Shocker Madness

[RHshoxfan]

Clemente was a BEAST. He has got to be a fan favorite, and he will really help us out down low this season. NewComer of the Year in the Valley!

Hatch was nailing 3's in that contest, I hope he can do that in a game. He has a nice shot.

Mekel looks more combfortable on Defense, and I think he is improved.

Griskanes seemed a little, timid. I dont know if he was putting in full effort or what? I think when the season starts he will be a good player for us.

[1972Shocker]

My thoughts are that it's tough to get real specific after seeing a 20 minute scrimmage after a few days of full practices.

I do like our athleticism and depth. I think we have the depth to be able to really get after it for a full 40 minutes.

Hard to tell how we would handle a true center since we really don't have one. But I think our athleticism and quickness will also cause match up problems.

Cooz is the man, but we have a lot of pieces to go with him. I didn't see anything tonight to dampen my enthusiasm about the upcoming season.

The new guys look real intriguing.

:posterwu: :goshocks: :posterwsu:

[RHshoxfan]

Oh yea, I was walkin in and I saw that Chopper land, that was freakin AWSOME...I thought the whole team was gunna run out, but how cool would that have been if Okrupe would have came out.

[1972Shocker]

Oh yea, I was walkin in and I saw that Chopper land, that was freakin AWSOME...I thought the whole team was gunna run out, but how cool would that have been if Okrupe would have came out.

That would have been a surprise. My wife and I thought maybe WuShock would get off the Chopper with a full military escort.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

My thoughts are that it's tough to get real specific after seeing a 20 minute scrimmage after a few days of full practices.

And in the end it all boils down to this.

All in all the team looked rusty. I saw the chemistry between them but new coach and quite a few new players is going to throw a "system" into wack.

I will say that this team looked alot different than last year in just that 20 minutes but as far as this player will do this this player will do that we will know after a few games in november and for some it may take awhile more. *possible phil t syndrome?*

[SubGod22]

Direct from Africa thanks you the United States Air Force....It's Ehimeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen Oruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuukpeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That would have been pretty sweet :clap:

[RHshoxfan]

I was thinkin the team would run out, but Okrupe would have been the coolest thing ever!

[1972Shocker]

I think Giskenas will be just fine. Not worried at all about him fitting in and contributing. He was a lot longer than I was expecting.

A good looking group of athletes.

Certainly was enough to whet my appetite for the upcoming season.

:posterwu: :goshocks: :posterwsu:

[shockerfan]

Had alot of fun tonight. Clemente is going to be VERY fun to watch, quite a personality. Definately looked like the whole team was enjoying each other. One of the better Shocker Madness' I've been too, especially the quality of dunks in the dunk contest.

[forevershockerfan]

Never fear---FSF was there. ASM took the words out of my mouth. When I saw EO's pic on the program, then the unexpected incoming helicopter, my gut feeling was the surprise arrival of our 7'0" Center from Nigeria to exit the chopper into Shocker-ville. Oh well, it was stiil cool beans anyway.

[The Mad Hatter]

"I thought Griskenas looked a bit timid out there. I expect he'll be fine by the time the season comes around though."

Ditto. I don't know why but I get the impression he could be a strong role player, something like we had with Ryan Martin.

Gris should be a lot more than a role player. My impression was that Mantas will be a lot better in an actual game than in an unorganized scrimmage. He looked to be working to get to spots for pull up jumpers. In a real game, he will have screens to work with that should free him up to shoot or drive.

The other factor for Mantas is that with Ellis and Arbry opposite him, he doesn't have the size advantage that he will against most of the SF's he will play against throughout the season.

[ShoxCO94]

Did anyone else feel like they were watching Jamar Howard again when they were watching Ramon? A more physical slightly larger version but even his smile reminded me of him.

[JVShocker_old]

My thoughts: even though it was a weeknight, SM was an upgrade over the last few I have attended. It had a lot more flow to it, until JA took the mic and started going on and on about tickets. She was trying too hard.

I had forgotten about Orupke, but was really hoping Marshal;l or the team would have gotten off that helicopter. Either way, it sure made it exciting.

Marshall appealing to "hear how loud Koch" could be was a nice touch. I thought the arena was 50-60% of sold out and it was deafening for all involved (especially down low.)

Clemente is a big atheltic version of Jamar Howard on the basketball court. He will probably be a tireless worker and a crowd favorite.

Ellis seemed rushed or tentative on his outside shooting, like he was unsure if he should be shooting. Mantas was kind of quiet, but structured players may not like the flow of a pick up game as much as the structure of a real game. Arbry doesn't have much of a shot, but he doesn't seem turnover prone, and he moves well without the ball, so I think he may find a way to make a highlight at some point in the season. I was so busy taking pictures I didn't catch much of his worrk/effort on defense. Anyone care to comment?

PJ was confident at the 2. And then he takes his man down low and posts him up and starts getting offensive rebounds - he's going to be a real matchup problem for a lot of teams. I thought Matt and Gal were great at running the show. Matt really pushes the ball, and Gal is the creator, so they present different challenges.

JT - I finally get to see him play a little. It's like the guy that Turgeon always talked about but I never saw.

Hatch is a big guard, doesn't look out of shape basketball shape, and can actually shoot the ball pretty well. I hope he gets some PT behind Cooz.

Overall I think the guys were having as much fun as the group I saw last year, but one thing was noticeably different. They were a lot looser and almost had a bit of a swagger to themselves (I think someone else pointed this out) - an almost noisy confidence (if there is such a thing.) Marshall is a lot more open with his players and seems quite a bit more personable with the guys than I ever saw out of Turgeon. Hard to believe we're only a few weeks away from the first exhibition - I can't wait! :goshocks:

PS...I'll put some pics up in a bit if nobody beats me to it.

[ShockerFever]

Did anyone else feel like they were watching Jamar Howard again when they were watching Ramon? A more physical slightly larger version but even his smile reminded me of him.

I was thinking the same thing. Total package. Hopefully he won't pull out the Jamar whine card on the refs. I was courtside and he has such a nice finesse fadeaway shot thing going from about 10-15 feet. It has a lot of arch. Pretty sweet lookin. The guy is a stud.

Preadom should be canning open 3's by now being a junior. I would hate to see the Craig Steven Syndrome ground him during his last two years.

Overall, a lotta fun. Great time. I'm really excited for the upcoming season. I think we're gonna surprise a lot of people... and hopefully we sustain ourselves through the WHOLE season this time..

[Aargh]

I thought Durley looked like a guy who wants playing time. I think he's going to get it. Durley made some "freshman" mistakes. Thomasson is a "safer" player, but don't be surprised to see Durley getting some starts. I think Durley will be better as a Fr than Falker. Durley won't get Falker's minutes as a Fr because there are players in front of him.

Cooz can play SG. He should be in the hunt for Valley PoY.

I have to think (and hope) that Griskenas is a better "game" player than "scrimmage" player. In warmups I saw Griskenas go up for a board and get both elbows above the rim.

Clemente will be a crowd favorite, both for his personality and his on-court play. The comparisons to Eric Coleman are justified. Tenacious is a good word to describe Clemente. I hope Clemente can stay out of foul trouble. His aggressiveness could get some calls against him.

Butler looks like he deserved to have his schollie reinstated.

At one point I was thinking that Gal, PJ and JT would make an awesome 3-on-3 team. Those guys pretty much dominated the early part of the scrimmage.

I can see why Michaels got an invited walkon. Even if he ends up as a practice player, he's going to provide practice experience against a quick guard who can play a little D.

And Hawkins. Athletic with a capital "A" and an exclamation point. Averaged 10 points as a So in the A-10. That's decent, but you've got to wonder if he was being utilized to his abilities. Maybe that's why he was available for a trfr. Cooz's replacement has been found.

I loved the microphone Marshall had. "That's what happens when you don't box out". "Good shot. Good shot. Nice pass". Getting a coaches perspective as the scrimmage progressed was priceless.