(01-23-2018 08:07 AM)Tiger1983 Wrote:  First, I wish the Tigers had WSU’s “problem”.

I think the main causes of WSU’s problem (to the extent one exists) are increased competition and relative lack of talent. WSU only has two 4 stars on the roster and (correct me if I am wrong Shocker fans) no likely future NBA player. When the Tigers were relevant, we usually overwhelmed opponents with talent on the off nights all teams experience. WSU does not have the that luxury, IMO.

That is a legit theory but I have problems with it. Here is Verbalcommits.com's current recruit ranking comparison of teams in the AAC:



http://www.verbalcommits.com/conferences/american

As you can see, Wichita State is virtually tied with Tulane for 5th and extremely close to SMU for 4th.

Obviously we all know recruiting rankings are nearly totally bogus except at the very highest levels - and even then they can be way off. Gregg Marshall is known to be one of the best recruiters in the nation with regards to finding "diamonds in the rough". Add in the fact that we've owned just about every blue blood program in the country with our "low-talent" roster over the last 5 years (save for Kentucky), and you must reinterpret the rules of the game - at least when dealing with the Shockers. Also, we lost to Kentucky by an average of 2.5 pts. the last two times we've played them. We achieved that result with nearly the exact same Verbalcommits score we have now - in fact, I think it was lower.

So I'm going to have to DENY your hypothesis yet thank you greatly for your honest opinion. I do agree that if we had Gregg Marshall-type players with Kentucky-like talent, we would be unstoppable. Unfortunately though, Gregg Marshall-type players having Kentucky-like talent is a paradox. Blue chip recruits have been told they are the best all their lives. Those type of players would never work on a Gregg Marshall team.


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