Fred likely out till December 5th, Saint Louis

[Kung Wu]

They talked about 2 examples, last year and #1 seed season. They thought WSU was under-seeded last year and when the committee grudgingly gave them the 1 seed, they stacked the bracket against them. They think that the committee doesn't really respect the body of work in the MVC and if WSU doesn't come out with any quality wins during non-conference then WSU will have to win the auto-bid in STL.

Uuugh.

[Stickboy46]

Even when Fred does return it will take him a while to return to game shape that will allow him to go 30 to 35 minutes. It will be interesting to see how they approach that but I would expect it to take him several games to work up to his "normal" work load.

While this is true, 10 to 15 min if Fred Can drastically change a game

[Ol skool]

Can't really argue with that although it seems to me that Fred's absence is probably holding back the development of the team. Fred is this team's security blanket and when he is unavailable it seems to have the result of sphincters closing up and brains cramping.

That said there is absolutely no reason to bring Fred back too soon and these other guys need to loosen up and play basketball. Hard for me to believe they are not significantly better than they have been playing. How you go about getting them to play loose and more to their potential is above my pay grade but I hope 3G and his staff can find the solution.

They seem to play extremely tight and without flow. When there is a stoppage of play they seem to be eyeing the bench. Almost seem like they are afraid of making a mistake. At this point when you don't have all your horses you may have to live with em.
Maybe with this group just might have to loosen the reins a tad.

[pogo]

Marshall doesn't seem to be the kind to loosen the reins a tad, if anything he might double down.

[1972Shocker]

Quotables: Gregg Marshall and Markis McDuffie - Tuesday afternoon presser.

http://www.goshockers.com/news/2015/12/1/MBB_1201152242.aspx

[AZ Shocker]

I'd rather not see our All-American until mid January to be honest with you all's. Take the lumps and probably a few more losses. Please don't aggravate the hammy sidelining him for a run in the MVC Tourney for the auto bid. We could go into that tourney with a 14 and 14 record for all I care. As long as win it with a healthy FVV...Play Angry gets real NASTY in the NCAA Tournament!!!

[ShockerPhi]

I'd rather not see our All-American until mid January to be honest with you all's. Take the lumps and probably a few more losses. Please don't aggravate the hammy sidelining him for a run in the MVC Tourney for the auto bid. We could go into that tourney with a 14 and 14 record for all I care. As long as win it with a healthy FVV...Play Angry gets real NASTY in the NCAA Tournament!!!

I politely disagree. I want to get him back as soon as possible. Key word "possible". Yes, don't rush it, but I don't wanna have 7 losses going into MVC play.

[Rlh04d]

I'd rather not see our All-American until mid January to be honest with you all's. Take the lumps and probably a few more losses. Please don't aggravate the hammy sidelining him for a run in the MVC Tourney for the auto bid. We could go into that tourney with a 14 and 14 record for all I care. As long as win it with a healthy FVV...Play Angry gets real NASTY in the NCAA Tournament!!!

With our history in St. Louis, seriously?

No gameplan should be focusing around the auto-bid for us, at all, ever. If we get it, awesome, but we need to be an at-large team prior to the tourney.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I'd rather not see our All-American until mid January to be honest with you all's. Take the lumps and probably a few more losses. Please don't aggravate the hammy sidelining him for a run in the MVC Tourney for the auto bid. We could go into that tourney with a 14 and 14 record for all I care. As long as win it with a healthy FVV...Play Angry gets real NASTY in the NCAA Tournament!!!

I agree with the notion of utmost caution. I am about as pessimistic as one can be about hamstrings.

[Ricardo del Rio]

For shortcut, go to paragraph 12.

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/prp-treatment-speed-healing-hamstring-injuries-article-1.1965069

[wusphlash]

Fred will come to a point where he concludes that he is ready to go. He might be right he might be wrong. Only his hamstring knows for sure.

This is kinda like WEB.MD isn't it.

[AZ Shocker]

Without a 100% FVV in March Madness...we are toast and an early exit. If the goal is to make a run for all the marbles this year...we need a 100% healthy FVV. If we have to sacrifice some losses along the way ...you do. We focus on developing some players along the way, blend everyone in with FVV in mid Jan to early Feb...and catch fire in St. Louis!!! At that point...there ain't anybody gonna stop us!

[Shocker-maniac]

This is kinda like WEB.MD isn't it.

Oh definitely, I always go to ShockerNet for medical advice from the residential inmates, err I mean experts. The thing that I love about SN is that there's no BS, no spin; just facts and data.

[ShoxRoxMySox]

Even if the trainers think Fred is near healthy -- cause IMO 100% doesn't happen these days -- I'd rather him sit just in case there is a margin of error. The risk is too great if we bring him back too early.

[MadaboutWu]

Arch madness is a tough nut for sure, but when looking at precedent we are talking 1/3 (the success rate of the current core) or 1/2 (WSU's success in a post-CU Valley), not 1/20 or whatever it's been since the neutral site tourney began. No one wants this group's NCAA life depending on three must win games, but if it comes to that I'll like our chances (if we are reasonably healthy).