Blue Ribbon Yearbook - Valley Preview on ESPN.Com

[Shox21]

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/

The write-up on UNI is free, all the rest you have to be an "insider" to read.

[WstateU]

Re: Blue Ribbon Yearbook - Valley Preview on ESPN.Com

[quote="Shox21"]http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/

The write-up on UNI is free, all the rest [b]you have to be an "insider" to read.[b][quote]

:banghead:

That's a steaming pile of...

[Anthroshock]

Re: Blue Ribbon Yearbook - Valley Preview on ESPN.Com

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/

The write-up on UNI is free, all the rest you have to be an "insider" to read.

Anyone care to post "excerpts"? Also, Should I purchase Blueribbon? I've only heard good things about it.

[Awesome Sauce Malone]

Re: Blue Ribbon Yearbook - Valley Preview on ESPN.Com

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/

The write-up on UNI is free, all the rest you have to be an "insider" to read.

Anyone care to post "excerpts"? Also, Should I purchase Blueribbon? I've only heard good things about it.

Matty P says pay your fee!

[RUShock75]

This is what they said about the Shox. Must have been written in June or July, it talks about Coy towards the bottom.

COACH AND PROGRAM

Gregg Marshall had heard the pitches before. During nine successful seasons at Winthrop, which included seven NCAA Tournament appearances, Marshall had more than his fair share of offers to coach at higher levels of Division I.

But when the decision time came, Marshall would find a reason not to move. Until he visited Wichita State.

"I had talked myself out of numerous jobs over the previous nine seasons by nit-picking it and trying to uncover every wart," Marshall said. "When I saw the infrastructure, the history, the support, both physical and financial, that Wichita State afforded, I didn't talk myself out of it. I knew eventually we would be able to win here.

"I got a seven-year deal at a pretty good number to come here. I knew our success or failure had nothing to do with that first season."

Instead of looking for any potential problems, Marshall saw only the good the program had to offer. And there were plenty of positives. The program had been winning under Mark Turgeon, who left for Texas A&M. There was a nice arena to call home and a history that included NBA players. There was a community that seemed to embrace the program.

So, Marshall took the plunge, leaving the comfort of Winthrop for the unknown of Wichita State. Two years later, he's happy he made the move.

"It's a basketball school," Marshall said. "There's no reason you can't win here. It's on me if we don't. There are no excuses. We do everything first class. We fly on private jets as a team. I recruit on private jets. Money is not an issue. We buy games instead of being bought for our schedule. We sell out every night. It's a great place. And they really appreciate hard work, determination, hustle and good basketball. And they know what that is."

It hasn't all been easy. The team won just 11 games in his first season. For a guy who had never been below .500 in his career, it was, well, a shocker.


Wichita State Shockers
Last Season 17-17 (.500)
Conference Record 8-10 (t-5th)
Starters Lost/Returning 2/3
Coach Gregg Marshall (Randolph-Macon '85)
Record At School 28-37 (2 years)
Career Record 222-120 (11 years)
RPI Last 5 years 38-19-101-198-160

"When I got here, the recruiting class that [the previous staff] had put together kind of blew up," Marshall said. "The only kid who was left from a four-man recruiting class was a kid coming off a two-year Mormon mission. In late April of '07, I had seven scholarships to give, which is too many."

Wichita State bounced back in Marshall's second season, winning 17 games and advancing to the second round of the College Basketball Invitational. The Shockers beat Siena and Cleveland State during the regular season. And that was with a team using 11 players in their first year of Division I basketball.

The win total could have been higher. There was a close home loss to UMKC early in the season. And a three-point loss at Texas Tech. And a four-point loss at Southern Illinois. All winnable games.

The biggest heartbreaker came in the quarterfinals of the Missouri Valley Tournament. Wichita State rallied from a 22-point deficit in the second half to take the lead in the final seconds against Creighton. But Booker Woodfox hit a 15-footer at the buzzer to spoil Wichita State's efforts.

"It was very difficult to deal with," Marshall said. "It probably would have been one of the more dramatic comebacks in the history of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. The clock operators kind of got in the way of that."

The pain didn't linger long. Wichita State bounced back to beat Buffalo in the first round of the CBI.

"They're a young bunch," Marshall said. "We were pretty resilient all year. They just kept working and getting better. Getting in the CBI helped us get two more weeks of practice. That was the biggest thing for us. We did not play well in our loss to Stanford."

The Shockers opened Missouri Valley play 0-6, but won seven of their next nine.

"We got a lot of confidence," Marshall said.


PLAYERS

Marshall isn't going to dwell much on the past with his current team. Instead, he'll talk about the talent, size and growing experience. For the first time in his Wichita State tenure, Marshall has all 13 scholarships filled.

Marshall welcomes back the team's leading scorer from last season, 5-11 senior guard Clevin Hannah. The transfer from Chipola (Fla.) Community College averaged 11.2 points and 4.3 assists last season. He hit 41 percent of his three-pointers.

"He's a wonderful teammate," Marshall said. "People love playing with him. People are drawn to his personality. He happens to be an adequate playmaker. He's not a jet. He's not a great athlete. The thing he brings is his ability to shoot the ball. My hope is you'll get a much better second year than you do a first year from a JUCO transfer."

Bringing in Hannah was a necessity for Marshall, who had no returning experience at guard last season. Now, he has two guys who averaged 28 minutes a game.

Toure' Murry (11.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg), a 6-4 sophomore, is the No. 2 returning scorer. Murry is a talented shooter and a top defender. As an added bonus, he holds his own on the boards.

"He is a star in my eyes," Marshall said. "He's a kid who has unlimited potential. He's got a chance to play at the highest level. The first time I saw him, he was 6-1, 163 pounds. That was the summer before his senior year. Now, in the summer of '09, he's 6-4 and he's about 194 pounds. Our strength and conditioning coach has done a great job with him. His dad called me when he got home and said, 'We're going to have a party. I sent you a boy and you sent me back a man.'"

The third returning starter is 6-7 junior forward J.T. Durley (8.9 ppg, 4.4 rpg).

"He came a big-time offensive threat," Marshall said. "He's worked to get in better shape and to be a better athlete.

"He's really been a positive in terms of changing and being more driven to be a successful person on and off the court."

Marshall will be looking for more help from sophomore guard David Kyles (2.6 ppg, 1.3 rpg). The 6-3 Texan played increased minutes late last season.

"We're thinking about playing three guards so we can get Kyles in the game," Marshall said. "He's a kid who didn't get it quite as quickly as Toure' Murry. He's talented and he's developed his body. He's a dynamic athlete and can score in bunches."

Garrett Stutz, a 7-0 center, started 12 games his freshman year, averaging 4.2 points and 2.6 rebounds. He was an important signee for Wichita State, rejecting overtures from Kentucky and Marquette.

"We played him a lot early," Marshall said. "I believed in him and still believe in him. He's going to be a good player. He's in there and he's making freshman mistakes. He's up to 250 now. He was at 218 when he arrived.

"He's been punched in the mouth. Now, we'll see how he responds. He's got to be tougher and more physically aggressive. His maturation is probably the most important for our team. With his size, he can be a difference-maker in the outcome of ballgames."

Aaron Ellis (3.2 ppg, 3.5 rpg), a 6-9 junior forward, is expected to provide help off the bench.

"Aaron came in and had to play that freshman year," Marshall said. "He probably could have used a redshirt year. He's matured in a lot of ways."

Another inside player who will be counted on is Gabe Blair. The 6-8 forward is eligible after transferring from East Carolina, where he averaged 7.7 points and a team-high 6.9 rebounds as a sophomore. He was a two-year starter with the Pirates.


Blue Ribbon Previews
Take an Inside look at the MVC with Blue Ribbon's 2009-10 team reports:

.Bradley
Creighton
Drake
Evansville
Illinois State
Indiana State
Missouri State
N. Iowa
S. Illinois
Wichita State


"He's a ball-getter," Marshall said. "He can drive it. He's got a little bit of an intermediate game. Hopefully, he can negate the only significant loss we had last year [Ramon Clemente]."

Graham Hatch (3.6 ppg, 1.8 rpg), a 6-4 junior, came to Wichita State as a top shooter. He has added other parts to his game, but has lost his shooting form, hitting just 26 percent of his three-pointers last season.

"This year, if he can do all of that and regain his shooting touch, he can be a guy who can really help us at small forward," Marshall said.

Johnny Coy, a 6-8 red-shirt freshman forward, will be eligible at the end of the first semester after transferring from Arizona State.

"Envision a poor, poor, poor man's Larry Bird," Marshall said. "He shoots it. He passes it. He can score."

Kenny Manigault is a 6-3 point guard from South Carolina. He needs to work on his shooting, but can defend four positions and is the strongest guard in the program.

Demetric Williams, a 6-2 shooting guard, signed last spring. He had interest from Iowa and Washington State.

"He's an intense competitor and a winner," Marshall said.

The other spring signee was 6-4 swingman Tyler Richardson.

"He's a lefty who really shoots the ball," Marshall said. "He's got a body that's ready for the Valley."

Jerome Hamilton, a 6-7 forward from Sylvester, Ga., is the best athlete in the class, Marshall said.

"He's just a specimen," Marshall said. "He dunks it at chin level and runs the floor like a deer. A great rebounder. A great shot blocker. He's got to develop on offense."


BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: A-
BENCH/DEPTH: C
FRONTCOURT: C
INTANGIBLES: B+


Winning year after year in the Big South is one thing. Marshall had the dominant program in his conference during most of his Winthrop tenure. But the Missouri Valley is a tougher deal. Marshall knew that would be the case when he took over at Wichita State.

"The next couple of years could be just excellent," Marshall said.

Slowly, he is bringing in the talent to turn the program. The Shockers will be better this season. How much better depends on the development of the young players.

One early goal has to be improved play on the road. The Shockers were 1-10 overall away from Charles Koch Arena and 1-8 in Missouri Valley road games. There will be no way to climb in the conference without better play as a visitor.

"We won a lot of games on the road in nine years at Winthrop," Marshall said. "We're going to win games on the road here. The first year, we didn't have enough talent or enough players. We weren't physically or mentally tough enough, or prepared for how difficult a Valley road game is."

In the non-conference, Wichita State plays Pitt in the CBE Classic at Kansas City. The other side of the bracket is Iowa and Texas. Texas Tech and TCU visit Wichita State. The Shockers play a return game at Cleveland State.

"At Winthrop, we were always on the road," Marshall said. "Here, you can get some home-and-homes and you can get some neutral-site games with some great teams. That's what we've been able to do."

Marshall had never been to Wichita before he came for his "recruiting visit." He wouldn't have taken the job without the feeling there was a great upside. With only one senior on this year's team, Marshall could restart his 20-win streak soon.

"Last year, we were 17-17 with all those newcomers," Marshall said. "The year before, we were 11-20. They gave me a contract extension this spring. Not too many people get contract extensions with nine games under .500. They see what we're putting together."

[kcshocker11]

I think frontcourt will be better than a C this year.

[SubGod22]

I think frontcourt will be better than a C this year.

I'd say the same thing about the bench/depth.

[WuDrWu]

I think frontcourt will be better than a C this year.

I'd say the same thing about the bench/depth.

Well if depth and frontcourt are C, then it's time to make Thursday night reservations again in St. Louis and there won't be any improvement on last year's .500 record.

[Overtime]

But still a fair assessment......The frontcourt is without a track record...Except JT....Come to think of it, The addition of Blair.....Who I think(hope) could be more effective than Ramon because of his size...pushes it to a solid B