Shockwaves

• Former Shocker Toure Murry will work out for the Lakers scouting department on May 9 in Los Angeles. “According to what I’ve heard, they’ve been watching me for awhile,” Murry said. “I signed with an agent, and he set it up for me.” Murry, on Tuesday, spoke while leaning against the wall in the underground concourse at Koch Arena. He was working out, and there is no off-season for Shockers who want to keep playing. “Making sure I get my shots, lifting, conditioning,” he said.
• James Anacreon, a junior who won’t return to WSU, said he will likely play his final season at a Division II school. He is looking at several.

The Portsmouth Invitational started on Thursday in Portsmouth, Va. It’s a long-running showcase for college seniors to play in front of professional scouts.

Wichita State center Garrett Stutz played on Thursday for Roger Brown’s. In the first game, he scored nine points and grabbed a team-leading 14 rebounds in a 74-71 win. His team plays again tonight in a semifinal game.

Portsmouth box scores are available here.

WSU guard Toure Murry

Toure Murry, it appears, will be Wichita State’s career assists leader.

When we left the Rose Garden on March 15, we thought Murry had recorded five assists in the NCAA Tournament loss to VCU, giving him 429 for his career and tying him with Warren (Armstrong) Jabali (1965-68).

On Monday, WSU director of media relations Larry Rankin sent out an e-mail reading:

It has come to my attention through a clip video of our final game against VCU that it is clear Toure Murry had six assists and not five assists, which I am trying to get added to his career total which would make him the all-time assists leader in WSU history.

Murry didn’t need the record to complete his career as one of the most well-rounded Shockers. He is a 1,500-point scorer, No. 2 in steals and No. 1 in assists. Jabali doesn’t need to hold the record to retain his spot as one of the program’s best. People who saw him play regard him as talent similar to Stallworth, Carr, McDaniel etc. and Eagle columnist Bob Lutz, who did see him play, enthusiastically maintains his jersey should be retired. For his career, Jabali averaged 16.7 points and 10.8 rebounds.

It is worth noting Jabali handed out his 429 assists in three seasons and 78 games while Murry played in 139 games. Times change. Technology improves. Murry’s pursuit of the assists record serves to highlight the skills of both players.

Because the game in question is an NCAA game, Rankin must go through the statistics crew from the game to change Murry’s total.

VCU's defense tormented WSU guard Joe Ragland

The score: VCU 62, WSU 59

Key statistics: WSU made 11 of 35 shots in the first half and 24 of 62 for the game. VCU took seven more threes than the Shockers, and made one more.

Records: VCU 29-6, WSU 27-6

Kansas.com coverage of Thursday’s game.

• The final Day After of the season comes to you from Pizza Schmizza in downtown Portland. Some seasons, you’re ready for it to be finished. This season, not at all. The Shockers played so well in January and February that I was ready to watch them for a long time. I suspect fans felt the same way. In February, especially, WSU played inspired, even beautiful, basketball for long stretches. Now it’s over, and it’s got be a big disappointment for the coaches and players. The NCAA Tournament takes on such importance that they may feel empty after VCU rudely dismissed them on the tournament’s first day. WSU worked so hard to get a taste of the NCAAs, and it ended quickly. The Shockers didn’t play the way they played most of the season, and that’s the disappointing part.
• WSU’s effort was defined more by what we didn’t see than what we did. VCU took away many of the characteristics that made the Shockers so successful on offense. The Rams made it difficult to reverse the ball, robbing the Shockers of the open threes or passes into the post. When WSU plays a non-conference opponent, we often see it get an easy basket or two when its big men screen for each other and one gets open for a layup. It’s common to see Ben Smith or David Kyles come off a screen or two for an open shot at the top of the key.  Toure Murry’s forays into the lane often create open shots for his teammates. Little of that happened for the Shockers, at least until the second half. As Murry said, they had to play a lot of one-on-one basketball. That is fine in small doses, but it doesn’t work as a No. 1 option for long.
• I found myself wondering why 32 other coaches didn’t attack WSU by forcing the ball out of Joe Ragland’s hands. I guess the answer is that 32 other coaches (with the exception of Alabama) didn’t possess the defensive stoppers that VCU has. The Rams subdued Ragland with traps and negated Garrett Stutz by ruining WSU’s offensive flow. VCU’s length and shot-blocking also bothered the Shockers. One play illustrates this factor at a key time. WSU gathered momentum with Kyles making several plays. His three cut VCU’s lead to 46-40 in the second half and then the Shockers got the ball after a turnover. They ran a perfect play with Ragland cutting baseline to take a bounce pass. VCU’s Juvonte Reddic came from out of the play to block Ragland’s layup. Instead of cutting the lead to 46-42 with a 9-0 run, the Rams got the ball back. They scored to make it 48-40.
• Another sequence illustrated how the Rams played one step ahead of WSU most of the game. Coach Gregg Marshall called timeout early in the second half with one of his guards trapped and in danger of turning the ball over. After the timeout, VCU trapped Demetric Williams and forced a jumpball to get the ball back.
• It’s hard to win NCAA games without good performances from starters. While none of the Shockers played to their top level, Ragland and Murry performed adequately. Ragland scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half. Murry scored 10 points with five assists and four steals. Ben Smith (7 points, 0 rebounds), Demetric Williams (0 points, 2 turnovers) and Stutz (4 points, 7 rebounds) didn’t produce. Carl Hall and David Kyles played well off the bench, but their contributions weren’t enough.
• The common thread in WSU’s six losses was poor shooting. WSU shot under 40 percent in four of those losses and its best effort in a loss was 41.4 percent against Temple in November. I would consider Alabama, Temple and VCU as above-average to excellent defensive teams, with athletes to match WSU. Illinois State approached that level on that day in March. Drake and Creighton – bad days. WSU didn’t need to survive bad shooting nights often. It won four other games when it shot under 42 percent.
• WSU lost one  game by double figures – 70-60 to Alabama in November. In four of its losses, the Shockers had a shot to win or tie in the final 10 seconds – Temple, at Drake, Illinois State and VCU.
• What comes next? We will see what happens with the South Carolina coaching position. I don’t have any kind of feel for Gregg Marshall’s future. If forced, I would guess he will return, but that’s not based on much solid information. Coaches love their recruiting class, and I expect it to grow. I can’t see them going into next season with Hall and Ehimen Orukpe as WSU’s only experienced big men.
• Losing five seniors changes things dramatically. Those five played major roles in reviving WSU and pushing the program forward. We saw enough of Tekele Cotton and Jake White to reasonably think both will contribute next season and grow into good players at some point. Cotton, in particular, flashed impressive athletic ability and composure. I will be surprised if he is not starting next season. White improved as much as any player over the season. Ben Smith showed him how to play the “stretch four” position and White can be a similar factor at some point in his career.
• We know a little about the schedule for next season, now highlighted by a return trip to VCU. Tulsa returns to Wichita. I’m hearing WSU will play at Air Force in the MWC-MVC Challenge, although I don’t know that for sure. The trip to Cancun should be a good test, but not overwhelming, for a young team.
• While in Portland, I talked to administrators at New Mexico and Oregon. Both built or renovated arenas recently with the intent of attracting the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament. New Mexico’s renovated arena seats just over 15,000. Oregon’s new arena seats 12,500. They said the NCAA told them that capacity is fine for the early rounds,  which would seem to be a good sign for Wichita’s Intrust Bank Arena (capacity 15,000).

Welcome to the Rose Garden.

The Shockers arrived in Portland on Tuesday night. They have a press conference today at 2:25 (Wichita time), followed by a 35-minute public practice at the Rose Garden. I’m sure they will have a real practice off-site.

The other seven schools follow a similar routine. Davidson is first up, followed by Long Beach State, Louisville, New Mexico, WSU, Indiana, VCU and New Mexico State.

The Rose Garden is the NBA home of the Trail Blazers, with a capacity close to 20,000. It is similar to the Scottrade Center in St. Louis in size, although nicer and cleaner, at least a first glance.

As you probably know, South Carolina needs a basketball coach, and Gregg Marshall has roots there. His name tops the list when the speculation starts, although Jeff Capel’s name is also out there. VCU will endure something similar with coach Shaka Smart and Illinois.

My limited experience covering these situations tells me that Marshall will say he is used to this deal because it has happened to him many times, at Winthrop and WSU, and that will be about all. Really, there’s nothing more to be said at this time, unless he wants to come out and declare himself permanently off limits at WSU. While rumors heat up, we don’t know if or when South Carolina will make a move, and we don’t know if Marshall is interested. You might hear a lot from people who claim to know what’s going on. I’ve found that circle of people in the know is pretty small, and most of them aren’t talking.

I don’t expect it to be a distraction for the players or coaches. The only thing worse than losing a coach, would be to lose a coach after losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The five seniors have worked too hard to let something like this knock them off course.