Andrew Jones said a lot; N&O added to it; SFN finishes it off

07-08 Basketball Sidney Lowe138

On Monday we asked why should we put ourselves through the pain of typing it when Andrew Jones’ article says it all?

On Tuesday, the News & Observer chimed in with their heavy hitters.

First, Chip Alexander asked, “What is going on with the Wolfpack” and then Caulton Tudor calmly opined that “The Wolfpack isn’t hitting the panic button yet”.

As much as I appreciate the ‘faith’ that things will get better this year exhibited by both the team and Tudor I exercise my right to remain worried because of the nature of the Wolfpack’s problems. [See (1) many previous entries; (2) Jones’ article; (3) Alexander’s article]

I PRAY to God that I am wrong…but, I don’t see a switch to be flipped here for the Wolfpack to get things fixed.

If we were ‘one shooter away’ or just needed to fix our broken 3-2 zone issues then things would feel different to me. But, NC State’s problems are significantly more systemic and fundamental than items that can be fixed with some tweaks in practice or a player becoming eligible or a player finding his shooting touch.

NC State doesn’t exert much effort on the court, period. This manifests itself in literally NO defensive or rebounding effort. (And, it will manifest itself into weak home crowds as fans do not respect or invest in teams that don’t seem to care).

You can’t just flip a switch and suddenly learn how to play defense and box out. As you will see here the offense is so bad it can only improve as the team finds its groove and Ben McCauley and Porkchop Costner (hopefully) find their heads and get out of their slump.

But, what good is scoring ten more points a game if you can’t stop the least talented opponents in America from scoring?

Worse yet…if Coach Lowe can find that magical switch and get these guys on a roll…is anyone convinced that our players are in the physical condition to even execute tough defense?

Have you seen the ‘physiques’ on these guys?

A friend of mine who has been very close to the NC State – and other ACC – program(s) for the last 15 years told me that he has never seen an NC State team – and rarely seen an ACC team – with the out-of-shape bodies of this team. Did Brandon Costner live at the Golden Corral in the off-season?

Seriously…what did these guys do in the offseason? They obviously didn’t work out…and they obviously didn’t work on defense and rebounding.

Don’t misunderstand me – as Coach Lowe and Caulton Tudor believe I recognize that there is a lot of basketball to be played this year. But, I also seem to be the only one who recognizes that the season is actually 25% completed. You don’t get to play that much basketball in March when you have two horrible losses on your resume with 75% of the season ahead of you to potentially lose more.

Don’t look now…but Friday night’s home game against a Davidson team who is significantly better than their record looms as one of the biggest games in Coach Lowe’s young career. With a loss, you can legitimately put a fork in the Wolfpack until they boys find a miracle run of upsets in ACC play to at least get us back to a fighting chance. With a win, some cupcake games sprinkled with Cincy and Seton Hall provide State an opportunity to get back on track for an NCAA Tournament bid with a 9-7 ACC record (and maybe an 8-8 record with the right mix of wins and losses).

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07-08 Basketball Sidney Lowe

138 Responses to Andrew Jones said a lot; N&O added to it; SFN finishes it off

  1. colapack 12/10/2007 at 3:01 PM #

    Rome wasn’t built in a day. Do a search of threads on this blog after his hiring and you’ll see a lot of talk about the 3 year window of opportunity/judgement which is reasonable. We were ready to construct a hall of fame in his honor after last season, now you’re whining like brats…all of this and we aren’t even to the halfway point. Just be patient and don’t get a trigger finger. Dang, I am glad I don’t work for you guys.

    SFN: I’m glad that you don’t work for us either since you don’t seem to be interpreting the conversation accurately. HIGHLIGHTING OBVIOUS ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION is not some broadly sweeping indictment of our coach. Where do you see where SFN is abdicating anything less than a 3 to 4 year window for judgement on the still new coaching regime? Why do you presume things that aren’t written?

  2. nycfan 12/10/2007 at 3:27 PM #

    Was UF really high major under Sloan? I don’t think there is any argument about stints with UNCA, a junior college or New Orleans. His teams (as an assistant) have made four total NCAA tournament appearances (1 at State, a loss in their first game; 3 at Florida, I don’t know how the Gators did but don’t remember them being factors in the NCAA in that period). It has been a long while since Towe coached at this level, I think, which doesn’t mean he can’t do it, just means there are certain issues he probably has not had to deal with for some time, is all.

    No matter, the bottom line is that it is Sid’s problems. Last year’s players comments were all positive and enthusiastic about how much fun basketball was under Lowe; he did it once and needs to find a way to inspire the joy and effort that flowed from it. Sometimes, even great coaches can’t overcome poison personality conflicts, though. It could be that all Lowe can really do is adjust some strategic aspects and hope that positive on-the-court results from thos adjustments correct the negative feelings among the players …

  3. Redblogger 12/10/2007 at 3:52 PM #

    ^^
    colapack

    I agree

  4. wufpup76 12/10/2007 at 4:17 PM #

    i’m with colapack here, as well

    no excuses for this season so far, but remember last year Virginia had some AWFUL early season losses (they barely beat the DII Puerto Rico squad in that preseason tourny last year) and still came back to finish second in the ACC reg. season and had a 4 or 5 seed in the NCAA tourny … i’m not saying that this NC State team is going to do that, but i do feel that all hope is not lost yet

    i know, after many years of “wait til next year”, and “hard luck herb” excuses and the like that many of us are thin on patience and don’t necessarily want to hear what could be considered excuses … i agree that there needs to be some accountability and “seat heating” when losses like ecu happen for ALL involved (fowler, sid, everyone), but i for one will remember to try and keep a proper perspective of all the goings on and be patient and support sidney and the team in the meantime … go pack!

    on another note, i would have much preferred to hear coach lowe say before the ecu game “i didn’t make the schedule, but this is who we’re playing and where we’re playing and we going there to win – we’ll take on anyone, anytime, anywhere”

    i think some attitudes from the coaching staff down need adjusting … we’re not aggresive and we believe in too much of that nba BS … I HATE THE NBA … please be aggresive and hungry to win; not steve lavin “lollygagging” reading my own press BS … infuriating

    end rant

  5. ldr of pk 75 12/10/2007 at 4:31 PM #

    It doesn’t matter that we played an in state wanna be like ECU, this team, as it is now, will lose to alot of chump teams. I have absolutely no real basketball knowledge or playing experience except that I know good basketball when I see it. I’m no x and o type, no player match up type. But this team is lazy, uninspired, and obviously full of itself. No noticeable fundamentals at all. All the early “talk” about being ready to contend in the bigtime, is what it is, hot air from a bunch of could be talent with alot of smoke blown up their ass. You can get their attention, but no one right now seems to know how to have any consequences for missing expectations. A little “oldschool” wouldn’t hurt. Sit their ass down for a game, play the scrubs, run their ass to death at practice, make them watch film of the obvious problems till they can’t stand anymore. These are just another bunch of inflated egos that have been told all their lives that they are the greatest since sliced bread. In reality they are just a a group of potential that need real world guidance and direction, not pampering and ass kissing. A swift kick in the ass and some immediate goals and expectations. Remember over at the Hole when the press conference to announce the Dougherty firing was held? The players all slumped into the chairs dressed like and acting like a bunch of hoodlums? Then Roy was announced as the coach. By the time the press conference to announce his hiring rolled around, a remarkable transformation took place in those prima donnas. They sat up straight, dressed and appeared like they had some pride. Then they proceeded to out out and kick ass like they hadn’t before. Just a bit of the old time religion. I don’t know if I’ll hold my breath to see if anyone at our place has the balls to do what needs doing, but it can be done.

  6. Wulfpack 12/10/2007 at 6:40 PM #

    I don’t give a flip about X’s and O’s or personnel issues or whatever else. It comes down to wanting to win for your coach and teammates. Do not tell me for a second that New Orleans and ECU have better talent than this NC State team. Both of those teams won’t even sniff the NIT. But one thing that is undeniable is that they wanted it more than our guys, and that, in and of itself, is what is inexcusable. I do not blame Sid. I blame our core group of guys. We have zero leadership out on the floor. That is not Sid’s fault. You either want it, or you don’t, and right now I don’t see anybody that truly wants to maximize their potential and take full advantage of an amazing opportunity available only to a select few.

  7. redfred2 12/10/2007 at 6:49 PM #

    ^nycfan, there’s really only one kid whose getting enough PT to shake up the team chemistry this bad. The other “new faces” were pretty much around last season, during practices anyway. Now, with that said, whether or not he is team player at this point is of no consequence, I am surely not blaming any kid straight out of high for this mess we’re in right now. I think that just maybe(?) the coaches, led by none other than Sidney Lowe, placed this kid at the top of the list and let his abilities overrule their better judgement. No matter how good he is, JJ Hickson shouldn’t have been the focus of the entire offense from the outset of this season. He should have been on the bench, then played a little, then seated back down and waited his turn.

    This team, which is not a team at all at this point, has been dissected and split apart to make room for just one kid, AND, that plan, is no where close to working.

    Like everyone says, “there’s still plenty of time”. But that was also true from the start of the season, and working a talented FRESHMAN into the lineup. Not allowing one kid’s presence to dictate to the entire group. That, I’ll admit, I do blame on the coach.

  8. choppack1 12/10/2007 at 7:40 PM #

    I mentioned in the post game article that if you want to do something scary – look at Coach Lowe’s record vs. major conference teams outside of tournaments.

    The sad fact is that if you went by hiring requirements – Coach Lowe didn’t have any of them when he was hired….No college coaching experience whatsoever as either head coach or assistant coaching experience, no successfull head coaching stints, no college degree. In hindsight, what we’re seeing shouldn’t be so shocking. As painful as it may be – and as fruitless as it may be, we’ve got to give Sid a chance to learn the college game and dealing w/ college kids. It could mean that this year is a train wreck – and next year ain’t much better.

    He could figure this thing out tomorrow or he may not ever figure it out. We know he knows basketball and he’s a good leader. We know that he can make good adjustments.

    Where we’ve struggled – really w/ the exception of our tournament games and 2 games against Carolina, Wake Forest, VaTech and one game against Michigan- is focus on offense, effort and intensity on defense and rebounding.

    It’s only fair to give Lowe a chance to get his kind of kids in here before we give up on him. And to be fair, I don’t think the Wolfpack nation has given up on him – not by a long shot. However, the Wolfpack nation expects a team that at least shows some heart and looks like they are trying. And that’s what folks are so pissed off about.

  9. travelwolf 12/10/2007 at 7:58 PM #

    it’s only 3 games:) funny things is that i remember that valvano’s teams would lose to the worst teams – i believe that we lost to a 14th seed in the NCAA tournament under V. let’s hope that Lowe is able to learn and adjust. hell, it will at least be an interesting season – not boring like duke’s and UNC’s. for every game that we play, there will be a possibility of losing – unlike our rivals. just looking at the silver lining.

  10. Sweet jumper 12/10/2007 at 8:41 PM #

    Choppack1, For the reasons that you gave, especially the college degree, I don’t think many people considered Lowe a candidate for the job until he was named the head coach. After the big guns turned Jed down, most of my Pack friends thought that if we were hiring one of our own it had to be Whitt. He had his college degree (from State), he had head coaching experiece and he had a reputation as a program builder. His problem was that he was V’s favorite and he told the administration that V was not treated fairly. I am happy with Sid and we have to have patience, but I want to see some fire on the sidelines and some in-game adjustments. When the team is stinking, a bench-clearing substitution might help get some guys’ attention. This might also uncover a fighter and scrapper waitin for his chance. Give ’em hell Sid.

  11. packof81 12/10/2007 at 9:40 PM #

    It’s too early to declare the season a trainwreck. But I agree that some changes have to be made. These guys are in serious need of an attitude adjustment. Is like, OK, how long do you want to suck? For whatever reason, they just aren’t doing right. Perhaps a little more stick and less carrot is the answer. Sweet Jumper’s suggestion to bench ’em sounds like a plan to me. That’s what Roy did last year and it worked.

  12. choppack1 12/10/2007 at 10:01 PM #

    Heck, I just want to see us play a game that resembles the way most good teams are playing modern college basketball. Pressure D, push the ball, blood and guts toughness – and play like you care.

    I guess that’s what I’m disappointed most in. Last year our D sucked. I chalked that up to having to play “extra-careful” to avoid foul trouble. That’s not an issue this year. Our guys should be playing a lot more aggressively. If Farnold’s so quick – have him pressure the point guard w/ the ball. If he’s so quick – have him push the ball.

  13. travelwolf 12/10/2007 at 11:30 PM #

    i suggest that coach L. make 2 5-man teams (red/white) – which ever team is better on the court gets to stay longer out there. with the deep bench that we have, that’s possible. competition brings out the best in all of us. besides that, he can instruct the benched team while the other team is out kicking b…

  14. DFMo 12/11/2007 at 7:54 AM #

    travelwolf, I posted this in a different thread:

    Can anyone envision this? Sid doesn’t like what he sees on the floor … looks down the bench and pulls a “ole Roy”. You five guys all go in NOW whilst we have a chat with the starters:

    1 – Gonzalez
    2 – Johnson
    3 – Horner
    4 – Smith
    5 – McCauley

    Talk amongst yourselves …

  15. BoKnowsNCS71 12/11/2007 at 8:34 AM #

    For those of you (like me) who are getting tired of some local radio stations having too much fun with the Pack’s current setbacks – there is alwys Imus on straming radio at http://www.wabcradio.com/article.asp?id=122641

    Good as he ever wuz.

  16. packpigskinfan23 12/11/2007 at 8:46 AM #

    DFMo- honestly I say start off with those guys on the court!! The rest of the team(Gavin even with all his turnovers excluded due to heart) does not deserve playing time, let alone a starting position. How many times did Hickson loose passes out of bounds or drop the ball against ECU? He is a freshman and he is playing like one. He hogs the ball and turns it over almost as much as Gavin.

  17. packpigskinfan23 12/11/2007 at 8:55 AM #

    honestly I like that line up a LOT. Gonzalez isnt the quickest, but he has pretty decent D. Especially in a zone. He is aggressive on D and in the passing game(he will get better with experience). Both he and Horner can shoot. We all know McCauley is just waiting to break out this season, and this line-up could do that for him. Smith and Johnson are better then Porkchop if he is gonna play like he does. We need something to change, and playing the same guys hasnt worked so far.

  18. Dan 12/11/2007 at 9:09 AM #

    McCauley is they key. I’m just not sure that Sidney realizes the full extent of that. The bad news is that is a symptom of the larger fundamental problem. The gameplans have sucked.

    For five years, our program revolved around a high post. Gavin, Courtney, Brandon, and Ben spent their first years with that system. Last year, it shifted a bit (and for the better), but not that much. Ben’s passing was still key. Almost every positive play worked through the post. And at the end, it was beautiful. Ben McCauley was one the best passing big men in the country last year. He scored his own points and really helped out Brandon and the rest of the guys.

    JJ Hickson is monster on the block. But JJ is no where near the passer that Ben is. JJ does very little for everyone else’s game. He is slowly learning to pass on the double team, but its still a learning process with him. We all got enamored with him when he was scoring 30 over low-major double teams. But the whole time the rest of the guys were getting less and less involved.

    The offense has deteriorated to four guys standing at the arch trying to get the ball to JJ. If it works, JJ tries to beat double and triple teams. If the entry isn’t there someone, usually Gavin, tries to beat someone one on one. Maybe Brandon will toss up a half ass three just so that he can feel like he’s playing basketball. And you gotta wonder how the entry is ever there when we hardly ever set a f’ing screen for JJ. JJ is down there by himself trying to post up three guys. WTF! Run a damn play for him. Its just so stupid its hard to believe.

    We have to get back to running an offense with a little more complexity. And Ben McCauley needs to be out there. Even more this year with Engin in Europe. I just hope the damage between Sid and Ben can be repaired. I’m not sure it can be.

    What I don’t understand is how a coaching staff with three former PG’s could have come up with an offense this ridiculous. Ben needs to be the starting 5. JJ needs to be at the 4. Those two need to be out there setting screens for each other and working the ball around. Get Gavin and Courtney down there setting screens for the bigs and popping out. Not just sitting on the arch. The reason why we suck when JJ is out is that we run the same ridiculous offense as when he is in. Just without our monster. We are taking advantage of nothing. This mess is 99% on the coaches. Yeah, the effort isn’t there, but its hard to get excited about fighting a battle when you know the plan sucks.

    This has got to fixed before the Chapel Hill game. If we make JJ sit in the post by himself and try to beat a double team of Travelsbrough and Dion Thompson, we will get beat by 50.

  19. Stoner 12/11/2007 at 9:10 AM #

    With a win, some cupcake games sprinkled with Cincy and Seton Hall

    After losing to ECU and New Orleans, I would not consider any game a “cupcake” game. Seton Hall is on the road, sort of a home coming for Costner, who went to high school in that area and Cincinnati is another so-so Conf. USA school, like ECU.

    What scares me about the lack of fundamentals is the fact such poor play usually reflects on poor coaching. We need coaching to get out of this mess and I’m not confident we have it.

    The media bought into Lowe being a great coach, which is why we were ranked to start the season off and why some teams are always ranked – faith in coaches who have always produced winners, even though many players graduate / leave the program – so I don’t expect the media to step back and say Lowe sucks, anytime soon. The media doesn’t like eating crow.

    Unfortunately, Lowe has done nothing to make me feel confident in his ability to be a good coach. The chemistry issues about lack of shots on offense and playing time should not have reared their head. Defensive intensity should never be an issue and rebounding shouldn’t be so poor. Sendek had a great run, his first year (and even second), with undermanned teams, compared to expectations, but didn’t do much when he had talent. From the let down of the Sendek era, I don’t buy into what a coach does with undermanned teams, as being an indication of what he can do when he gets good players.

    So far all Lowe has done is do better than non-existant expectations, last year. I will try to keep an open mind about his coaching ability, but what I am seeing this year doesn’t do much to inspire confidence.

    And I strongly disagree about not panicing. At the rate we are going, we may not play in the post season at all.

  20. BJD95 12/11/2007 at 9:42 AM #

    ^ I fully endorse any and all panicking. Forget about pushing the panic button, it’s appropriate to be pounding it with your fist by now.

    Also, great point about the ability to “make chicken salad out of chicken shit” as not necessarily indicative of being able to build a championship program, or even get to the next level.

  21. packbackr04 12/11/2007 at 9:59 AM #

    if youre sid, have you already called every single top PG prospect in the country and told them starting minutes in the ACC go to the first to sign with NCSU?

    if not, why is he still here?

  22. Lunatic Fringe 12/11/2007 at 10:59 AM #

    We had better find a way to defend the 3-point line fast or we are going to hear “Curry for 3” a LOT on Friday night. :/

  23. 12pack 12/11/2007 at 11:20 AM #

    Bottom line, There are personal issue’s between the bigs, Practice has almost turned into fist fights. Until this issue is resolved, don’t look for much improvement until JJ gets drafted.

  24. Trip 12/11/2007 at 12:03 PM #

    “Bottom line, There are personal issue’s between the bigs, Practice has almost turned into fist fights. Until this issue is resolved, don’t look for much improvement until JJ gets drafted.”

    Uhm, do we have any evidence of this? Costner says they hang out all the time.

    http://www.newsobserver.com/734/story/818325.html

    “”I’ve heard it said that me and Ben are jealous of J.J.,” Costner said. “That’s not the case at all. We’re all close. We hang out together. There are no chemistry problems on this team.”

    I think this team is running on little heart, and the only reason we have a winning record now is that 3 of those wins were on neutral turf, so that the crowd didn’t take whatever little heart they had away. The other win was simply because the crowd gave them atleast a little passion.

    True roads games: 0-2. I can see us winning home games, because of the crowd giving them passion to play… but away, these guys are going to suck so bad unless they come up with some passion of their own.

  25. Trip 12/11/2007 at 12:05 PM #

    Oh, and because I think the post fell to far down and no one is reading it… here’s what I posted late in another one to add to my above post.

    Listened to the Lowe Show (Or whatever they call it) on the radio… I’d have to say at least 70% of the callers were people from Greenville telling Sidney (With a thick southern accent) That they had a tough time at work today as a nc state fan. I seem to remember Sidney saying something to the effect that his #1 thing is that he wants our fans to be able to go out in the morning, and grab the newspaper with a smile beside our neighbors who happen to be Duke/UNC/Wake forest fans. I guess he forgot to add in ECU.

    Well, so far Sid has failed miserably when it comes to that, so far it’s made my life a miserable event grabbing the newspaper.

    But I can’t help but love the guy, he says good things, and he sounds like he knows whats going on. But the #1 thing that I heard that bothered me was when some guy asked about the passion on defense.

    Sidney: “Well, I have to say it, but a lot of our guys are laid back, they play hard, but they don’t get fired up emotionally, heck, I have one guy who I just tell “Man, you don’t have enough emotion for me””

    3 guesses as to who that one guy is, and his initials are probably BC. Passion seems to be whats missing from our game, and other than that, Lowe said multiple times that we need a leader on the floor.

    So far it’s looking like if Johnson doesn’t step up as a leader, then we’re not going to have one.

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