Austin Reaves 6-5 g Is officially a Shocker!

[wufan]

I don't think I've seen any of the "wait and see" group ever come on here with an "I told you so" attitude. Taking a "wait and see" attitude does not mean that person is not optimistic.

I think there were/are some Conner Frankamp "wait and see" folks that love to discuss his short comings constantly.

[asiseeit]

I was probably the first to post on SN that everyone was getting overly excited on both TT and EH.
I noticed early on that despite TT's obvious talent he didn't have a PG's mentality and that EH's
problem was defense. Having said that I am enthusiastic about AR without seeing him play at
the D1 level yet. He also obviously has talent but from the few clips I've seen, his coaches comments
about his game, the fact his parents both played, GM's comments, etc all things point to him
having a very high BBIQ to go along with his raw talent. The two great guards we lost were also
both extremely smart players. I believe that we are well stacked with smart back court players
who can fill it up ( CF, LS and PA ) and that AR fits that description, as well. Only time will tell
but from what I have seen and heard about AR he has a complete game offensively. My only
question is what kind of defensive player he will be, but generally speaking, smart offensive
players are usually smart defensive ones also. I believe his verbal had a lot to do with TT's
decision to transfer as he knew we had another good guard coming in on top of what we already
have.

[pinstripers]

And Reaves could end up being our first one-and-done

[pie n eye]

If Hamiltons only problem is defense then I'm optimistic about his future. We all know coaches forte is defense.

[ShockdaWorld]

And Reaves could end up being our first one-and-done

Not trying to be a smartass here at all, and I think I'm pretty optimistic about his future, but do you really think one and done, or is my meter just off this morning? If you do, I'd like to know what makes you think that.

[im4wsu]

If Hamiltons only problem is defense then I'm optimistic about his future. We all know coaches forte is defense.

In his 4/5 position, defense is a lot more mental than physical. The high ball screen, for example, requires a "knack" of holding to that last split second which still allows adequate recovery to your own man. Switching from your man to "help" in the lane and not give up the easy basket to the man you left -- again a special "knack" of timing. In the team defense system of 3G, developing that timing probably requires many repetitions for all players, but for the kid who just used superior athletic ability in High School, may take significantly more reps.

I see the kind of per-minute stats in EH that I saw in Tevin Glass. It will be interesting to see how Glass does this coming year after sitting out 2015-16 at ETSU. I thought he could have contributed here had he stayed. Just had an instinct for rebounding and scoring, at least IMHO.

[Ashockalypse]

I will go on record as predicting that Austin will be another Shocker Superstar. Feel free to throw this in my face if I am wrong.

[choida]

I will go on record as predicting that Austin will be another Shocker Superstar. Feel free to throw this in my face if I am wrong.

I agree, has the it factor

[ShockerPrez]

Just whatever you do, don't mess around with Jim.

Unless you're Slim.

[1972Shocker]

And Reaves could end up being our first one-and-done

We've had plenty of one-and-done players. Ty Taylor being the most recent. I don't think Austin will fill that bill. I expect him to be here for 4, maybe 5, years.

You need to be a bit more optimistic.

[pinstripers]

I think he has a chance to be a multi-year starter.

[1972Shocker]

I think he has a chance to be a multi-year starter.

Very possible. I still see a possible redshirt next year primarily because I think he needs to build some strength. That would certainly enhance his career as a Shocker. OTOH, if he is just too good not to play next year then that is just a bonus.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I tend to be skeptical and generally take a"wait and see" approach on recruits. If anybody remembers GodShawGod from SIU around 10 years ago, that's the thing that encouraged me to not go overboard on recruits.

I remember.

[WSUwatcher]

We've had plenty of one-and-done players. Ty Taylor being the most recent.

Excellent point, 1972 -- there's more than one reason a player might only stay one year, and I'm not holding my breath waiting for WSU's first Kevin Durant or Andrew Wiggins. But Marshall and Co. have proven by now they can produce elite records without having a boatload of what the recruiting services would call "elite" talent, so no worries.

[Ricardo del Rio]

I don't think I've seen any of the "wait and see" group ever come on here with an "I told you so" attitude. Taking a "wait and see" attitude does not mean that person is not optimistic.

I'm actually ridiculously optimistic about Reaves, but I'm not going to name him an All-Valley player, or even a starter as a Soph or Jr until I see how his game works in a D1 environment. There are very, very many outstanding HS players who are never able to put their game into a successful D1 career at any level, let alone the level that WSU is at now.

How about new comer of the year?