When I watched the second half on TV, I got a better picture of how WSU’s defense worked in the second half. The Shockers did a great job of pushing Illinois State’s guards past the three-point line. The Redbirds couldn’t get anything working in the lane. WSU’s aggressiveness and length on the perimeter forced ISU into some tough shots. The Redbirds took only 10 two-pointers in the second half. They missed 12 of their 17 threes. WSU can put a long and athletic team on the floor when Toure Murry, A.J. Hawkins, Aaron Ellis and David Kyles are playing well. All four can cover a lot of ground.
I’m guessing Hawkins and Kyles are an example of two guys who put their offense aside and focused on defense and playing hard. As it so often works, the offense comes when a player doesn’t worry about it and makes other parts of the game a bigger part of his identity. Hawkins played a season-high 36 minutes. Up to this point, comparisons to P.J. Couisnard were unfair. Wednesday, Hawkins gave WSU the kind of effort and hustle that P.J. did. He had nine points, three rebounds, three steals, a block and two assists. He made 4 of 6 shots for his best offensive effort since the Bradley game on Dec. 31. Kyles didn’t score, but he helped cool off Osiris Eldridge. He grabbed two rebounds and had two assists with no turnovers in 12 minutes. He put on a show in Monday’s practice. Kyles can really help this team if he continues to play hard and avoid mistakes.
The emergence of Aaron Ellis is a huge help. He has made 13 of 19 shots in his past four games. WSU can rotate in four big men – Ellis, Clemente, Durley, Stutz – who can do a lot of things. That’s solid depth. When a guy is that hot, I hesitate to nitpick. However, Ellis’ two-point shots that straddle the three-point line drive me crazy. I think Rick Pitino calls them those shots the worst in basketball. But you can’t complain about shooting 70 percent from anywhere on the floor. I think his play takes the pressure of Stutz, who can now be a freshman without worrying about carrying too big of a burden.
WSU not only played hard for most of the game, it also played smarter. The Shockers committed 14 turnovers after averaging 17.6 in the previous five games. The WSU big men handled ISU’s double-teams very well, highlighted by Ramon Clemente’s no-look pass to J.T. Durley for a layup to start the second half. Durley played 21 minute without a turnover. He had averaged four in his previous three games.
One thing – maybe the biggest thing as far as a long-term goal – WSU had to do is establish Koch Arena as a tough place to play. Since the 2006-07 season, WSU was 10-11 at home in MVC games entering Wednesday’s game. The past two games should energize fans (who don’t need much reason to overflow with optimism when it comes to Shocker basketball) and give the team some confidence when it rolls out of the CKA tunnel.
Ten days ago, we didn’t know who deserved to start. Now, who doesn’t? The Shockers are suddenly, almost magically, a deeper team. Players who were making two bad plays for every good one are now making three good plays for every bad one.
Illinois State’s depth is a problem. The Redbirds lost forward Bobby Hill to injury and guard Kenyon Smith to academics. Like Creighton, lack of depth shows up on the road. Guys who can be a plus at home fade on the road. The Redbirds still play Northern Iowa twice.