Welcome to Redbird Arena. For the first time in several years, I expect a big crowd for a WSU game at Illinois State. It’s been awhile since the community was excited about ISU hoops. Obviously, the Redbirds are giving them a good reason to show up this season. The students are back in class, and two sections are almost full 25 minutes before game time. Let’s start with a Q&A by Jim Benson, the beat writer for the Pantagraph. Jim is in his second season covering the Redbirds.
What’s the biggest difference between last season’s Redbirds and this season?
I would say it’s a combination of a couple things. Many of the key contributors were first-year players a year ago and weren’t quite ready for the intense level of play in Valley games. The other factor is coaching. Tim Jankovich has the Redbirds playing much harder on the defensive end. Offensively, ISU doesn’t have the ball in Boo Richardson’s hands all the time, especially at the end of shot clocks. There aren’t as many set plays on offense, giving the players a chance to free lance more.
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Nothing goes easily for Wichita State this basketball season. Arbry Butler is gone for good. Of more immediate consequence, guard Bret Michael is out for tonight’s game with a strained thigh muscle. That WSU depends on Michael, a freshman walk-on, tells you how dire their roster situation is. Michael doesn’t play a lot of minutes, but he is the choice at point guard to give Gal Mekel a rest. Without him, Wendell Preadom will see more time at point guard.
Butler, probably not surprisingly, is leaving the program for personal reasons and will transfer. WSU has not yet said if Butler leaves in good academic standing, which is important for Academic Progress Rate points. A school loses one point for a player leaving, and another point if that player is ineligible at the time of departure.
Butler was on his way out of the program, most likely to a junior college, last spring under former coach Mark Turgeon. New WSU coach Gregg Marshall gave Butler a chance to regain his academic eligibility over the summer. When he did so, Marshall kept him on the team. It’s important to remember at least two recruits did not come to WSU as expected, leavingĂ‚Â scholarships open. Guy Alang-Ntang died in April in a pickup game. Ejike Hart did not graduate from junior college and could not attend WSU, news that hit the program late in the summer.
Butler’s departure clears up some of the mystery surrounding scholarships. WSU loses three seniors and has already signed four new players for next season. Marshall has been clear that he is still recruiting for a program that desperately needs talent. One of WSU’s 13 scholarships is spoken for by Ehimen Orukpe, a Nigerian center who has yet to enter the United States.
The Shockers were down to nine healthy scholarship players and 11 total for Wednesday’s shoot-around. Things get a little better at home, when transfer A.J. Hawkins can play.
I saw WSU coach Gregg Marshall in the hotel tonight. We talked about the weather. I told him he had not experienced an MVC winter until Cedar Falls, Iowa. He can’t wait. Two thoughts before getting to some stuff from earlier today:
- Is there any look-ahead factor favoring WSU? Probably not. Illinois State does play Drake on Saturday, in what could be the first meeting of 6-0 teams in MVC history, according to what research the Valley office can come up with. A week from tonight the Redbirds play at Bradley, their biggest rival. I bet winning is still so new to ISU that looking past WSU is unlikely. Read More »
The national media made its first big appearance on the MVC coaches call on Tuesday. Drake is the big attraction, and for good reason. The Bulldogs are 14-1. That’s a good story. Their permanent residence in the bottom of the MVC for the past 20 years makes it even better.
Some other highlights from the call:
Missouri State coach Barry Hinson said the story at Drake is coach Keno Davis going with a tighter rotation.
“He’s not playing as many players,” Hinson said. “He’s settled into a rotation.”
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Almost everybody agrees the MVC is down from its past two seasons. I can’t disagree. It will take the Valley a season or two to grow talent to replace the likes of Funk, Tolliver, Miller, Wilson, O’Bryant, Sommerville, Stout, Jacobson, Ahearn, Tatum and Moss. That crew is largely responsible for the breakout season of 2006 and a strong 2007.
One thing we can agree on, however, is that if a season where the Valley is No. 7 or No. 8 in the RPI is a down year, the conference is in great shape. Five games into the conference schedule, it’s OK to take a look at bracket projections. I’m not sure how important they are now, but it’s far enough into the season to matter at least a little. Two put three MVC teams in. Jerry Palm’s subscription site lists Drake as No. 6 seed and Illinois State and Creighton as No. 10 seeds. Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star puts the same three in. ESPN.com’s Joe Lunardi stops at Drake (No. 7 seed) and Illinois State (No. 10).
That is a pretty solid reply to the one-bid hysteria that swept ESPNU a week ago. It can change a lot, of course, before March. For a down year, however, the Valley has a chance to do pretty well for itself.
A few points from Saturday’s 68-65 loss to Creighton:
- At 1-4 in the MVC, WSU’s priority is to avoid the Thursday game in the MVC Tournament. To do that, the Shockers need to survive this week. They might lose at Illinois State and at Southern Illinois. Regardless, they need to come out of the week unbowed and ready to play because the schedule gets easier.WSU needs to hold it together through this difficult stretch. Three straight home games await. As does a road trip to Evansville. Read More »
Final: Creighton 68, WSU 65
WSU’s final play was the same play it ran two possessions early. Mekel runs it upcourt, hits Cooz at the top of the key, then Cooz finds Mekel on the right side of the arc. Mekel was never open but had to force it.
Thanks for tuning in tonight. Be sure to check back often to Shockwaves for updates from beat writer Paul Suellentrop.
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WSU basketball coach Gregg Marshall did an interview with an Omaha radio station earlier this week. Apparently, it did not go as either party planned.
Gregg seemed unhappy with the whole thing. The host, Matt Perrault of Big Sports 590, is less than satisfied with the answers and spends several minutes letting his audience know after the conclusion of the interview. Gregg could have been a little more tolerant and talkative. After all, MVC coaches routinely do these kind of interviews and fans enjoy hearing about other teams. It’s all part of the give and take of promoting the conference.
The questions were not out of line or combative. They were designed to get Gregg to talk about the Shockers, which seems reasonable. Perrault could have been better prepared. Not knowing WSU’s record got things started badly. His rant after the interview went on a little long. It is too bad nobody discovered they have common ground as Red Sox fans. That might have gotten things off on a better note.
I have learned that Gregg takes questions literally in many cases. If you ask him if a team has hit rock bottom, be prepared to discuss rock bottom. Gregg has been fine to deal with for the Wichita media, as far as I know. It may take Valley media time to figure him out, and vice versa.
Regardless, it’s an entertaining segment, if you like uncomfortable pauses and barely restrained hostility.
This is probably of little significance, but it seems unusual. Isn’t that a good theme for a blog?
WSU is shooting 40.6 percent from the field in eight home games entering Saturday’s date with Creighton. WSU is shooting 40.5 percent away from Koch Arena, thanks largely to Bradley’s defense. The Shockers shot 64.3 percent (27 of 42) against the Braves on Jan. 5. WSU is at 41.1 percent in four road games and 38.6 percent in three games on a neutral court in the Virgin Islands. Even with the Bradley performance, it is strange the Shockers are the same shooting team in and out of Koch Arena.
The Wichita State blog is up and running as of this weekend. We can only hope it is as cool as K-Stated by Jeffrey Martin. My lone regret is that it was not up a few weeks ago when I was (accidentally) mooned by Phil Thomasson in the Koch Arena tunnel. The details faded with time.
Moving on, this will be the home for Shocker news, observations, running game updates and other fun stuff. I’m not sure how it will unfold. Like Shocker basketball, it will be a work in progress and will probably look a lot better as time passes.
As always, your contributions are welcome. At the bottom (a blogroll is the technical term), I link to several newspapers, blogs and fan sites that get out the info on the MVC. Checking in on other teams might help you enjoy the Shockers more. There are some reasonably enthusiastic newspaper bloggers out there, especially Todd Golden, Jim Benson and Lyndal Scranton.