ANOTHER Team Has Season Best 3 Point Shooting vs Pack

06-07 Basketball General111

Clemson 87
NC State 76

Some quick bytes on the game…although they are not very different from any other loss this season:

* It is a broken record. Another basketball game…ANOTHER team who ‘found a way’ to shoot LIGHTS OUT from three point territory against the Wolfpack. Clemson ultimately shot 10-19 for 52% from behind the arc.

* At one point tonight the announcers made a comment about how “confidence” can help a team with their shooting. I wonder how your opponent’s inability or unwillingness to play defense impacts your shooting?

* It is not just a ‘coincidence’ that Wofford, UNC-G, ECU, UNC-W, Cincinnati, West Virginia and now Clemson have all produced fantastic shooting nights against the Wolfpack. We aren’t going to harp on the loss too much because we all know what is expected of this team this year and they are living up to the low expectations. The opportunity for the Pack to potentially nab an NIT bid this year is fleeting very quickly for the Pack.

* State continues to shoot very well from the field (and the free throw line). Tonight the Pack shot 54% from the field and 81% from the line. The problem lies in the fact that the Pack doesn’t get enough shots because of turnovers; while simultaneously allowing the opponent extra shots on offensive rebounds.

* Are we SURE that it Engin Atsur wouldn’t accept a redshirt this season and stick around another year?

* Courtney Fells should enjoy his time on the court this year because if he doesn’t show MAJOR improvement in his play on both ends of the floor then he may experience significantly dwindling playing time over the next few years. He could serve a super role as an “athlete” coming off the bench in the future, but most ACC teams don’t have spots for “shooting guards” that can’t shoot, have trouble making fundamental passes (ever heard of the BOUNCE PASS?), and don’t have a desire to play perimeter defense.

* I keep hearing from the television announcers that Trevor Ferguson is supposedly a great shooter. He probably is a great shooter; it is just hard to tell since he never shoots. What value does he bring if he can’t get a shot off in a game?

* To be honest, Ferguson is contributing EXACTLY what I expected of him. This isn’t a dig at him. Just honest analysis. You never saw SFN make any kind of a big deal (or much a mention) of his ‘absence’ before he was eligible. Can’t believe that Sendek truly spent a scholarship on this kind of transfer. Scratch that. Yes I can. Marques Johnson, Farnold Degand, Julius Mays, CJ Williams (and even Fells) presence on the roster at various points in the next three years don’t bode well for Ferguson in the future. If Costner moves to the 3F and Grant to the 2G to make room for Hickson to start next year (therefore moving Fells to the bench) then we may never see Ferguson on the court after this season.

* I have my eye on the official statistics tonight as I am interested to see how they categorize turnovers. I have periperally observed some potential ‘home cooking’ as it relates to the allocation of turnovers on State’s roster. I DVR’d the game (that I doubt very much that I will review) and randomly noted at least six turnovers that should be attributed to Gavin Grant tonight. (That is being VERY KIND) We will see how they come in.

* State opens ACC play with three losses for the first time since 1999-2000, when we went on to finish 5-11 in the conference. That is odd. Jimmy Dykes told us that Herb Sendek “did nothing but win” in Raleigh. 1999-2000? Sheesh. That was FOUR YEARS into Sendek’s tenure? That doesn’t jive with urban legend.

* Don’t make the mistake of getting too mad at the Pack for this loss just because it was to ‘Clemson’. This Tiger team currently holds the #6 spot in the Sagarin computer and is a legitimate NCAA Tournament and Top 20 team this year.

Update:

You generally KNOW that you must be at least CLOSE TO RIGHT when so many other people have the exact same thoughts as you do in realtime as things unfold. The following are comments from some of our readers from the the game entry that are SPOT ON and deserve elevation here. I elevate them because I have had all of the exact same thoughts and couldn’t agree with them more:

It is very hard to compete in the ACC when you have the worst perimeter defense in the history of mankind, and nobody can handle the ball adequately except your center.

I will revise my predictions – this could very easily be a 1-15 or 2-14 team in the ACC. I am exceptionally thankful for the Michigan win (our “one shining moment”, it seems) and the lack of an embarrassing OOC loss.

None of this is an indictment of Lowe. The skill set we need him to show is not necessarily being able to tread water with a vastly undermanned squad. We need to see what he can do with bullets in his gun. the next 2 years, we’ll see that.

What is most frustrating to me is the lack of fire in some of these guys. It translates in the careless turnovers and terrible fundamental defensive play. This is not the type of team I enjoy watching. I want us to be a fundamentally sound team that plays its ass off on the defensive end. We are as porous as can be there — guys just turning and laying it in with nobody helping out. I guess it all just sort of adds up when you only have 6 guys that can play. But come on guys, play some D! And Fells…he won’t sniff the court next year.

Courtney Fells is so frustrating. His pull up mid range jumper is so inconsistent and his turnovers are just mind boggling. Grant is the same way but just better shooting.

Grant plays horrible defense. I was watching him a lot during the later parts of the game and he was pretty much standing up-right (not in a defensinve crouch) and letting guys blow past him or making half hearted swipes at that ball. On O, he seems to play lazy most of the time and then really go after on others (like that nasty drive near the end of the game). If he attacked like that all the time, he would be nearly unstoppable

Goods:
Gavin can shoot, Horner can play, McCauley is good and has a sick pass, We can keep most games close.

Bads:
Gavin can’t pass, Ferguson is terrible, Fells cant pass, Atsur is more hurt, We have no depth,
We’re not going to really match up well with anyone in the ACC.

we pretty much knew all of this but this game reinforced it. Man, next year couldn’t come any faster.

Scary thought for the evening – imagine if and when the losing takes its toll on our mental state and we mail it in a bit – we’ll lose games by 40-50 points. Oh yeah, and thank God for Ben McCauley.

I hate Herb Sendek… talk about leaving the cupboard bare. He must have seen the writing on the wall with the departures of Bethel, Bennerman, Simmons, Evtimov and Brackman. He knew he would be fired with this squad. Gotta give these guys credit, they fight for as long as they can. They just don’t have the horses.

By the way…the comments and discussions here are wonderful. I just decided to take a peak at the idiot boards and I think that my IQ dropped 10 points in a matter of seconds. Thank you ALL for everything. (And, we will continue to moderate in a manner to keep the quality of the discussions as high-brow as possible).

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

06-07 Basketball General

111 Responses to ANOTHER Team Has Season Best 3 Point Shooting vs Pack

  1. Wulfpack 01/10/2007 at 9:27 PM #

    Way to go Tech!

  2. BoKnowsNCS71 01/11/2007 at 8:57 AM #

    I am impresed with what everyone used to call second tier ACC teams. Va played tough last night against EweNC. Tech the same. Clemson also improved.

    Duke 0-2 — that has not happened for 11 years but as I recall they came back and won most of the rest of their games that year.

    I think the ACC is going to beat itself up a lot this year with tough play and close games. Althought Roy has some stud horses — they are young.

    Hope we can pull off the upsets. Maintaining attitude and spirit is going to be as much a challege for us this year as the opposition.

  3. choppack1 01/11/2007 at 9:44 AM #

    They actually finished 8-8 that year.

  4. Gene 01/11/2007 at 11:24 AM #

    Watched parts of the Duke game. The ESPN commentators said Duke’s having problems with turnovers because they don’t have a true PG, Paulus isn’t able to become a true PG and Shirer (sp?) is a stop gap measure, as a ball handler, because of Paulus’ problems at the point…and Duke’s very young…

    Just bringing it up because we’re having similar problems, without a PG and lack a lot of experience.

  5. C Dog 01/11/2007 at 11:55 AM #

    The last time Duke started the ACC 0-2, Coach K took a leave of absence due to his back issues and turned things over to Pete Gaudet.

  6. nycfan 01/11/2007 at 12:10 PM #

    ^nope. Dook started 1-1 in the ACC in ’95 b/4 K took a LOA after the Clemson loss and the Dookies proceeded to win only 1 more conference game.

    The NEXT season they started 0-4 b/4 getting it together at the end of the season to finish 8-8 and go get smoked in the NCAA tournament by Eastern Michigan.

  7. partialqualifier 01/11/2007 at 12:52 PM #

    It seems to me that Coah K made the same mistake Sydney Lowe made….they both underestimated the value of point guard play and depth.

    Both of these guys would have been very wise to have picked up a Juco point guard in the off season in order to provide some insurance in case the starter was hurt (like Atsur) or just sucked (like Paulus). How a great coach like K and a former point guard like Lowe could have missed this is mind-boggling.

    The worst news for State is that we are getting plenty of help where we need it the least next year (on the frontcourt). We need ball handlers and shooter and we need them fast. You do not win in college basketball without good guards…and we have none.

  8. choppack1 01/11/2007 at 1:02 PM #

    PQ – We’re bringing in Marquez Johnson and Degand next year. They are both guards. I wonder if we knew that Costner and McCauley were going to be so strong, he would have pushed for another guard instead of bringing in Tracy Smith.

  9. Rick 01/11/2007 at 2:02 PM #

    “It seems to me that Coah K made the same mistake Sydney Lowe made….they both underestimated the value of point guard play and depth.”

    Please explain this foolish statement.

    Her tried to bring in Chris Wright.
    He brought in two PG transfers.
    He recruited a PG for 2008.
    What else was he supposed to do with two months?

    You are either uneducated or looking to crack on Lowe.

    It was old Herbie that did not understand the importance of a PG>

  10. redfred2 01/11/2007 at 2:24 PM #

    Apples to oranges.

    K’s situation was quite different from Lowe’s coming into this season. Scholarship players left the door open to speculation and provided some glimmer of hope for awhile, one left for the NBA, another giving up basketball altogether, formerly committed recruits were cut loose without any repercussions, unexpected set backs where at every turn for Sidney Lowe, who unlike K, was behind the eight ball, clock ticking, and in his FIRST season.

    It’s just like all of the comparisons to any facet of the way this team is playing at the moment. The only comparisons that are half way justifiable at present, are to a season that happened ten years ago. That first season, where after a decade of supposedly building the program without any sanctions or outside interference, the old cupboard has now been returned, in relatively the same shape as it was a decade ago. Not to mention the fact that the program had been stripped of any recognizable identity, and far removed from a past that was a positive factor back then.

    Sydney Lowe concentrated on the only thing he had some control over, that being the future. He and his staff worked hard and concentrated on that from the start, and they surprised most every one of us with the results they were able to achieve on such short notice.

  11. Gene 01/11/2007 at 2:26 PM #

    Both of these guys would have been very wise to have picked up a Juco point guard in the off season in order to provide some insurance in case the starter was hurt (like Atsur) or just sucked (like Paulus).

    I think Lowe & Co. looked at some JuCo guards, from what I remember reading, but decided those guards weren’t ACC caliber players.

    I think, given the inevitable falling apart of a recruiting class, when coaching changes are made, Lowe & Co. did a good job putting together the 2007 class and getting a jump on 2008.

    They might not have had time to lock up the top JuCo talent available for this upcoming year and weren’t impressed with what was left, so decided to use what they had.

1 … 3 4 5

Leave a Reply