Tudor: Bigger & Better Things Ahead

General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe75

We will keep our game entry untouched and wanted to highlight Caulton Tudor’s piece in its own entry this morning.

The Wolfpack, 16-14 overall, has done more than enough to turn Sidney Lowe’s first season as men’s basketball coach into a ringing success.

Although former coach Herb Sendek’s teams won 105 games from 2002 through last season and went to the NCAA Tournament in each of those five seasons, it’s safe to say that the future hasn’t looked brighter for State basketball in a long time.

And with the exception of Atsur, everyone on the Pack roster will be back next season.

State, on the other hand, has plenty of confidence. The Pack’s direction is good, too. Win or lose today, Lowe has elbowed his way into the Triangle neighborhood. His team may not be able to do better than the NIT this season, but bigger and better things lie ahead.

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General NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe

75 Responses to Tudor: Bigger & Better Things Ahead

  1. choppack1 03/09/2007 at 12:09 PM #

    branjawn – the game has been at 1pm for as long as I can remember. There is a DST difference – but that hour will make little difference….

    I am thrilled w/ Sid’s ability to coach offense and I love the development I’ve seen from Big Ben and Cos…I’m a little worried about our upcoming scoly crunch.

    If you assume everyone comes back – and depending how things bear out, that could be a big assumption – I think we’re maxed out next year and have 1 guard and 2/3 swing to go w/ our 3 other other guards already in teh fold.

    I also think we are underestimating how much we are losing this year w/ the departure of Atsur. He’s a very smart player. You’re talking about a guy who logged serious minutes at the PG for Turkey’s National team in the World Basketball Championship. He was playing w/ and against NBA players – and he didn’t look flustered.

    No year or situation is ever the same. Next year’s challenges will be about soothing hurt egos – including those of 3 kids who have already lost a year from transferring that might not be getting as much PT as they originally thought. This year, if you’ve got a scoly and can walk and chew gum at the same time, you’re getting PT.

    We won’t have the depth issues and our quickness should be improved- but we’ll have an inexperienced PG whose not likely to have nearly the b’ball IQ as Atsur.

    I’m excited, but as I’ve said before, I’ve had plenty of reasons to be optimistic other times only to be saying WTNY at the end of the following year.

  2. PapaJohn 03/09/2007 at 12:17 PM #

    Primacyone – “Learned English by watching cartoons.” Rut Roh! That’ll come back to haunt him in the media.

    highstick “Tomato / T’Amato” – hilarious!

    It’s a great day!

    It’s nice to have so much to look forward to in both of the Wolfpack major sports programs.

  3. BJD95 03/09/2007 at 12:19 PM #

    At least 2 of the 3 PGs will get major PT. Would expect MJ to get some minutes at the 2, as well. Grant and Fells won’t get the same guaranteed PT, which is a very good thing. Losing PT is a great motivator.

  4. McPete 03/09/2007 at 12:20 PM #

    Herbie Hancock?

  5. GAWolf 03/09/2007 at 12:20 PM #

    Next year will be Costner’s last.

  6. CrankyCookie 03/09/2007 at 12:26 PM #

    Lets hope he stays…

  8. highonlowe 03/09/2007 at 12:36 PM #

    ^ from ACCFanBlog

  9. McPete 03/09/2007 at 12:36 PM #

    Costner needs to develop some right-handed moves. Hopefully that’ll be a summer objective. After that, unstoppable.

  10. Power Packed 03/09/2007 at 12:47 PM #

    choppack1 said it perfectly…. I am as excited as everyone one else, but I also remember a 1997 tournament that had me turning cartwheels as well.

    As fans we have the luxury of looking a head a season or two and getting excited, but we should probably just take it like the team does, “one game at a time.”

    We have a long way to go, but I am hopeful and confident that Lowe could be the man to take us there. Lets just cheer loud, admittedly support our team and enjoy the games as they come.

    Go Pack!

  11. chilly water 03/09/2007 at 12:50 PM #

    Iv said it before and Ill say it agan, NC State will win the ACCT. Never been 100% sure about anything In my life

  12. Power Packed 03/09/2007 at 12:55 PM #

    I hope we do… but this is the ACC, nobody has a freaking clue who will win the tournament.

    How many brackets were utterly destroyed yesterday??

  13. RAWFS 03/09/2007 at 12:58 PM #

    It has been since 1987 that I have been this excited about NC State basketball.

    That fateful weekend, long before Herb, before Les, before The Scandal, before even the Murray State game, State had a magical run in the ACC tournament. No one expected State to advance in the tournament, much less win it. And win it, they did, against Dean Smith and UNC.

    While it is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy too early to hope for a repeat performance this weekend, for the first time in TWENTY LONG YEARS, win or lose, I feel good about the present and future of NC State basketball.

    It’s been too long since I paced the sofa, chewing ice, hoping, praying, but at the same time, having faith that somehow when the chips were down that the coaches and players had it in them to get the job done. It’s been too long since I’ve watched a team jump ahead and felt comfortable that we’d buckle down and make a comeback. It’s been too long since I watched our offense run solidly in must-do situations and get the job done, time after time after time.

    Sure, the last second shot at the end of regs clattered off the rim. But at least not one, not two but three shots went up. For too many years, we watched NO SHOT go up.

    Gentlemen, we are back.

    Old codgers like me know what it’s like and we all look to the heavens and say “Thank You!”

    To you youngsters 30 or younger, you are going to finally know how it feels to be a Wolfpack fan like it was in the golden ages of State basketball. You will have pride, you will have hope and most of all, you will have faith. Enjoy the latter, especially.

    It’s a long shot to go to the Dance this year. But it is NOT a longshot for NC State to once again make its presence known to the nation.

    The Pack, my friends, *is* back!

  14. redfred2 03/09/2007 at 12:58 PM #

    Chop

    On the WTNY thing, it was harder for some of us to stomach hearing that because all we were doing was just loosing, and then re-inserting fresh faces into a flat lining system. If we had seen definite improvement in players WITHIN the course of any season, then the WTNY speculation would have some merit and been worth talking about.

    But I do agree on Atsur, he is the rock right now, and it will be a different WOLFPACK basketball team without him in the line up. But, there is continuing improvement and adaptability now. That will go much further than the WTNY and hoping for a savior, the complete package to come along ready made, straight out of high school. We now have a whole class ahead and waiting for these new guys to come in and help out, instead of asking them to take over, and save the day for the program.

    That is the single factor that will make all of the difference.

  15. CedarGroveWolf 03/09/2007 at 1:04 PM #

    “I’m not sure that Herb ever out-rebounded a conference opponent.

    Pretty sure he did.

  16. redfred2 03/09/2007 at 1:10 PM #

    RAWFS

    We’re just over .500 for the season and still a long way away, but it does feel like old times!!! Just pure T, fun to watch, WOLFPACK BASKETBALL.

  17. redfred2 03/09/2007 at 1:13 PM #

    If a (cedar) tree falls in the woods, and there’s no one around to hear it, does it make any sound?

  18. 94MEGrad 03/09/2007 at 1:23 PM #

    You must admire Cedar’s persistence.

  19. redfred2 03/09/2007 at 1:27 PM #

    Hell yeah, I’d hate to be his girlfriend.

  20. CedarGroveWolf 03/09/2007 at 1:28 PM #

    easy there

  21. Tracy 03/09/2007 at 1:53 PM #

    Anyone watching the FSU game? I hope the officiating gets better by 7pm.

  22. VaWolf82 03/09/2007 at 1:53 PM #

    How far is it from Mebane to Cedar Grove?

  23. branjawn 03/09/2007 at 1:58 PM #

    this is when I’m glad to be born a NC State fan and not a Florida State fan. They are sucking it up.

  24. branjawn 03/09/2007 at 1:59 PM #

    And to Atsur leaving, we at least have the PG transfer from Tenn right? At leat he has some college experience. Not that he will be the next Atsur, but it eases the transistion.

  25. Tracy 03/09/2007 at 1:59 PM #

    No doubt, kinda brings back memories doesn’t it?

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