Shockers v Aggies Game Thread

[CBB_Fan]

Very impressive game for Gregg Marshall. I don't know how much of this was prepared in advance, but it is still amazing the difference in mentality and gameplan from UNI to today. We went from a team that idled with the ball in Ron and Fred's hand to a team that had multiple possessions where neither needed to touch the ball. We switched from shooting low quality 3s at the buzzer to aggressively attacking the bucket against the largest team we'll face this year. I particularly liked running the same zone that killed us against IlSU and UNI for what felt like most of the 2nd half. Maybe Marshall decided a 2-3 would be against NMSU before we lost to UNI, but it seemed like he was saying "We KNOW this. We can do it to. We CAN beat this." And in hindsight, a zone might actually fit our team pretty well. We always run into problems when Shaq and Grady get fouls, and zone protects them.

The outcome of this game doesn't do much to change our situation though. We still walk a tightrope to the NCAA tournament, and the team seems like it has that mentality. As long as they keep the mentality they had tonight, they should be fine. We are a MUCH better team when we shoot just fifteen 3s than we are when we shoot thirty, no matter the percentage. We get our bigs involved more, we allow McDuffie and Brown to contribute on offense, and our stars get to play the style of team basketball that they excel at, rather than the hero ball that reduces them to jump shooters. I just hope we don't relapse, get tight, and have another game where we sink into bad habits. Individually we can win any of our remaining games with that type of game, but it turns our blowouts into 50/50s and we don't have a lot of coin flips to spare.

[1972Shocker]

Holy good god, who is that giant man on their team.

Tanveer Bhullar is listed at 7-3, 335. But his big bro Sim Bhullar who played for the Aggies from 2012 - 2014 was 7-5, 360. They do take up a bit of space.

[proshox]

Congrats to the team. Every player displayed max effort and the ball / players moved with purpose..

There was a portion of the first half where they were a little reluctant to make a play, but once they got over the hurdle it was game on.

This team needs CF, RK, MM, and ZB to stay aggressive. I know Fred, Ron, and Anton don't need the encouragement, but they do need the opposition to worry about how to stop those guys.

[fairbanksfan]

This team will do its best work in the Tourney. Looking forward to it.

[shockmonster]

Where's CBB_Fan?

Oh yeah, he's at the bottom of the canyon after jumping off the ledge

He's not the only one who was threatening to jump. There was an entire canyon filled with Shockernetters. Now, according to many Shockernetters, it's just effort that has changed our fortunes. Now we strapped it on and we are better.lol

What has changed, is that the confidence of our entire team improved during this game. Hopefully, we can continue with this confidence. One remarkable attribute regarding Gregg is that he never exhibited a lack of confidence in our team to our team, by telling them to stop shooting, etc. He talked about playing through adversity, sticking together as a team, continuing to play angry, etc.

We still made mistakes today, but almost everyone played better.

[ShockBand]

What I liked was seeing us go for, take, and hit some mid-range jumpers, which seem to be a lost art in today's game. There is a middle ground between jack up a three and drive the lane.

[wuhog]

What I liked was seeing us go for, take, and hit some mid-range jumpers, which seem to be a lost art in today's game. There is a middle ground between jack up a three and drive the lane.

This x 100!! Stop chucking, but don't stop shooting!!

[shockmonster]

What I liked was seeing us go for, take, and hit some mid-range jumpers, which seem to be a lost art in today's game. There is a middle ground between jack up a three and drive the lane.

Good point. I think that one of Gregg's emphasis was the shot fake the three and drive it or shoot the mid range jumper.

[ShockerFever]

Welp, from a holistic view of the Shox, this team really hasn't done anything to warrant high praise. Underwhelmed in the non-con, got a lot of wins playing in the 13th best conference and has 8 wins over 200+ RPI teams.

The slack a lot of experts gave us for losing in the non-con due to our injuries has exited stage right. Our 'name brand' has kept us 'in the game' up until Saturday and now that stock has nose dived.

Weez in trouble. Our sophomores simply haven't elevated their game to take us to the next level. Marginal improvement for some, flat production from others. Connor has been a disappointment too.

Our only hope is that the proverbial 'light bulb' suddenly switches on for the sophomores. I'll hold my breath.

Boy does the post look pretty moronic right now.

[ShockerFever]

Where's CBB_Fan?

Oh yeah, he's at the bottom of the canyon after jumping off the ledge

You will NOT see that poster tonight. And if you do, it'll be to try and save some face.

[CBB_Fan]

You will NOT see that poster tonight. Take that to the freaking bank.

An hour late, as accurate as ever.

[ShockerFever]

New Mexico State isn't that good but they did have size and length and we destroyed it. We needed a good effort against ANYONE. And we got it tonight.

[ShockerFever]

An hour late, as accurate as ever.

I edited my post after seeing your 1 post after a win to 50 posts after a loss ratio tonight.

[Aargh]

I've been able to make it to the last couple of games. There's things you can see at the games that aren't as obvious on TV. Here's a few (probably too many) observations.

1) VanVleet is not 100%. He's a step slow, doesn't have the brakes or acceleration he used to have, and is missing a gear. There are things his head says he can do that his body says he can't do right now. I suspect the frustration of an uncooperative body has had some mental, in addition to physical, effects.

2) Baker spent the day Sunday throwing up. He played a completely different game today than he did Saturday. I'm thinking he was already sick Saturday, but tried to (pretty much had to) play through it. In the shoot around before the game today, Baker was pretty much missing everything. He shot better in the game than in the warmups.

3) I wasn't expecting a lot out of Frankamp this year, but I was expecting more than I've seen from him. He passes up a lot of open 3's, which is his main calling card. He's doing OK on D and getting boards for a 6' guard. It seems that the main thing he does with the ball is maybe dribble a time or two and then pass it to someone else to set something up. Not surprising his TO count is so low. I haven't seen him make moves to try to break down a D. He tends to wait until someone comes open on the perimeter and then makes an easy (and safe) pass to them.

4) Taylor is not afraid to shoot, but at garbage time, I've seen that from a lot of players.

5) Hamilton has only one mode. It's beast mode. Hamilton needs to learn to control the beast within.

6) If Taylor and Hamilton can "figure it out" and "get it", Katie bar the door. We thought they were solid prospects, but both have turned out to be projects, at least in their Fr year.

7) 2 5th-year Sr's and 1 4-year Sr. 1 3-year So who has had a work ethic problem for 2 of his 3 years. Everybody else on the roster is in their first or second year. First and second year guys trying to work their way into productive roles with a couple of 4-year guys who are pre-season AA's isn't easy. The instinct is to let the AA's get the stats. The AA's need the young guys to produce or the D will focus on them. Some 3rd-year Jr's would help this team.

[Stickboy46]

I've been able to make it to the last couple of games. There's things you can see at the games that aren't as obvious on TV. Here's a few (probably too many) observations.

1) VanVleet is not 100%. He's a step slow, doesn't have the brakes or acceleration he used to have, and is missing a gear. There are things his head says he can do that his body says he can't do right now. I suspect the frustration of an uncooperative body has had some mental, in addition to physical, effects.

2) Baker spent the day Sunday throwing up. He played a completely different game today than he did Saturday. I'm thinking he was already sick Saturday, but tried to (pretty much had to) play through it. In the shoot around before the game today, Baker was pretty much missing everything. He shot better in the game than in the warmups.

3) I wasn't expecting a lot out of Frankamp this year, but I was expecting more than I've seen from him. He passes up a lot of open 3's, which is his main calling card. He's doing OK on D and getting boards for a 6' guard. It seems that the main thing he does with the ball is maybe dribble a time or two and then pass it to someone else to set something up. Not surprising his TO count is so low. I haven't seen him make moves to try to break down a D. He tends to wait until someone comes open on the perimeter and then makes an easy (and safe) pass to them.

4) Taylor is not afraid to shoot, but at garbage time, I've seen that from a lot of players.

5) Hamilton has only one mode. It's beast mode. Hamilton needs to learn to control the beast within.

6) If Taylor and Hamilton can "figure it out" and "get it", Katie bar the door. We thought they were solid prospects, but both have turned out to be projects, at least in their Fr year.

7) 2 5th-year Sr's and 1 4-year Sr. 1 3-year So who has had a work ethic problem for 2 of his 3 years. Everybody else on the roster is in their first or second year. First and second year guys trying to work their way into productive roles with a couple of 4-year guys who are pre-season AA's isn't easy. The instinct is to let the AA's get the stats. The AA's need the young guys to produce or the D will focus on them. Some 3rd-year Jr's would help this team.

I posted this in the the UNI thread, but it's a good read about your 3rd point. Conners time will come. He looked good tonight. As aggressive as he has been all year.

http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/shockwaves/article60584096.html