Shocker Madness?

[ShockerFever]

Thanks for the early returns. Any idea on the attendance numbers?

[melcong4]

ksn just reported 3, 000.

pretty bad. it should be a party!!! that place should be filled. but for some reason...it seems like WSU doesn't want to make it a big deal.

oh well...it was fun to watch them and can't wait for the season.

[wufan]

Here's my player evaluations for the 12 minute scrimmage:

Ragland - quick, good passer, good shooter. He played under control and solid D. I thought he out played D Will, but D Will looked good too! First impression of Ragland is that he is a bigger, stronger, more athletic version of Clevin. I am glad he is here!

Williams - He looks a year older and a year stronger. The kid can REALLY jump. At first glance I thought it was Kyles the way he was leaping. Played solid. He also played with Rags at the end of the game. Joe gave him a couple of passes, both of which he mis-handled, however he did have a nice drive to the hoop. Don't remember if he made it. Also blocked EO from behind. It was impressive!

Murry - Forced some shots, and quite honestly looked a little over-matched on the drives, but our bigs were good!

Kyles - Didn't play. Don't know why.

Hatch - Didn't do much. Took a good three and missed it. How often have we seen that?

Smith - Didn't notice him much, but the guy can get up there! Had a good rebound or two, and rebounds were hard to come by for the under 6-8 crowd. He didn't do enough to make me think he will take Hatch's minutes, but based on these 12 minutes, I wouldn't start Murry either.

Durley - Had a nice three, and a pump fake that put EO way up in the air. He stepped around, but EO was too big. Not sure if he got fouled, but he played the steady game. He is not near as athletic as the other bigs, but he has all the moves and appears to be a wiley veteran.

Blair - Most impressive player I saw tonight. There were alot of guys that were athletic, and alot that played good basketball, but Blair grabbed alot of rebounds and made alot of shots. He was the one whos athleticism most translated to results on the court. He is quick, fast, strong, and his motor is ALWAYS going! It's going to be hard not to start him.

Stutz - Second most impressive player. He was a leader on the court. He blocked two or three shots, made a couple of lay-ups and grabbed some boards. He was strong with the ball and his feet were always in position. His hands have gotten stronger too. Good stuff!

Orukpe - Okay, so he's not going to start for this team, but WOW...The raw athletism just made me giddy! I thought Shaq from Blue Chips when I was watching warm ups. He had a quick drop step on Stutz and went straight to the hole with one power dribble. He's so damn big though that he ended up trying to go under the basket and that's where D Will stuffed him from the wing. I watched he and Stutz alot and Stutz got the better of him as his foot work is not as good, but he did post up well and get a good wide position on GS several times. The boy takes up space and man can he jump! EO also got the ball in the post and made a sweet back door pass to Ragland??? who put it in the basket. He tends to follow the ball with his hands and react with his upper body. Probably 3 or 4 fouls in the 8 minutes he played. He's "bigger" than Stutz (not taller) and far more athletic, but he doesn't play with the same basketball IQ. Needless to say, I am thrilled to have him coming off the bench.

Ellis - Played very well tonight. Long, athletic, and made shots. He can't create his own shot, but otherwise, nothing not to like about AE. Hopefully it translates.

Richardson - Played well and with in himself. He was poised and under control. Nothing much else to say as he was not heavily involved.

Walk-ons: suprising athletic.

Observations about the team:

Durley, Hatch, Stutz, and Murry were all business tonight. From the warm-ups till they left, they were working. They didn't get up for the good plays, they were just practicing and getting better for when it counts.

The big men dominated this scrimmage in a way I've not often seen in non-competition basketball. The ball went inside and post moves followed. The rebounds were swallowed up in the paint and big bodies boxed out all that dared enter. The court looked to small to hold so many giants.

Defense, defense, defense! Most of these scrimmages are loose show-boating events, but there was do or die defense being played. NO ONE wanted to get scored on and it was obvious. The best part was that guys were STILL able to get some shots off.

The guards were under control and worked to get it inside all night. We did not shoot well from distance. Ragland missed his only look (but he was 28 of 55 in the 3 point contest). His shot looked a little slow, but it's hard to know when he is unguarded. He made 8 in a row at one point.

This team has the depth, quickness, size, and athleticism to play with anyone in the country! We'll see if we can shoot and maintain poise when the pressure is on.

All in all, with the exception of Murry (I'm not worried), this team was better than should be expected.

Go Shox!

[1972Shocker]

I think there was substantially more than 3,000. 2,500 were in attendance at the Volleyball match and the Shocker Madness crowd far exceeded that.

I'm going to say in the 4,500 - 5,000 range.

Caveat: I'm not the world's greatest at estimating attendance.

[SoulStar]

Orukpe - Seems to have progressed from what I saw of him in JuCo last year, but still has a ways to go. Marshall took a 5-minute look at Stutz and Orukpe playing together. The two of them still couldn't keep Blair off the boards.

Anyone else notice that on the first possession that EO and Stutz were on the same team, EO mistakenly (or habitually) started to D-Up Stutz?

Stutz had to give him a "wake-up" shove before EO realized he was guarding his own teammate.

HCGM had a wry smirk on his face as if he realized that this "experiment" still needed some work :whistle:

[wufan]

I did see that! Stutz looked angry and I would say he gave EO more than just a wake up shove. I said it in my long post earlier, but Stutz was there to work, and he wasn't going to tolerate The Eclipse not paying attention every second.

[melcong4]

goshockers.com is reported apprx. 4, 500.... good estimate!!!

I think there was substantially more than 3,000. 2,500 were in attendance at the Volleyball match and the Shocker Madness crowd far exceeded that.

I'm going to say in the 4,500 - 5,000 range.

Caveat: I'm not the world's greatest at estimating attendance.

[shockerfan]

That step around dunk that Stutz did on Orupke made me smile..... :D Almost as if Stutz was saying...."wait your turn, I'm the 7 footer that matters most right now."


These boys are friggin HUGE!!! LOL Very obvious they hit the weights hard. I'm very encouraged and excited.

[wu_shizzle]

Video up on the Shocker Athletics Facebook page.

Link

[shockerfan]

Video up on the Shocker Athletics Facebook page.

Link

Ok, so it wasn't quite the "step around" dunk that I remembered. But he still made me smile how aggressive he went with Orupke on him.

Stutz was pretty aggressive all around tonight being just a scrimmage. Folks...he's gonna be pretty darn good this year. Hold on tight! :good:

[pogo]

I liked the way they had the womens team and the mens team every other person so it didn't put the fans or players in awkward situations by wanting only the mens autographs and ignoring the women. The volleyball team was there signing posters. The posters are beautiful and the players even after the match (chauvenistic comment follows) were still beautiful. I would publish their poster on every piece of news/sports release to the world to let the world know that talent and beauty is not mutually exclusive. :yes:

[Aargh]

Stutz changed shirts several times as the players changed teams. Upper body strength does not appear to be an issue this year.

[wsushox1]

Murry's Drive to the basket that was eventually tipped in by Stutz was a good drive. I trust that he will finish that in the season.

[griswald13]

Orukpe - Seems to have progressed from what I saw of him in JuCo last year, but still has a ways to go. Marshall took a 5-minute look at Stutz and Orukpe playing together. The two of them still couldn't keep Blair off the boards.

Anyone else notice that on the first possession that EO and Stutz were on the same team, EO mistakenly (or habitually) started to D-Up Stutz?

Stutz had to give him a "wake-up" shove before EO realized he was guarding his own teammate.

HCGM had a wry smirk on his face as if he realized that this "experiment" still needed some work :whistle:

I was sitting in the front row and Stutz screamed at him to get on JT a couple of times too.

[ShockerFever]

I hope TM isn't reading the press clippings too early.