (57%)

Head Coach: Gregg Marshall (8th Season)

2013-14 Offensive Ranking: 75.5 Points per Game (63rd in the Country)

2013-14 Defensive Ranking: 59.5 Points Allowed per Game (9th in the Country)

Team Leaders

Points: Cleanthony Early (16.4 ppg)

Rebounds: Cleanthony Early (5.9 rpg)

Assists: Fred VanVleet (5.3 apg)

Who the Shockers are Losing:

Cleanthony Early (16.4 ppg, 5.9 rpg, .8 apg) Graduation/Draft: Their really isn't much to be said about Early that already hasn't been talked about. He was the life and offensive dynamo for the Shockers last season. He averaged over 16 points per game, grabbed near 6 rebounds a game, shot 48% from the field 84% from the line, and 38% from downtown. He was also one of the best defenders in the country, grabbing near a steal per game and blocking over a shot per contest. When the Shockers needed a three pointer (and Ron Baker was covered) they would turn to Early. When they needed a stop on defense, they would stick Early on the guy. And when they needed him the most, Early (almost) always came through. He was just recently drafted 34th overall by the Phoenix Suns in the 2014 NBA Draft. Player Grade: A+

Chadrack Lufile (5.9 ppg, 5 rpg, .9 bpg) Graduation: Even though Wichita State was criticized all year long for having no big men who could play, second year JUCO transfer Chadrack Lufile was the closest thing they had to a capable big man. He was wildly inconsistent and unpredictable (5.9 ppg, 5 rpg) but he did show on multiple occasions that he was capable of having huge games. Just look at his 14 point, 7 rebound, 3 block effort against Tennessee, or his double double against Indiana State. Still, as good as he could play on occasion, his inconsistency on both sides of the floor limited his points and minutes (16.6 per game). Player Grade: B-

Who the Shockers are Gaining/Returning:

Zach Brown (3 Star SF from Houston, Texas) From ESPN.com ".... Brown is a very talented wing with good instincts. He competes and plays with urgency. Brown excels on the break and attacking the glass. He is a live body that makes plays on both sides of the floor." Let me draw some comparisons really quickly. Talented with with good instincts=Cleanthony Early. Competes and plays with urgency=Cleanthony Early. Excels on the break and attacking the glass=Cleanthony Early. Talented with good instincts=Cleanthony Early. 6-7, 180 pounds=close to Cleanthony Early. The one thing he doesn't do that Early did very well was shoot the three, but that will develop over time. This guys going to be a huge player in the years to follow.Recruit Grade: A

Rashard Kelly (3 Star PF from Fredericksburg, Virginia) From ESPN.com "....Kelly is a do it all wing and a big time competitor. He will find a way to earn playing time for the Shockers. He is the type of player that has been successful for Gregg Marshall. Kelly is a true tough guy and jack of all trades." Although Kelly isn't as athletically gifted or has a high a ceiling as Rashard Kelly, he's a guy that could go out and score 12 points with a couple boards and assists for the Shockers if their opener was tomorrow. He's smart, has a smooth shot, has great size (6-7, 210) and should get a bunch of playing time once Ron Baker and Tekele Cotton graduate. Player Grade: A-

Fred VanVleet (11.6 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 5.3 apg) After spending the bulk of his freshman season on the bench, VanVleet broke out as one of the best guards in the country last year. He was one of the best passers in the nation, ranking fourth in the NCAA in assists (5.3 per game). He also improved his three point shooting in a big way (41%), put up a lot of points (11.6 per game) and was one of the premier defenders in the nation. Notice how I've been saying "in the nation" or "in the country" a lot, that's because VanVleet stacks up with just about any other point guard (wait for it) in the country. Many people were surprised when he didn't declare for the draft after last season's dominance, but neither Gregg Marshall or any other Wichita fan would argue with his decision. Player Grade: A+

Ron Baker (13.1 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 3.1 apg) Although Ron Baker's stats may not look that impressive on paper, there's one thing he did better then any other Shocker last year. He performed in the big games. I'm not saying Fred VanVleet or Cleanthony Early were bad in the big games, but Baker was just that much better. In the Shockers first and only loss of the season against Kentucky, Baker dropped 20 points, hit 4 threes, grabbed 5 boards, and dished out 3 assists. He still had a bad tendency to disappear at times (13 single digit games) and he'll really have to fix that now that Cleanthony Early won't be able to bail him out. Still, Baker's excellence on both sides of the floor is tough to beat. Player Grade: A

Projected Starting Five:

PG: Fred VanVleet-Junior (A+)

SG: Ron Baker-Junior (A)

SF: Tekele Cotton-Senior (A-)

PF: Darius Carter-Senior (B-)

C: Shaq Morris-Freshman (B-)

6th Man: Zach Brown (B)

Average Grade: B+ (89.3%)

Will Win 28 Games if: Darius Carter and red shirt freshman Shaq Morris show up to play in the frontcourt. This team already has one of the best trios in all of college hoops (Cotton, Baker, VanVleet) but they'll need their big men to compete for the NCAA title.

Will Win 25 Games if: Shaq Morris and Carter combine for less then 15 points and 10 rebounds a game and VanVleet, Baker, and Cotton are forced to work harder then they should.

Projected Finish: 1st Place in MVC, NCAA Tournament.

[wufan]

Interesting and complimentary article, but somewhat poorly written/edited. A few points of contention:

1) Zach Brown is compared extensively with Cle. Brown is a wing guard. Early is a wing forward. You would never see Early handling the ball, and likely won't see Brown posting up other forwards. Also, Brown is listed as not shooting the three. He has great range, but I'm not sure what his consistency is.

2) Kelly is a wing forward, but is listed in the article as someone that could take over for Cotton or Baker. Kelly isn't given credit as a rebounder, which is his bread and butter.

3) No one was surprised that VanVleet didn't declare for the draft.

[ShockerEngr]

Didn't realize Cle went to the suns either!

[Kung Wu]

Whatever. Everyone knows WSU's schedule is soft.

I heard a KU guy just last week ... "But you didn't play anybody and lost in the 2nd round." AGRAHRGHHAG!@!#@@$%#%#

[RussDaBus]

More All American honors for Fred and Ron.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/eye-on-college-basketball/24741626/cbssportscom-2014-15-preseason-all-american-basketball-teams

[im4wsu]

More All American honors for Fred and Ron.

http://www.cbssports.com/collegebask...sketball-teams

Wichita State, Duke and Wisconsin. Very nice list to be the only teams to have two members on the first three teams.

[WuShock Reaper]

"Guess which team leads Missouri Valley Conference basketball picks?" - Wichita Eagle

Paul Suellentrop gives his MVC media vote ballot a few weeks early.

http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/shockwaves/article2559384.html

[Steeleshocker]

This is just me, but it seems like every publication is wanting to talk about how we will miss Cle's defense, how he was the guy we'd use to stop the opposing teams star player.

Now, I think Cle improved dramatically during his career, but Marshall was constantly trying to get him to play harder and more effectively on the defensive end.

And I know we always used a different payer when we had to get a stop. He's been featured on numerous covers of Sports Illustrated. He's the reigning valley defensive player of the year, and he makes opposing teams star players cry. Luckily he's back this year as a senior.

Of all the things I'm worried about replacing with Cle, defense is not one of them.

[wu_shizzle]

This is just me, but it seems like every publication is wanting to talk about how we will miss Cle's defense, how he was the guy we'd use to stop the opposing teams star player.

Now, I think Cle improved dramatically during his career, but Marshall was constantly trying to get him to play harder and more effectively on the defensive end.

And I know we always used a different payer when we had to get a stop. He's been featured on numerous covers of Sports Illustrated. He's the reigning valley defensive player of the year, and he makes opposing teams star players cry. Luckily he's back this year as a senior.

Of all the things I'm worried about replacing with Cle, defense is not one of them.

Yep, if we can spread the floor with another 3/4 wing that can make 38% from three we won't miss a beat.

But my guess is that we will have to get more offensive production from everyone else which I feel confident we will do.

[_kai_]

Also, is it just me, but I remember people saying Cle's weakness last year was his defense. Now after the season, they say we'll miss his defense. WUT.

[WSUwatcher]

I heard a KU guy just last week ... "But you didn't play anybody and lost in the 2nd round." AGRAHRGHHAG!@!#@@$%#%#

Well, Kentucky did end up with 11 losses, so they pretty clearly weren't anybody...

Oops -- Stanford lost 13.

[WSUwatcher]

This is just me, but it seems like every publication is wanting to talk about how we will miss Cle's defense, how he was the guy we'd use to stop the opposing teams star player.

I've seen stories that say the same thing, and that's just weird. Even if the writers never saw WSU except in the tournament, did they not at least read SI?

[Bluzrover]

Here's one of the better and more realistic articles about the Shox I've read yet: http://athlonsports.com/college-bask...s-team-preview

[kochHead]

Here's one of the better and more realistic articles about the Shox I've read yet: http://athlonsports.com/college-bask...s-team-preview

I would have to agree. You can tell when someone does their research and knows the team. Sometimes you read these articles and it's like they did a Madlibs with the players names and skill sets...