Conner Frankamp

[wufan]

Not sure I would go that far. In the 1st half they were blanketing him and he couldn't get anything off. Opposing coaches certainly game plan against letting him get shots off, but once he starts feeling it and starts hunting his shots he can put the team on his back.

You are correct, but for 20 minutes today they had no answer.

[kcshocker11]

He's turning into a complete player! Amazing how his D is developing under 3G

[wu_shizzle]

He's turning into a complete player! Amazing how his D is developing under 3G

It's great to see him hitting shots like we know he's capable of, but I've been really impressed with his ability to get deflections and steals on D.

[WSUwatcher]

CF playing like he did in the second half gives this team a very high ceiling.

In the second half, he took 12 shots and hit seven, including 2-4 from three. That's a lot of shots, but it never seemed like he was forcing or playing outside the offense, or that the Shocks were forcing the ball to him to the exclusion of others. Frankamp is a serious weapon, and WSU's second half performance was much better than the first.

[Cdizzle]

In the second half, he took 12 shots and hit seven, including 2-4 from three. That's a lot of shots, but it never seemed like he was forcing or playing outside the offense, or that the Shocks were forcing the ball to him to the exclusion of others. Frankamp is a serious weapon, and WSU's second half performance was much better than the first.

He was also about an inch and a half from being 4-6 from three.

What a turnaround in a career. I was very much off the Frankamp bandwagon. It's unbelievable the difference in the type of player he is. I'm curious if moving him back to PG would work now that he's past whatever mental hurdles he had. But with Shamet's performance, I'm not sure it's necessary anyway.

[shockmonster]

I'm curious if moving him back to PG would work now that he's past whatever mental hurdles he had. But with Shamet's performance, I'm not sure it's necessary anyway.

We tend to pigeon hole players too much. Gregg doesn't put them in a box. He runs plays to both of them, sometimes with one running the offense and the other a wing, etc. and then they switch places. If you listened to Landry tonight, he said that Conner and he were interchangeable. On their own, Conner and Landry change who brings up the ball and initiates the offense depending on the situation. The only thing I noticed at the game today is that when both Landry and Conner are on the bench at the same time, Loyola sometimes jacked up the pressure and the offense would fizzle out and we struggled to get shots up before the 30 second buzzer.

[Aargh]

He was also about an inch and a half from being 4-6 from three.

What a turnaround in a career. I was very much off the Frankamp bandwagon. It's unbelievable the difference in the type of player he is. I'm curious if moving him back to PG would work now that he's past whatever mental hurdles he had. But with Shamet's performance, I'm not sure it's necessary anyway.

NO! Never move him back to PG. For his entire college career, until a few games ago, he's been trying to be a PG, and he's not a PG. He can handle the ball, he can pass the ball, but he's not a PG.

Once he was relieved of the burden of trying to be something he's not, he started getting his swag back. In the second half today, he had Cleanthony Early levels of swag. It's something I haven't seen out of him prior to the last few games.

Usually 6'1" SG's have trouble getting shots off over taller defenders and on defense, opponents just shoot over the top of them. Frankamp isn't having those problems.

Frankamp's D is the surprising part of his game. It's as if he spent a year watching VanVleet play D. I also think that under Marshall, once a player learns and demonstrates that they know how to play D, they will have a chance to work on their offensive game. Kelly seems to be having the same type of learning curve that Frankamp had. Defense first.

Shamet as a PG can be a bad, bad boy. Potential NBA PG.

I agree that, depending on the situation, Frankamp and Shamet switch off who's playing PG and who's playing SG, and there's no offensive problems when they switch. In fact, it's got to cause nightmares for defensive planning by opponents.

[wufan]

Shamet is more effective at the top of the key because he's a threat to drive every time. Conner, not so much. With CF at point, 90% of the time he will swing the ball to the wing and initiate the offense. The ball has to come back to him to be dangerous. With LS at PG, it's a constant threat to drive, shoot, or hit Conner on the wing. #Winning!

[Bluzrover]

I'm really happy for the young man and glad to see he's starting to find his way on this team. I too had put at least one leg off of the Conner bandwagon but I was always hopeful he would eventually get it figured out and start playing the way many of us had hoped when we first learned he had transferred from the "flagship."

I'm not a coach and never played competitive BB but it amazes me how concentrating on one's defense eventually leads to confidence on the offensive side of the ball. We're seeing it with Conner and it would seem Daishon is starting to get some of his swagger back as well. These are two very dangerous turns of events for our opponents.

[asiseeit]

I am feeling vindicated as I have been one of a few that has
ALWAYS been on his band wagon and never lost confidence in
his shooting or even his defense. Back in the fall I included
him in a thread listing our top four players. My top four at
that time were, in order, CF, MM, SM and LS - they remain so
although arguments can be made for the order.

[jdshock]

CF is feeling it right now, and I hope he's here to stay.

In the game yesterday, we were running an isolation play. MM was near the paint and I swear I heard him shout to CF "go to work!" CF pulled up for the three, and of course the net barely moved as he drained it.

[wufan]

CF is feeling it right now, and I hope he's here to stay.

In the game yesterday, we were running an isolation play. MM was near the paint and I swear I heard him shout to CF "go to work!" CF pulled up for the three, and of course the net barely moved as he drained it.

Somebody definitely shouted that. We thought it was Marshall.

[Kochaddict]

Not sure I would go that far. In the 1st half they were blanketing him and he couldn't get anything off. Opposing coaches certainly game plan against letting him get shots off, but once he starts feeling it and starts hunting his shots he can put the team on his back.

The depth of this team makes it very difficult to decide whom to blanket. Pick your poison. That is what excites me most about this team. The cupboard is very full.

[boltforge]

One shot I really enjoyed Conner taking was the 3 from the left wing with 3 guys around him. This was the second game he has done that. He steps towards one of the guys and they end up backing off just enough for a shot. I'm guessing they all are thinking the other two are covering him.

[im4wsu]

CF had a tremendous second half. Shoots 50% from three and 53.8% overall. And with a swagger.

He is much better off the dribble using his moves because he doesn't need to be very wide open. He is just not quick enough to create much space without the ball (and the design of the offense does not create many opportunities for catch and shoot off screens), although his back-door to open the second half was terrific (great pass from Shamet, too).

Had his 12 minutes in the first half been as productive as his second half, he'd have had 26.7 points on 20 shots, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in 30 minutes.