Monthly Archives: September 2010

Shocker fall baseball bullets

Sept. 27, 20107:47 p.m.
  • The fall series starts Friday. I’ve been out to watch several practices and scrimmages. The trick to watching fall baseball is to separate the meaningful from the meaningless. Unfortunately, I have yet to master that trick. Hey! That pitcher struck out the side. Is that good or bad? We won’t really know until the spring who is going to help the Shockers. Nonetheless, here are some observations:
  • The spot I will be watch most closely in series games is second base. Freshman Tyler Coughenour looks like he can handle it defensively and he hits with some power. By unofficial count, he has one of two home runs with the new bats (which aren’t as bouncy) over the past week. Sophomore Walker Davidson started the fall as the favorite due to his defense. It appears Coughenour will make winning the spot a challenge.
  • Freshman Dayne Parker is playing shortstop behind Tyler Grimes, who is hitting the ball well. At third, Erik Harbutz and freshman Josh Halbert are on the clock. Freshman Cale Elam plays several positions and is pitching. Johnny Coy is working in left field, as well as first base. When he plays the outfield, Ryan Hege often steps in at first.
  • The most interesting move I’ve seen is sophomore outfielder Garrett Bayliff as a pitcher. He pitched in high school and, apparently, he’s doing well enough the coaches are giving it a serious look.
  • The top-of-the-line pitchers – Tim Kelley, Brian Flynn, Charlie Lowell – are throwing this fall. Some falls, the experienced returners take a break. I’m not sure how much we will see them in the series.
  • Freshman pitcher Kris Gardner had shoulder surgery and isn’t throwing this fall.
  • Reliever Grant Muncrief threw for the first time this fall on Monday.
  • Grimes and Chris O’Brien appear to be the hottest hitters this fall. Both of them look like the veterans they are. They’re not trying to do too much and, as so happens, they’re hitting to all fields and hitting line drives. WSU needs both of them to hit consistently in 2011.
  • Expect the series rosters on Wednesday. Pitching coach Brent Kemnitz will divide the pitchers and coach Gene Stephenson will split up the rest of the roster.
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments

Shocker baseball commitment

Sept. 27, 20101:18 p.m.

Wichita State will need offense from somewhere in 2012. The Shockers lose senior DH Preston Springer. First baseman Johnny Coy will be draft-eligible again in June and his return can’t be counted on.

Cowley sophomore utility player Aaron Rea should help. Rea, a right-handed-hitter, hit .348 with 15 doubles, seven home runs and .423 on-base percentage as a freshman. His 66 RBI led the Tigers and he stole 17 bases in 19 attempts. Rea earned second-team All-Jayhawk Conference honors as an outfielder. He played shortstop at Lawrence High.

Driving in runs is his main goal.

“I’ve always hit for a good average,” he said. “When there’s men on base and the team needs a big hit, I want to be counted on in that situation.”

Rea is the seventh player, the first from a junior college, to commit to WSU. Players can sign in November.

Also on the list are: St. Louis DeSmet lefty Kyle Bouman,  Lincoln (Neb.) Southeast outfielder Taylor Doggett, Maize outfielder Conner Knight, Shawnee Heights utility player Tyler Baker, Omaha Millard North first baseman Casey Gillaspie and Omaha Millard West pitcher A.J. Ladwig.

Pitcher Mitch Mormann, a transfer from LSU, is redshirting this season and will be eligible in 2012. He is practicing with the Shockers this fall.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments

A few basketball bullets

Sept. 23, 201010:00 p.m.
  • Freshman forward Jerome Hamilton is on crutches and wearing a boot on his right foot. I don’t know anything more than that on his injury.
  • WSU is looking for a scrimmage opponent. If it can’t find one, the Shockers could schedule another exhibition game.
  • I had a short conversation with Darron Boatright, WSU’s new senior associate athletic director. In one of his previous stops, he served as director of basketball operations at Alabama (1998-2005) and handled its scheduling. He has some good strategies on scheduling and I would think he be a useful person for that task in the future.
  • The WSU women start practice on Oct. 5. The men start 10 days later.
By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments

Shocker basketball schedule is ready

Sept. 21, 20104:13 p.m.

WSU ticket

Last, but not least, as Bruce Springsteen says when he introduces Clarence Clemons.

Wichita State’s men’s basketball schedule is ready for public scrutiny. The nine other MVC schools released schedules weeks ago. The Shockers took their time, but they got it right for the most part. The non-conference schedule gives WSU good chances to win NCAA resume games. The home portion of that schedule lacks strength, but it does feature Tulsa and what should be a strong Bracket Buster opponent.

There will be complaining about home games against Alabama A&M, Chicago State and Texas Southern. Those may well be RPI-repellant wins. I don’t think it’s much to be concerned about at this point. If WSU wins a reasonable portion of its marquee games – in Maui and at San Diego State primarily – the guarantee games won’t matter. WSU also has a chance to make a good impression against Tulsa, LSU and in the Bracket Buster game. There is plenty of opportunity to make up for a few 300-plus RPI opponents and present the NCAA selection committee with a good at-large resume.

For what it’s worth, Nicholls State is picked to be a contender in the Southland. The Colonels are usually a 250-300 RPI team, but might do better this season. Texas Southern is picked second in the SWAC in two preseason magazines. Alabama A&M is picked third in one and seventh in another. Nicholls State could be one of those prized Southland teams that moves up into the top 150 (or higher) if things go right. For SWAC opponents, it’s a great day if they finish in the top 200. Chicago State has been 300-plus the past two seasons. Two seasons before that, it finished No. 152 and No. 132.

It would be a mistake to fixate on those games. The Shockers are set up nicely for a much-anticipated season. If they are as good as we think, the schedule should give them the tools to make the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team.

If that isn’t somewhat soothing, think about a worse scenario. You could root for Illinois State.

Here’s Jerry Palm’s take, via email, on WSU’s schedule:

“There’s not a lot there outside the Maui tournament.  They better win that first game.  SDSU is a likely tournament team, but nobody else is a sure thing.  It would help if they got a good bracketbuster opponent.”




By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments

Shocker baseball dates set

Sept. 20, 20103:09 p.m.

Get your can of corn ready.

Wichita State’s fall baseball series begins Oct. 1. The best-of-7 series pits Black against Gold with a steak dinner and field preparation duties (less of a penalty with the all-turf infield) at stake.

As always, admission is a can of food for the Kansas Food Bank.

The dates: Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Baseball | Comments

Make room for Wichita State volleyball

Sept. 17, 201010:40 p.m.
Former WSU volleyball player Sara Younes

Former WSU volleyball player Sara Younes

Media types are suckers for “changing era” stories – there’s nothing we love more than predicting new directions and shifting sands.

Sure, it’s a little pompous. Here goes.

There is not a volleyball player in the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame. That will change soon, perhaps with the 2011 class. Nominations for the Shocker Sports Hall of Fame are due by Oct. 4. Anyone enrolled by the 2001 fall semester is eligible. Volleyball – as well as women’s track and field – is poised to produce a stream of SSHOFers in the coming years. Baseball, which produced 17 of the 34 inductees from 1999-2010, is due for a slowdown.

Outside hitter Sara Younes, a no-doubter for the SSHOF, came to WSU in 2001. So did libero Karen Augspurger and middle Elizabeth Meyers. Coming soon will be outside hitter Sara Lungren and libero Kelly Broussard, with outside hitter Emily Stockman behind them. I would consider them the first group, and there are others from volleyball worthy of consideration.

Just as volleyball coach Chris Lamb will start to shape the SSHOF, so will track coach Steve Rainbolt. Both came to WSU in 2000 to build consistent winners. Distance runner Desiraye Osburn will be eligible soon, and there will be many other candidates from a program that has dominated the MVC on the women’s side in recent years.

It’s harder to find baseball players certain to make the SSHOF. Mike Pelfrey is two years away from eligibility. It will be interesting to see how baseball players from the 2000s are treated by the selection committee. WSU’s absence from Omaha will no doubt make a difference in the number of baseball players inducted. Pelfrey is a no-brainer. I can’ t imagine a SSHOF without Conor Gillaspie.

After that? It gets murkier when thinking about players such as Brian Burgamy, Noah Booth, Logan Sorensen, Drew Moffitt, Aaron Shafer and Rob Musgrave.  How strong are their resumes? That will depend, in part, on how much team success matters. All won a lot of games, but none of them got the seal of approval that a trip to the College World Series provides.

Men’s basketball is due for a surge after a long dry spell. The most recent players judged worthy of the hall (Xavier McDaniel and Aubrey Sherrod) ended their WSU careers in 1985. The SSHOF inducted three (Greg Carney, Bob Hodgson, Kelly Pete) since 2000. Those are skimpy numbers for the university’s marquee sport.

Paul Miller, Jamar Howard and Randy Burns are eligible for the first time. Of the top 10 career scorers, Burns (No. 8), Howard (No. 9) and Jason Perez (No. 6) are the only ones not in the hall. Miller, as the 2006 MVC Player of the Year and the leader of the Sweet 16 team, probably goes in first.

Did Burns and Howard, with three NIT trips, do enough? That will also be interesting to watch. My gut says their numbers and their lead role in reviving the program will be sufficient. If they are judged worthy, it would be fitting if Burns and Howard join Miller in the same class. As a trio, they symbolized WSU’s climb out of the bottom of the MVC.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Shocker history | Comments

Ron Washington’s story

Sept. 13, 20105:22 p.m.

Thanks to the vigilant crew at Shockernet, I learned of the death for former Wichita State basketball player Ron Washington, one of the top Shocker scorers of the late 1960s.

Washington’s Web site is worth a look for Shocker fans. In the “About Me” section, he gives readers his view on what it was like to be a black basketball player (and activist) in the 1960s in Wichita. I’ve heard former coach Gary Thompson talk about the difficulties of running a team during those days, and Washington’s recollections make those challenges clear.

Of particular interest is his story about a road trip to UCLA and hanging out with Bruins stars of the era such as Lew Alcindor and Mike Warren.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments

MVC teams on the road

Sept. 9, 20103:05 p.m.

Indiana State is the latest Missouri Valley Conference team to play a road game with no return. The Sycamores play at Notre Dame on Nov. 30, a move that Terre Haute Tribune-Star writer Todd Golden likes for good reasons. Read More »

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments

Update on Charles Boozer

Sept. 9, 201010:33 a.m.

Charles Boozer, the former Iowa State basketball player who may or may not end up at Wichita State, is free of his legal entanglements in Iowa. Boozer was arrested and charged in May for simple assault in Ames. That charge was dismissed on Aug. 30 because of a lack of cooperation from the victim, an unidentified woman, and witnesses. The victim left the state, according to Story County attorney Stephen Holmes.

There is no opportunity to refile on the misdemeanor charge, Holmes said.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments

Charles Boozer

Sept. 8, 201010:56 a.m.
From cyclones.com

From cyclones.com

What can I tell you about Charles Boozer, former Iowa State basketball player and brother of Chicago Bulls star Carlos Boozer?

Not much. Boozer, according to Wichita State’s registrar’s office, is not enrolled, although he did apply for admission and was not admitted. That doesn’t mean he can’t ever get into WSU. As of today, it appears he is not a student at WSU.

WSU basketball coach Gregg Marshall can’t comment on recruits.

We also know WSU is at its limit of 13 scholarships, so if Boozer were to come to WSU he would not be on scholarship and I don’t think he would practice with the team this season.

Boozer, should he resume his college career, would be a senior. He played three seasons as a reserve guard at Iowa State. A knee injury ended his junior season in early January. Last spring, he was arrested and charged with simple assault for alledgedly hitting and slapping a woman and left the team to seek treatment.

His connection to WSU started when a Twitter account bearing his brother’s name announced Charles was headed to WSU. Obviously, that’s not the strongest source in journalism history for many reasons.

That’s what I have. There may or may not be much more to it that.

By Paul Suellentrop | Filed under Basketball | Comments