2011-2012 Wichita State Shockers Basketball Preview

Wichita State Shockers - Missouri Valley Conference (MVC)

2010-11: 29-8, 14-4

2010-11 postseason: NCAA

Coach: Gregg Marshall (82-55 at Wichita State, 276-138 overall)

Two years ago Wichita State won 25 games. Last season they won 29. All they have to show for it is a couple trips to the NIT. They won the NIT in 2011, but that was not the initial goal and it will not be the goal heading into the 2011-2012 campaign. A Missouri Valley Conference team that goes 14-4 in conference play used to be an easy NCAA team. That is not the case anymore. However, the conference is getting better and the Shockers are one of the better teams. Coach Gregg Marshall should have his group ready for another successful season, but this time two MVC teams will be worthy of a tournament berth.

Who’s Out:

This will not be exactly the same Shocker team that dominated the NIT. J.T. Durley is the big loss. The forward led the team with 11.2 points per game and emerged as a solid all-around big man. The loss of Gabe Blair and Aaron Ellis leaves a lot of questions in the frontcourt. Blair was easily the best rebounder last season and Ellis started 21 games. Jerome Hamilton, Tyler Richardson and Josh Walker did not see too much playing time, but their absence thins out the frontcourt even more. Wing Graham Hatch was never much of a scorer, but he could shoot and be the prototypical glue guy. His numbers are replaceable, but it will not be quite that simple when trying to replace his intangibles.

Who’s In:

The Shockers picked up a whole slew of newcomers. Guards Ron Baker, Tekele Cotton, Adam Hasty, Joe Mitchell and Evan Wessel will have a tough time finding minutes and do not be surprised if a handful of those guys end up redshirting. Even some of the smaller forwards, like Randall Vautravers will not be needed any time soon. That leaves, for this year at least, four important newcomers. Carl Hall is the prize recruit. The Junior College All-American should step right into the starting lineup at the power forward position. He should be the big guy this team needs to battle in the paint and do plenty of scoring and rebounding. However, depth in the frontcourt will be a problem. James Anacreon, another juco transfer, will have to play some minutes. Getting something out of freshmen Ede Egharevba and Jake White would be extremely beneficial.

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Who to Watch:

The rotation in the backcourt is extremely talented and experienced. Joe Ragland is a fine point guard who should be in for a great senior season. Demetric Williams did not have a great sophomore season, but he is a better player than what he showed last year and should be able to handle all of the minutes as the backup point guard, or even some minutes on the wing. However, the minutes on the wing are already muddled. Toure’ Murry can run the point, but it probably will not come to that. Instead he will be on the wing, at the three spot. Murry is a superb all-around player who averaged 9.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season. If that is not impressive enough, Murry has won the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year Award the last two seasons. That leaves David Kyles, a sharp shooting senior, starting beside Murry and Ben Smith back as the super sub. Smith has a little more size and is a fine small forward, but he could not crack the starting lineup last year and he probably will not this year. But starting or not, Smith will do plenty of scoring and do a little work on the glass too. Between Murry, Kyles and Smith, there should not be many minutes left for anybody else on the wing.

Final Projection:

The minutes up front are more up for grabs. Garrett Stutz lacks the conditioning to play 25 minutes per game, but the seven-footer is a very productive player when he is on the floor. He averaged 7.2 points and 3.5 rebounds in less than 15 minutes per game last season. He should get closer to 20 to 25 minutes this year, but it remains to be seen if he can be as productive playing that many minutes. Ehimen Orukpe is another seven-footer who should be a fine backup to Stutz. However, relying on those two and the newcomers in the frontcourt is a little dangerous. This is a team that could play smaller and move Smith to the four spot at times, but that is not ideal. It would not be that bad of a thing against most opponents, but the frontcourt should have enough options to stay fresh and productive. If they do, Coach Marshall will finally get the NCAA Tournament berth this team deserves.

Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA

Projected Starting Five:

Joe Ragland, Senior, Guard, 7.0 points per game
David Kyles, Senior, Guard, 9.3 points per game
Toure’ Murry, Senior, Guard, 9.4 points per game
Carl Hall, Junior, Forward, DNP last season
Garrett Stutz, Senior, Center, 7.2 points per game

By Joel Welser courtesy of www.CollegeSportsMadness.com
CollegeSports-fans.com Senior Basketball Writer

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