Shocker Madness

[Kel Varnsen]

If someone thinks he is on the bench to start a game they've lost their mind.

[jdshock]

I'm all for a James Harden approach (years back in okc) but there's no way the Duff doesn't start.

I know that you ultimately said MM will be starting, but, just to clarify, this situation is quite a bit different than OKC. Harden was always going to be the third option on that team, so it made sense to bring a great offensive spark off the bench. MM is the #1 offensive option this year. Kevin Durant didn't start on the bench for that OKC team.

The closest we had was when Carl Hall was still coming off the bench at the end of his junior year. He still wasn't the number one option on that team, though.

[ArtVandalay]

Cle didn't start right away as a junior, but he was a first year player and Marshall tends not to start first year guys right away. I think it took a Demetric Williams injury a few games into the season before Cle started. McDuffie is not, however, a first year player, and I put his odds of not starting (assuming he is healthy) at 0%.

[pie n eye]

As always take this with a grain of salt because it's a scrimmage. It was impossible to watch everything as close as I wanted because there was just so much to see.

McDuffie, Frankamp, Rashard and Willis all looked as good or better than they did in Canada. McDuffie is a beast.

Nurger was the surprise of the night for me. Looks and played much stronger and more aggressive. Could see him allowing Willis to play the 4 if that's where they want him. I had assumed until now that Willis would back Shaq up at 5, which he still seems capable of.

Reaves was as good as advertised. The only thing about him that says freshman is his skinny upper body but that didn't seem to hold him back in this scrimmage at least. Not saying he was perfect but for a true freshman coming off shoulder surgery he was impressive.

Keyser just looks the part physically. He's very big and athletic. I didn't notice much else about him but if he can pick up the system and defend he is capable of contributing this year. I don't think I want either of them to redshirt.

This is possibly Marshall's most athletic WSU team. Knowing how he coaches we should be very nasty on defense.

[pie n eye]

Brown's shot looked good warming up for the 3 point contest but he didn't shoot well in the contest or the scrimmage. Still seemed a little loose with the handle at times but by now we know he's a good player who will positively impact the game when he's out there.

Daishon didn't stick out to me so I can't say much about him. He seems to quietly pile up stats.

Hamilton looked good at times and I like his aggressiveness. He just needs to take a deep breath, dial it back a notch, and be patient. Can he do that? I dunno but the potential is very high.

Shamet was quiet for the most part but I didn't need to see much from him either. We know he's going to be a stud.

[bighouse]

MM looked different last night. Bigger yes, quicker yes, stronger yes......but his mentality looked different. The look on his face from the second the ball was tipped was different than i have seen from him. He had the intensity of someone who just lost 2 all time greats to graduation and knows its his time. He looked different, in a great way.

[Cdizzle]

Nurger looked a little like he was tired of practicing against Hamilton. I liked that.

[Stickboy46]

Nurger looked a little like he was tired of practicing against Hamilton. I liked that.

I saw that same sentiment from ZB. They collided and ZB just looked away and didn't help EH up lol.

[Stickboy46]

MM looked different last night. Bigger yes, quicker yes, stronger yes......but his mentality looked different. The look on his face from the second the ball was tipped was different than i have seen from him. He had the intensity of someone who just lost 2 all time greats to graduation and knows its his time. He looked different, in a great way.

He had the look of a leader last night. Its his team. I saw him coaching on the floor after a play.

[Cdizzle]

I hope we get a lot better in the next 4 weeks. 4 weeks can be a long time for a bunch of young guys with a good coach.

[Stickboy46]

I hope we get a lot better in the next 4 weeks. 4 weeks can be a long time for a bunch of young guys with a good coach.

Even with how we looked last night .. its good enough with ZERO improvement to finish in the top half of the Valley ...

[Cdizzle]

Even with how we looked last night .. its good enough with ZERO improvement to finish in the top half of the Valley ...

I don't disagree. But if that's the standard, then we really are a little big for our britches.

[1972Shocker]

Reaves was as good as advertised. The only thing about him that says freshman is his skinny upper body but that didn't seem to hold him back in this scrimmage at least.

Yeah, Reaves does have a skinny upper body but I would not describe his lower body as skinny. Part of that I think is that he just hasn't been able to work on his upper body strength due to his shoulder problems. That kind of indicates to me that if he can get in the weight room and do some dedicated work that he can build up that upper body in time.

[Stickboy46]

Yeah, Reaves does have a skinny upper body but I would not describe his lower body as skinny. Part of that I think is that he just hasn't been able to work on his upper body strength due to his shoulder problems. That kind of indicates to me that if he can get in the weight room and do some dedicated work that he can build up that upper body in time.

Reaves will be a problem for the Valley (and the country) over the next 4 years. He didn't look like a true Freshman on offense last night. He has some work to do to understand the defense though.

[im4wsu]

I thought everybody performed well. Some were outstanding, RK, MM, RN, LS. Thought DS played okay, until I saw his stat line per Sully, then he also was outstanding. Ar played well, but I don't like how he shoots the three-ball from so low to his chin. A year of working with Kerry will do wonders for this young man.

It's tough to remember that these guys have beenn playing with/against each other all summer and fall, know each other's moves and tendencies so well that the defense should and did overshadow the offense. Also, the teams had to be split into even matchups, so the likely units were not together in the scrimmage. Still, the offense did not whimper. I'm very pleased with that.

Shout out to Rashard for taking it to the hle from the wing and completing the play by making the shot. This even though the teammates are familiar with his movers. JRS really has improved over his eighteen years here and shoots so much better than I expect him to.

Thought the evening was well run, flowed well. Could not understand a word the DJ was saying. I did understand that we have a new player, Conner Frankenkamp!