Shocker Madness Oct. 25

[melcong4]

i dont want to expect too much out of this team but even though it is projected that the shockers will not make it to any post season play----I am predicting they make the NIT this year.

[kcshocker11]

i dont want to expect too much out of this team but even though it is projected that the shockers will not make it to any post season play----I am predicting they make the NIT this year.

Yep! :good: 8)

[rrshock]

There was one irritating thing, when they introduced 6'7" Aaron Ellis, I thought here we go again. Will someone get him down as 6'9" and keep it that way.

Perhaps they have actually measured him. If my ears didn't deceive me, they listed Durley as 6'6" and Hawkins at 6'4", each an inch lower than they were listed last year.

Or maybe the thing with Michael Beasley being 6'7" in stead of 6'10" has coaches actually listing their players by their real heights. Maybe the NCAA sent out a memo asking that they tell the truth when listing heights of players.

[OTR Shockfan]

I can summarize last night up in two words

Promisingly Positive

[lilshock]

I will sum it up with this, Kyles=freshman, Stutz=freshman, Chamberlain=freshman, Murry=freshman. They sure reminded me of a time of Randy, Rob and Jamar. Starting over never looked so good. They just had that feeling of that time for me. I don't think we are NIT bound or anything like that but they will hurt some teams this year, just being real. Ready for a new look!!! Now I want to take this time to thank myself for all the suggestions to the coaching staff to do what I wanted to do all along. Thank you self!

[Dan]

After seeing Murry play several high school games, you all can appreciate what I tried to describe. He quietly gets it done. He may only take 10 shots the whole game but makes a high percentage so you don't realize he had 14-16 points. He gets rebounds, assists, plays good D and handles the ball well. He won't be the star because he's not flashy but he is about as solid as they come.

[Shockfan8]

I will sum it up with this, Kyles=freshman, Stutz=freshman, Chamberlain=freshman, Murry=freshman. They sure reminded me of a time of Randy, Rob and Jamar. Starting over never looked so good. They just had that feeling of that time for me. I don't think we are NIT bound or anything like that but they will hurt some teams this year, just being real. Ready for a new look!!! Now I want to take this time to thank myself for all the suggestions to the coaching staff to do what I wanted to do all along. Thank you self!

Chamberlain=Sophomore

[WuDrWu]

After seeing Murry play several high school games, you all can appreciate what I tried to describe. He quietly gets it done. He may only take 10 shots the whole game but makes a high percentage so you don't realize he had 14-16 points. He gets rebounds, assists, plays good D and handles the ball well. He won't be the star because he's not flashy but he is about as solid as they come.

Dynamite breakdown Dan. Your words during Toure's Senior season stoked the fire that has burning since I talked to Coach about him. TM is the kind of player that just wins. We have needed a player like that for a very long time.

[Double U. Eschew]

I don't care for P'unk Stinnet, but it reminded me of the dunk that he had against the 7 footer that plays (is he still on the team?) for Nebraska that the creighton fans went crazy about.

The Nebraska player subjected to the Stinnett dunk will be in Koch Arena in two weeks. His name is Shang Ping and he has transferred to Emporia State.

[MikeShox]

Shocker Madness

I certainly love this team, especially after Saturday night. I have been extremely excited about Murry all along and believe that Hannah and Chamberlain will be outstanding point guards this season. I am expecting tremendous help from Hawk as well.

As great as things were Saturday, I refuse to allow myself to get too fired up about it all. I recently went back and read many of the comments following Shocker Madness each of the last two years and had to laugh out loud at some of the reactions. If we as ShockerNet posters were as good at judging talent as we sometimes think, our Shox would never lose. Arbry Butler would probably be nearing All American status this year and we would likely be in the Final Four. We are not all that much different than fans of all teams everywhere. Most of us are great judges of talent and coaching in our own mind. Heck, most of us, if we were and smart as we think could easily take over our team and take it straight to the NCAA, World Series, Super Bowl, etc. championship.

That being said, here's my fearless thoughts. I expect Murry to see a lot of minutes this year. I think he'll probably get at least the 2nd most minutes at the 2. I would not be surprised to see him even get some starts by the end of the season. That is assuming that Hannah and Chamberlain are the starting guards at the beginning. I expect many exciting things from Kyles, but many freshman mistakes as well. I don't really think he will end up with as many minutes as Murry, but he has such an upside and by the time he finishes his career here, he will really be outstanding.

I believe Garrett Stutz will very likely come along more quickly than Paul Miller did. I don't expect to see him starting this season, but do expect to see him get lots of PT. I would not be a bit surprised to see him start next year. Of course, if JT proves that his new, improved focus is temporary and he cannot keep focusing on the defensive end on a regular basis, that changes things and I would then not be surprised to see Stutz starting this year. Of course, injuries could make him a starter as well.

It will be very interesting to see who ends up getting the most minutes backing up Hawk. Will Aaron Ellis prove he can handle the 3 well enough expecially on the defensive end, or will Kyles possibly show enough to play substantial minutes at the 3?

I could possibly see Murry forcing the issue and taking over the majority of time at the 2 if he proves to be as ready as many of us expect. Especially against teams that have some height which would cause Coach to not want two short guards on the floor at the same time.

As for those who are predicting Hawk at the 2, I personally do not believe that will happen. I fully expect to see Hawk spend 98% of his time at the 3. With Hannah, Chamberlain, Murry, Kyles and Hatch around, I just don't see Hawk messing with the 2, but I do expect him to be either the number 1 or 2 scorer on the team (depending on whether or not Durley has come along as well as advertised).

My predicted lineup:

1 - Hannah / Chamberlain / Murry
2 - Chamberlain / Murry / Kyles / Hatch (Murry possibly taking over as starter)
3 - Hawkins / Ellis / Kyles / Hatch
4 - Clemente / Durley / Griskenas / Ellis
5 - Durley / Stutz / Griskenas / Ellis

Reggie Britton is my pick to receive the most walk-on minutes, but I don't expect to see walk-ons to play except in mop up situations this year. We probably have the best walk-on talent we've had in some time, but we also have deeper talent then we've had the past couple years and hopefully we won't have so many injuries as last year and will be able to stay with the best talent on the team rather than having to depend on walk-ons to carry the load. My thought is that is the walk-ons get much playing time this year, it is a very bad thing as it will mean that too many players are injured. I am highly impressed in Britton though.

Like I said at the start, I love this team. However, I refuse to go crazy. I keep remembering that the team has a total of 7 years (some partial) of Division 1 experience (Hawk, 2; Ellis 1; Hatch, 1; Griskenas, 1; Durley, 1; and Clemente, 1). Of course, Hatch and Griskenas missed much of their 1 season with injuries. And only 5 years of play in Coach Marshall's system.

I fully expect to see many exciting moments this season. I also expect to
see the lack of experience raise it's ugly head quite often. This team will win some games it is not expected to win and will lose some games it has no reason to lose other than mental errors. The youngsters will hit that "wall" that is always there for 1st year Division 1 players. Possibly not all of them, but enough to cause the coaching staff and the fans to shake their heads and curse beneath their breath.

I'm truly hopeful that by Arch Madness time, many of the mistakes caused by inexperience will be worked out and many will have bounced back from having hit that "wall" and the team will make a good showing. As for the season, I still will be happy with anything over .500, but expect much more in the years to come. Next year will be a major improvement and then the following year is going to be spectacular!

[pogo]

I agree with most of what has been reported on above. A couple of thngs that impressed me the most was even though this was a scrimmage it still seemed to have more flow to the play than in previous years. Shoot, it had more flow than some of the games in RS's tenure, and no it is not slam against RS. The other thing was that Stutz really does move well for a big guy. He holds the ball high so he's not going to get it slapped away by a pesky guard from the back. More deliberate moves and he DIDN'T feel the need to dribble the damn ball once before he shot the ball. I was much more impressed with his scrimmage than maybe even PM's sophomore year. Go Shox

[newshock1234]

I agree with most of what has been reported on above. A couple of thngs that impressed me the most was even though this was a scrimmage it still seemed to have more flow to the play than in previous years. Shoot, it had more flow than some of the games in RS's tenure, and no it is not slam against RS. The other thing was that Stutz really does move well for a big guy. He holds the ball high so he's not going to get it slapped away by a pesky guard from the back. More deliberate moves and he DIDN'T feel the need to dribble the damn ball once before he shot the ball. I was much more impressed with his scrimmage than maybe even PM's sophomore year. Go Shox

I agree, but alot that has to do with is this year we already had been practicing for a couple weeks, as in years past we usually had Shocker madness on the 1st day you can practice.

[RoyalShock]

Having a week of practice I'm sure makes a BIG difference in the flow.

pogo, I agree with you about Stutz. Sure, he is a little lacking in a few areas right now. But with his skills and athleticism - two things guys his size tend to require a couple of years to gain - he can develop rapidly. I honestly think if his defense improves just enough for him to gain confidence in that area, he immediately becomes one of, if not the best, centers in the Valley.

If we are able to get Orukpe back here, there won't be a team in the MVC that could come anywhere near matching us in the post. Add Murry, Kyles and Manigault to the mix and we will be scary good.

[htown44]

The good thing about both Kyles and Murry is that they faced D1 caliber quickness, size, and talent on a daily basis year round. Both are coming from large city high schools and had the oppurtunity to face players of the same caliber on a consistant basis. TM and DK also had the oppurtunity daily in practice with several of their teammates going on to D1 schools.

If both continue to pick up on GM's system, then the sky's the limit for the backcourt. Both are physically ready but now they need to tackle the mental part.

[t7017s]

Re: Shocker Madness

I certainly love this team, especially after Saturday night. I have been extremely excited about Murry all along and believe that Hannah and Chamberlain will be outstanding point guards this season. I am expecting tremendous help from Hawk as well.

As great as things were Saturday, I refuse to allow myself to get too fired up about it all. I recently went back and read many of the comments following Shocker Madness each of the last two years and had to laugh out loud at some of the reactions. If we as ShockerNet posters were as good at judging talent as we sometimes think, our Shox would never lose. Arbry Butler would probably be nearing All American status this year and we would likely be in the Final Four. We are not all that much different than fans of all teams everywhere. Most of us are great judges of talent and coaching in our own mind. Heck, most of us, if we were and smart as we think could easily take over our team and take it straight to the NCAA, World Series, Super Bowl, etc. championship.

That being said, here's my fearless thoughts. I expect Murry to see a lot of minutes this year. I think he'll probably get at least the 2nd most minutes at the 2. I would not be surprised to see him even get some starts by the end of the season. That is assuming that Hannah and Chamberlain are the starting guards at the beginning. I expect many exciting things from Kyles, but many freshman mistakes as well. I don't really think he will end up with as many minutes as Murry, but he has such an upside and by the time he finishes his career here, he will really be outstanding.

I believe Garrett Stutz will very likely come along more quickly than Paul Miller did. I don't expect to see him starting this season, but do expect to see him get lots of PT. I would not be a bit surprised to see him start next year. Of course, if JT proves that his new, improved focus is temporary and he cannot keep focusing on the defensive end on a regular basis, that changes things and I would then not be surprised to see Stutz starting this year. Of course, injuries could make him a starter as well.

It will be very interesting to see who ends up getting the most minutes backing up Hawk. Will Aaron Ellis prove he can handle the 3 well enough expecially on the defensive end, or will Kyles possibly show enough to play substantial minutes at the 3?

I could possibly see Murry forcing the issue and taking over the majority of time at the 2 if he proves to be as ready as many of us expect. Especially against teams that have some height which would cause Coach to not want two short guards on the floor at the same time.

As for those who are predicting Hawk at the 2, I personally do not believe that will happen. I fully expect to see Hawk spend 98% of his time at the 3. With Hannah, Chamberlain, Murry, Kyles and Hatch around, I just don't see Hawk messing with the 2, but I do expect him to be either the number 1 or 2 scorer on the team (depending on whether or not Durley has come along as well as advertised).

My predicted lineup:

1 - Hannah / Chamberlain / Murry
2 - Chamberlain / Murry / Kyles / Hatch (Murry possibly taking over as starter)
3 - Hawkins / Ellis / Kyles / Hatch
4 - Clemente / Durley / Griskenas / Ellis
5 - Durley / Stutz / Griskenas / Ellis

Reggie Britton is my pick to receive the most walk-on minutes, but I don't expect to see walk-ons to play except in mop up situations this year. We probably have the best walk-on talent we've had in some time, but we also have deeper talent then we've had the past couple years and hopefully we won't have so many injuries as last year and will be able to stay with the best talent on the team rather than having to depend on walk-ons to carry the load. My thought is that is the walk-ons get much playing time this year, it is a very bad thing as it will mean that too many players are injured. I am highly impressed in Britton though.

Like I said at the start, I love this team. However, I refuse to go crazy. I keep remembering that the team has a total of 7 years (some partial) of Division 1 experience (Hawk, 2; Ellis 1; Hatch, 1; Griskenas, 1; Durley, 1; and Clemente, 1). Of course, Hatch and Griskenas missed much of their 1 season with injuries. And only 5 years of play in Coach Marshall's system.

I fully expect to see many exciting moments this season. I also expect to
see the lack of experience raise it's ugly head quite often. This team will win some games it is not expected to win and will lose some games it has no reason to lose other than mental errors. The youngsters will hit that "wall" that is always there for 1st year Division 1 players. Possibly not all of them, but enough to cause the coaching staff and the fans to shake their heads and curse beneath their breath.

I'm truly hopeful that by Arch Madness time, many of the mistakes caused by inexperience will be worked out and many will have bounced back from having hit that "wall" and the team will make a good showing. As for the season, I still will be happy with anything over .500, but expect much more in the years to come. Next year will be a major improvement and then the following year is going to be spectacular!

I suspect Murry will see some time at the 3 this year also. He is so versatile that you'd be crazy not to use him there if needed. He has the size and skills to play anywhere 1-3. If Ellis is used as a 3 more this year as we suspect and still has foul issues then I expect Murry to get plenty of minutes at the 3.