WSU @ SIU Game Thread

[ShockingButTrue]

Two we have waited for with a degree of impatience...glad both have arrived. Both look so confident now.

I was probably RK's biggest critic, or at least one of. It makes me elated to now watch that young guy go up for boards like he was jumping on a trampolene. Dude has some serious bounce all of a sudden!

[molly jabali]

I'll go on record as saying , without hindsight, that I've ALWAYS loved Rashard....but I was getting a little worried if he would get lost in the shuffle. What a testimony to making sure he created a strong spot for himself....

[wufan]

I'll go on record as saying , without hindsight, that I've ALWAYS loved Rashard....but I was getting a little worried if he would get lost in the shuffle. What a testimony to making sure he created a strong spot for himself....

Same here. I salivated over what I believed he could do vs what he actually did. Right now, he looks great!

[shockmonster]

Rasheed doesn't have superior (Maybe not even average athlete) talent. He's a below average shooter(maybe lower). He's a tweener who isnt a perimeter or post player but he's found his niche. He's a leader and an effort guy. A big guy who can move well enough to press and big enough to play defense against bigger players and rebound. He doesn't shoot many threes and therefore doesn't take bad shots. He passes well and doesn't turn the ball over. He has made a niche for himself where his talent may have placed him on the bench. Early, I would have seen Willis (a better athlete but missing many of the little skills I mentioned) in his spot but Rashard has earned his important role.

[jdshock]

Rasheed doesn't have superior (Maybe not even average athlete) talent. He's a below average shooter(maybe lower). He's a tweener who isnt a perimeter or post player but he's found his niche. He's a leader and an effort guy. A big guy who can move well enough to press and big enough to play defense against bigger players and rebound. He doesn't shoot many threes and therefore doesn't take bad shots. He passes well and doesn't turn the ball over. He has made a niche for himself where his talent may have placed him on the bench. Early, I would have seen Willis (a better athlete but missing many of the little skills I mentioned) in his spot but Rashard has earned his important role.

I hate when I hear this crap from KU fans, and it frustrates me to see it here, too.

"Effort guys" don't shoot over 50% on the year. Sure, he (and many others on our team) play hair on fire defense. And they hustle for loose balls. And they try to snag every rebound.

But when we end up beating a few people in the tournament it's not going to be because of the same narrative every big school says after they lose to us: "They just wanted it more... they just tried harder." As if we didn't win, they lost. Our team is full of guys who are incredibly talented, and could suit up for any team in the country. The idea that Rashard (Rasheed? come on) might not be an "average athlete" is just silly.

[ShockCrazy]

Rasheed doesn't have superior (Maybe not even average athlete) talent. He's a below average shooter(maybe lower). He's a tweener who isnt a perimeter or post player but he's found his niche. He's a leader and an effort guy. A big guy who can move well enough to press and big enough to play defense against bigger players and rebound. He doesn't shoot many threes and therefore doesn't take bad shots. He passes well and doesn't turn the ball over. He has made a niche for himself where his talent may have placed him on the bench. Early, I would have seen Willis (a better athlete but missing many of the little skills I mentioned) in his spot but Rashard has earned his important role.

I think Rashard is quite likely the most underrated player on this team. If you want to understand how our defense and rotations are supposed to work, watch him defend off the ball, he's rarely if ever in the wrong spot and these rotations allow us to aggressively defend. Also a new development in the past couple games is after a Rashard board, he is allowed to push the ball and everyone runs. It shows a lot of faith by HCGM in his ability to handle, make a good pass, and get us moving.

[Shocktoberfest]

Average athlete? Holy crap! That is so off it's not even funny.

[WheatShock]

I think Rashard is quite likely the most underrated player on this team. If you want to understand how our defense and rotations are supposed to work, watch him defend off the ball, he's rarely if ever in the wrong spot and these rotations allow us to aggressively defend. Also a new development in the past couple games is after a Rashard board, he is allowed to push the ball and everyone runs. It shows a lot of faith by HCGM in his ability to handle, make a good pass, and get us moving.

He has also become enough of an outside threat that teams must guard him on the perimeter or risk getting burned.

[1972Shocker]

All I know is that it never hurts to have a player or two who busts their ass like Rashard on your team. Especially, teams that are coached like 3G coaches Wichita State.

[pie n eye]

I'm amazed and impressed by Rashards ability to bring the ball up the court on a break. I feel more comfortable when he does it than McDuffie which just seems weird.

He's really found his role on the team and the game seems to have slowed down for him. Love it, go Rashard!

[BOBB]

Rasheed doesn't have superior (Maybe not even average athlete) talent. He's a below average shooter(maybe lower). He's a tweener who isnt a perimeter or post player but he's found his niche. He's a leader and an effort guy. A big guy who can move well enough to press and big enough to play defense against bigger players and rebound. He doesn't shoot many threes and therefore doesn't take bad shots. He passes well and doesn't turn the ball over. He has made a niche for himself where his talent may have placed him on the bench. Early, I would have seen Willis (a better athlete but missing many of the little skills I mentioned) in his spot but Rashard has earned his important role.

Kelly is one of our strongest and bounciest dudes. Not sure what you are smoking on his athleticsm. He's not a great shooter, but his percentage is going up because he is embracing his junkyard dog role and getting a lot of easy baskets. The other shots he takes are now well within the offense and good shots, also helping his percentage. His handle, while still suspect, has improved a bit, but I still don't like him pushing the ball down the floor.

[Cdizzle]

Why is Kelly not a great shooter? Cause he missed a few bunnies along the way and got a group of ShockerNet haters out of it?

He's a career .477 from the field and .391 from 3. So, maybe not 'great shooter', but when people say 'not a great shooter' they mean 'you suck at shooting.' He does seem to struggle at the FT line.

[WheatShock]

Why is Kelly not a great shooter? Cause he missed a few bunnies along the way and got a group of ShockerNet haters out of it?

He's a career .477 from the field and .391 from 3. So, maybe not 'great shooter', but when people say 'not a great shooter' they mean 'you suck at shooting.' He does seem to struggle at the FT line.

He's competent and getting better which is all I can ask of him. I love his new "i'm just going to dunk on your face" approach inside. As far as his handles, I feel comfortable with him bringing the ball up because he doesn't try to do too much, he gets it to a guard if its not there.

[boltforge]

I'm amazed and impressed by Rashards ability to bring the ball up the court on a break. I feel more comfortable when he does it than McDuffie which just seems weird.

Not weird when you watch the two of them dribble the ball up the floor. Weird is the feeling in everyone's stomach when they watch MM dribble the ball up the floor ("Oh please oh please make it to the other side ... pretty please ... don't fall down! ... )

[RoyalShock]

I was browsing SIU's generally entertaining message boards and one of their fans had posted a comment about SIU's declining enrollment.

So I looked into that a bit further. SIU's peak enrollment was in 1991 at 24,869. It has been declining steadily ever since that time and this Spring SIU weighed in with enrollment of 14,636. They were still around 20,000 students in 2011.

I am not sure what the reasons for this are but enorllment levels are at their lowest level since the early 1960's. I think student enrollment at WSU at that time was around 7,000. Not sure what the peak enrollment has been at WSU and when that occurred.

Apparently, men's basketball is not the only thing in decline at SIU. Declining enrollment is not something affecting only SIU but for some reason it seems to have hit them harder than most. But perhaps not I don't know for sure.

I suppose declining enrollment is impacting many universities.

I don't think this issue can be touched on without getting somewhat political, so I will try to tread lightly based on what I read a year or two ago. A trend of tax-and-spend, particularly on higher ed, finally took it's toll in Illinois, and the state had to drastically reduce funding. I don't know if that explains the long-term decline, but it may very well be responsible for the 5-year drop.