Newman at WSU, Day After

15 hours and 35 minutes ago

The changing lineups and absence of senior guard Clevin Hannah make it difficult to draw too many conclusions from WSU’s 81-69 exhibition win over NCAA Division II Newman on Saturday. The Shockers didn’t do anything to change preseason predictions. They looked good at times. They struggled at times, as 19 turnovers show. Things will look different when coach Gregg Marshall can limit his rotation to fewer players.

  • Let’s start with 81 points. Last season, WSU passed 80 points once. The Shockers made only five three-pointers. They made 16 of 18 free throws. They shot 50.8 percent from the field. That’s a solid offensive night for a team that needs to score more points. And they did it without Hannah, their leading returning scorer.
  • Graham Hatch made 3 of 5 three-pointers. Last season, Hatch did everything but shoot well (16 of 61 from three). He works harder than any Shocker, so it must be great for him to see that work pay off, even if it’s just one night. Hatch made three threes in last season’s opener and then didn’t make more than one in a game until the MVC Tournament. Good start for an important part of the lineup.
  • David Kyles played the game in a disturbingly nonchalant manner. He’s got a chance to be a big part of this team. He needs to be more locked in than he was on Saturday, especially on defense.
  • Kyles wasn’t alone in defensive shortcomings. The Newman guards dribbled past the Shocker guards numerous times for shots in the lane, especially in the first half. WSU gave up 69 points, too many for that situation.

“Our guards were a little tenative defensively,”  Marshall said. “Their guards certainly didn’ t fear our guards.”

  • Freshman Demetric Williams impressed Marshall. He did enough to make a case for playing time as a backup point guard. He made 4 of 7 shots and scored 11 points.
  • J.T. Durley did some admirable dirty work with nine rebounds and taking three charges.
  • It bothered me that WSU didn’t exploit its size advantage in the second half when things got close. It didn’t seem as if the big men got enough touches during the final 10 minutes or so.
  • Garrett Stutz, like Hatch, started the season with a big boost of confidence. He made 6 of 7 shots for 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds. His dunks showed his work in the weight room is paying off. He still has work to do on his mobility and strength, but he is improving.
  • WSU expects to know something about Hannah’s status this week. Marshall said that doesn’t mean he will play in Sunday’s opener against Fairleigh Dickinson. Marshall and AD Eric Sexton say Hannah isn’t in danger of missing the season. Reading between the lines, that seems to indicate a short suspension is a possibility. If it’s more than two games, it’s a problem. WSU needs Hannah for CBE Classic games in Kansas City against Pitt and Texas or Iowa. Losing Hannah for those games because of a “paperwork” problem would be a major downer.
  • Holding out on the Hannah information until after Saturday’s game seems like a strange move. It took the focus off the game, which should have been a feel-good moment for both schools. Instead of talking about the game, people are talking about Hannah’s plight. That could have been avoided. Why make your fans sit through the game wondering when it’s not necessary?
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Newman at Wichita State

Yesterday6:25 p.m.

Wichita State put out a release after the game stating that senior guard Clevin Hannah is out while WSU resolves “an administrative matter concerning the certification of his amateur status” with the NCAA. WSU athletic director Eric Sexton and WSU coach Gregg Marshall said he believes the matter will be resolved this week, which doesn’t necessarily mean Hannah will play in Sunday’s season-opener. WSU expects Hannah to play at some point this season.

“Clevin didn’t do anything wrong – it’s paperwork,” Marshall said. “We didn’t dot the I’s and cross the T’s. We’ll hopefully have him back as soon as possible.”

Sexton said Hannah’s situation would not affect last season’s record. WSU is also reviewing the status of baseball player Taylor Gilmore.

WSU 81, Newman 69 – Final

WSU 74, Newman 65 (1:50) – Murry with eight straight points before Hatch’s layup on a press-breaker.

WSU 70, Newman 61 (3:16) - Newman’s Chip Steven has 13 to lead all scorers.

WSU 64, Newman 50 (7:33) – Murry makes a great hustle play, tracking down his miss, to produce a three by Kyles.

WSU 61, Newman 50 (8:25) – Jets keep it close with threes.

WSU 58, Newman 41 (11:43) - Manigault with two nice plays – a pass to Blair for a basket and a runner in the lane.

WSU 50, Newman 34 (15:46 remaining in the game) - Williams leads all scorers with 10 points. WSU on an 11-4 run after halftime.

Williams starts the second half for WSU.

WSU 39, Newman 28 – Halftime. WSU is shooting 47.1 percent from the floor, 25 percent from three. Stutz leads WSU with eight points. Any negative should be looked in light of the changing lineups Marshall used. Ten turnovers is a problem. Newman got way too many layups and shots in the lane. In all, however, Marshall is getting a look at a lot of players, his main goal.

WSU 37, Newman 25 (2:59) - Demetric Williams has scored seven of WSU’s past nine points. Then he gave up a layup. Freshman.

WSU 26, Newman 16 (7:19) - WSU is pressing every chance it gets, with varied results. Murry and Hatch lead the Shockers with six points. Mathews has five for the Jets.

WSU 21, Newman 11 (10:14) - Shockers going with four freshmen and Stutz. The pace is slowing. Veterans coming back.

WSU 19, Newman 8 (12:44) – Stutz with six straight points, two on dunks. Timeout Jets.

WSU 11, Newman 6, 14:34 remaining – Still no Hannah. Demetric Williams is checking in to play point, so Clevin is deep in the bench for some reason. Could be just to let other people play, although that seems unlikely. Could be something else. Newman is getting to the basket easily against WSU’s defense, although not scoring.

New “Iron Man” intro video seemed well-received by the fans. It was time to update it. Looked good. New intro video also. Can’t go wrong with The Edge and black-and-white photos of Dave Stallworth. Fans seemed to like it.

Shocker starters - Ellis, Hatch, Murry, Kyles, Durley. No Clevin Hannah. I don’t know why. He is in uniform and warmed up. Jets – Darby, Steven, Mathews, Berry, Northington.

City championship on the line tonight (with apologies to Friends University). I guess we will call the City NCAA title game.

No Mason Felter for the Shockers. He said he is academically ineligible for the first semester.  Too bad. This is the kind of game WSU could use Felter. There are several games this semester that Mason would probably get a chance.

Moving ahead, WSU will stir up some old memories with its celebration of MTXE night on Jan. 3 against Bradley. The Shockers will wear the old uniforms from the early 1980s with MTXE and the old-style WuShock (the best WSU uniform  look by a large margin. It should be the look every season). Some old coaches and players will return. WSU is preparing a list. It expects some big names to return. More details to come.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Season preview HQ

Yesterday3:53 p.m.

You can read The Wichita Eagle’s basketball style section here.

Previews from other places

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Bad news in Terredise

Tuesday9:19 a.m.
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball, MVC | Comments (0)

Scrimmage with Kansas State

Monday11:17 a.m.

After last fall’s scrimmage against Kansas State, Wichita State basketball coach Gregg Marshall said his team needed to play with more urgency. He liked the experience, but his team didn’t play well.

The Shockers are a year older, and Marshall is much more upbeat after Sunday’s rematch with the Wildcats at Koch Arena. The teams practiced for around four hours, doing both situational, controlled work and scrimmages. The scrimmages were closed by NCAA rule and coaches are not allowed to reveal scores or statistics.

“It’s a much better starting point,” Marshall said. “We’ve gotten better as a basketball team from a year ago.”

Anybody who watches Kansas State knows the Wildcats play a physical, aggressive style of basketball. Marshall said he thought his team handled K-State’s muscle.

“We were able to compete with big, strong, aggressive athletes and not back down,” he said. “We were able to go against a team that is well-coached and do our thing.”

In a recurring theme, WSU junior Graham Hatch stood out in Marshall’s mind. Hatch has always hustled. More encouraging is his good shooting day.

“He’s right in the middle of the fray,” Marshall said. “He will mix it up.”

WSU will not practice on Monday, although the players will look at some film from the scrimmage. David Kyles, out with a sprained left ankle, did not scrimmage. Preparation begins Tuesday for Saturday’s exhibition game against Newman. WSU opens the season on Nov. 15 against Farleigh Dickinson.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (2)

MVC basketball exhibition openers

Oct. 31, 20097:06 p.m.

Southern Illinois wins big over Henderson State. Wichitan Jack Crowder scored 12 points in 17 minutes. Tony Freeman started and scored six points in 22 minutes.

Evansville handles Hanover. Northern Iowa over Upper Iowa.

Bradley was supposed to scrimmage DePaul today. Drake and UMKC also supposed to practice behind closed doors.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball, MVC | Comments (0)

Real refs mean real basketball

Oct. 30, 20096:40 p.m.

Wichita State scrimmaged on Friday afternoon, playing four periods of officiated basketball. Predictably, coach Gregg Marshall saw a little of everything. Graham Hatch and Clevin Hannah played very well. The freshmen made freshmen mistakes. Marshall preferred a little more defense from almost everybody.

“We had some guys that didn’t play particularly well, and we have some guys who have no clue what we’re doing,” Marshall said. “But that’s why you do it.”

Hatch made shots, rebounded and hustled.He was the player who stood out, both for his effort and effectiveness.  Hannah, Marshall pointed out, enjoys playing against rookie guards. He makes it difficult on Kenny Manigault and Demetric Williams. They sometimes struggled to bring the ball up court. Hannah seemed to get a shot – from deep or in the lane – whenever he wanted. Walk-on Derek Brown contributed a lot for a guy who joined the team two weeks ago. He is a good shooter and looked like he picked up the system quickly.

“I thought Graham Hatch was tremendous, Marshall said. “I thought Clevin Hannah was very good. I thought J.T. Durley was very good offensively. But he would have never scored like he did throughout the course of the scrimmage in a real game because he would have been on the bench with three fouls because of his defense. We’ve got a number of guys like right now. (Toure) Murry is a little like that. Murry’s more worried about the offensive end than he is the defensive end.”

  • My choices for starting lineup if the season started today: Hatch, Hannah, Murry, Durley and Aaron Ellis. Ellis is playing well. Marshall called him WSU’s best screener and post defender. Gabe Blair, who will push Ellis for playing time, is still learning the system and he’s a little banged up. He’s not quite as bouncy as he was last season.
  • David Kyles didn’t practice due to a sprained left ankle. Marshall isn’t sure if he will play in Sunday’s scrimmage against Kansas State.
  • A few highlights: Garrett Stutz took a pass at the free-throw line and looked defended for an instant. Then he turned into the lane, dribbled and swished a pretty running shot. Manigault hit one of the big men (can’t remember who) with a precise no-look pass for a layup. Manigault was bottled up on offense most of the scrimmage, until he used his speed to get into the lane for a layup. Hatch made several threes. Durley scored against Stutz with that up-and-under move he uses so well.
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Fall baseball flow

Oct. 29, 200910:24 p.m.

Wichita State wrapped up its fall baseball series on Wednesday. Gold players will serve steak to Black players during the annual post-fall dinner. Winter field preparation used to be part of the losing burden. I’m not sure who much prep work remains with the new turf.

The biggest news of the fall concerns two pitchers who barely touched the mound this fall. Tyler Fleming had surgery to clean up scar tissue in his right shoulder on Monday. The labrum and rotator cuff look good. Pitching coach Brent Kemnitz says there is a chance Fleming could be 100 percent by December and on track to throw this spring. Grant Muncrief, who had Tommy John surgery in April, looks good throwing bullpens. He could be ready by late February. The coaches had largely written him off for this season. Apparently, aggressive rehab this summer in Wichita is putting Muncrief on the fast track. Recovery is usually 10-12 months after surgery and he will be at 10 months in February. Logan Hoch, who also missed last season with shoulder surgery, threw this fall and expects to be full strength this spring.

Any one of those three helps WSU’s bullpen. If two or three are back and effective, the bullpen is in great shape.

“A lot hinges on the health of Logan Hoch, Grant Muncrief and Tyler Fleming,” Kemnitz said. “If you throw them in the mix, our depth is incredible. We’re hopeful. We think they’re going to be OK.”

Some random thoughts and numbers:

  • Black won the series 4-3 by hitting .339 and – in what might be the best stat of fall – walking 33 times and striking out 25. Strikeouts killed the Shockers last season (423 to 220 walks), so any good sign is encouraging. Johnny Coy led Black with a .483 batting average. Mitch Caster (.714 slugging percentage) and Will Baez both homered twice. Caster also doubled three times. Coy struck out once in 29 at-bats.
  • Three pitchers carried Black. Reliever Cobey Guy struck out 18 (six walks) in 11 innings and compiled a 1.64 ERA. T.J. McGreevy (2-0, 3.55 ERA) and Josh Smith (1-1, 3.75) did most of the starting work.

“What you saw last year (of Cobey Guy) was not what we recruited,” Kemnitz said. “He came in here hurt. He had no confidence. This fall guys have seen the guy we recruited. There’s no reason he can’t domino that into a great spring, because he has great stuff.”

  • Freshman pitcher Tobin Mateychick, a right-hander, endured an up and down fall. Kemnitz said he possesses the greatest upside of the new pitchers. Staying focused on every pitch remains a challenge.
  • Coach Gene Stephenson saw hitters who did a better job of taking the ball up the middle, going the other way and battling with two strikes.

“We’re doing a much better job of being tougher outs,” he said.

  • Baez looked much more comfortable at second base. A converted catcher, he struggled with positioning and fundamentals last season. Those problems appear to in the past. “He has a lot better feel for what he’s supposed to do,” Stephenson said.
  • Stephenson liked Kevin Hall’s work in center field and at the plate. WSU has a lot of outfielders to chose from. All of them did good things at times during the fall. Travis Bennett hits and realizes he needs to be better defensively. Freshman Garrett Bayliff looked good on defense and led Black with a .552 on-base percentage. Freshman Micah Green didn’t play much defense because of a shoulder injury. His hitting impressed Stephenson. Veterans Caster, Ryan Jones and Bret Bascue had their good moments.
  • Freshman shortstop Erik Harbutz hit .259. He doubled four times and walked seven times. Stephenson believes he can handle third base if needed. “He’s a pretty tough out,” Stephenson said.
  • Catcher Ryan Hege led Gold with a .444 batting average and .667 slugging percentage. Jones led Gold with 10 RBI. First baseman Clint McKeever hit .379.
  • Stephenson expressed some concern for his defense. The teams combined for 23 errors (and some that didn’t show up in the scorebook) in seven games. There are a lot of DH candidates on this team, which is another way of saying some players need to work on their defense. The indoor practice facility should be ready later this fall, and Stephenson hopes working indoors will help smooth out defensive issues.
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (0)

Here’s what it would take

Oct. 29, 20097:58 p.m.

The NCAA women’s basketball tournament is coming to Intrust Bank Arena.  So if you’re one of the fans who wonders “What would it take for Wichita State women’s basketball to be a real player for love in this town?” – you got your answer.

Play a tournament game downtown in 2011.

Sure, it’s outlandish to talk about WSU in that way. The Shockers have never played in the NCAA. They’ve never been a serious at-large contender and never won a Missouri Valley Conference regular-season or tournament title. WSU is picked ninth this season and hasn’t had a winning season since 2006.

Forget all that, because this news gives WSU the license to dream big.

In 2011, if WSU earns a spot (either at-large or automatic) it will play in downtown arena. That’s a guarantee, according to Jane Meyer, chair of the NCAA Division I women’s basketball committee.

“If you are a host and you’re in, they’re playing at home,” she said.

The NCAA just gave WSU women’s basketball a game-changing opportunity. Coach Jody Adams, starting her second season, knows it.  WSU plays in the MVC. Anything is possible. Southern Illinois, with Adams as an assistant coach, went from 1-17 in the MVC in 2005 to 16-2 in 2007.  Creighton, last place in 2006, finished second in 2009 and is the preseason favorite this season. Eighth-seeded Illinois State won the tournament in 2005. Eighth-seeded Drake won it in 2007. Ninth-seeded Evansville won it last season.

Why can’t Wichita State do something similar in 2011?

WSU knows this is a rare jewel of an opportunity. Pull this off and WSU women’s basketball elevates itself to real relevancy on the local sports scene. Thursday’s announcement presents the program with the possibility of its first profile-raising, defining moment that doesn’t involve Jackie Stiles.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments (0)

Creighton to play baseball in 24,000 seat ballpark

Oct. 28, 200911:09 a.m.

The Bluejays move into Omaha’s new downtown stadium in 2011 (full-time in 2012). Really, the Bluejays don’t have other options. The on-campus field is bad. Bad seating. Bad turf. Bad lights. Wichita State strongly prefers not playing there.

The new stadium, built for the College World Series, will seat 24,000 fans. Which means around 23,000 seats will be vacant for most Creighton games. The Qwest Center move worked out well for CU basketball. I can’t blame the school for trying something similar for baseball. On paper, the move could have many benefits for scheduling and recruiting. If you can live with empty seats and little atmosphere (other than for the Nebraska game), go for it. If it helps Creighton, it helps MVC baseball. MVC baseball needs all the help it can get. Regardless of how this turns out, it’s nice to see an MVC school taking baseball seriously enough to give this a try.

As someone who went to the CWS in 1991 to see WSU and Creighton play, my first thought whenever the topic of a Creighton baseball facility comes up is – why did it take so long? Creighton missed a great opportunity to capitalize on the success of Jim Hendry’s team in the late 80s and early 90s.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments (3)