Absolutely pathetic

[ShockdaWorld]

I wish Anton the best. I'm glad he's here. I agree that he is good for the team in most cases, if nothing else, to give Shaq someone of similar stature (yes I said similar, because NOONE has the stature of the ShaqWall) to bang with in practice. I hope he finds his zone and has some great games for us down the stretch. All that being said, I think Rauno has been a better 5 off the bench lately than AG has, and I'm not even sure it's close. This is all just speculation on my part and I don't have statistics to back any of it up. Obviously 3G sees a lot more than we do, and I completely trust his judgment.

[GreatWhiteBuffalo]

I wish Anton the best. I'm glad he's here. I agree that he is good for the team in most cases, if nothing else, to give Shaq someone of similar stature (yes I said similar, because NOONE has the stature of the ShaqWall) to bang with in practice. I hope he finds his zone and has some great games for us down the stretch. All that being said, I think Rauno has been a better 5 off the bench lately than AG has, and I'm not even sure it's close. This is all just speculation on my part and I don't have statistics to back any of it up. Obviously 3G sees a lot more than we do, and I completely trust his judgment.

I would agree with Rauno having been better than Grady. Grady leaves me scratching my head most nights. Can't fathom how he has so many dadgum rebounds!

[boltforge]

I would agree with Rauno having been better than Grady. Grady leaves me scratching my head most nights. Can't fathom how he has so many dadgum rebounds!

Different systems favor different positions for rebounds. For WSU it seems the goal is contested shots by good position followed by blocking out. So rebounds tend towards guards as they attack the glass between the big guys blocking out.

Other systems (like where Grady was) have the bigs focus on blocking shots and the guards stay on the perimeter to take the tap back or long rebounds. So numbers tend to the post players.

[Shockers5150]

Grady will pay off in the next few weeks. His best game was vs Eville and the rematch is Sunday, so I think he'll play at a high level. Once tourney play starts, I think he takes his game up a notch. He has just GOT to learn to move his feet better on defense and stay away from the official's spotlight.

[boltforge]

Anton is a vet so he knows how to play the game. For that reason, he is of value to our team.

I think, by far, the greatest asset to WSU is that Grady is 'coaching' the sophomore and freshman bigs on positioning, how to demand the ball, and finishing. He knows how to play the 5 spot. And, if you haven't noticed, the other bigs are moving, positioning, shooting, and playing very much the same style that Grady has modeled.

At the beginning of the year, during after game interviews, Coach would comment that he tells the younger guys: "See how Grady is demanding the ball? Do that! See how he is positioning? Do that!" (terribly rough quote)

In these last games Shaq's moves around the basket are similar to Grady's. Except Shaq is bigger, stronger, and therefore he can finish better.

[Stickboy46]

I am WAY more comfortable with a rotation of Morris/Grady/Nurger, than a rotation of Morris/Nurger/Wamukota .... so I'm definitely glad he's here.

[Shockers5150]

Indeed. Bush is a mess... he does very little that I'm impressed with. He plays like he's 6' 2
But he'll always have my love for playing well against KU for a few mins in the tourney. :-)

[Cdizzle]

He's a very good free throw shooter. We should probably have him shoot any technical free throws we get.

[ShockdaWorld]

I am WAY more comfortable with a rotation of Morris/Grady/Nurger, than a rotation of Morris/Nurger/Wamukota .... so I'm definitely glad he's here.

I certainly agree with this. I'm just saying I might be even more comfortable if the rotation was Morris/Nurger/Grady. But, like I said, that's ONLY based on what I've seen recently from both.

[WuDrWu]

Indeed. Bush is a mess... he does very little that I'm impressed with. He plays like he's 6' 2
But he'll always have my love for playing well against KU for a few mins in the tourney. :-)

Bush's play against UNI here was as big a reason for winning the conference as anything. His shutting down of Tuttle gave WSU the title.

[ShockdaWorld]

Bush's play against UNI here was as big a reason for winning the conference as anything. His shutting down of Tuttle gave WSU the title.

But where has that Bush gone this year? Is it all about his back not being healthy? Seems to me that there's more to it than that.

[Ta Town Shocker]

I'm tired of hearing the complaints about the number of students in the stands. If you feel truly passionate about the issue, organize a group to spread the word about how awesome Shocker basketball games are and encourage students to attend. I would be more than willing to visit campus over my lunch hour and spread the word.

On a related note, I haven't noticed as many foreign students at the games this season. I thought it was really neat to see the large group of Indian Shocker fans sitting in the upper deck at the game in Orlando against USC. I'm not sure why but I'd like to see more diversity in the stands at Koch and I'm not just referring to foreign students.

[jdmee]

Indeed. Bush is a mess... he does very little that I'm impressed with. He plays like he's 6' 2
But he'll always have my love for playing well against KU for a few mins in the tourney. :-)

Get us to the Final Four and I will take a 7ftish guy from Africa who is very raw every year.

[shockmonster]

But where has that Bush gone this year? Is it all about his back not being healthy? Seems to me that there's more to it than that.

He has a bad back. Being 7 foot with a long body is hard. If you've ever had to deal with the pain from a back injury, you'd understand. I would speculate that it limits or has limited his practice time and he has fallen back in the pack for playing time.one final factor is the emergence of Rauno.