https://amp.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article312533582.html
While expectingly Shocker-centric, the article gives a nice picture of WSU and their expectations from the scrimmage.
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Wonāt get scores from the scrimmage but this tweet is at least somewhat encouragingā¦.
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I heard that Santa Clara was pretty dominant but not sure how reliable without a score or other details. My guess is that some more info leaks over the next few days.
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Off-topic: LMU and USC are in a preseason scrimmage on ESPN+ right now. USC has a 10 point lead, but LMU hung tough. Gersten also looks pretty full. Honestly, itās pretty fun.
Does anyone know why some of these scrimmages are televised and some are guarded like state secrets?
Trying to get into the Cal game next Saturday but SCU is being super no fans allowed
Not sure how reliable the Wichita Message Board is but there are some posts about the scrimmageā¦
They only started allowing these events last year, I believe. So a lot of it is just slow adjustment to a new reality.
I imagine that everything that makes these scrimmages fun as a fan also makes them a real pain for coaches: over-interpretation of results causing increased pressure, etc etc. The pressure to āwinā a scrimmage will make some coaches less likely to actively experiment with looks and lineupsāultimately the point of it all.
But thereās lots of potential money in these ācharityā scrimmages. Charities get the ticket sales, sure. But the teams that do them are also getting a financial benefit for preseason ESPN and sports media coverage and drumming up fan excitement, season tickets, etc.
My guess is that we are a season or two away from SCU having at least one open charity scrimmage against a decent squad. The times, they are a-changinā.
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If the posts on WSUās site are somewhat accurate, sounds like WSU was up by ~10ish at some point but the Broncos ended up winning 10ish, something like 70-60. But also sounds like WSU missed 18 free throws and had two guys combined go 1/14. If they make FTās at reasonable level the game is an effectively even. And WSU has a preseason rank 128 on KenPom, 124 on Torvik, above average but middle of the pack type squad. Not sure all that adds up to a ādominantā Bronco performance.
All that said, doesnāt really matter. Without video and stats hard to judge. Iām sure there were long stretches of core guys getting plenty of PT but also some experimentation with different lineups and 2nd unit type guys maybe getting a little more run than they might get in a real game.
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Yeah, the info I got was devoid of any descriptive content, let alone stats, so nothing from which to base a ādominantā performance other than the word itself. Reading tea leaves on pre-season scrimmages is the stuff that fandom is made of, but, obviously it is very poor raw material for predictions and inferences.
My guess is that more will come from the Cal scrimmage with two local squads.
USF reportedly ālostā to Stanford in their scrimmage. Read into that what you will:
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https://www.kansas.com/sports/college/wichita-state/article312569573.html
A lot of reading between the lines needed, but thereās some description of the Wichita State scrimmage here.
Expected: hot outside shooting from Santa Clara and positional length.
Not expected: ārelentlessā pressure and trappingā¦new defensive mindset for the Broncos or just a scrimmage look that will disappear come November 4?
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Nice to hear the relentless and pressure D. But your question on what weāll actually see in the real games is a valid one. After 9 years of mostly vanilla, passive, straight-up man D, Iām in a wait and see mode. Hard for me to believe Sendek will change his ways and institute pressure D a majority of the time.
And the # of fouls mentioned is of concernā¦..43 foul shots translates to lots of fouls. Sendek deplores fouling; if he feels the pressure and trapping will lead to a lot of fouls, heās likely to chicken out and revert back to vanilla man principles.
Iām fine with and would like to see some full court pressure but thatās not all that common these days. More critical and desirable to me is the āblitzing the ball handlerā mentioned and trapping pick and rolls noted. You can do all this in the half court. They both disrupt the timing of the opposing O, force the ball out of hands of primary ball handlers and play makers and can disrupt or eliminate the quick hit, early shot opportunities for the opposing O on their 1st pass. All productive outcomes that challenge the opponent to execute on offense, and should also lead to more turnovers and run-out fast break opportunities.
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Agree totally. There was a mention on the SCU Hoops podcast with current manager Jacob C that defense was being emphasized as a team identity this season. Obviously, we will see what takes the court next month but with so much length it feels like a waste if the Broncos arenāt tenacious and disruptive on the defensive end.
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The ārelentless defenseā approach immediately evokes thoughts of many exceptional programs of yesteryear. 2012 Kentucky Wildcats and 1990 UNLV are two that immediately come to mind.
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