Musings from the 1st Row

[Shock Top]

My only qualm with all being said here, how can anyone here (including Marshall) look Elgin in the eye and say we are too big for this league? WSU cant even win the damn tournament when they have superior athletes and a deeper bench. 3 games in 3 days should be a cake walk for this team.

Winning a crapshoot conference tourney doesn’t mean you are/aren’t big enough for a conference.

You want to tell Butler or VCU they weren’t big enough for their conferences after making it into the field without winning them? That didn’t hold them back from making it out of obscurity.

KU wins the regular season every year, but do they win the conference tourney every year? No. Why? Upsets happen. Other teams have good nights. Sometimes luck *gasp* is not on your side.

Whether WSU makes it out of the MVC or not, their performance in STL will have no effect on it (except for their fan support, which they have in spades)

[moshock]

I think I'm going to take the week off from SN. Some of you should consider doing that too.

[Kel Varnsen]

I think I'm going to take the week off from SN. Some of you should consider doing that too.

I know it's bad for me, destroys my productivity, and makes me a miserable human being. But I can't stay away. SN is my drug, and I'm hooked.

[pinstripers]

There were 10 teams that went to St Louis that were all in charge of their own destiny. Win the damned thing and go to the dance. Every coach, every player, every fan knew that. Get big or go home. It can't possibly be more simple.

[_kai_]

Maybe we're really missing Jans and Forbes. The assistant with the most experience is Heiar, if you don't count Smith or Okon since they're more development/operations.

[pie n eye]

On the bright side I thought Frankamp was our best option when it came to defending the Washpuns one on ones. Their strategy to run a pick and roll with whoever Frankamp was guarding to get him switched onto Washpun backfired.

On the other end I thought the Frankamp/Fred pick and roll was a good idea but the players have to realize that the purpose of Conner setting the screen is to deter the double team. As soon as they doubled that ball has to go to Frankamp for the wide open look. Immediately.

Their guys banked in shots at big moments and our guys turned the ball over 3 times (that I can think of) in overtime and missed free throws. It sucks but what's done is done. Nobody is blameless (except the crowd because we were awesome).

Nobodies perfect and I guarantee you every Shocker did their best to win that game and I imagine there will be a lot of soul searching going on the next week.

Doug Elgin and some head of officials will get no sympathy from me.

[pinstripers]

Maybe we're really missing Jans and Forbes. The assistant with the most experience is Heiar, if you don't count Smith or Okon since they're more development/operations.

Yeah, we win that game with Jans.

[shocka khan]

I know it's bad for me, destroys my productivity, and makes me a miserable human being. But I can't stay away. SN is my drug, and I'm hooked.

No, Kel, we need you here. You're the voice of reason and you have access (and time to access) the statistics that I don't. We can all 'see' things, but the analytics gives us the understanding to determine 'why' we are seeing it.

[Dave Stalwart]

HCGM needs a SUPER ASSERTIVE number two.

Nothing quite like a super assertive number two. I agree that's probably exactly what he needs.


:)

[shocka khan]

There were 10 teams that went to St Louis that were all in charge of their own destiny. Win the damned thing and go to the dance. Every coach, every player, every fan knew that. Get big or go home. It can't possibly be more simple.

Yup, we've lost the whole 'playing angry' thing. We don't have any mojo right now. If the present trend continues, this will be one of the most underperforming teams in Shocker history.

And no one can figure out why it's happening.

[Play Angry]

We're 23-5 with FVV in the lineup, 22-4 with him generously described as "full-ish strength." We've lost an abnormal number of close games, which KenPom and others confirm to be statistical coin flips - basically, the coin has come up "tails" 6 out of 7 times when we were hoping for "heads." It happens.

Chill with the hyperbole.

[OregonShocker]

I always think it is MUCH easier to do the coaches' job when
you are not the coach.

And after the game is over.

[OregonShocker]

Gregg is defiantly polarizing, and I can see why other fanbases don’t like him. When he’s your coach it’s awesome. When he is the other guy’s coach it’s not awesome.

I am just glad he is OUR coach.

I love the guy; but, he leans more towards Bobby Knight than John Wooden. I recognize this and will still take him over anyone else out there.

[Shock Top]

KenPom is VERY respected now, as the SportingNews article said.

WSU is ranked #10 (if you take out Louisville). The lowest to miss last season was #38. The lowest to ever miss was #25 Iowa in 2013. The lowest every other year is usually somewhere in the mid-thirties.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

If my team is playing "near flawless" defense and the shot clock counts down to 1 and then auto resets and the opposing team either doesnt attempt to shoot or when they do shoot it doesnt hit the rim and there is no buzzer because the close reset before reaching zero after having a history of that buildings clock operator being involved in something "questionable" in my past experience I'm not only staring but Im having some choice words too.