Shocker WBB 2020-21 AAC Conference Games

[1972Shocker]

Shocks hosting 2nd place USF this evening. They gave USF all they could handle in a close loss on Tuesday.

Shocks off to a slow start only hitting 1 of their first 7 shots but Mariah gets going. She scored 10 in the 1st quarter and Asia added 4 and the Shocks defense shut down USF. Shocks lead 14-8 after 1 quarter in the books.

Been watching my grandson's high school game for the last couple of hours. Just now checking back in. I see the Shocks took a 30-19 lead at the end of the 1st half only to be outscored 28-16 in the 2nd half to lose 46-47 in what seems to have been an ugly basketball game or at least a game where both teams balled out on defense. In the 3rd quarter the Shockers held USF to just 9 points but they themselves only managed to score 2 points in the quarter.

USF hit a free throw with 1 second remaining to get the win. I guess I need to wath the replay to have any idea whether this was a legit foul call or not. Or if flyingMoose was at the game perhaps he can opine on that.

I see Mariah with 20 and Asia with 15 accounted for all but 11 of the Shocks 46 points. Ella Anciaux chipped in 4 points on 2-3 shooting. So Mariah, Asia and Ella scored 39 points on 15-32 from the field 6-7 from the free throw line. The other 6 Shockers that played only managed 7 points on 2-22 from the field and 3-4 from teh free throw line.

USF with a slight 43-41 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over 12 times to 15 for the Shocks. USF hurt themselves at the free throw line where they only managed to hit 11 of 22 shots.

[1972Shocker]

After watching the replay I would say some good defense and some poor shooting by both teams. As far as the last second foul call on Seraphine that allowed USF to score the winning point I would have to say a very questionable call that probably should not have been made especially in that circumstance.

[flyingMoose]

As far as the last second foul call on Seraphine that allowed USF to score the winning point I would have to say a very questionable call that probably should not have been made especially in that circumstance.

I was there, but I sit opposite the bench and nine or so rows up. So the play was at the other end and close to my sideline, and I had no look at it all. I was relying on what you might see on replay. I read Seraphine's reaction as either "How could I foul her in that circumstance?" or "How could he call a foul on that?" - it sounds like the latter. In any case, you can't get that close to the shooter on a forced shot from distance.The shooter is going to fall on the floor and try to draw the call if nothing else. Easy for me to say.

The Shockers spent the last several minutes of the game trying to get the ball to Mariah for a three on a pop-out from behind a screen or a drive to the basket. It never got a good shot.

[1972Shocker]

I was there, but I sit opposite the bench and nine or so rows up. So the play was at the other end and close to my sideline, and I had no look at it all. I was relying on what you might see on replay. I read Seraphine's reaction as either "How could I foul her in that circumstance?" or "How could he call a foul on that?" - it sounds like the latter. In any case, you can't get that close to the shooter on a forced shot from distance.The shooter is going to fall on the floor and try to draw the call if nothing else. Easy for me to say.

The Shockers spent the last several minutes of the game trying to get the ball to Mariah for a three on a pop-out from behind a screen or a drive to the basket. It never got a good shot,

I thought that 1) the contact was pretty incidental and was well after the shot was released and 2) what little contact there seemed to be was instigated as much by the shooter as it was by Seraphine. But your right. Since you weren't affecting the shot at all why even put the ref in a position to have to make a spontaneous decision one way or the other.

That 3rd quarter wasn't exactly wasn't exactly a promotional advertisement for women's basketball.

[1972Shocker]

The Shockers traveled to Tulsa today. The Shocks continue to play pretty decent defense but just can't generate consistent enough scoring to pull out wins as Tulsa pulls away late for a 61-49 win. The game was closer than that score would indicate. In fact, the Shocks led 45-44 with 7 minutes to play. But over the next 3 minutes Tulsa went on a 10-0 run and took control of the game at 54-45 with 3 minutes to play and then put the game away hitting 7-8 free throws down the stretch to put the game away.

Mariah McCully and Asia Strong have been leading the Shockers offensively lately and are the Shocks 2 leading scorers on the season. Mariah scored 23, 21 and 20 in her last 3 games. Asia scored 17, 7 and 15 in her last three games. However, Tulsa held them to 10 combined points on 15 shots.

Trajata Colbert pick up the slack with 19 points on 7-10 for the field and 5-6 from the line. However, Trajata offset that good work somewhat with 7 turnovers. Overall the Shockers turned it over 22 times to only 5 for Tulsa and that had a lot to do with Tulsa getting 13 more field goal attempts than the Shocks. Although the Shocks outrebounded Tulsa 44-28 but only 10-6 on the offensive boards. The Shocks had 6 second chance points to 2 for Tulsa but points of turnovers favored Tulsa 22-7. So a net 11 point advantage to Tulsa in a 12 point win. Neither team shot the ball particularly well.

Trajata did not get a whole lot of help on offense. The rest of the team was 11-39 (28.2%) from the field and 3-6 (50%) from the line.

The Shocks fall to 4-11 in AAC play and into a tie for 10th place (last place) with Cincinnati. The Shocks finish up the regular season at home against 3rd place Tulane who is 11-4 in AAC play and have won 11 of their last 12 AAC games with the only lose being 67-69 in Orlando to 1st place UCF. Cincinnati appears to be done for the season. A Shocker loss to Tulane, which would appear to be the most probable outcome, would put the Shocks in 11th place by their lonesome. With a win the Shockers might finish as high as 9th Whoopee!

BTW, the Shockers only suited up 11 players for this game. DJ McCarty did not play and I did not see her on the bench. She had played limited minutes the last couple of games after missing a month with an ankle/foot injury. I wonder if DJ may be done for the year. I believe Carla Budane was in street clothes and had some kind of brace/cast on her right hand. Carla has played very sparingly this year. Mariah McKInney, also a deep reserve, is no longer listed on the roster and, of course, Jayzee'lee Waihi left the team early on. Of the 11 players dressed 9 played. Tanya Patonova and Melissa Secchiaroli did not play.

[shoxlax]

It’s time to examine the results of this staff a little more seriously.

[Shockm]

It’s time to examine the results of this staff a little more seriously.

She makes more money than every WSU coach except for IB. How long does she need to win?

[1972Shocker]

It’s time to examine the results of this staff a little more seriously.

I think so, but not sure what the fan's and admininistration's expectations are for women's basketball other than to keep us Title IX compliant. Similar to Women's golf. The problem is I don't think we need to pay a head women's baskeball coach $350,000 per year or whatever HCKA is making to do that. So, at least when she was hired, I would think the expexctations are for more than just Title IX compliance.

I do wonder if the emphasis on recruiting international players is the way to go. So far it hasn't paid dividends IMO. In fact, outside of Seraphine Bastin we really have not had an impact player among HCKA's international recruits but we have had a lot of turnover. Carla Bremaud has played in and started a lot of games but I really don't view her as much than a role player. In her 4th year at WSU Carla, a shooting guard and designated 3-point speicalist, is averaging 4.5 PPG while hitting just 28.6% of her 3 point shots.

Here is the list of other international recuits for HCKA that haven't panned out:

Fanny Hakanson 5-8 Guard - Left after 2 years
Khade Sene 6-1 Forward - Left after 1 year
Alyssia Faye 6-2 Forward - Left after 2 years - Thought she might be able to help the team
Cesaria Ambrosio 6-0 Guard (Juco Transfer) - Played here 2 years and was a role player
Natalia Ryng 5-10 Forward - Left after 1 year
Vendella Danielsson 5-8 Guard - Left after 1 year
Ene Adams 6-1 Forward (Juco Transfer) - Left after 1 year
Carla Budane 6-0 Forward

Only Carla Budane is still on the Shocker and Carla plays very little.

This year's roster adds the following group of international players:
Jayzee'lee Waihi 5-8 Guard (Left the program before playing a game)
Melissa Sechiarolli 5-10 Forward (No longer on the 22-23 roster - apparently has left the program)
Nhug Bosch Duran 5-7 Guard
Tanya Platonova 5-7 Guard
Jane Asinde 6-1 Forward (Juco Transfer)

Jane Asinde had been a good addition for the Shocks. Nhug Bosch Duran has played more lately due mostly to injuries to teamates. So far Jane has been a very good addition. The juries out on the other three. Bosch Duran looks like she might be a decent shooter but she is also a pretty small guard by AAC standards. (Update: Melissa Sechiarolli no longer shown on the Shocker 22-23 roster)

Now perhaps HCKA is just using her abundance of scholarships, the women get 15, just as a way of bringing cultural diversty to her team. But is it worth it. It certainly hasn't contributed to winning.

A lot of D-1 women's head coaches don't use all their scholarships. Jody Adams usually limited her roster to 11-12 players.. She told me once its too hard to keep more than that happy. Gino Auremia at UConn also usually carries a smaller than allowed roster. His has 12 on his roster this year and I have seen it lower than that. Not sure I have ever seen it more than that. With the financial issues plaguing WSU I wonder if she might be asked to make do with 12 scholarships.

That's not to say HCKA hasn't had recruiting misses among U.S. based players either. But it's not an exact science. HCKA has had 7 of her U.S based recruits leave the program with eligibility remaining and I think it is fair to say that HCKA is a players coach. Plus the reason for those 7 players leaving are probably different for all 7.

The one area I think HCKA has been better at in recruiting than her predeccessors is rercruiting Juco talent. Perhaps that is due to her cutting her coaching teeth in the Juco ranks.

This year would have been the final year of HCKA's original contract but she was extended 2 years through June 30, 2024 back in 2019.

https://thesunflower.com/41171/sport...-through-2024/

According to this article:

“You have, literally, freshmen and sophomores in high school making decisions on where they’re going to play,” Boatright said. “You’re recruiting three or four classes down the road. … If you have a coaching transition, you’re going to have a lot of instability.”

As of now HCKA's win-loss records stands at 61-77 (.442) overall and 27-47 (.365) in conference play. 17 of the 61 wins were buy wins vs SWAC/MEAC level teams. Arguably, her best team may have been the senior laden team she inherited from Jody Adams. OTOH, once that team graduated she was looking at a total rebuild from the ground up.

Considering what she was stuck with after all of the inherited seniors left after her first year and with the negative impact of the Covid pandemic, although everyone has been in the same boat, perhaps the 2 year extension was not unreasonable.

In any case, I thought that this year, HCKA's 5th, it would be not be unreasonable for the program to show some real progress. Expectation weren't all that high as they were picked to finish 8th in the AAC in the preseason coaches' poll. I thought there was a good chance they might do better than this but it was hard to really tell early on as they played an extremely weak early schedule. The bottom line is that such progress did not happen.

I assume to replace HCKA at this point would require paying off the 2 remaining years of HCKA's extended contract. As a practical matter I would not think there is any appetitie to payoff HCKA to the tune of $700,000 for a sport that produces relatively little gate revenue which would unlikely change much over the next 2 years if HCKA was replaced. So if that is an accurate reading of the situation where does WSU go from here

First of all what do the next couple of year's looks like?

Assuming that all current year roster players with eligibility remaining the Shocks will only lose one player, Mariah McCully. However, IMO Mariah is the best offensive player on a team the tends to struggle on offense and she is also a very capable defender. One of the better, if not the best, athletes on the team. We do have what on paper seems like a pretty good core coming back (if all do come back) with Seraphine Bastin, Asia Strong, Jane Asinde, Trajata Colbert, DJ McCarty and Carla Bremaud. Shamaryah Duncan may be ready to step up in what will be her 3rd year next year. She has shown signs of that this year but is still very inconsistent. Unless, HCKA pulls a rabbit out of her recruiting class I don't see anyone repacing Mariah's skill and production. Keep in mind that this team with Maria is 13-15 overall (including buy wins of 3 SWAC teams plus Chicago State) and 4-11 in AAC play. Now how they do next year depends a lot on what other AAC teams or losing. (Update: Asia, Seraphine and Carla are all getting there degrees this year and moving on).

However, after next season for sure we lose Seraphine Bastin, Asia Strong, Trajata Colbert and Carla Bremaud. So a step backwards, beleive it or not will be a definite possibility in the final year of HCKA's current contract.

So do we just ride it out and then see what we can do with the revamped AAC with replacing UCF, Houston and Cincinnati with the 6 CUSA teams. Note that HCKA came to WSU from CUSA member UTEP.

I understand the issue with recruiting and lame duck coaches who are at the end of their contracts and ADDB is about in the same position he was when he extended HCKA presumably for recuiting reasons. So it will be interesting to see what if anything happens after this season as far another extension is concerned.

I can live with an exension if it is done in the right way. If ADDB does another extension he can do it for as long as he wishes if he gives himself an out. My opinion is to extend for 3 years with an immiediated reduction in base pay to $200,000 per year with reasonable annual COLA raises not to exceed 5%. More than fair for the performance we have been getting under HCKA for a sport that lacks much of a fan following. Load the contract up with meandingful incentives that allows HCKA to earn as much as $500,000 in a year for superlative performance (and that means not just beating up on SWAC/MEAC teams). Also, include a buyout that kicks it anytime after the June 30, 2024 year equal to one year's base pay.

Or you can just let the current contract ride of 2 more years and start over from scratch.

shoxlax, how is that for examining the state of the women's basketball program.

[WstateU]

I think so, but not sure what the fan's and admininistration's expectations are for women's basketball other than to keep us Title IX compliant. Similar to Women's golf. The problem is I don't think we need to pay a head women's baskeball coach $350,000 per year or whatever HCKA is making to do that. So, at least when she was hired, I would think the expexctations are for more than just Title IX compliance.

I do wonder if the emphasis on recruiting international players is the way to go. So far it hasn't paid dividends IMO. In fact, outside of Seraphine Bastin we really have not had an impact player among HCKA's international recruits but we have had a lot of turnover. Carla Bremaud has played in and started a lot of games but I really don't view her as much than a role player. In her 4th year at WSU Carla, a shooting guard and designated 3-point speicalist, is averaging 4.5 PPG while hitting just 28.6% of her 3 point shots.

Here is the list of other international recuits for HCKA that haven't panned out:

Fanny Hakanson 5-8 Guard - Left after 2 years
Khade Sene 6-1 Forward - Left after 1 year
Alyssia Faye 6-2 Forward - Left after 2 years - Thought she might be able to help the team
Cesaria Ambrosio 6-0 Guard (Juco Transfer) - Played her 2 years and was a role player
Natalia Ryng 5-10 Forward - Left after 1 year
Vendella Danielsson 5-8 Guard - Left after 1 year
Ene Admas 6-1 Forward (Juco Transfer)
Carla Budane 6-0 Forward - Left after 1 year

Only Carla Budane is still on the Shocker and Carla plays very little.

This year's roster adds the following group of international players:
Melissa Sechiarolli 5-10 Forward
Nhug Bosch Duran 5-7 Guard
Tanya Platonova 5-7 Guard
Jane Asinde 6-1 Forward (Juco Transfer)

Jane Asinde had been a good addition for the Shocks. Nhug Bosch Duran has played more lately due mostly to injuries to teamates. So far Jane has been a very good addition. The juries out on the other three. Bosch Duran looks like she might be a decent shooter but she is also a pretty small guard by AAC standards.

Now perhaps HCKA is just using her abundance of scholarships, the women get 15, just as a way of bringing cultural diversty to her team. But is it worth it. It certainly hasn't contributed to winning.

A lot of D-1 women's head coaches don't use all their scholarships. Jody Adams usually limited her roster to 11-12 players.. She told me once its too hard to keep more than that happy. Gino Auremia at UConn also usually carries a samller than allowed roster. His has 12 on his roster this year and I have seen it lower than that. Not sure I have ever seen it more than that. With the financial issues plaguing WSU I wonder if she might be asked to make do with 12 scholarships.

That's not to say HCKA hasn't had recruiting misses among U.S. based players either. But it's not an exact science. HCKA has had 7 of her U.S based recruits leave the program with eligibility remaining and I think it is fair to say that HCKA is a players coach. Plus the reason for those 7 players leaving are probably different for all 7.

The one area I think HCKA has been better at in recruiting than her predeccessors is rercruiting Juco talent. Perhaps that is due to her cutting her coaching teeth in the Juco ranks.

This year would have been the final year of HCKA's original contract but she was extended 2 years through June 30, 2024 back in 2019.

https://thesunflower.com/41171/sport...-through-2024/

According to this article:



As of now HCKA's win-loss records stands at 61-77 (.442) overall and 27-47 (.365) in conference play. 17 of the 61 wins were buy wins vs SWAC/MEAC level teams. Arguably, her best team may have been the senior laden team she inherited from Jody Adams. OTOH, once that team graduated she was looking at a total rebuild from the ground up.

Considering what she was stuck with after all of the inherited seniors left after her first year and with the negative impact of the Covid pandemic, although everyone has been in the same boat, perhaps the 2 year extension was not unreasonable.

In any case, I thought that this year, HCKA's 5th, it would be not be unreasonable for the program to show some real progress. Expectation weren't all that high as they were picked to finish 8th in the AAC in the preseason coaches' poll. I thought there was a good chance they might do this but it was hard to really tell early on as they played an extremely weak early schedule. The bottom line is that such progress did not happen.

I assume to replace HCKA at this point would require paying off the 2 remaining years of HCKA's extended contract. As a practical matter I would not think there is any appetitie to payoff HCKA to the tune of $700,000 for a sport that produces relatively little gate revenue which would unlikely change much over the next 2 years if HCKA was replaced. So if that is an accurate reading of the situation does WSU go from here

First of all what do the next couple of year's looks like?

Assuming that all current year roster players with eligibility remaining the Shocks will only lose one player, Mariah McCully. However, IMO Mariah is the best offensive player on a team the tends to struggle on offense and she is also a very capable defender. One of the better, if not the best, athletes on the team. We do have what on paper seems like a pretty good core coming back (if all do come back) with Seraphine Bastin, Asia Strong, Jane Asinde, Trajata Colbert, DJ McCarty and Carla Bremaud. Shamaryah Duncan may be ready to step up in what will be her 3rd year next year. She has shown signs of that this year but is still very inconsistent. Unless, HCKA pulls a rabbit out of her recruiting class I don't see anyone repacing Mariah's skill and production. Keep in mind that this team with Maria is 13-15 overall (including buy wins of 3 SWAC teams plus Chicago State) and 4-11 in AAC play. Now how they do next year depends a lot on what other AAC teams or losing.

However, after next season for sure we lose Seraphine Bastin, Asia Strong, Trajata Colbert and Carla Bremaud. So a step backwards, beleive it or not will be a definite possibility in the final year of HCKA's current contract.

So do we just ride it out and then see what we can do with the revamped AAC with replacing UCF, Houston and Cincinnati with the 6 CUSA teams. Note that HCKA came to WSU from CUSA member UTEP.

I understand the issue with recruiting and lame duck coaches who are at the end of their contractss and ADDB is about in the same position he was when he extended HCKA presumably for recuiting reasons. So it will be interesting to see what if anything happens after this season as far another extension is concerned.

I can live with an exension if it is done in the right way. If ADDB does another extension he can do it for as long as he wishes if he gives himself an out. My opinion is to extend for 3 years with an immiediated reduction in base pay to $200,000 per year with reasonable annual COLA raises not to exceed 5%. More than fair for the performance we have been getting under HCKA for a sport that lacks much of a fan following. Load the contract up with meandingful incentives that allows HCKA to earn as much as $500,000 in a year for superlative performance (and that means not just beating up on SWAC/MEAC teams). Also, include a buyout that kicks it anytime after the June 30, 2024 year equal to one year's base pay.

Or you can just let the current contract ride of 2 more years and start over from scratch.

shoxlax, how is that for examing the state of the women's basketball program.

Yipes Stripes Beechnut Gum!

[ShockerFever]

She makes more money than every WSU coach except for IB. How long does she need to win?

That is insane.

Another nice coach that was given a sweet contract and can’t win. Sound familiar?

[1972Shocker]

It’s time to examine the results of this staff a little more seriously.

Okay, I gave what I think is a thorough examination of the program under HCKA. I think it is pretty clear the progress and results are lacking and that we have not gotten our monies worth from this staff. Although I guess that is largely dependent on a person's expectations for women's basketball at WSU. However, if the results we have gotten meet you expectations we should be able to get those results at a much lower cost. However, the fact that they brought Keitha Adams in 5 years ago with a base salary of $315,000 plus benefits strongly suggests much higher expectations were in place at that time.

So where are we going and how do we get there? Too bad their are no easy answers to that question. And perhaps the answers are ones that Shocker fans really don't want to hear.

Whether or not you agree or disagree with how the Greg Marshall situation and its aftermath was handled the fact is that has greatly handcuffed and handicapped Wichita State athletics overall.

[flyingMoose]

I do wonder if the emphasis on recruiting international players is the way to go. So far it hasn't paid dividends IMO.

This was the modus operandi at UTEP. That is how now AHCEL got to the States I believe.

The USF coach relies on foreign nationals also - even more so. Virtually all of his contributors over the years have been Europeans. He must subscribe to a better scouting service. Plus, he *is* in Florida. :)

[1972Shocker]

This was the modus operandi at UTEP. That is how now AHCEL got to the States I believe.

The USF coach relies on foreign nationals also - even more so. Virtually all of his contributors over the years have been Europeans. He must subscribe to a better scouting service. Plus, he *is* in Florida. :)

Yes, I was aware of the heavy reliance on on foreign players by USF. Works pretty well for Coach Fernandez. As you say he must have a better pipeline or better connections.

i have nothing against international recruiting nor do I particularly favor recruiting U.S. players over international players. Go wherever you can find the best players. The scorecard on HCKA's international recruiting had been pretty poor IMO. I'm sure the culture shock involved with international players is a much greater challenge to deal with than with U.S. players. No doubt USF location is a big advantage for them.

One area where HCKA has probably done as good or better job recruiting than any previous Shocker regime has been in attracting pretty decent juco talent. Just on this year's team alone with have Mariah McCulley, Asia Strong and Jane Asinde.

[1972Shocker]

Shockers Host Tulane on Senior Night

Wichita State (13-15, 4-11) vs. Tulane (20-7, 11-4)
Wednesday, March 2, 2022 | 6:00 PM CT | Charles Koch Arena
ESPN+ | GoShockers.com/Listen | Statbroadcast.com

https://goshockers.com/news/2022/3/1...ior-night.aspx

The following did get my attention:

Four student-athletes will make their final appearance in Charles Koch Arena Wednesday night vs. Tulane as part of Senior Night. Seraphine Bastin, Carla Bremaud, Mariah McCully and Asia Strong will be honored following the game. All four have essentially been penciled in as starters since their arrival on campus. Bastin and Bremaud arrived four years, while McCully and Strong arrived after prolific junior college stints.

---

I knew Mariah McCully was moving on. However, it was my understanding that Seraphine, Carla and Asia all had 1 additional year of eligibility if they wanted it although Asia is listed on the roster as a senior while Seraphine and Carla are listed as juniors. But was we know class year's on rosters don't necessarily tell an accurate story as far as eligibility goes.

Note that Trajata Colbert came in at the same time as Seraphine and Carla and is also listed on the roster but is not participating in senior night so I assume she is coming back.

But if Seraphine, Carla and Asia are indeed finishing up there college careers that will move of the rebuild a year. Maybe not a total rebuild but the only players coming back next year (assuming no further defections or retirements) with any significant experience would be Trajata Colbert, Jane Asinde and DJ McCarty.and perhaps Shamaryah Duncan and Nhug Bosch Duran. Right now those 5 would be your starting lineup next year. Not necessarily horrible but nothing much behind them either.

[flyingMoose]

One area where HCKA has probably done as good or better job recruiting than any previous Shocker regime has been in attracting pretty decent juco talent. Just on this year's team alone with have Mariah McCulley, Asia Strong and Jane Asinde.

But I think that is actually a mild negative. It means freshmen were not recruited and developed, so you have to hit the Juco ranks hard.