How to watch Tuesday’s Shocker basketball game and quick scout of Catawba
By Taylor Eldridge
Before every Wichita State men’s basketball game, The Eagle’s Taylor Eldridge previews the Shockers’ upcoming opponent with a scouting report and prediction.
Tuesday’s game: Catawba College at Wichita State, 7 p.m., Koch Arena
All statistics are from KenPom.com, Hoop-Math.com and Synergy Sports Technology.
3 Strengths
Continuity. Multiple season-ending injuries resulted in a disappointing 11-15 season for Catawba last year, but the team did win six of its last nine games. Catawba returns 81 percent of its minutes and has 11 players back with starting experience.
Scrapping. Catawba doesn’t have anyone taller than 6-7 as a regular in its rotation, yet it was a plus rebounding team last season. Catawba was excellent crashing its own glass, grabbing nearly 31 percent of available offense rebounds, which would have been a top-60 mark at the Division I level.
Additions. The most important news is the return of 6-4 senior guard Jameel Taylor, who is the team’s best player and is finally healthy after an injury ended his season after four games last year. Catawba also adds 6-6 glue guy Ben Zemonek, who redshirted, on top of a Division I transfer in point guard Devon Cooper (Radford) and 6-4 senior Jordan McElveen, who led his Division II team in scorirng last season.
3 Weaknesses
Defending the rim. While Catawba may be scrappy when it comes to rebounding, its size deficiency comes more into play when defending the rim. Opponents shot a comfortable 56 percent there last season and that number isn’t likely to change without an upgrade in size from Catawba.
Transition defense. Opponents loved to run on Catawba last season, as almost 20 percent of opponent positions came in transition. And when they got an already sub-par Catawba defense back-pedaling, opposing offenses did damage. Catawba’s defense allowed 1.15 points per possession in transition, which was almost dead-last in Division II.
Outside shooting. This may change with the return of Taylor, but no one else on the roster can be considered a knockdown shooter. Malik Constantine is particularly effective popping after a screen to the left wing, but that’s about it. Catawba’s returners combined to make a tick below 32 percent of their threes last season and the team’s 31 percent three-point rate is extremely low by today’s standards.
3 Players to Watch
6-4 senior Jameel Taylor (No. 21)
Strengths: Taylor is a proven scorer at all three levels with a career average of better than 17 points per game. He’s an efficient scorer that generates nearly two-thirds of his offense going toward the rim, where he has finished at a tidy 56 percent (Can Asbjorn Midtgaard and Jaime Echenique affect that?). He’s also a career 39-percent three-point shooter, but has historically only taken about three per game. He’s a much better shooter when he can spot up from the wings, as opposed to creating his own shot at the top. Taylor does just about everything for Catawba. He is the primary scorer, he can rebound and even play-make for others off the bounce.
Weaknesses: Tuesday will be Taylor’s first live action in more than a year after an ankle injury robbed him of almost all of last season and forced him to redshirt. After making 44 percent of threes on 3.6 attempts per game as a sophomore, Taylor cooled off considerably his last one-plus season: making 32 percent on 2.7 attempts per game. In his last healthy season, Taylor rated as a poor defender and struggled particularly on guarding spot-up chances on the perimeter.
6-6 junior Malik Constantine (No. 40)
Strengths: Constantine has some pop to his offensive game, rebounds well over his size on defense and grades out as a good defender. Despite being undersized, he finishes well inside and has shown an affinity for delivering daggers from the left wing, where he’s made 49 percent of his 35 career attempts. Constantine sucked up 20 percent of available defensive rebounds last season, a rate that was higher than WSU’s Shaquille Morris (18 percent) for reference.
Weaknesses: Had a high turnover rate last season considering his usage. Not much of a threat from the mid-range and anywhere but the left wing on the perimeter. For as good of a defensive rebounder he is, that trait doesn’t translate to the offensive end. After starting 18 games last season, Constantine will have to win his starting job back.
6-7 senior Jeremy McLaughlin (No. 20)
Strengths: Post-up presence for Catawba and the biggest threat it has inside at 6-7 and 225. For as dominant a defensive rebounder that Constantine is, McLaughlin is his equal crashing the offensive glass. He grabbed 12 percent of available offensive rebounds, which is on par with Darral Willis from last season and would’ve ranked in the top-100 of Division I. Essentially all of his offense comes from within five feet of the basket, where McLaughlin finishes at 56 percent and loves his left-handed hook shot.
Weaknesses: Basically a non-threat on offense if he’s outside of the lane. A wise choice would be to fall McLaughlin if he has inside position because he made just 49 percent of his free throws on 92 attempts last season. He loves to post up, but isn’t very effective if you make him go right.
Prediction
Who knows what to expect from Wichita State? As recently as Sunday night, Gregg Marshall had to end practice early because he was so frustrated with his team. Marshall said himself that he’s not expecting Tuesday night to be pretty.
But WSU has crushed its last eight exhibition opponents by an average of 40 points. Catawba should be a winning Division II team, but I don’t think it has enough to push the Shockers longer than 10 minutes.
WSU should be able to cruise off its athleticism and height advantage alone. Catawba plays no one taller than 6-7, so this is a real opportunity for the 7-foot giants like Asbjorn Midtgaard and Jaime Echenique to make an impression. Not only should they dominate defensively around the rim and rebounding, but they should be able to take advantage of their size inside offensively.
We’ve heard reports all summer long that the two seniors, Markis McDuffie and Samajae Haynes-Jones, have been the two best players. It’s time to see some proof. Both had disappointing junior years and are looking for big-time bounceback seasons. We should get a glimpse of a fully-healthy McDuffie and a fully-confident Haynes-Jones on Tuesday.
No, there won’t be a Teddy Allen sighting (the NCAA still has yet to make an official ruling on his waiver request). But we should see everyone else, including six freshmen that are all jockeying for position in Marshall’s early-season rotation. I would be shocked if anyone sees more than 25 minutes, as Marshall will try to play all 12 scholarship players.
WSU may be struggling in practice, but this is still a team that was able to knock off a Big 12 and top-100 opponent in Oklahoma State in a closed scrimmage last weekend. The Shockers should lock them one up by halftime, then use the second 20 minutes to experiment with the newcomers.
Wichita State 78, Catawba 55
Shocker Player of the Game
This story was originally published October 30, 2018 at 5:09 AM.
