2017-18 Media Love Thread

[WuDrWu]

ESPN men's basketball home page has a picture of Shamet on the side after the end of the UK game last season. The headline is "The uncomfortable return of college basketball".

ESPN, you continue to suck. An article about all the cheating and scandals, and you choose a WSU player that personifies the best of competition. Unreal.

[Cdizzle]

Yeah. I brought this up earlier this week. I sent them a strongly worded email regarding their poor journalism. Unsurprisingly, I have received no response.

Headline about which team their computer model gives the best chance to win the national championship (WSU): picture and giant article about Duke.

Headline and giant article about cheating scumbags (Louisville, Auburn, SoCar, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc): picture of WSU.

[WuShock Reaper]

"Rothstein Files | Sky’s the limit for Duke" - FanRag Sports

ByJon Rothstein
Posted on Nov 15, 2017 - 7:15am cst

https://www.fanragsports.com/rothstein-files-skys-the-limit-for-duke/

"...This and That:...

"This and That:

– The biggest early takeaway from watching Wichita State? The Shockers are an extremely difficult team to prepare for because they have so many different people who can be the assassin. Through two games, Gregg Marshall’s squad has six different players averaging between nine and 17.0 points. That’s without starting four-man Markis McDuffie, who is out until early December with a foot injury.

– How is SMU 2-0 without Akoy Agau? Freshman big man Ethan Chargois. The little-known post player is averaging 19.0 points and 8.5 rebounds through his first two games and is giving the Mustangs a bonafide interior presence early. It’s going to difficult to fully judge Tim Jankovich’s squad until JUCO transfer and former South Florida guard Jahmal McMurray is eligible in December.

– Who is the freshest team right now in college basketball? Temple. Why? The Owls have yet to play a game. “We tried to get something during opening weekend,” Fran Dunphy told FanRag Sports. “But it just didn’t work out. That’s scheduling in 2017 in college basketball.”Temple will instead play its first game of the year on Thursday against Old Dominion in the first round of the Charleston Classic.

– We’re a long ways from March, but be sure to put Florida Gulf Coast on your list of elite mid-majors this season. Joe Dooley’s squad is averaging 92.0 points through two games and is a heavy favorite in the Atlantic Sun. There’s two words to describe this team in 2017-18: Upward trajectory."

[Dan]

Good to see FGCU getting good press. Another quality game for us.

[wichshock65]

[Shocktoberfest]

Yo. Anybody catch old one eye talking about the Shox last night? I couldn't' really hear what he was saying as I wasn't paying much attention to the KU UK game. (Is that a palindrome) I thought I heard that he thought we are elite, etc. But then 1500? What the heck was he talking about? 15,000 fans? I'm not sure. Again. I couldn't really hear him. But for Vitale to ramble on about us it's all good IMO.

[wsushox1]

Yo. Anybody catch old one eye talking about the Shox last night? I couldn't' really hear what he was saying as I wasn't paying much attention to the KU UK game. (Is that a palindrome) I thought I heard that he thought we are elite, etc. But then 1500? What the heck was he talking about? 15,000 fans? I'm not sure. Again. I couldn't really hear him. But for Vitale to ramble on about us it's all good IMO.

He spoke to a crowd in Wichita at Century II in front of around 1500 people (or so he said). He thinks WSU is very good and said that Wichita is excited for the team this year.

[pogo]

Hell we're excited every year.

[WuShock Reaper]

"'Trying to outscore the other team isn't going to work:' Cats, coach Sean Miller double down on 'D'" - Arizona Daily Star

by Bruce Pascoe
Nov 15, 2017 - 5:15pm cst

http://tucson.com/sports/arizonawildcats/basketball/trying-to-outscore-the-other-team-isn-t-going-to/article_0bedd97e-9adc-57f4-99b6-3e1b8fefc8b3.html

"...While it may be easy to remember UA’s 18 turnovers and 27.3-percent first half shooting in UA’s first round loss to Wichita State in 2016, or the fact that Lauri Markkanen didn’t take a shot for the last 11 minutes in UA’s Sweet 16 loss to Xavier last season… Miller has other memories.

Namely, that Wichita State plowed through UA’s defense to hit 54 percent of its two-point shots (making its 15-percent 3-point shooting meaningless). And, last season, Miller recalled vividly the 18 points Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett scored in the first half, keeping the 11th-seeded Musketeers in position to pull off an eventual 73-71 upset.

So, to Miller, even an excellent offense sometimes isn’t enough.

“That’s one thing we talked to our team about,” Miller said. “Each of the last two years I wouldn’t say our team would be a known as a great defensive unit. We were top 30, and two years ago that got us a destructive loss against Wichita State, where they beat us up, threw us out of the way, and blew us out, kicked us out of the tournament. They were the bigger, stronger, rougher, more physical team. It wasn’t even close...."

[ShoxFan7]

Straight Cash Homie!

[ShockingButTrue]

Just from observing his little amount of time on the court this pivot appears to be a replica of our MVC POY from several years ago. He could be that same kind of player by his junior year.

[wichshock65]

I like his ideas about kicking off

https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/2017/11/17/16668734/college-basketball-power-rankings-duke-grayson-allen

5. Wichita State (2–0)


Landry Shamet, Wichita State’s best player, is working his way back to 100 percent health after having foot surgery over the summer. Markis McDuffie, the program’s second-best player, remains out while recovering from a foot injury of his own. Despite this, the Shockers managed to carry a 25-point lead into halftime of Monday’s matchup against the College of Charleston, which returns all its key pieces from a 25-win squad and is the heavy favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association. Wichita State rolled, 81–63.

National opinion about the Shockers is always so divided that you can take whatever you want from the paragraph above. If you hold the belief that Wichita State is perpetually overrated, the thought of me suggesting that a win against the College of Charleston is somehow impressive probably made you pull a muscle from laughing so hard. And if you’re a Wichita State fan (or worse, a college basketball media member), there’s a chance that you burst into applause or yelled “PREACH!” after reading it. (Or maybe you did something slightly less dramatic.) The point is that we don’t yet have an idea of just how good the Shockers are this season, but unlike seasons past, that should change soon. Over the next six weeks, Wichita State will play in the Maui Invitational, travel to Baylor and Oklahoma State, host Oklahoma, and open conference play by visiting UConn.

[Aargh]

I like his ideas about kicking off

https://www.theringer.com/platform/amp/2017/11/17/16668734/college-basketball-power-rankings-duke-grayson-allen

5. Wichita State (2–0)
... Over the next six weeks, Wichita State will play in the Maui Invitational, travel to Baylor and Oklahoma State, host Oklahoma, and open conference play by visiting UConn.

Dang! That's one rigorous schedule when you look at it that way.

[FlyingWheat]

I like his ideas about kicking off

https://www.theringer.com/platform/a...-grayson-allen


5. Wichita State (2–0)


Landry Shamet, Wichita State’s best player, is working his way back to 100 percent health after having foot surgery over the summer. Markis McDuffie, the program’s second-best player, remains out while recovering from a foot injury of his own. Despite this, the Shockers managed to carry a 25-point lead into halftime of Monday’s matchup against the College of Charleston, which returns all its key pieces from a 25-win squad and is the heavy favorite to win the Colonial Athletic Association. Wichita State rolled, 81–63.

National opinion about the Shockers is always so divided that you can take whatever you want from the paragraph above. If you hold the belief that Wichita State is perpetually overrated, the thought of me suggesting that a win against the College of Charleston is somehow impressive probably made you pull a muscle from laughing so hard. And if you’re a Wichita State fan (or worse, a college basketball media member), there’s a chance that you burst into applause or yelled “PREACH!” after reading it. (Or maybe you did something slightly less dramatic.) The point is that we don’t yet have an idea of just how good the Shockers are this season, but unlike seasons past, that should change soon. Over the next six weeks, Wichita State will play in the Maui Invitational, travel to Baylor and Oklahoma State, host Oklahoma, and open conference play by visiting UConn.

Good thing we know exactly how good Kentucky is with their wins over Utah Valley and Vermont.

[WuShock Reaper]

"Rothstein Files | North Carolina’s frontcourt will be tested" - FanRag Sports

ByJon Rothstein
Posted on Nov 20, 2017

https://www.fanragsports.com/rothstein-files-north-carolinas-frontcourt-will-be-tested/

"1. Wichita State steps into Macy’s window at the Maui Invitational

Now we may have a real barometer.

My colleague at CBS Sports — Brent Stover — brought up the notion last Friday in studio that the Shockers could be considered the best team in college basketball after winning their first two games of the season by a combined 70 points.

Steve Lappas and myself politely disagreed with the sentiment, but the point may have more credence if Gregg Marshall’s squad can win three straight games this week at the Maui Invitational.

Wichita State isn’t likely going to be tested against a rebuilding Cal team on Monday, but a semifinal showdown with either VCU or Marquette coupled with a title game clash with Notre Dame would serve as legitimate litmus tests.

We’ll know just how good these Shockers are after the next few days –remember, this team is still playing without Markis McDuffie due to a foot injury.

Wichita State is currently ranked sixth in the FanRag Sports Top 25....

This and That

– Tulane already has half its win total (three) from last season (six) and it’s only Thanksgiving week. Mike Dunleavy is quietly turning things around in New Orleans. Don’t be shocked if the Green Wave pick off some teams this season in the American Conference...."

[WuShock Reaper]

"What to watch for in college basketball's Feast Week" - USA TODAY Sports

Lindsay Schnell
Published 1:01 p.m. ET Nov. 20, 2017

https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2017/11/20/what-watch-college-basketball-feast-week/881328001/

"...Maui Invitational
Long considered the Thanksgiving tournament to play in, Maui should give us another year of great matchups. The title game, played on Wednesday, probably will feature Wichita State vs. Notre Dame (this is assuming Notre Dame gets past Michigan in the semifinals, which should also be a fun matchup). WSU has been upgraded from upstart Cinderella to perennial Final Four contender. Senior center Bonzie Colson (20 ppg, 11 rpg) will be the star of this show."