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  • Why the Shox will be better than anyone thinks

    What a good basketball team needs (and why the 07-08 Shox will be better than anybody thinks)

    1. A Team Leader - A good team MUST have an alpha dog, somebody who takes personal responsibility for the team on the floor and off, gets after them when they're soft, praises them when they're on, and takes the brunt for the mistakes with the media. As good as P.J. is as a player, the real leader of this team is Matt Braeuer. Both in the locker room, and on the floor, Matt takes care of business for the good of the team.

    2. A Superstar - This is where P.J. fits in. Where Matt is the team leader, P.J. is the day-in, day-out star that opponents have to worry about. Matt hits big 3's to fire up the team, but P.J. does WHATEVER he needs to for the team. 20 points? Done. 14 boards? Done. Half-a-dozen assists? Got 'em. Blocking some rat-faced Blue-Pigeon to ice a game, been there, done that, have it on YouTube.

    3. Boards - It's a simple mathematical relationship: If you get more shots than your opponent, you have more chances to score, and thus for teams with identical shooting percentages, the better rebounding team WILL win. We have won the rebounding war in every game we've played this year, and now that our shooting percentage is heading north into normal territory, that is turning into W's. Ramon, in particular, is a beast on the boards who is playing the Dennis Rodman/Charles Barkley/Rebounding Forward role for us well.

    4. Defense - In the last two games we have shut down the other team's best scorer. Other than the few breakdowns that are bound to happen over the course of any 40-minute game, the Shox have been fantastic on defense. Moreover, there really isn't a player on the team you can point to and call a defensive liability. Everybody is playing in the system and playing well. Some are naturally better defenders than others, but the system is working well for everybody.

    5. Scoring - Of all the players that get significant minutes, the only one who may not be a legitimate scoring threat is Wendell, and he may prove that wrong yet. Everybody else is a legitimate threat to score anywhere on the floor. Gal can drive and shoot the 3. So can Matt. P.J. can apparently even score from Maize (which is where he was he launched that 3 against Wyoming). Ellis, Griskenas, Durley, and even Phil are all legit inside-outside threats. As we saw Saturday, Gal can have an off night shooting and we can still win by double digits. Also, not many people have mentioned this, but we scored 75 points against Wyoming, and we did it shooting under 50%. This team can score.

    6. Toughness - As big a difference as the up-tempo style may make, the one thing Coach Marshall brings to the table is a culture of mental toughness. Even when Wyoming was surging on Saturday, it never felt like the game was getting out of control. Gal had a bad shooting night, Aaron had a bad night offensively, P.J. fouled out, and we won by 12. People are stepping up and making plays when they need to, and they're making ADJUSTMENTS when they need to. Just by virtue of the mental toughness, I think this team will go deeper into the Valley tournament than in recent years.

    Put all of this together and you have a team that is a legitimate threat to win the Valley right now, and that's playing effectively down 2 people. Add an effective Butler and/or Orukpe to the team, and that threat just gets bigger.

    Thoughts?

    :clap: :wsu_posters: :yahoo: :clap:

  • #2
    Anyone think we'll land an all american in the next 5 years?

    Comment


    • #3
      We should have a better idea half way through the Valley schedule...

      Until then... one game at a time....this team has a lot of work to do to get their potential ='ing their performance.

      :goshocks:
      Kansas is Flat. The Earth is Not!!

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by jocoshock
        We should have a better idea half way through the Valley schedule...

        Until then... one game at a time....this team has a lot of work to do to get their potential ='ing their performance.

        :goshocks:
        Yep.

        Comment


        • #5
          The days of the All American at WSU is over.

          Comment


          • #6
            There are some things to like about this team. I like our starting guards (PJ, Matt and Gal). I like the shooting ability of all five starters. I like the speed of our frontcourt starters (Clemente and Phil). I like the instant offense off the bench from Durley.

            I think there are also going to be times when we're exposed this year in games that we won't match up well. Teams with a skilled true post player will hurt us due to our lack of size and depth. Teams with real guard depth can hurt us (Matt and Gal have been averaging a lot of minutes). Teams that are good at keeping the pace of the game slow will stop our transition game, which has been the source of our best offense.

            I'm still on board that with the team we have now that we can win around 17 games and be playing our best ball going in to the MVC tournament. There are some unknowns that could drastically change our season:

            Orupke arrives and can contribute 15 minutes plus of shot changing defense and at least demand respect on the block. (+ 2-3 wins).

            Griskenas finds his offense and speeds up on defense. (+ 1 win).

            Ellis finds his rhythm and can go for 10 points off the bench toward the end of the season. (+1 win).

            Any of the players getting more than 15 minutes a game miss more than two games. (- .75 wins per game over two).

            Couisnard misses any game. (-.75 wins per game).

            Those are my predictions based on the basketball I've seen this year.
            Wichita State, home of the All-Americans.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Why the Shox will be better than anyone thinks

              Originally posted by HockeyShock
              What a good basketball team needs (and why the 07-08 Shox will be better than anybody thinks)

              1. A Team Leader - A good team MUST have an alpha dog, somebody who takes personal responsibility for the team on the floor and off, gets after them when they're soft, praises them when they're on, and takes the brunt for the mistakes with the media. As good as P.J. is as a player, the real leader of this team is Matt Braeuer. Both in the locker room, and on the floor, Matt takes care of business for the good of the team.

              2. A Superstar - This is where P.J. fits in. Where Matt is the team leader, P.J. is the day-in, day-out star that opponents have to worry about. Matt hits big 3's to fire up the team, but P.J. does WHATEVER he needs to for the team. 20 points? Done. 14 boards? Done. Half-a-dozen assists? Got 'em. Blocking some rat-faced Blue-Pigeon to ice a game, been there, done that, have it on YouTube.

              3. Boards - It's a simple mathematical relationship: If you get more shots than your opponent, you have more chances to score, and thus for teams with identical shooting percentages, the better rebounding team WILL win. We have won the rebounding war in every game we've played this year, and now that our shooting percentage is heading north into normal territory, that is turning into W's. Ramon, in particular, is a beast on the boards who is playing the Dennis Rodman/Charles Barkley/Rebounding Forward role for us well.

              4. Defense - In the last two games we have shut down the other team's best scorer. Other than the few breakdowns that are bound to happen over the course of any 40-minute game, the Shox have been fantastic on defense. Moreover, there really isn't a player on the team you can point to and call a defensive liability. Everybody is playing in the system and playing well. Some are naturally better defenders than others, but the system is working well for everybody.

              5. Scoring - Of all the players that get significant minutes, the only one who may not be a legitimate scoring threat is Wendell, and he may prove that wrong yet. Everybody else is a legitimate threat to score anywhere on the floor. Gal can drive and shoot the 3. So can Matt. P.J. can apparently even score from Maize (which is where he was he launched that 3 against Wyoming). Ellis, Griskenas, Durley, and even Phil are all legit inside-outside threats. As we saw Saturday, Gal can have an off night shooting and we can still win by double digits. Also, not many people have mentioned this, but we scored 75 points against Wyoming, and we did it shooting under 50%. This team can score.

              6. Toughness - As big a difference as the up-tempo style may make, the one thing Coach Marshall brings to the table is a culture of mental toughness. Even when Wyoming was surging on Saturday, it never felt like the game was getting out of control. Gal had a bad shooting night, Aaron had a bad night offensively, P.J. fouled out, and we won by 12. People are stepping up and making plays when they need to, and they're making ADJUSTMENTS when they need to. Just by virtue of the mental toughness, I think this team will go deeper into the Valley tournament than in recent years.

              Put all of this together and you have a team that is a legitimate threat to win the Valley right now, and that's playing effectively down 2 people. Add an effective Butler and/or Orukpe to the team, and that threat just gets bigger.

              Thoughts?

              :clap: :wsu_posters: :yahoo: :clap:
              you have THE BLOCK on youtube? WHats the address?
              ________
              Obesity Forums
              http://youtube.com/watch?v=XTOEV6f7jB4

              Comment


              • #8
                HS, Thanks for your insights and thoughts. Even without EO (we still don't know), my take on this stays pretty much the same. The Shocks could win 21 or more games overall, I think a top 3 finish in the Valley, and I am still picking them to win our first Valley Tourney in a long, long, long time. Most magazines and forecasters pick us 6-8th. I believe firmly that we will do better than that and improve from last year both in the Valley and overall. However, being real, we must understand that we will have some tough losses along the way along with some upset wins.

                Reply # 7---yeehaaaaaaa!!!!!!! :bball_spin: :shock: :bow: :goshocks: :drum: :poster_cooz: :yahoo:
                Shocker basketball will forever be my favorite team in all of sports.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by JohnDorian
                  Anyone think we'll land an all american in the next 5 years?
                  Not unless he is from the immediate Wichita area such as Antoine, Papke, Sherrod, Maurice Evans etc.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by ABC
                    Originally posted by JohnDorian
                    Anyone think we'll land an all american in the next 5 years?
                    Not unless he is from the immediate Wichita area such as Antoine, Papke, Sherrod, Maurice Evans etc.

                    Is Chedda an All American candidate? There is a slight chance we could land him!
                    I have come here to chew bubblegum and kickass ... and I'm all out of bubblegum.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      you have THE BLOCK on youtube? WHats the address?


                      It's obviously video from a cell phone and turn the sound off, but it's there. (I didn't put it on, I just found it.)

                      :clap: :wsu_posters: :yahoo: :clap:

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        That Shot (block) by PJ, was The Shot (block), that was heard around the basketball world!!!!!!! :poster_cooz:
                        Shocker basketball will forever be my favorite team in all of sports.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by JohnDorian
                          Anyone think we'll land an all american in the next 5 years?

                          Does the X-man, Cliff or Antoine have a kid old enough to sign yet?

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Originally posted by wushock
                            The days of the All American at WSU is over.
                            I disagree. We most likely will not get a high school AA in the near future, because those kids can choose just about any school in the country. However, just about every year there is a player overlooked coming out of high school that ends up being a collegiate AA, such as Adam Morrison or Nick Fazekas. We could very well end up with one of these kids. Admittedly, the odds are long, but I think it is a mistake to say never. If Stutz is as skilled as advertised, he could end up being another Fazekas.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              HS – interesting and optimistic post and I agree with most of what you wrote.
                              (1) You are correct in pointing out that the team leader right now is MB but I see Clemente also stepping in this year. Generally, I have been pretty hard on MB but I can't argue with the results I see on the court this year.
                              (2) I don't know if I would call PJ a "superstar". He is the team's best and most versatile player – the one player they cannot do without this year. But is PJ a "superstar"? The jury is still out on that one. In my mind "superstars" get their jersey hung in the rafters at Koch and PJ doesn't belong in that company, yet.
                              (3) The rebounding has been good. The players are blocking out and aggressively going to the glass. It will be all about effort for this team and so far they get a gold star. This needs to continue because they will continue to be a bit undersized.
                              (4) The defense has been good. However, it can and I think it will get better. Much of this has to do with CGM and the effort he demands of his players.
                              (5) Even when the team was having issues in the scoring department, I was not that worried because this area was one of the biggest adjustments the team would have to make. Preadom needs to contribute in this department to help out Gal, PJ and MB. I was told by a friend who was at the Wyoming game that CGM actually pulled WP for passing on an open 3. This must be confusing for poor WP after three years of being pulled for shooting. I am glad that CGM did this because I hope it will help with Preadom's confidence. Also, from what I am told they need to execute better in half court sets. As Big Balla pointed out a team that plays a deliberate game could cause problems.
                              (6) Toughness/attitude to me is the biggest and most important difference with this team. Turgeon's team last year was not that mentally tough for some reason. With CGM – it doesn't seem to be an option. The biggest test will be road games especially in conference play. I will reserve judgment regarding how tough this team is until they start playing those games.

                              Comment

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