Shocker practice update:
WSU practiced for about an hour Wednesday morning. It looked uneventful, other than some slipperiness in the lane at one end of the Milk House court. WSU practiced halfcourt most of the session. Workers tried to fix the area by sanding it. We will see if the problem pops up Thursday.
- Clevin Hannah will return to his spot as starting point guard against Georgetown. Coach Gregg Marshall liked what he saw during the second half of Monday’s win over Centenary. Graham Hatch will come off the bench. Toure Murry returns to shooting guard.
“He kind of ignited us with his defense and transition,” Marshall said. “That was some of the best basketball we’ve played.”
- The Milk House is a nice arena on the campus of Disney’s Wide World of Sports. All chairbacks. It probably seats around 5,000. It reminds me of the convention center that WSU played in when it played in Las Vegas in 2006-07. Michigan State fans are expected to dominate the crowd. Organizers expect the evening sessions to attract close to capacity crowds. The morning sessions, when WSU plays, are expected to draw around 2,000 or so.
WSU center Garrett Stutz made himself the story of Monday’s win over Centenary with 22 points in what has to be one of the best first-start performances in WSU history. Here is a look at some Shockers in their first starts:
- Dave Stallworth – 18 points, 12 rebounds vs. Marquette on Feb. 2, 1962. It is hard to beat that one. Coach Ralph Miller used Stallworth for the second semester of the 1961-62 season (when he became eligible). That decision, of course, came back to haunt WSU in 1964-65, when Stallworth ran out of eligibility after the first semester. WSU played in the Final Four, without its star.
- Cliff Levingston – 9 points vs. Northern Michigan on Nov. 30, 1979. Cliff and AC started the opener as freshmen.
- Antoine Carr – 19 points vs. Northern Michigan on Nov. 30, 1979.
- Xavier McDaniel – 17 points vs. West Texas State on Jan. 21, 1982. McDaniel did not make his first start until well into his freshman season.
- Aubrey Sherrod – 14 points vs. Abilene Christian on Nov. 27, 1981. Sherrod started WSU’s opener as a freshman.
- Cheese Johnson – 15 points vs. Wisconsin-Milwaukee on Dec. 1, 1975. Cheese also started from the gun as a freshman.
- Randy Burns – 15 points vs. Radford on Nov. 17, 2001. Burns did not start the opener. He started the second game and almost every one after that.
- Paul Miller - 16 points vs. Lamar on Dec. 18, 2002. Miller, who redshirted the previous season, came off the bench for the first six games of the 2002-003 season.
- I’m not sure when Cleo Littleton started his first game. WSU does not have boxes or scorebooks from the 1951-52 season (they are probably in Ed Lomax’s basement). Since Littleton averaged 18.5 points as a freshman, it is probably safe to guess he started the opener against Colorado (or shortly after) and scored a lot of points. Maurice Evans scored just three points in his first start.
Some teams practice today here in Orlando. Some do not. Most of them are closed, so I don’t think today is going to be especially interesting.
If you read the Washington Post’s coverage of Georgetown, you will find coach John Thompson III talking about shot selection and patience, much like WSU coach Gregg Marshall. Both coaches are working with inexperienced backcourts, which no doubt contributes to the problems. No. 21 Georgetown is 2-0 with wins over Drexel and Jacksonville. Hoyas center freshman Greg Monroe is off to a great start. ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla describes him as a good passer who is a perfect fit for Georgetown’s “equal opportunity” Princeton offense.
Around the MVC:
- Illinois State is 4-0 on the road. More impressive is its outside shooting.
- An injury to Nick Evans means SIU’s Anthony Booker needs to step up. Booker was the MVC’s highest-ranked recruit.
- Creighton played soft in its loss at Arkansas-Little Rock. The Trojans outrebounded the Jays 25-9 in the second half. UALR is better than its name. The Trojans won 20 last season and return most of that bunch. Regardless, Creighton is expected to lead the MVC this season and losing this one doesn’t look good. It is too early to descend into “one bid” desperation. A lot of things can happen in the MVC and in other conferences. Losses like this one, however, may cost the MVC in March.
- Indiana State coach Kevin McKenna is unhappy with his team’s defense.