Gregg Marshall

[2livewu]

There is an awful lot of hype with this recruiting class. I know the coaches are very excited and believe they are bringing in an entirely different level of player than in the past.

Time will tell. And it's not just time. P'Allen Stinnett was as talented a player as this league has seen in 2 decades. We all know how that worked out. On the other hand, Adam Emmennecker led his team to one of the best Valley seasons ever, and I don't even think he made his high school starting lineup.

I've seen every WSU recruit, a lot, and some in person. I am not as sold on VanVleet as everyone else is. The kid is a winner, no doubt, but I have reservations as to his ability to play at the high D1 level.

Green will have to redshirt, he's not close to being ready for D1 ball. Hawkins, I don't know. He's uber talented and will be one of the 5 best athletes in the league on October 15, but he's got a lot of growing up to do.

Early is the real deal, but he hasn't been playing Division 1 competition. Still, I think he'll be fine, but that is assuming a lot. If he struggles or doesn't "buy in" we'll be in deep trouble for awhile.

Henry I've seen, and frankly I like what I've seen. He's not 7', at least not when I saw him. He is mobile though. He isn't going to have as big a learning curve as Ehimen does. But he isn't as athletic either. He'll need a redshirt, if we can afford it, but I consider him more ready than Green.

It's a good, maybe a very good class, with a lot of upside. But upside and $1 will buy you a small coffee at QuikTrip.

And remember, experience counts. Next year's team will have almost none. To me, the biggest question will be how much has the "culture of winning" rubbed off on the others? If it does, like it did with SIU back in the day (their new guys EXPECTED to win) then WSU should be competitive in the 2-5 range next year. If not, they'll need to win their fair share of 1 possession games to stay out of the play in round.

WSU's returnees will be underestimated, and that's fine with me. Ehimen won't be the liability everyone thinks he will be (he won't average more than 5 points a game either but that's ok). Williams is a player, and as good as any non "star" in the league at his position. Carl Hall is as good a 4 (outside of Doug) as there is in the league. Cotton and White are solid players and both will contribute. Ron Baker will help, lol.

[DoubleJayAlum]

Deontae Hawkins - Another 6'7" guy that projects as a SF. Potential impact player as a Fr.

Hawkins was ranked #135 in the nation prior to signing with the Shockers. The starting 5 at his HS are all D-I committments (including Yates at Creighton) and he leads the team in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots.

Hawkins will be solid, but I wouldn't count him in the fold until he is officially academically eligible. (And, if he gets eligible one might wonder if he went the Derrick Rose route since kids that score that low on the ACT the first time through don't usually end up with the required score on subsequent test unless, of course, World Wide Wes is involved.) I'd also be a tad bit concerned about a kid that gets suspended from the team during the season.

Congrats on the Shocks for a good recruiting class, but why is that relevant to whether Marshall stays or goes? If he decides to go back home, he could just try to talk the kids he considers to be the best players into going with him. After all, that's what Turgeon did when he left.

[cpacmel]

Here's a brief description and a poll for "Mr. Illinois". Interested fans can get an idea about Simpson and VanVleet.
http://hardhoopsnews.com/hhnillinoismrb.html

Aargh, you can post any link to any website you want. And in your link you can show a bogus poll where Shocker fans stuffed the ballot box. http://shockernet.net/forum/showthread.php?12205-Vote-for-Fred-VanVleet-for-Illinois-Mr-Basketball

Vote early. Vote often. there doesn't seem to be a cookie limiting a computer to one vote.

97% of those that voted on that website think Van Vleet is going to win Mr. Basketball, while only 3% think Simpson is going to win it. And Jabari Parker doesn't even rate a single % of the vote? WOW.

Parker is going to play in the NBA. If he could go straight from high school to the League, he would. He is that good.

He isn't just the best player in state, he is the top rated player in the country (2013).

[Aargh]

There have been multiple reports that Hawkins is "making good academic progress". Those have been coming from his coach and have been published in a newspaper that requires a confirmation. There is a reason to be optimistic about Hawkins' eligibility.

Recruiting classes are relevant to discussions of coaches changing jobs. You mentioned Turgeon. He tends to bail when sees a bad recruiting class on the way. aTm currently has an RPI of 157. That's just below where Evansville is at. aTm was a S16-type team when Turgeon got there, but Turgeon's solution to bad recruiting is to jump ship and let someone else deal with the mess. Marshall didn't bring any Winthrop recruits to WSU. It's been rumored some wanted to come with him.

Marshall has an ego and egos like to be fed. If Marshall sees an opportunity to coach at a school that consistently makes runs in the NCAA's, that could be more of a factor than money. Replacing a retiring coach might be more likely for Marshall than replacing a fired coach, or even a job opened up by the annual coaching domino fall. Coaches at schools that typically make runs in the NCAA's don't tend to get caught up in job-hopping.

There's reasons for Shox fans and MVC fans to be optimistic that Marshall will stay at WSU for some time. Just like the Valley needs good players (even if they're not on "your" team), the Valley needs proven coaches who can stick around a few years.

Hate on Marshall all you want, but he's good for the Valley, not just WSU.

[DoubleJayAlum]

There have been multiple reports that Hawkins is "making good academic progress". Those have been coming from his coach and have been published in a newspaper that requires a confirmation.

I haven't seen those and would be interested in reading those stories as I follow recruiting pretty closely. Seems a bit strange that there would be "multiple" stories if he was making such good progress (wouldn't just one do the trick?) Got a link to each of these multiple newspaper stories that required confirmation?

[Haha]

This thread is retarded, that is all I have to say on the matter.

BTW, both you clowns fighting over Mr. Ill...please give it a rest. Both are great players and both should contribute nicely to each ones program.

[Aces1982]

Dear MVC officials

Please cancel the next 5 seasons of basketball. It is apparent Wichita, their recruits, walk ons, redshirts, juco commits and Gregg have the league title locked up.

Thanks
Every school not named Wichita St

[WooHoo]

I've seen a lot of points made for Marshall to remain in Wichita. I haven't seen any place where people are saying WSU is running away as league champs the next 5 years.

[2livewu]

Dear MVC officials

Please cancel the next 5 seasons of basketball. It is apparent Wichita, their recruits, walk ons, redshirts, juco commits and Gregg have the league title locked up.

Thanks
Every school not named Wichita St

Comment not needed and completely taken out of context. First, I don't think any WSU fan thinks the Shocks are going to compete for a league title next year. Second, basketball is still more about being bigger, stronger and more talented than the other guy. WSU appears to be reloading with successful pieces. Gregg has set up a group that he's going to be excited about competing with in reference to other Valley teams. That could encourage him to hang around a little longer. That's the point people are trying to make. I don't think it will....but I see their argument.

If nothing else, his track record of juco guys is fairly solid.

I'll take the taller, wider more talented team with a coach not quite as good compared to the undersized, overachieving team with a better coach every time.....and I'll win the vast majority of times (to your sarcastic remark).

[valleychamp]

Listen, there are many valid reasons for a coach like Marshall to stay. People, especially fans of that school, will list off many things pointing to how good their coach has it, and why he should stay. We see this type of stuff almost every year from fans, and it happens all the time in our own conference. Many people on here were absolutely convinced that Cuonzo Martin was not going anywhere last year. But the fact is, that history tells us time and time again that coaches, especially mid-major coaches, usually move on eventually.

There are very few examples of a guy sticking with a mid-major school after a period of long term, or even short term success for that matter. Mark Few at Gonzaga, and who else? Maybe Stevens at Butler will stay for a while, but that remains to be seen. Heck, even coaches at BCS leagues are changing jobs left and right now, making seemingly lateral moves. Coaches leave for other jobs, regardless of situation, more often than not. Its just the unfortunate nature of the business right now.

Point being, nobody should be surprised if he up and left.