WSU next year

[rlh04d]

ISUr is the only team I thought could legitimately stand toe-to-toe with WSU next year, and that's gone now.

If the team stays healthy, WSU's a 17-1 conference team, and a wrecking ball all year. They'll be better than last year and I can't say the same for either of the teams I expect to be 2/3.

Tournament is another animal. That all depends on matchups and seedings.

[Wufan]

Landing an impact big man is the difference between hoping for a tourney run and hoping for a national title. Shockers should be predicted for a 16-2 record in conference and another 30 win season.

[wgslaw]

This is the deepest and most talented and athletic WSU team I have seen in 40 years. I don't know what their ceiling is. But if you set the seniors aside, consider the following as to sophomores:

Brown: Can play 3 and probably 2. I could not tell any material difference in Omaha in the athletic ability of Oubree and Brown. Brown needs to finish better at the rim which I think will come in time. Against KU he was equal to or even arguably better than Oubree. He really stepped it up in the tournament. I think he can and will play 3 at a very high level.

Nurger: Can be a legitimate 5 and has a very high ceiling. Needs to develop more moves with his back to the basket. Needs to be more active on the offensive board. Needs to bulk up some. Has real help shot blocking talent. I think the illness really hurt his development last year. He is the wild card as to WSU's ceiling this year.

Morris: Really a 4 and is out of place at 5. Obviously skilled offensively and will increase his range. He can be a real load for a 4. He can score in and out. Consistency in intensity, effort and conditioning is an issue. I see signs of that getting better.

Kelly: He is 4. Excellent athlete, strong, tough. Needs to develop offensive skills. Could eventually be special or could be just good.

Frankampt: Obviously an excellant shooter. Said to be the best on the team including RB and FVF. Is he a real point guard and can he play defense? Who knows?

As to the freshman, it is reasonable to expect they will only serve as depth. However they are extremely athletic and talented. They are a whole different level.

Hamilton: He is a 4 and maybe a 5. He looked a legit 6'9" out at Sunrise and can run and really jump and can shoot. Now playing on a 19 and under team in China against some Euro teams and last game scored 24 with 12 boards. Needs to learn the intensity which he could play defense and rebound.

Shamet: He is a good sized 2. He may be one of the most underrated players coming into college basketball. Does everything very well and is very athletic. I think he will be good enough to let RB play 30 a game and not 37 which I think will help RB's 3 point percentage.

Thomas: Is tall for a point and can run (extremely fast), sky, shoot and score. But it takes more to be a real PG. That is the difference between FVF and Mason.

McDuffie: He is a very tall 3 with a lot of offensive skills both inside and out. I think he could struggle with the physicality but he should stand out some games. Highest rate recruit.

How will WSU do in the tournament? That tournament is the most humbling thing in all of sports. WSU needs 3 or 4 of the above kids to step up. If they do, they could go very deep.

[Championz]

16-2 in conference play and a round of 32 appearance

Another dominating year of the Valley and it only results in a 32nd place finish in the tournament? I guess that says a lot about the Valley if true.

[Cdizzle]

16-2 in conference play and a round of 32 appearance

Another dominating year of the Valley and it only results in a 32nd place finish in the tournament? I guess that says a lot about the Valley if true.

Meh. The tourney is a pretty big crapshoot.

[rlh04d]

This is the deepest and most talented and athletic WSU team I have seen in 40 years. I don't know what their ceiling is. But if you set the seniors aside, consider the following as to sophomores:

I don't put value in any player that I haven't seen add value to the team yet. In which case the only non-seniors I have any real faith in right now are Brown and Shaq. Maybe Kelly.

Which means I have confidence in about 5-7 players on next year's team. If we have 7 solid players next year, we're not losing more than two conference games, IMO. Anything past that just becomes unfair.

[Wufan]

This is the deepest and most talented and athletic WSU team I have seen in 40 years. I don't know what their ceiling is. But if you set the seniors aside, consider the following as to sophomores:

Brown: Can play 3 and probably 2. I could not tell any material difference in Omaha in the athletic ability of Oubree and Brown. Brown needs to finish better at the rim which I think will come in time. Against KU he was equal to or even arguably better than Oubree. He really stepped it up in the tournament. I think he can and will play 3 at a very high level.

Nurger: Can be a legitimate 5 and has a very high ceiling. Needs to develop more moves with his back to the basket. Needs to be more active on the offensive board. Needs to bulk up some. Has real help shot blocking talent. I think the illness really hurt his development last year. He is the wild card as to WSU's ceiling this year.

Morris: Really a 4 and is out of place at 5. Obviously skilled offensively and will increase his range. He can be a real load for a 4. He can score in and out. Consistency in intensity, effort and conditioning is an issue. I see signs of that getting better.

Kelly: He is 4. Excellent athlete, strong, tough. Needs to develop offensive skills. Could eventually be special or could be just good.

Frankampt: Obviously an excellant shooter. Said to be the best on the team including RB and FVF. Is he a real point guard and can he play defense? Who knows?

As to the freshman, it is reasonable to expect they will only serve as depth. However they are extremely athletic and talented. They are a whole different level.

Hamilton: He is a 4 and maybe a 5. He looked a legit 6'9" out at Sunrise and can run and really jump and can shoot. Now playing on a 19 and under team in China against some Euro teams and last game scored 24 with 12 boards. Needs to learn the intensity which he could play defense and rebound.

Shamet: He is a good sized 2. He may be one of the most underrated players coming into college basketball. Does everything very well and is very athletic. I think he will be good enough to let RB play 30 a game and not 37 which I think will help RB's 3 point percentage.

Thomas: Is tall for a point and can run (extremely fast), sky, shoot and score. But it takes more to be a real PG. That is the difference between FVF and Mason.

McDuffie: He is a very tall 3 with a lot of offensive skills both inside and out. I think he could struggle with the physicality but he should stand out some games. Highest rate recruit.

How will WSU do in the tournament? That tournament is the most humbling thing in all of sports. WSU needs 3 or 4 of the above kids to step up. If they do, they could go very deep.

A few clarifications:

FVF=Fred VanVleet
Thomas=Tyrone Taylor
I keep seeing people say Shaq Morris is a PF or should play the 4. I don't agree. I think he is short of the ideal center height by a couple of inches, but definitely a collegiate center. Otherwise, good info. The now sophomores need to make sure and not play like freshman next year.

[glm38]

IMO unless WSU signs a talented big via transfer or juco - then Bush Wamukota will be a big key to their season. He really gives the Shockers a lot of size up front and I thought he showed some flashes of good play in the middle this past year. Can he build on that?

Also can Shaq man the 4 spot? He obviously has the talent but doesn't always play to his potential. I remember seeing him in the game in Springfield and he was struggling to get up and down the floor showing obvious conditioning issues. But if Shaq can't handle it I do think they have some other options at the 4.

[wgslaw]

Thanks for the name help WU. Would be interested in how you see the sophs/frosh. One of the things that get overlooked is that all but 2 are prep school or redshirt transfers.

[Aargh]

Toward the end of the season, Wamukota was really looking good on D. Against UNI in WEichita, he was the only player for WSU who could stop Tuttle. He didn't embarrass himself on D in the tourney. In fact, he did fairly well against some good post players.

On offense, well, he had a moment where I believe his thought process went, "They threw me the ball? OK, I'm standing right beside the basket. I've got the ball in my hands. There's not really anyone close to me. Oh, I GOT IT! This is where I'm supposed to dunk it. DANG! Where'd that guy come from who blocked my dunk".

Sophomore class:
If Kelly "gets it", he's got Early's athleticism and shooting range. If he doesn't "get it", he can still rebound, but he's a TO machine on offense.

Brown will get NBA looks. Will probably get minutes at PG, SG, SF, and PF during his time at WSU - depending on depth at those spots. Played a year of PG at prep school against mostly JuCo teams. He's 6'6".

Frankamp (second semester) was top-40 nationally out of HS. Deadly shooter with ability to create his own 3-pt. shot. He's a 6' SG trying to learn to play D1 PG. Had a year to work on that after transferring from Kansas. Was a higher-ranked recruit than Milton Doyle at Loyola. A little odd that WSU is getting a transfer from Kansas who was looking for a better opportunity with a better team. Paid his own way second semester last year and is expected to pay his own way this year. If Marshall doesn't sign a quality big, then there's a scholarship available for Frankamp.

Nurger could be a special player by the time he's a Jr. or Sr. If he is merely servicable as a So. that would be huge.

Freshmen:

6'9" Hamilton at PF (recruited by mid or upper-level teams from 4 of the P5 conferences) and McDuffie (6'7 or more and projected to a potential 6'10") at SF - that's his position - could be Bookends II for WSU. The original Bookends were Antoine Carr and Cliff Levingston who had a lot of years and a lot of rings in the NBA.

Taylor is projected As a PG at 6'3" and has a 43" vertical. Shamet is a 6'4" SG who is winning dunking contests and may have an even bigger vertical. Some film appears to show the top of his head above the rim. Shamet was the MVP of the first-team All-Metro team out of Kansas City.

The new guys next year are probably the best recruiting class Marshall has ever had.