Random Questions, Random Answers, Potpourri, This and That

[Dave Stalwart]

I don't know much, but I know one thing:

Next year is NOT the year to be a player on the fence with this team. Next year is our last year with Baker, Van Vleet and Wessel and any coach is going to approach that year like a once in a long time "title run" kind of year. If you don't have the pieces in place, you do everything you can to sort that out. It's pretty obvious a few of these guys don't seem to be instilling that kind of confidence.

I wouldn't want to be an underperforming player during the next few months.

[asiseeit]

MM is probably the only one with a decent chance of starting. I think GM will give guards
Taylor and Shamet PT to see how they respond to D1 ball and CF is going to play significant
minutes. ZB will get PT so that won't leave much, if anything, for Henderson and Holland.
Log jam at the C/PF positions with PT up for grabs. SM gets 20 minutes at center leaving
10 each for RN and WB. PF is the real dog fight. If MM gains weight he could be in that mix.

[Ricardo del Rio]

Let me know if I'm off my rocker here but...Both Baker and Wessel are graduating this year but have a year left of eligibility. They are both in state residence too but will need to enroll in a graduate program to play, correct? I can't imagine that their tuition and class fees would be much as they wouldn't have to be enrolled in full class loads like the undergraduate programs? Correct me if I'm wrong, I only have a bachelors degree.
So in theory, both kids could walk on for a relatively low amount, much like McD did last year, freeing up some scholarships to better the team.

I think I follow your idea.

Wessel is on the all academic team, so it would not be surprising, if he graduates in May 2015.

Baker does everything right so I am pretty sure he will graduate in May 2015. I imagine he makes pretty good grades.

Perhaps both will qualify for academic scholarship for the academic year of September 2015 - May 2016.

If both are interested in earning a Master degree, I would not be surprised.

If all of these ifs, ands, buts and maybes come true, it would solve a big scholarship problem.

A graduate program usually consists of about 30 credit hours and is a one year program. Since graduate academics are far more demanding than undergraduate academics, Wessel and Baker might not be interested in that much study load, during the basketball season.

[Dan]

Technically, Baker and Wessel could both take just 6 hours of grad school in the fall and 6 in the spring. They'd only have to pass their fall classes to stay eligible and could totally blow off the spring classes. That's assuming they just want to play ball and don't really care about a graduate degree.

[wu_shizzle]

MM is probably the only one with a decent chance of starting.

You really think Markis has a better chance of starting than Eric Hamilton?

[MadaboutWu]

RdR, you cannot give anyone an academic scholarship whom you have had contact with as a recruit, let alone if they have played for you for several years. Think how schools would gin this otherwise.

[Steeleshocker]

RdR, you cannot give anyone an academic scholarship whom you have had contact with as a recruit, let alone if they have played for you for several years. Think how schools would gin this otherwise.

It would probably be totally corrupted, but this brings about an interesting idea for a potential future rule change. If a student graduates early (or in 4 years after redshirting), then they would be eligible to get an academic scholarship the following year, freeing up an athletic scholarship. This is something that could actually encourage academic performance. Maybe throw out some exemptions that you can't get the Bachelor's in general studies or sports management.

Of course, the ethics at Syracuse and North Carolina would likely abuse this system immediately.

[rayc]

If I were in Wessel's shoes and were graduating this year with a degree in any business related field,
I would have already recruited HGGM into helping me transfer to a graduate year at Harvard or
any Ivy school. It would be a great way to gain entry to a great MBA program that otherwise might
be closed to him.

[WuShock16]

If I were in Wessel's shoes and were graduating this year with a degree in any business related field,
I would have already recruited HGGM into helping me transfer to a graduate year at Harvard or
any Ivy school. It would be a great way to gain entry to a great MBA program that otherwise might
be closed to him.

WSU has an MBA program, right? To use the graduate waiver, the graduate study has to be in a field that original school does not have.

[ShockerPrez]

I have no information at all. But if I had to predict next year:

Baker, Van Vleet, ZB, Shaq and Bush will start next year.

CF and Henderson get lots of minutes at the 1 and 2. MM and ZB basically own the 3. MM sometimes at the 4. RK, Glass and Hamilton rotate around the 4 and 5. Shamet, and the rest get time sparingly.

Shox win the Valley. Don't even go to St Louis, and win the NC!

[shockmonster]

You really think Markis has a better chance of starting than Eric Hamilton?

I think that the depth of our new recruits will hopefully create better competition during practice. Our NIT team played 11 players. We pressured more, ran more, and were a very good team by the end of the year. This year, Msrshall practiced Baker against FVV just to create more competition and game like atmosphere. A few of our young frosh have potential but they have been inconsistent (an understatement).

[1979Shocker]

You really think Markis has a better chance of starting than Eric Hamilton?

I think Markis has a better chance of starting at the 3 than Eric does.

[jdshock]

If I were in Wessel's shoes and were graduating this year with a degree in any business related field,
I would have already recruited HGGM into helping me transfer to a graduate year at Harvard or
any Ivy school. It would be a great way to gain entry to a great MBA program that otherwise might
be closed to him.

Really? Aside from @WuShock16:'s point. If I were Wessel, I'd pick starting for a top-10 team for my senior year.

Also, excellent grad programs do tend to like D1 athletes. If you have good grades and you played D1 sports, you're a hot commodity. But I'm not sure schools like Harvard would give a current player much more benefit than someone who has run out of eligibility. The Ivies tend not to give too many exceptions for athletes anyway. Whether you are going to give the school one year of basketball or you ran out, the school is probably going to look at it the same: you've proven you are hard working and function well on a team.

I keep seeing this idea that Wessel is going to graduate early and transfer. Some people seem almost hoping for it. Wessel is starting for us right now as a junior. There's no reason to believe he wouldn't start next year, particularly since his natural position is going to open up.

[jdshock]

I have no information at all. But if I had to predict next year:

Baker, Van Vleet, ZB, Shaq and Bush will start next year.

CF and Henderson get lots of minutes at the 1 and 2. MM and ZB basically own the 3. MM sometimes at the 4. RK, Glass and Hamilton rotate around the 4 and 5. Shamet, and the rest get time sparingly.

Shox win the Valley. Don't even go to St Louis, and win the NC!

Your prediction is that Wessel leaves?

[pinstripers]

I have no information at all. But if I had to predict next year:

Baker, Van Vleet, ZB, Shaq and Bush will start next year.

CF and Henderson get lots of minutes at the 1 and 2. MM and ZB basically own the 3. MM sometimes at the 4. RK, Glass and Hamilton rotate around the 4 and 5. Shamet, and the rest get time sparingly.

Shox win the Valley. Don't even go to St Louis, and win the NC!

Big Bush and Holland will be watching the Shox on TV.