Nonsense. Why change a thing?

Kemnitz took roll. He took stock of arms (”Sweet” means ready to go. “Sore” is less useful. “Scalpel” is worse). After a few basics (scrimmages start Thursday; go to class), he got right to the history lesson.

“Wichita State has a reputation over the last 30 years of being the best pitching school in America,” he said. “During those 30 years, we’ve had 68 guys sign pro. During that time, we’ve had 13 guys that have pitched in the big leagues. We’ve had nine first-round drafts. We’ve had 18 All-Americans; we’ve had 13 freshman All-Americas.”

Kemnitz doesn’t need to build his resume in pitching meetings. He does need to quickly assemble a competitive staff out of a bunch of unknowns. His recitation of honors is for two purposes - to let the new guys know what the standard is at WSU and to let them know they can get there as freshmen. If they listen and follow instructions.

Here is the scary stat for Shocker fans:

“On this year’s team… we have four guys that have thrown over 20 innings at the Division I level,” Kemnitz said. “Tim Kelley threw 52 innings last year. (Tyler) Fleming threw 45. He’s out for the year (shoulder surgery). Eliminate him. Logan Hoch threw 45. We’re holding our breath (shoulder pain). We hope he’s OK. The other guy is Max Hutson (elbow surgery). We hope Max is OK. He didn’t throw last year, but he had some experience before that. That’s all we have with guys over 20 innings.”

Kemnitz believes that what worked for 30 years will work again. He passed around the Shocker pitching  equivalent of the Dead Sea Scrolls - a thick stack of notes on pitching from the early days, scrawled on yellow legal paper and folded and creased.

“This is what you guys are going to learn from in the next six weeks,” he said. “This is my brain. You guys want to pass it around and look at it. I didn’t tape it up  today, so be fragile with it.”

Then comes the punch line.

“Why is that what you learn from?” Kemnitz asked. “Anybody have a guess? It’s symbolism. The symbolism is - ____ doesn’t change. Thirty years, and my philosophy is no different.”

By the time fall ball wraps up in October, Kemnitz guarantees his pitchers they will:

• Find a delivery that works. Under control. Balanced. Out in front. “I’m a keep-it-simple guy,” he said.
• Throw three pitches for a strike. “If you can spot up and throw three pitches for a strike on any count, you will be successful,” he said.
• Eliminate the running game.
• Learn the little things such as bunt defense and fielding.

“The purpose of the fall is for guys to grow up,” Kemnitz said. “There is a purpose for every guy in this room. I had to get (after) a couple sophomores (Monday) about the way they went about their business. There’s nobody locked up in safes right now that made All-American where we’re sitting around feeling all toasty like we’re the deal. Last year, we put Capra, Musgrave and Shafer in safes. They were sitting down in the Bank of America in a safe all winter because we didn’t want them to get hurt.”

There are no All-Americans around Eck Stadium this fall. That doesn’t mean Kemnitz is down on his talent. He told the group he believes it is more talented (at least 15 with pro potential and more than two who will pitch in the majors) than average at WSU. To get the most out of that talent - and to win games next spring - they must pay attention.

“The theme of what I’m telling you guys today is ‘Let me be your experience,’” Kemnitz said. “You have got to trust me. We have got to speed up brains. But when I say speed up brains, we have got to do the same things we’ve done for 30 years. If we don’t get enough guys buying in, it will be a step down from what people are used to seeing. The brain is going to be the difference.”

• Shocker Madness for the men and women is Oct. 25 following a volleyball matchup against Drake at 6 p.m.
• Former Shocker P.J. Couisnard is firming up details to play for Soproni in Spain. He will be a teammate of former Shocker Karon Bradley.
• Former WSU star Jason Perez is holding a 3-on-3 tournament on Sept. 27 at Eck Stadium. Proceeds will go the Jason Perez Scholarship Fund at WSU.

Everybody knows a lot of positions are open this spring. That’s a stark contrast the to last fall, when little suspense existed. Some of the positions have logical leaders. I’m not sure that is true for the pitching rotation, other than sophomore Tim Kelley.

• Pitcher/3B Grant Muncrief had surgery on his right wrist earlier this month. He won’t throw until mid-October, after fall practice.
• Second baseman WIll Baez hit a laser out to straight-away center, a shot that impressed everybody at Eck Stadium. He also made a nice defensive play earlier in scrimmage, lunging to knock down a hot grounder and staying with the ricochet to get the runner at first base.
• When the defense didn’t hustle off the field up to WSU standards, the upperclassmen made them get out of the dugout, return to their positions and try it again.
• One more invited walk-on is lefty pitcher Josh Smith, a freshman from Pleasant Hill, Mo. Smith was second-team All-Class 3 as an outfielder as a senior. Several others are trying to walk on, including former Bishop Carroll and Cloud County infielder Taylor Gilmore.

No surprises. The home non-conference schedule is uninspiring (even if the Bracket Buster turns up a Mason-like gem), but appropriate for this team. The non-conference road schedule is excellent, largely because of the Old Spice Classic. Two trips to Texas are also great gets.

In the Valley, the men get no breaks to start. The opener is at Creighton. The first two home games are against Bradley and Southern Illinois. There is not a killer stretch of 4-in-5 away from home like last season.

WSU plays three Sunday MVC games, which I would guess means TV on Fox Sports.

• Mantas Griskenas and A.J. Hawkins are playing pickup games and participating in individual drills. Coach Gregg Marshall is pleased with how both are recovering from their injuries. It’s got to be great for him to be adding players instead of subtracting them. Griskenas, recovering from knee surgery, is bigger and stronger and still shooting the ball very well from outside. Marshall says he has improved his ball-handling in an effort to be less one-dimensional. Hawkins is a little behind in conditioning. His athletic ability seems intact - he converted a lob for a dunk in a pickup game recently.
• WSU may have a spot for a walk-on and is auditioning players during individual drills.
• Bradley picked up a commitment for a big man who might help the Braves this season. After the Orupke saga, I would not get too excited until he gets through the NCAA. However, he could be a big help for Bradley, which desperately needs big bodies.

Nov. 16 - Florida A&M

Nov. 24 - Centenary

Nov. 27 - Georgetown at Old Spice Classic (ESPN2)

Nov. 28 - Tennessee or Siena at Old Spice Classic

Nov. 30 - Old Spice Classic

Dec. 3 - at Texas Tech

Dec. 8 - at TCU

Dec. 22 - North Dakota

Dec. 28 - at Creighton (Sunday, which I guess means TV)

Dec. 31 - Bradley

Jan. 3 - at Northern Iowa

Jan. 14 - at Missouri State

Jan. 17 - Creighton (It will be strange to be done with the Bluejays by mid-January)

Jan. 21 - Illinois State

Jan. 28 - at Bradley

Feb. 4 - at Indiana State

Feb. 10 - Missouri State

Feb. 14 - Northern Iowa

Feb. 18 - at Illinois State

Feb. 24 - Indiana State.

Anyway, baseball is getting started with what they call “senior-led” workouts. It’s darn hard to find a senior on the roster, so I talked to the one and only senior who has been a Shocker more than one season - pitcher Max Hutson. WSU had seven seniors and nine juniors on its roster in 2008. Six seniors departed, and Hutson is back after redshirting to rehab from elbow surgery. Of the nine juniors on last season’s team, six went to the minors. The remaining three - Tyler Fleming, Logan Hoch and Roberto Rios - were transfers in 2008. I don’t think there’s much doubt that this is the program’s biggest makeover since it started in 1978.

Q: What’s the No. 1 thing the experienced players are telling the newcomers about being a WSU baseball player?

A: We’re going to go 100 percent in everything we do. We’re going to have a good time doing it, but when it’s time to be serious we’re going to be serious and get our job done. The main thing we need to do as seniors and old guys is get the players used to how the coaches want practices run so it goes smoothly when we hand it over to the coaches (Sept. 1).

Q: Was it overwhelming at all to walk in (to the locker room) and not see Rob Musgrave, Tyler Weber, Aaron Shafer, Conor Gillaspie…

A: It’s a completely different atmosphere without those guys, that’s for sure. Overwhelming? No, it’s just another day at the office. It’s just new faces to learn and get to know, but not overwhelming.

Q: How’s the arm?

A: It’s doing all right. The elbow is good. I’ve got a little bit of shoulder tendinitis that me and (the trainer) are working out. I should be ready to go the first day of practice.

Q: With Anthony Capra gone, who will take over the main role as agitator and prankster during fall baseball?

A: I think I’m going to have a little to do with it. But I see (pitcher) Tim Kelley, he’s going to loosen everybody up. Us being the older guys, we’ll be the ones who will have some leeway to do some funny stuff during the world series and try to get a rise out of the freshmen.

Q: It seems like fall baseball will be more interesting for fans, because last year you knew Conor Gillaspie was going to be at third and on and on. Will the players be paying a little more attention this fall, as well?

A: Totally. We’ve got to get a feel for each other. We’ve got to learn how to work together and learn how everybody plays the game. We’re all wondering who is going to be in those spots. We’re all the time speculating and going through our heads with lineups that we think might work or might not work. It’s going to be interesting to see how it actually plays out.”

On the other hand, who can resist? It’s like recruiting news or the NFL Draft - no losers, everyone is full of potential and hope. And everybody forgets in a few weeks. I watched WSU play pickup 8-10 times this summer. Here is what I saw.

Returners:

• Ramon Clemente turned into a jump-shooting, full-court dribbling machine over the summer. I suspect it is pickup-game only. If he doesn’t show those skills in real games, well, even small additions to his game will help. He continues to play hard and show the quickness and agility that made him a fan favorite. Should have a fine senior year and he will leave WSU as a much respected Shocker for his tenacity. My goal for him would be to lead the Valley in rebounding. The top returner in the MVC is Drake’s Jonathan Cox, who averaged 8.6 in 31 minutes a game. Clemente averaged 7.9 in 26.9. No Shocker has lead the MVC since ??? (answer below).
• J.T. Durley came to WSU two years ago without a clue as to what it takes to be a big-time college basketball player. He dominated at a small school in Texas with his size and athletic ability. His ambition as a youngster was to play in a show band in college. Some Shockers, like P.J. Couisnard, are prepared from birth to play basketball at a high level. J.T. kind of fell into big-time basketball and is playing catch up. After two tough years, marked by injury and coaches telling him to play harder, J.T. shows signs of getting it, on and off the court. If he does, watch out. We all know he can score. Can he do enough of the other things to stay on the floor? Just a sophomore. Repeat that a few times.
• Aaron Ellis is bigger and stronger. That will help him play power forward. He is a year older, which will also help. There are moments in pickup games when he is consistently making 15-foot jumpers when you think he can really be a matchup problem. When he is not, you want to see what he can do in the lane. Also just a sophomore.
• Graham Hatch spent most of the summer in Arizona. He got married. He had jaw surgery. I watched him Tuesday. He can still shoot. Think about this: He is WSU’s most experienced guard. Did he get quicker over the summer? No way to tell. He did drive to the basket a few times Tuesday.
• Mantas Griskenas was cleared to play (knee injury) Monday. I have not seen him play, although I suspect he snuck in a few games on the sly in recent weeks. Mantas is up to 218 pounds (from 200) and looks good. What will WSU get out of Griskenas? He will be a forgotten man in season previews, with good reason because he contributed little last season before getting hurt. However, it would not surprise me if he has a good senior season. He is a great shooter. He was just starting to come on when he got hurt. This is his last shot.
• Bret Michael also spent much of the summer on the sidelines, still recovering from injuries last season. I didn’t see much of him on the court. It is a bad sign if that changes during the season. He will be a good practice player, and WSU will need that. Behind Hatch, he is WSU’s next most experienced guard.
• A.J. Hawkins is recovering from toe surgery. He shoots around during pickup games. He will start to play soon. He also got married this summer. With two seasons of Division I basketball, Hawkins is WSU’s most experienced DI player, even though he has never worn a Shocker uni.

Newcomers

• Garrett Stutz is an international big man right now. He shoots threes and jumpers quite well. His post moves are fine, but sometimes his strength and quickness hold him back. If I were to play amateur agility coach, I would guess he needs to get more explosive jumping off two feet. Too often he makes himself small by gathering himself before going back up with a rebound. Those things will get fixed in time. For now, fans should appreciate his ability to catch passes, catch and shoot without needing a dribble, score with either hand around the basket and execute fundamentals such as bringing the ball to his chin after grabbing a rebound. Every so often he will drive to the basket. If he can improve that skill, good luck guarding him. A building block, as WSU coaches said when he signed.
• David Kyles is a bit of a mystery to me. Our schedules did not mesh and I rarely saw him play this summer. What I did see backs up his rep as a good athlete who can drive and score.
• Clevin Hannah should run this team from the start. Good shooter. Good passer. Good penetrator. Reggie Chamberlain is a little bigger than Hannah. Hannah is probably a little better at driving and dishing. I think they can play together and do good things pressing and moving the ball quickly on offense. WSU’s three-point shooting, horrid last season, should improve. Size is a problem, but WSU does have some big swingmen. I lump them together because the most asked question this summer was “Is that Reggie or Clevin?”
• Toure Murry is a joy to watch when he shoots. Smooth. Reminds me of Aubrey Sherrod. Like all freshmen, he needs to get bigger and stronger. Seems like a natural scorer, something WSU lacked in recent seasons.
• Gabe Blair will sit out this season and step in for Ramon in 2009-10. Bouncy best describes him. He should be a fine power forward when his time comes. Think Anthony Slack of Illinois State.
• Walk-ons Brett Steven, Mason Felter and Reggie Britton also didn’t get a fair viewing from me this summer. I will say Britton looks the most ready of that trio (Michael is also a walk-on) to play. He seems like a very good get for a walk-on. Judging from Tuesday, Brett is a better shooter than his Craig, his brother who played for WSU a few years ago. I probably just bought myself a few (more) cheap shots in a pickup basketball game down the road.

Trivia answer: Jamie Arnold led the MVC in rebounding (9.7) in 1995.

In a related bit of housekeeping, former WSU walk-on Brett Burley will play at the University of Alberta in his home country of Canada.

Most of the best Arkansas high schoolers stay and play for Arkansas, but it’s close enough for WSU to do some recruiting. Pitcher Khol Nanney (from Fayetteville) walked on at WSU and enjoyed a good career. Catcher/third baseman Cody Clark started his career at Arkansas and transferred to WSU during a coaching change. WSU signed outfielder D’Marcus Ingram (North Little Rock), but he went to junior college and is now hitting .236 for Quad Cities of the Class A Midwest League.

Vinson, who quarterbacks Alma’s football team, hit .440 with nine home runs.

• That’s the good news for WSU fans. The bad news is pitcher Logan Hoch is having shoulder problems. He will try rehab for a few weeks. If nothing improves, he will likely have surgery. That’s potentially a big blow to the bullpen, already hit hard by Tyler Fleming’s injury. If Hoch were to miss 2009 (and that is not certain at this point), eight of WSU’s top nine pitchers from last season are lost to the draft, graduation or injury. Tim Kelley (who threw 52 innings) would be the only returner who threw more than 16 innings in 2008.
• School starts Thursday at WSU. Fall practice begins Sept. 1 (be prepared to spend all day at the field, the notice at the baseball office reads) and ends Oct. 15. Last season, the Shockers took Labor Day off. Not this year.
• I got a look at WSU’s tentative schedule for 2009. WSU plays only two Tuesday-Wednesday sets where it could be a significant pitching disadvantage. Last season, WSU played Tuesday and Wednesday against different opponents four times and went 3-5 (rain canceled one Wednesday game after a Tuesday game). That schedule, done in part because WSU needs the gate from playing good teams in good weather, is probably a factor that doesn’t get enough attention when discussing non-conference woes. The Shockers often make the their life difficult by stretching their pitching staff in those midweek games. Would that nightmare loss at Oklahoma (12-11 in 10 innings) been different if WSU had not used three pitchers against Kansas State the night before? OU played one midweek game. In 2009, WSU plays Oklahoma State and Oklahoma back-to-back and Oral Roberts and Kansas back-to-back. They also play two-game mid-week series against Kansas State and Northern Colorado, when both teams should be on similar ground. That schedule gives WSU’s a better shot to win mid-week games.

The quest for a game in Texas became something close to an obsession under former coach Mark Turgeon, who recruited the state heavily. That desire to play in D-FW or Houston didn’t change under Gregg Marshall. With former Rice assistant Marty Gross on his staff, Marshall continues to hit Texas hard - WSU freshmen David Kyles and Toure Murry are from Texas.

Prince Couisnard (P.J.’s dad) tells stories about chatting up Gross at a Houston’s Starbuck’s for a game to bring the Shockers to town when Gross was at Rice. The Owls had no interest. Neither did Houston, SMU etc., etc.

TCU has a new coach, Jim Christian, and Prioleau is on his staff. Prioleau, who spent five years on Turgeon’s staff, helped make the match.

“He got the ball rolling,” WSU associate athletic director Brian Pracht said.

KGSO is reporting WSU’s scrimmage is against Kansas State, which makes a lot of sense for both sides. In the world of college athletics, it almost makes too much sense. WSU isn’t confirming anything about the scrimmage.

“We have not agreed to anything yet,” Pracht said.

So here is what we know about the non-conference schedule. Only dates are missing for a few games.

Nov. 16 - Florida A&M

Nov. 24 - Centenary

Nov. 27 - Georgetown at Old Spice Classic (ESPN2)

Nov. 28 - Tennessee or Siena at Old Spice Classic

Nov. 30 - Old Spice Classic

Dec. 3 - at Texas Tech

Dec. 8 - at TCU

Dec. 22 - North Dakota

That leaves dates for UMKC, Northern Arizona (both at CKA) and a Bracket Buster game in February. Drafts of the MVC schedule are in the hands of coaches and administrators at the schools. As soon as Creighton, Evansville and Bradley get their concerts, tractor pulls and swap meets arranged at their rental locations, it’s go time.