2016 MVC Media Day - Preseason selections

[SubGod22]

Im not a fan of Frankamp but I could be proven wrong of course.

I think he will struggle with alot more attention paid to him.

He has struggled with any D1 attention paid to him.

But then struggle is a relative term.

I guess my point was I don't see him being close to an All-MVC player. Of course, I don't see Reed Timmer there either.

I'm not sure you'd find a Shocker fan that disagrees with you.

[Cdizzle]

Im not a fan of Frankamp but I could be proven wrong of course.

I think he will struggle with alot more attention paid to him.

He has struggled with any D1 attention paid to him.

But then struggle is a relative term.

I guess my point was I don't see him being close to an All-MVC player. Of course, I don't see Reed Timmer there either.

Agree to agree.

[mule]

Im not a fan of Frankamp but I could be proven wrong of course.

I think he will struggle with alot more attention paid to him.

He has struggled with any D1 attention paid to him.

But then struggle is a relative term.

I guess my point was I don't see him being close to an All-MVC player. Of course, I don't see Reed Timmer there either.

I was surprised that Jaylon Brown was not selected ahead of one or both of these guards. He had a solid season last year and should only improve upon that this year.

[glm38]

Im not a fan of Frankamp but I could be proven wrong of course.

I think he will struggle with alot more attention paid to him.

I'm not much a fan of Frankamp either, but I'm not sure how much more attention is going to be given to him. It's not like he's one of the top 3 players on the roster. I'll give Conner credit for doing what's been asked of him and improving some of his weaknesses, but his game is what it is. If he finds some consistency in his shot he'll be a nice weapon off the bench, preferably as an undersized SG.

If things go well, he won't be playing much PG by the time MVC play rolls around. I would hope Smith and Reaves will have locked up most of the minutes at that point. Personally, I actually prefer Simon running the point over Frankamp, but that's me. With that said, I don't want Simon running the point too much either.

Do you see Reaves coming in as a freshman and starting or even getting significant minutes? I'm not saying he won't eventually be good but I would think coming in as a freshman from a very small HS he's going to a have a big adjustment to make to D1 competition.

For that reason I see Frankamp getting a lot of minutes this coming year at PG. He's unspectacular but steady at that position.

[SubGod22]

Im not a fan of Frankamp but I could be proven wrong of course.

I think he will struggle with alot more attention paid to him.

I'm not much a fan of Frankamp either, but I'm not sure how much more attention is going to be given to him. It's not like he's one of the top 3 players on the roster. I'll give Conner credit for doing what's been asked of him and improving some of his weaknesses, but his game is what it is. If he finds some consistency in his shot he'll be a nice weapon off the bench, preferably as an undersized SG.

If things go well, he won't be playing much PG by the time MVC play rolls around. I would hope Smith and Reaves will have locked up most of the minutes at that point. Personally, I actually prefer Simon running the point over Frankamp, but that's me. With that said, I don't want Simon running the point too much either.

Do you see Reaves coming in as a freshman and starting or even getting significant minutes? I'm not saying he won't eventually be good but I would think coming in as a freshman from a very small HS he's going to a have a big adjustment to make to D1 competition.

For that reason I see Frankamp getting a lot of minutes this coming year at PG. He's unspectacular but steady at that position.

I'm not saying he starts this year, I think Smith will end up in that roll. I do think by Valley play that Reaves will be the primary backup and could easily play 12 to 15 minutes per game there and be quite good. I've seen the videos and they are what they are. But he also put up some very good numbers against larger schools. I believe he had a great game against the 5A state champs last year which tells me he didn't only do it against tiny schools and he has some ability.

I know Shocker Madness was just a very small sample, but he looked like he belonged and made some very nice plays. He and Smith will make a nice pairing at the point.

Conner can run the point for spot minutes and be fine doing so. If he's relied on for 15-20 at PG we're not as strong as we could otherwise be. He's one of those guys that will take care of the ball and make the simple pass to the open man, but he's not one that's going to create much for others. It's just not who he is. He says he's working on it, but I'm not expecting to see much from that part of his game.

So in November, you'll probably see more of him and Smith with a little bit of Reaves at the point. If all goes well, you'll start to see a bit of a transition through December where Conner will start getting more of his minutes at SG and less at PG as Reaves steps up and takes more responsibility. By January, I think we'll be where I stated above in that the majority of the minutes at the point go to Smith and Reaves. Allowing Conner to spend more time backing up the SG position.

Conner may start game one at PG. I believe that will eventually evolve into him playing very little. Marshall has said a number of times how quickly Smith was grasping the offense and putting in the work to be the guy there. His only problem is learning to use his gifts in an effective and efficient manner. Though he was quietly good at SM.

[Wufan]

Im not a fan of Frankamp but I could be proven wrong of course.

I think he will struggle with alot more attention paid to him.

I'm not much a fan of Frankamp either, but I'm not sure how much more attention is going to be given to him. It's not like he's one of the top 3 players on the roster. I'll give Conner credit for doing what's been asked of him and improving some of his weaknesses, but his game is what it is. If he finds some consistency in his shot he'll be a nice weapon off the bench, preferably as an undersized SG.

If things go well, he won't be playing much PG by the time MVC play rolls around. I would hope Smith and Reaves will have locked up most of the minutes at that point. Personally, I actually prefer Simon running the point over Frankamp, but that's me. With that said, I don't want Simon running the point too much either.

Do you see Reaves coming in as a freshman and starting or even getting significant minutes? I'm not saying he won't eventually be good but I would think coming in as a freshman from a very small HS he's going to a have a big adjustment to make to D1 competition.

For that reason I see Frankamp getting a lot of minutes this coming year at PG. He's unspectacular but steady at that position.

PG is up in the air for the first time in 6 seasons at WSU. As such there are a lot of opinions on who will do what, and anybody that's posts their thoughts on a message board is just guessing. Here's what is known:

Fred VanVleet didn't start as a freshman.
Marshall has stated that Smith is a pure PG and has elite level speed. He also stated that elite level speed is worthless unless you know how to use it.
Marshall has stated that he's not sure of Conner is a scoring PG or an undersized 2.
Marshall has stated that PG will be run by committee with Conner, Smith, and Reaves being in contention. Shamet can play in a pinch. NO MENTION OF JR SIMON IN THE ROTATION.
Marshall believes Austin Reaves can be really good if he tightens up his handles and can stay healthy. He needs to gain upper body strength. He's the best post passer on the team.

[UNIFanSince1983]

Going to be very interesting to see how Jeremy Morgan does this year as the man for UNI. It is a role I think he is very capable of playing, but he hasn't had to play it in his time with the Panthers.

[wgslaw]

I did not see the WSU scrimmage but a fellow who played some and has followed BB closely for over 50 years from Ernie Moore to FVV and whose opinion I value highly did. His comments regarding Reaves were as follows. Only one of the PGs who can bring the ball up the court by himself and you not worry. As to my concern as to the height of his dribble replied that he brings the ball down very low when around traffic. Has very quick moves on offense but did not see the same quickness on defense. Has PG mentality and can score. Said he would start him now and by mid season thinks you would have your point guard. Said Reaves has a very high ceiling. As to Smith, he said he was very quick but not impressed. As to Connor said he is safe passing the ball, but does not penetrate, and hangs around the key looking for the shot and he can shoot. That is who he is.

[SubGod22]

I did not see the WSU scrimmage but a fellow who played some and has followed BB closely for over 50 years from Ernie Moore to FVV and whose opinion I value highly did. His comments regarding Reaves were as follows. Only one of the PGs who can bring the ball up the court by himself and you not worry. As to my concern as to the height of his dribble replied that he brings the ball down very low when around traffic. Has very quick moves on offense but did not see the same quickness on defense. Has PG mentality and can score. Said he would start him now and by mid season thinks you would have your point guard. Said Reaves has a very high ceiling. As to Smith, he said he was very quick but not impressed. As to Connor said he is safe passing the ball, but does not penetrate, and hangs around the key looking for the shot and he can shoot. That is who he is.

I wasn't overly impressed with Smith at the scrimmage until I saw the unofficial stats that had him with 6 assists and 4 boards. So he was effective even if quietly so.

With that said, Reaves does have a lot of upside and I liked what I saw.

[bigdawg]

In what universe would anyone take Sean O'Brien in front of say Klint Carlson?

Even being a homer, I don't know what WSU player I wouldn't want over Reed Timmer.

I don't know Klint's game, but apparently people more knowledgeable than me felt Sean was worthy.