Will your team be better or worse next year?

[mvcfan]

In addition to not having Shamet, we also didn't have Frankamp who was very solid with very few turnovers when he became eligible. With Shamet and Frankamp, Baker would have had some rest and we would have beaten USC in Florida, for sure and probably at least one additional game in Florida for 2-3 wins. This would have jettisoned us up in the Top 30 RPI this year. Ty Taylor just wasn't ready yet.

[BirdsEyeView]

You Shocker fans are ridiculous to not think there will be a dropoff. You will still be the class of the conference IMO...I'm not arguing that. I am arguing your statement that you will be Top 25 most of the year.

Recruiting ratings mean sh** once a player steps foot on campus and you guys of all people should know that (see Baker, Ron).

You WSU fans can justify your teams status all you want, but logical non-biased fans would assume a drop off for at least the first portion of your season (minimum) due to adjusting to life without. That means no Top 25 for MOST OF THE YEAR as you stated above.

I hope I am wrong as it's good for the conference if MVC teams do well in NonCon, but I ask you WSU fans to take off the biased goggles and think logically. When FVV did play and struggled vs ISUr, Loyola (in a win), and UNI (2x), your team struggled. Take him away completely. Take away Ron Baker having a helluva Arch Madness to even win the quarterfinal game....then you can foreshadow what might happen in NonCon as your team adjusts and finds a new identity.

[AndShock]

The only thing that will keep us out of the top 25 most of the year is voters not noticing us. I expect us to be a top 25 KenPom team.

Wichita State will not finish ahead of UNI in the MVC over the next 5 years.
Evansville will finish ahead of Wichita State
Marshall is gone after this year 5x
Wichita State will do nothing after losing Murry, Stutz, and Kyles.
Marshall is in over his head in this conference
Marshall is way overpaid for a coach who can only get his team to the NIT

What's the definition of insanity?

[BirdsEyeView]

The only thing that will keep us out of the top 25 most of the year is voters not noticing us. I expect us to be a top 25 KenPom team.

Wichita State will not finish ahead of UNI in the MVC over the next 5 years.
Evansville will finish ahead of Wichita State
Marshall is gone after this year 5x
Wichita State will do nothing after losing Murry, Stutz, and Kyles.
Marshall is in over his head in this conference
Marshall is way overpaid for a coach who can only get his team to the NIT

What's the definition of insanity?

Who is saying any of those things???

The only thing I am arguing is the fact that you will start slow next year as you adjust to a new identity, thus causing you to not finish MOST OF THE YEAR in the Top 25.

All of you Shox fans are so damn defensive.

[Stickboy46]

You Shocker fans are ridiculous to not think there will be a dropoff. You will still be the class of the conference IMO...I'm not arguing that. I am arguing your statement that you will be Top 25 most of the year.

Recruiting ratings mean sh** once a player steps foot on campus and you guys of all people should know that (see Baker, Ron).

You WSU fans can justify your teams status all you want, but logical non-biased fans would assume a drop off for at least the first portion of your season (minimum) due to adjusting to life without. That means no Top 25 for MOST OF THE YEAR as you stated above.

I hope I am wrong as it's good for the conference if MVC teams do well in NonCon, but I ask you WSU fans to take off the biased goggles and think logically. When FVV did play and struggled vs ISUr, Loyola (in a win), and UNI (2x), your team struggled. Take him away completely. Take away Ron Baker having a helluva Arch Madness to even win the quarterfinal game....then you can foreshadow what might happen in NonCon as your team adjusts and finds a new identity.

You are being very defensive about tearing down WSU. Why can't we be defensive supporting our team? Both of us are arguing theoretical arguments. Yes we lose Fred and Ron, yes we will have a drop off. It will be a different look. There is the talent there to be a Top 25 team. You don't agree, that's fine. Neither of us are wrong or right at this point. I have just as many arguments to say we will be a Top 25 team as you have arguments to say we wont be.

I have confidence that Shamet, Allen, Frankamp, and Smith can combine to keep WSU relevant and as a Top 25 team. If Keyser or Reaves ends up being as good as advertised, then watch out. Chances are ... not all 6 of those guys are going to be flops. We have an idea of what Frankamp is. He's a solid player, but not a star at this point. Let's see if he starts to shine now that he is out of the shadows. We have a rough idea of Shamet. He's was STARTING when Fred went down, as a true freshmen. He's now got a year under his belt and will be a redshirt Freshmen. He's going to be special (and not just because of his rating, but because of what he showed at WSU last year). Allen and Smith are wild cards, but Marshall has spoken very highly about Allen's abilities. If you want to doubt all of them, fine.

[BirdsEyeView]

You are being very defensive about tearing down WSU. Why can't we be defensive supporting our team? Both of us are arguing theoretical arguments. Yes we lose Fred and Ron, yes we will have a drop off. It will be a different look. There is the talent there to be a Top 25 team. You don't agree, that's fine. Neither of us are wrong or right at this point. I have just as many arguments to say we will be a Top 25 team as you have arguments to say we wont be.

I was not being defensive of "tearing you down". I was complimentary and said you will most likely win the conference. Not all Redbird fans want to "tear down WSU"....just some of the Shocker fan base (not you).

I do agree you have top end talent on paper. We will see how it translates on the court and how your team adjusts to life without FVV and Baker.

You think they will adjust quickly and be top 25 most of the year
I think it will take some time and won't happen until sometime in conference season. New leadership can take some time to develop, so does confidence without your floor general and on-court coach. Like losing your QB in Football...takes time to recover.

We will see what happens.

[Ali]

I know a few sites have posted their preseason rankings. Have any included WSU?

[Rollbird5]

I think we will be better. How much so depends on who we get with our remaining scholarships

[BEARZ77]

I think Bear fans have no idea what to expect; we're excited about our talent and depressed about our coach. We have some excellent young returners and our best recruiting class in years on paper, but a coach who thru 5 seasons has underwhelmed in everyway possible. I think talent wise one might easily make a case for a top 3 finish, but I wouldn't feel confident with that wager either way. Miller, Kendrix, Dixon, Church and Kreklow are a good foundation of returning players. Ruder is a possibility and McCullough at least represents experienced size off the bench. Williams is one of the top rated freshmen coming in and a legitimate 6'5 or so pg. Johnson and Rhodes are productive 6'7ish jucos , one a rebounding stretch 4, the other a sweet shooting wing. Who knows with jucos and especially with Lusk handling them. Ditto for the intriguing Ronnie Rousseau a small but explosive guard who projects better than Miller did. I personally think it's too much talent and too many decisions for Lusk to handle given impatience and indecisiveness have been two of his shortcomings when it comes to rotations.
If he somehow figures out how to get his best players on the court together in the right combinations and then if he actually lets them to do what they each can do best, and if somehow he ever figures out what defensive scheme to employ and then if he knows how to teach it, then if.................

Ahh that's all too ifffing unlikely.

[SubGod22]

I know a few sites have posted their preseason rankings. Have any included WSU?

Gary Parrish included us in his Top 25 and 1 or whatever he calls it.

I don't think any of us are saying we'll start the season there, but don't be surprised when we make an appearance.