2017-18 Media Love Thread

[WuShock Reaper]

"The biggest hole for each national championship contender" - ESPN

Jeff Borzello, ESPN Staff Writer
Posted: 01/02/18

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/21943130/the-biggest-hole-national-championship-contender

"If the first two months of the college basketball season have shown us anything, it's that no team is perfect -- or even close to perfect, in fact. For the first time since at least 1948 (when the Associated Press began doing college basketball polls), every Division I team had at least one loss before January.

Some would consider Michigan State, Duke and Villanova a step above the rest of the country, but that group includes a team that lost to Boston College and one that allowed 101 points and 68.2 percent shooting from the 3-point line in a loss to Butler. Michigan State hasn't played a top-100 BPI team since November, so while the Spartans are clearly very good, they still have something to prove.

But if each potential title contender could get some help immediately, what would it be?

1. Michigan State Spartans: Limiting turnovers
2. Duke Blue Devils: Shot-blocking rim protection
3. Arizona State Sun Devils: Size and depth up front
4. Villanova Wildcats: Return to health
5. Xavier Musketeers: Better man-to-man defense
6. Oklahoma Sooners: Consistent supporting cast for Trae Young
7. North Carolina Tar Heels: Bona fide third option on offense
8. Purdue Boilermakers: Bench scoring
9. Arizona Wildcats: Consistency defensively and at point guard
10. Texas A&M Aggies: A full roster
11. Wichita State Shockers: Healthy Markis McDuffie - The Shockers have had a few slip-ups this season but are still the American Athletic Conference favorite and will be expected to win a few games in March. But they need McDuffie back and fully healthy. McDuffie returned in late December, playing in two games after missing the first month of the season with a stress fracture in his left foot. McDuffie only played a combined 25 minutes in his first two games, going 2-for-10 from the floor and scoring seven points. The 6-8 forward led Wichita in scoring and rebounding last season and was named first-team All-Missouri Valley. He helps at both ends of the floor, and Gregg Marshall needs that boost.
12. Kansas Jayhawks: Frontcourt reinforcements to actually play
13. West Virginia Mountaineers: Esa Ahmad
14. Virginia Cavaliers: Aggressive perimeter playmaker
15. Kentucky Wildcats: Perimeter shooting..."

[OregonShocker]

Don't know if this has already been posted, but I still remember Cheese! Listening to the radio with Mike calling out when Cheese went up with one of his flashy shots... wow! Memories! I appreciate that Wichita, WSU and Coach Marshall respect the history of the program!

http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article192778669.html

[WuShock Reaper]

"Wichita State Basketball: Shockers dominate Houston in AAC home opener" - FanSided

by Charlie Salek
Posted: 01/5/18, 11:00am cst

https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/01/...c-home-opener/

"In their AAC home opener, Wichita State basketball routed Houston with a balanced attack and showed that they belong in the national top-10. The final score says Wichita State beat the Houston Cougars 81-63. This score, though, is not indicative of how thoroughly the Shockers dominated this game. Wichita State head coach Gregg Marshall deployed his reserve players for much of the second half due to their lead. Wichita State’s bench mob filled in nicely and contributed 26 points. Houston made a late run to narrow the score after the Shockers took their foot off the gas.

As is usually the case with Wichita State, sophomore guard Landry Shamet was the catalyst. Shamet engineered Wichita State’s offense to perfection and scored with ruthless efficiency. His 18 points came on just eight shot attempts. Shamet was great, but he was not alone.

His backcourt partner, Conner Frankamp, pitched in with 15 points on similarly efficient shooting (6-for-7 from the field). Big man Shaquille Morris showcased his versatility by netting 14 points and made both of his 3-point attempts.

Swingman Zach Brown only scored five points, but he led the team in rebounds (7) and assists (5). The Shockers were also buoyed by an encouraging performance from junior forward Markis McDuffie. Playing in just his third game back from injury, McDuffie tallied 11 points and appeared to be regaining his confidence.

Additionally, it felt like Wichita State was constantly capitalizing on Houston’s mistakes. The Shockers scored 23 points off of Cougars’ turnovers.

The Shockers have great depth. Offensively, they can play inside-out and they have one of the best defenses in the country. Oh, and they have an incredible home-court atmosphere. Add it all up and Wichita State is one of the most dangerous teams in the country."

[WuShock Reaper]

"Thursday’s Three Things To Know: Cincy escapes, Arizona State doesn’t and Wichita rolls" - NBC Sports

By Travis Hines
Jan 5, 2018, 2:16 AM EST

http://collegebasketball.nbcsports.com/2018/01/05/thursdays-three-things-to-know-cincy-escapes-arizona-state-doesnt-and-wichita-rolls/

"3. WICHITA STATE LOOKS LIKE THE CLASS AMERICAN
The Shockers absolutely obliterated Houston on Thursday. WIchita State made nine of their first 11 3-point attempts and finished 12 of 27 from distance in its 81-63 victory.

Houston looked like a potential challenger – more likely thorn in the side – for the Shockers, but this was no contest. Wichita State outclassed them from start to finish. And on a night where SMU lost at Tulane and Cincinnati needed to escape Temple, Gregg Marshall’s team sure did look like the class of the AAC by about a mile. The Bearcats’ night was probably a blip, but their offense has enough issues to think Wichita State is the clear frontrunner. Especially when they go bezerk from 3-point range."

[Shocker1388]

Villanova's top threat from reaching the title game were the Shockers of Wichita State. The senior-laden squad advanced to the title game 10.9% of the time.

https://www.predictionmachine.com/ncaa-tournament-bracket-analysis-010518

[wufan]

Villanova's top threat from reaching the title game were the Shockers of Wichita State. The senior-laden squad advanced to the title game 10.9% of the time.

https://www.predictionmachine.com/nc...nalysis-010518

Per that model the Shockers are the sixth most likely team to win it all after Nova, MSU, Duke, Purdue, and Virginia.

[wuhog]

And the most likely team to win it in their region as a 3 seed.

[Walker]

I was listening to the American coaches conference calls

https://www.youtube.com/user/America...ticConf/videos

Mick Cronin's call was pretty good, very complimentary of the Shockers and the character of our players. He made me lol when he mentioned that he liked Conner because they share the same hairdo.

He's also an intense coach, that seems to hold a high importance of high character men being on his team as well. The media liked to break his balls over the whole incident with the Xavier player, and it may of not been his best moment but certainly understandable when opposing players pull crap like that. Who didn't want to throat punch Isaiah Whitehead a few years back?

Not to overlook the other games, but man, those Cincy games should be some epic showdowns.

[another shocker]

did sampson give marshall the blow by at handshakes?

[Walker]

I missed it after the game, I’m not sure.

[Rlh04d]

I hope we can keep an intense mutual respect with them down the road. With two teams as physical at they are, some bad blood could develop quickly. I have no doubt our games against each other will make each team better in the dance.

[shocksrbest]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2752470-2018-nba-draft-big-board-can-anyone-top-oklahomas-trae-young

Ranks Landry at 17.

[wufan]

He’s the number 4 rated NBA prospect that isn’t a freshman or Euro League player. Impressive!

[Aargh]

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2...mas-trae-young

Ranks Landry at 17.

If I read that right, Shamet is above every KU player in the list. So is the guy from Missouri State, Alize Johnson. Let that sink in. Missouri State has a guy projected higher in the NBA draft than anyone on KU's roster.

[wichshock65]

The Bilastrator wades through the beautiful mess of this hoops season to give you the best 68 teams

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-bas...ege-basketball


7. Wichita State Shockers
The Shockers are finally getting healthy. Markis McDuffie is back. This team is capable of getting to San Antonio for the Final Four. Wichita State leads the American in field goal percentage (49 percent) and assists (18.6) and is second in three-point percentage (41 percent). But what makes Wichita State special is its grit. With Rashard Kelly, Zach Brown and Darral Willis Jr., Wichita State has a tough bunch of "role players" who can kick the crap out of you when the game gets tough.

[WuShock Reaper]

"Wichita State Basketball: What makes the Shockers a contender?" - FanSided

by Lukas Harkins
Posted: 01/10/18, 1:00pm cst

https://bustingbrackets.com/2018/01/...all-contender/

"In a season filled with crazy upsets and inconsistent play by the top teams in the country, what is about Wichita State basketball that puts them in the top-10?

The college basketball headlines have been dominated by the same stories all season long. Duke, Villanova, and Michigan State have been the clear-cut top teams in the country and Trae Young has a monster lead in the Player of the Year rankings. Of course, we have also seen some surprising teams jump up the rankings (I’m looking at you Clemson and Virginia) while the some have buckled under high expectations (sorry Northwestern).

Amongst all of this, though, Wichita State basketball remains the team in the top-10 that is the least talked about. In what has become the norm over the past few years, head coach Gregg Marshall has put together an experienced, talented roster that can take the college basketball landscape by storm. Wichita State is in their first year with the American Athletic Conference this season and they are showing no signs of slowing down. The team holds a 13-2 record to this point in the year.

In each of the past eight seasons, the Shockers won at least 25 games per year (averaging 29.1 wins), making the NCAA Tournament out of the Missouri Valley in six of those seasons. Everyone remembers their “magical” run to the Final Four in the 2013 NCAA Tournament but this program is built on way more than just that series of games.

What Gregg Marshall has built in Wichita is special and the Shockers should start being considered as one of the premier programs in the nation. The prolonged success of teams such as Kentucky, Duke, Gonzaga, North Carolina, Kansas, or Wisconsin might not be there, but what they have done in the past eight (now nine) years as a mid-major is nothing short of tremendous.

Now with the AAC, it is possible that Wichita State has their best roster yet. They won’t go 35-1 like the 2013-14 season led by sophomores Ron Baker and Fred VanVleet (and a senior in Cleanthony Early) but this team has all the talent to be a top seed in the NCAA Tournament and make a splash.

So, what really is it about the Shockers this season that makes them dangerous? Let’s find out.

1. Wichita State has terrific balance...
2. Veteran leadership breeds success...
3. Terrific guard play leads the way...
4. Conference change makes the Shockers battle-tested...

For this season alone, the Shockers have put themselves in a great position to succeed. Wichita State can beat anyone in a variety of ways due to their deep roster and star power. In addition, they will be more accustomed to playing in close games this year, which will impact their play in the Big Dance. Watch out for the Shockers to make a deep run this season."

[shocksrbest]

http://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article194033524.html

Nice article about Rashard.

[shocks02]

Wooden Award midseason Top 25

http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/page/woodenwatch0110182/oklahoma-sooners-trae-young-heads-wooden-award-midseason-top-25

[Dan]

I'd be interested in seeing how many shots a game these guys take. We already know the answer for Landry.

[Stickboy46]

Wait .. I was told Gary Clark is a problem .... Where is he at on there ... they have a problem!!!!!

[Cdizzle]

For the record, I'm not excluding Shamet from my PPG comment. Both FVV and RB were probably better net +/- players as Sophs, but didn't get quite this kind of love. Shamet is not yet near the defender either of those guys were, but he is pretty special shooting the ball, and his defense is coming along.

[ShockerPrez]

Soren Petro with 810 sure wears his Shocker sweatshirt a lot...

[pogo]

He probably wears it for the same reason I wear one when I'm in KC...Just to piss people off.