Pathetic time of year...

[vbird53]

PG-Hannah
SG-Kyles
SF-Murry
PF-Blair
C -Durley

I really like this. Three guard sets have been done before, and with Kyles improvement, it might be tough to keep him out of the starting line-up. In other words, this line-up has more to do with Kyles coming on, than Murry being able to play the 3. It might not be your traditional 1-2-3-4-5, but having 3 guards on the floor might create some real excitement.

[Overtime]

I think Hatch deserves to start,....I like him so I hope his shot comes around because he has great B-ball savy....That being said I think we will see 3 guards (Kyles and Murry) on the floor ...SIU did it with big strong guards like Tony Young and Darren Brooks and I think we have the kind of size to pull it off in the same fashion...At least that would be the model to look to until our centers...Stutz/Orupke hopefully come into their own and give JT the opportunity to play the 4

[wufan]

Whether Kyles or Hatch sees the floor more, I hope they are battling it out! Both players offer a different set of skills, and if they have both stepped it up we will be good to go either way.

Blair needs to be good and either Ellis or Stutz need to step up big for our inside game to really take off. If Durley doesn't have help ala Clemente, he will get double-teamed out to the perimeter.

[Snapshot9]

Blair was reported to be as good defensively as Clemente, and being 2" taller sure can't hurt. It was said he will bring more to the table on offense.
That right there will relieve some of the pressure on J.T.. One of the new recruits picked Blair as the 'difference maker' this year.

Ellis is just sitting there bubbling with Potential, we can all see it, but will he realize it this season or not? Same with Stutz.

Kyles was picked, by Richardson I think, as being the 'difference maker' this coming season. We sure got a glimpse of his potential last season towards the end, and he was coming on good. He should be even better this coming season. Had some good defense, made some good shots. I noticed that Murry and Kyles both look to make something happen when on the court.

And I am excited about our new recruits to, and trying to figure out how they will fit in, and the amount of playing time they will get. Manigault will be our future PG and assist leader, I hope. Williams and Richardson seem like they can bounce between the 1 and 2 posiitons if needed, and Richardson even playing the 3 if needed.

Hamilton sounds pretty much like a warrior, and his game is taking off.

[wufan]

I think Richardson is a 2/3 and not a 1/2. Other than that, I absolutely agree with your post. I just want to see all of that happen. Unfortunately, chances are we will be mightily disappointed with somebody. I just hope its not Blair, Ellis, and Stutz.

[Overtime]

We may be disappointed in AE.....But I am hoping Coy, along with Blair,. will more than make up for it.

[Anthroshock]

We may be disappointed in AE.....But I am hoping Coy, along with Blair,. will more than make up for it.

I don't believe Ellis is being given reasonable doubt after starting last year with turf-toe. It's not something that gets better with treatments, only rest. When one is resting, they cannot participate in full practices and workouts. When one does not take part in practices and workouts it takes a lot longer to get into the flow of practice intensity, learning the sets, etc.

AE is going to be fine and is going to get his minutes. He has shown flashes of what he can do and now, being healthy, can work on the consistency a Junior should provide.

[The Mad Hatter]

We may be disappointed in AE.....But I am hoping Coy, along with Blair,. will more than make up for it.

I don't believe Ellis is being given reasonable doubt after starting last year with turf-toe. It's not something that gets better with treatments, only rest. When one is resting, they cannot participate in full practices and workouts. When one does not take part in practices and workouts it takes a lot longer to get into the flow of practice intensity, learning the sets, etc.

AE is going to be fine and is going to get his minutes. He has shown flashes of what he can do and now, being healthy, can work on the consistency a Junior should provide.

I agree. In addition to the injury, the overall youth on the roster made Ellis a "veteran" last year even though he was only a Soph. Lots of post players don't emerge until they are upperclassmen and I think we have seen enough glimpses of what he can do to think there is every chance his last two years could be very, very good.

[wufan]

I'm as big a fan of AE as anyone, I'm just nervous that we don't have two proven posts this year. Loads of potential, but that's it after Durley. Someone has to step up and say this is MY year. Blair, Ellis, and Stutz are all capable of that, but they still have to do it.

[forevershockerfan]

AE did indeed show improvement last Season on both sides of the court. With Durley and Stutz working hard this summer and the emergence of Blair to our rotations, we are going to be solid on the inside more so than since Coach Marshall has been our Coach. The other 3 positions will be 2-3 deep solid per spot which will give us a fighting chance to be a team that will finish in the top half in the Valley this Season.

Soon, the pre-season predictions will be available and it will be interesting where we will be picked to finish by the experts. I would venture a guess that we will be picked between around third or fouth by most in the Valley Race. Many seem to believe that we will move forward this Season and raise some eyebows and then our big Season will be the following Season. :poster_toure: :poster_jt: :poster_eo:

[shockar25]

It's easy to forget that AE had turf toe last season, which I think really slowed his progress. After that it seemed he had a bit of a confidence problem, but as you say, he did improve some as the year progressed. Hopefully this year he'll come into the season injury-free and get a bit of a 'running start' on his progression. It's hard to believe he's going to be a junior already.

[shockall]

...I'm just nervous that we don't have two proven posts this year. Loads of potential, but that's it after Durley. Someone has to step up and say this is MY year. Blair, Ellis, and Stutz are all capable of that, but they still have to do it.

Agree...although the word has it that a lot of hard work is taking place over the summer, ...that's what we hear every year. The proof of their summer work will need to be shown during the season. ....Need to see the progress, not just the motion!

[60Shock]

We will do fine this year. And we will do a lot finer if even one of our potential 5's can break out and provide substantial back-up support.

[SFL]

It's easy to forget that AE had turf toe last season, which I think really slowed his progress. After that it seemed he had a bit of a confidence problem, but as you say, he did improve some as the year progressed. Hopefully this year he'll come into the season injury-free and get a bit of a 'running start' on his progression. It's hard to believe he's going to be a junior already.

I currently have a bad case of 'turf toe'... I'm telling ya', it hurts like a mother! :cry:

[Aargh]

Tidbits you may ignore - or discuss, after all, it's a pathetic time of the year.

Jamar Howard didn't improve between his Jr and Sr seasons. Howard started his Sr season with a nagging injury. I don't think last year's on-court results can be held against Ellis - not yet.

Couple notes about Hamilton:

Hamilton runs a 4.5 40 yd. dash. Now that I found out he played defensive back in HS I figured out a way to describe a 4.5 40. In BCS FB, a 4.4 cornerback has the speed to be a "shut down" corner. A guy with 4.5 speed doesn't. For those of you familiar with Terrence Newman from KSU and the NFL, I believe he ran about a 4.38 40.

In a post-game interview with Marshall, someone found an article in Hamilton's home town paper about Hamilton hitting 5 3's in a game. Marshall shut that down pretty quick and said that wasn't why they recruited him and all HCGM knew was that Hamilton liked to dunk a lot.

IIRC there were some early reports from pick up games that Hamilton had an outside shot. Then we got players talking to the media who all said Hamilton sure does like to dunk a lot.

If Hamilton is getting a reputation as a guy whose main offensive skill is a dunk and he actually has a shot from some range, this could get real interesting.

I think it's going to be interesting to see if it's possible to put a RS on Hamilton and leave it there for a season. I think Hamilton has the potential to be the most interesting player of Marshall's 2 classes.