Shocker Madness?

[WUs Your Daddy]

I'm about this close to creating a thread regarding the marketing department of our university. It has taken a serious hit and I think a lot of us are getting a bit t'ed by it. :-x

Just to clarify, the athletics department does it's own marketing, it does not use the university's marketing department.

[whatevershock]

I will have to agree with some posts on here. Shocker Madness was a DUD! This has always been an EVENT. It kicks off basketball season. Showcases both teams. Gets fans excited. If it were suppose to be just scrimmages, then it shouldn't be called Shocker Madness. WSU wants to be a big program but doesn't put the effort into this event like the other big schools do. Recruits do come to this event. WSU should showcase the atmosphere, the fun of its team, personalities, etc. I was very disappointed to come to this event. 12 minute scrimmages...that's it! Very boring. I understand the teams are tired from practicing earlier in the day, that is why this event is suppose to be fun and exciting. I know some of the fans want to see what we have and the skills of the players...you aren't going to see that in a 12 minute scrimmage...even though some of you can really critique a team in that time. HCGM ought to hire you as scouts. Very disappointed in this event.

[wufan]

None of us can predict a season based on 12 minutes. I think everyone was quite clear that the sample size was not big enough to be an accurate assessment.

[1972Shocker]

Evan Wessel was in attendance. I guess he is still technically a recruit since he has not signed an LOI yet.

Any other recruits in attendance that anyone knows of?

[1972Shocker]

None of us can predict a season based on 12 minutes. I think everyone was quite clear that the sample size was not big enough to be an accurate assessment.

It's not only the sample size but the quality of the sampling that counts.
The sample that I am looking forward to and that will give us a good feel for what we have will be the Maui Classic.

As far as the content of Shocker Madness my guess is the two head coaches have a large say into what kind of production they want (again just a guess).

[Aargh]

The women had a recruit from Oklahoma on an unofficial visit with her parents.

[Bigshotmaker]

I asked one of the guys at the Cancer Walk who would be in the dunk contest and they said there would be no contest. I did not press the issue. Now that I think about it I'm not sure I saw DK at the Cancer Walk. I'm wondering if this was a mandatory team event that DK bugged out on. It is possible that he was there and I just did not see him. Aargh was taking quite a few pictures. Maybe he can say whether or not he saw DK at the event.

Regarding David Kyles the following was HCGM's comment in today's Eagle write-up:

"I wanted to send a little message to him," Marshall said. "David needs a lot of messages. He needs e-mail, voicemail, text. He actually was dying to participate tonight. He would love to be out here and doing this. He needs to take care of all the rest of the things that are important to me off the court."

Read more: http://www.kansas.com/2010/10/17/154...#ixzz12cdRBvyJ

Sure hope this talented young man finally gets the message. I think he probably will.

Competition brings out the best and the worst in people.If you love competition this is the type of team you want to be a part.GM has been trying for 3 yrs to create the kind of atmosphere where the talent level dictate how hard players work for playing time because the talent is equal.The message sent by GM was not only to DK but to the whole team.Non-basketball sounds like a missed class or studyhall and is deemed unacceptable.I love the Marshall plan,no room for slip-ups on or off the court.Go shockers.

[rjl]

I'm a fairly die-hard fan, but the low production values are why I haven't made the trip back to Wichita to watch Shocker Madness the last two years.

If they put a modicum of effort to entertainment or production, or at least gave the fans something more than a 12 minute scrimmage, I might be inspired to put forth effort of my own.

But when they treat it like an afterthought, I do too.

[ShockerFever]

Thanks for the reports and input on the event.

The Good:
It's nice hearing about the potential and the depth. Also, it sounds like our guys are ripped and could be stacked into a BCS conference without notice.

The Bad:
DK better get his head in check because this is beginning to become a major nuisance. I was hoping the BS from last year would have woke him up but apparently not. Let's hope he gets the message indeed.

It sounded like I didn't miss much other than the scrimmage. The athletic department should use our team's hype and potential as a catalyst for getting a lot of people out there. But I guess that fell short. I'm just not getting good vibes from the athletic/marketing department. It's one thing if you're a perennial bottom feeder but this is a big time program with big time potential and it seems like their wasting those opportunities to draw out fans who normally wouldn't be able to see the team in these settings.

:roll:

[wu_shizzle]

Yes, I think last night was kind of a dud. I like the open practice idea also.

I don't know how much an event like this plays into recruiting but if it does have an impact they should make it an event.

I would love to see an entertaining show done with creativity and some dollars spent on production. My guess is money is this reason this doesn't happen.

My second choice would be an open practice where HCGM is miked up and the crowd gets a "behind the scenes" look at the complexity of high level basketball. An hour of practice and scrimmage with HCGM as MC and interviews with players would be a lot of fun and cost nothing.

[another shocker]

One objective critique I would give of Kyles is that he seems to get too 'happy' when he does something well, and then he gets way too down when he makes a mistake.. 'kind of hangs his head.. creating inconsistency in his game. So, I think he needs to get that mental focus part of his game together at this level. Maybe reading a John Wooden book would help him, really, as Coach Wooden expertly addresses that very type of thing almost constantly.

[Snapshot9]

I just have a few scattered comments to add:

I think Ragland will start, and DWill will relieve him. Ragland brings the same feel and control to the team as Hannah did. DWill is good too, but the team seems more poised with Ragland.

Ben Smitth can definitely shoot better than he did last night. I watched last summer practice and scrimmage. He can hit the 3. Probably was a little excited last night.

One thing I want to point out, is that coach has to balance offensive and defensive strength on both lines. You can't have all your go-getters and scorers on the first line, and end up having holes in the 2nd line.

Wufan - You left out Hatch in your lineups. And I don't think the season will start with Durley and Stutz playing on the same line. Coach is going to want an experienced 5 man on each line, especially for Maui. I just see EO getting foul or mop-up moments.

The south parking lot bordering Hillside had a Big RV out there, hi-dollar,
4 slide-outs on it, a Ventana RV, from Oklahoma.

It did not look like more than 4,000 there last night at most.

I was somewhat disappointed with the festivities. Looked like someone put it together at the last moment.

[ShoxFan963]

Ben Smitth can definitely shoot better than he did last night. I watched last summer practice and scrimmage. He can hit the 3. Probably was a little excited last night.

It looked like everyone was fatigued from an early practice and maybe some lifting. It definitely showed in the 3-point contest.

One thing I want to point out, is that coach has to balance offensive and defensive strength on both lines. You can't have all your go-getters and scorers on the first line, and end up having holes in the 2nd line.

It's not like anyone is a liability on defense. Maybe DK or the newcomers? Although they have shown flashes of ability.

I was somewhat disappointed with the festivities. Looked like someone put it together at the last moment.

I was also disappointed, compared to last year. Last year, they brought the players in by limo onto a red carpet with the house lights down. Nothing like that this year. Plus, the cancellation of the dunk contest.

[wufan]

I didn't leave Hatch out. That was wudrwu. He later corrected it.

I agree about not putting all your scorers out at once, however, if we start our polished hustlers and bring the athletes off the bench, it may be a real punch in the mouth.

SI ranked it's top front courts this year. Michigan St was in the top 16. KU and KSU were 5 and 4 respectively. They're good, but look at their size and stats and tell me if it scares you?

[shockall]

1. I was disappointed in the crowd size. I think the 4500 estimate was overstated. Shame on the fans for not showing up to support the team.

2. I can't make up a starting five because I saw so little of everyone. A winning team will need to be strong at the end of the game, not in the amount of time shown last night. I also haven't seen the competition to see how they have changed over the off season. Preseason polls are often gauged off of the previous year and what remains, and doesn't take into account all the additions, because no one has seen the affects of the additions.

3. Hopefully, we will be at the top at the end of the season, or close enough to make the post-season.