WSU AT ILLINOIS STATE PREDICTIONS AND PREGAME DISCUSSIONS

[jocoshock]

Crazy things have happened the past two trips to Normal. Crazy things in our favor. I'm excited to see the trend continue. So what happens this time? Fred with 12 pts, 10 rebounds, 13 assists, 10 steals and 1 turnover?

Shockers - 68
Turds - 56

It is the state of Illinois. Fred stats are nearly perfect inside the state...

[bighouse]

That game had an amazing finish and what a great comeback from behind Shocker win. My thanks goes out to Cotton for not retaliating after being kicked like that and it sure looked intentional IMO. The ref is staring right at it but no initial call? Unbelievable!!!!!!! We were around 7 down with around 40 seconds left and found a way to win. I often wondered if a Shocker loss in this very game would have occurred, would it have changed much of what happened thereafter that Season for us?

Not that unbelievable when you realize that the ref staring right at the call is Paul Janssen, who is only slightly better than our good friend Zelton Steed

[WuDrWu]

I want to see that blow-by hand shake again.

Gotta love the Shaka Shortshake.

[WuDrWu]

I really hope we get to hear from @Ghost of Rick Lamb:, @cpamel and @Phantom: before game time. 3 class acts but sadly, nearly forgotten members of what was an extraordinarily likable fanbase.

[Ghost of Rick Lamb]

Thanks for the kind words. I'm still around. Just wasn't going to bother you guys since my program has reduced me to almost casual fan status (thank goodness for Brock Spack and our tremendous football program). I don't have the energy, time or money to invest in a perpetually disappointing and uber average program. Too far for me to attend games and not enough interest to live and die by the radio broadcasts only to be disappointed and let down time and again. I can't continue to invest so heavily emotionally and financially in 18-22 year old kids. not fair to either party.

Despite our differences (which really bother me because we were great diplomats for each other's program---especially in The Lou) of the last few years I still hold the Shocker fans and their program in the highest regard. I love the way Marshall coaches and love the brand of basketball your program plays. The kind that you love as a true basketball fan even if your fav team gets abused by it a couple times a year. I am a basketball fan first and a former college coach and your team is one that is a coach's dream.

I know we aren't going to win tomorrow and really even if we somehow did upset the Shox it would be utterly pointless. When you haven't made a tourney since 1998 (and that continues this year) it makes it really hard to care anymore. Illinois State Basketball is..........very average, very ordinary, very meaningless and just good enough to lose when it matters most and usually in big games not just lose, but get destroyed.

Tomorrow, I see the Shox winning by about 8 points and Muller will complain after the game that only 5800 showed up. He is delusional. You gotta win to put people in the seats. Period. He thinks it's a requirement for people to attend ISU games and that is just asinine. I loved Dan as a player but he is not a good coach. But like I said..........ISU basketball is dead and gone. I have accepted it. Thankfully we are crushing it in several other sports and have become a far greater academic institution than I ever thought possible. Those are things I'm proud of.

ISU Men's Basketball is just a little bridge until baseball and spring football practice commences. Good luck tomorrow even though you don't need it. I will always be a Shocker admirer and one of these years I need to get some dough together and see a game at your place and afterwards I'd love to buy the first round with some of you.

Take Care

GORL

[WuDrWu]

Awesome post. @Ghost of Rick Lamb: check your PM.

[Cdizzle]

Shame that that program has essentially turned off some of its best fans.

[ShockerEngineer]

I got a good 'kick' out of this thread; well, it only took them 3 years to see the light...

"This is the first look at that play where it looks like Jackie deliberately stuck his leg out in Cotton's direction. Past angles were much more blurry and suggested he was in the act of rebounding. Much as I hate Wichita, I might do a 180 on this play. That said, I am still baffled how the officials could initially let play continue without so much as a foul call on Jackie, only to revisit with a review AFTER Johnny Hill had drawn a foul at the other end."


http://www.redbirdfan.net/forum/view...php?f=6&t=7382

I read through the rest of that thread, and I find their hate for Ron hilarious.

[1972Shocker]

Is D. Hawkins expected to play in this game for them? He did not play here in our game and was injured.

Yes he is back as is Devaughn Akoon-Purcell, the Redbird's 2nd leading scorer, who also missed the Shocker game. Both have been playing for the past few weeks. I believe the Redbirds will be at full strength.

[Triticum aestivum L.]

Shocks open at a slight 3.5 pt favorite, about the same as at UNI IIRC. Looking forward to this game as it features our cool headed guys who don't get rattled vs. their "athletes". I would love to see us feed DC with him kicking back out for 3 balls and setting up dribble drives. After we hit a few of those, pound it inside and get the 'fro in foul trouble. This could be an all-out war with free throws being the key. I like the way we've been hitting them lately, I'll go with Shocks 68, Birds 62. Muller gets a T and Baker leads us with 20.

[1972Shocker]

ISU Men's Basketball is just a little bridge until baseball and spring football practice commences. Good luck tomorrow even though you don't need it. I will always be a Shocker admirer and one of these years I need to get some dough together and see a game at your place and afterwards I'd love to buy the first round with some of you.

Take Care

GORL

I hate to say it but I actually think Coach Muller has assembled a pretty solid set of athletes and players. Whether or not he can push the right buttons to get them to achieve at their max I don't know. You don't lose all that much at the end of this season. I think the Redbirds will be plenty tough tomorrow. Next year they should be even better.

I think the episode that absolutely turned Shocker fans feelings toward the Redbrids was the despicable display of dirty basketball played by John Wilkins against Garrett Stutz in St. Louis a few year's back. The problem was that not only were their no apologies from Dan Muller (who obviously directed Wilkins to play in that fashion) nor have I ever heard a Redbirds fan acknowledge that it was even slightly over the line. The impression I have is that the Redbird's fan base not only looked the other way they wholeheartedly approved of that embarrassing exhibition of low character and poor sportsmanship.

I don't think it would really take that much to heal those wounds but I don't expect that effort will be forthcoming. In fact, I think Dan Muller tactics are to create as much dislike of Wichita State as he possibly can and I have to give him credit. He has done a pretty good job of it so far.

[Dave Stalwart]

I hate to say it but I actually think Coach Muller has assembled a pretty sold set of athletes and players. Whether or not he can push the right buttons to get them to achieve at their max I don't know. You don't lose all that much at the end of this season. I think the Redbirds will be plenty tough tomorrow. Next year they should be even better.

I think the episode that absolutely turned Shocker fans feelings toward the Redbrids was the despicable display of dirty basketball played by John Wilkins against Garrett Stutz in St. Louis a few year's back. The problem was that not only were their no apologies from Dan Muller (who obviously directed Wilkins to play in that fashion) nor have I ever heard a Redbirds fan acknowledge that it was even slightly over the line. The impression I have is that the Redbird's fan base not only looked the other way they wholeheartedly approved of that embarrassing exhibition of low character and poor sportsmanship.

I don't think it would really take that much to heal those wounds but I don't expect that effort will be forthcoming. In fact, I think Dan Muller tactics are to create as much dislike of Wichita State as he possibly can and I have to give him credit. It has done a pretty good job of it so far.

To be fair, that was still Jank. He left right after that. Then it was Muller and the kick and Dana Ford and Teddy Hawkins and the things thrown at players, I believe...and the locker room coach fighting, the handshakes and the criminals and the #1 prediction this season....

Good grief. I had forgotten how ridiculous it has been for a long period of time. Someone should literally make a "timeline of Illinois State nonsense" so we can get a good grasp of this garbage.

[Shoxfan11]

I hate to say it but I actually think Coach Muller has assembled a pretty sold set of athletes and players. Whether or not he can push the right buttons to get them to achieve at their max I don't know. You don't lose all that much at the end of this season. I think the Redbirds will be plenty tough tomorrow. Next year they should be even better.

I think the episode that absolutely turned Shocker fans feelings toward the Redbrids was the despicable display of dirty basketball played by John Wilkins against Garrett Stutz in St. Louis a few year's back. The problem was that not only were their no apologies from Dan Muller (who obviously directed Wilkins to play in that fashion) nor have I ever heard a Redbirds fan acknowledge that it was even slightly over the line. The impression I have is that the Redbird's fan base not only looked the other way they wholeheartedly approved of that embarrassing exhibition of low character and poor sportsmanship.

I don't think it would really take that much to heal those wounds but I don't expect that effort will be forthcoming. In fact, I think Dan Muller tactics are to create as much dislike of Wichita State as he possibly can and I have to give him credit. It has done a pretty good job of it so far.

While you're correct in that that's where the bad feelings started, I believe Jankovich was still the coach then. That was a very interesting game all around, with Stutz getting T'd up for barely even reacting to the dirty play going on. John Higgins had maybe one of his worst games ever.

It's very unfortunate because Illinois State fans have usually been pretty good and nice, and Illinois State used to be the second favorite team in the league for many Shocker fans.

[1972Shocker]

To be fair, that was still Jank. He left right after that. Then it was Muller and the kick and Dana Ford and Teddy Hawkins and the things thrown at players, I believe...and the handshakes and the #1 prediction....

Good grief.

And the post-game locker room altercation. It probably was Jank. My memory just ain't what it used to be. In any case, Muller and the Redbird fan base seems to have embraced the Hate on Wichita approach and I suppose that at this point Shocker fans have reciprocated. Whether or not that kind of an approach makes for a rivalry I don't know. Maybe it does.

I guess you can have both respectful rivalries and disrespectful rivalries. I prefer the former but the latter probably are becoming more common place.

[1972Shocker]

I guess we find out tomorrow it the Shocks have truly rediscovered their mojo. I felt like the Shocks imposed their will on MSU and INS in the last 2 games at Koch Arena. Now we need to re-establish the ability to impose our will on the road.