Grant – “No Moral Victories”

My take is closer to Gavin’s than Tudor’s:

“There are no moral victories,” Grant said. “There is no ‘L’ with an ‘M’ next to it.”

“They made plays down the stretch. They could have easily folded, but they didn’t. They made plays and hung tough. That’s why they are who they are.”

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

07-08 Basketball NCS Basketball

26 Responses to Grant – “No Moral Victories”

  1. Anthony Grundy 03/02/2008 at 2:57 PM #

    I like his pragmatic answer. I will definitely miss Grant. He’s not a great player, not that skilled, but has always played hard. He’s shown great improvement over his career. He’s a much better shooter this year than last. He’s made some clutch shots. Grant has improved his ball handling and passing. Gavin has competed every game and even played out of position….he doesn’t deserve to go out like this.

    It’s a damn shame for sh*tty Shane.

  2. travelwolf 03/02/2008 at 3:19 PM #

    reading that article reminds me of costner’s intentional foul – which shouldn’t have been called that way. he was clearly going after the ball and probably even touched it. it’s great how our players don’t whine about the ref’s calls like we do – i guess that’s part of the fan’s job.

  3. Howler 03/02/2008 at 4:03 PM #

    I may be an eternal optimist, but yesterday’s game did give me hope for next season; and yes travelwolf, this year’s team can definitely be called a number of things but “whiners” is not among them.

  4. RAWFS 03/02/2008 at 6:44 PM #

    t. it’s great how our players don’t whine about the ref’s calls like we do

    Just once I would love to see Sidney Lowe have a conniption fit about a bad call. T him up, maybe even go so crazy he got ejected.

  5. legacyman 03/02/2008 at 7:03 PM #

    You rarely see a good coach draw a technical foul when the game is close…will happen, but rarely.

    Coaches do that to fire up their players so it is stupid to do it when the game is tight as it could cause, maybe, a five point swing.

    If you ever attend our games then you see Sidney trying to work the refs but he is the new guy on the block and it will take a while to gain respectability. If you watch on TV then you don’t see much of the peripheral action during a game.

  6. Sweet jumper 03/02/2008 at 9:05 PM #

    Grant and Ferguson both gave excellent interviews after the Duke game. They both get it. It is a shame that whatever has divided this team this year destroyed a potentially good season. Yesterday the effort and the composure were there, and I am very frustrated that we did not see that until the next to last game of the regular season. Smith can be a very good player for us. I hope he is not frustrated and alienated by the team issues. Javi’s improvement has been exponential, and if we get a 5star point guard, he will be an excellent backup, i.e. Bobby Frasor. We have no way of knowing if Degand will recover sufficiently by October. I really don’t care if Hickson goes pro. Yesterday we played very well with McCauley at center and Hickson on the bench for long stretches. MJ needs to be at the end of the bench with the walkons unless he shows some ability at the 2 or 3 posiions. Horner and Costner need to regroup and should have to earn any minutes they get next year. If JJ leaves, Costner will get lucky, but hopefully, he will not show the same lack of enery, effort and unwillingness to help on D that he did this year. I hope Mays, Thomas and Williams can contribute quality minutes early in the season and be ready to compete during the conference schedule. I am expecting improvement next year–can’t get much worse.

  7. chilly water 03/02/2008 at 9:29 PM #

    why did my comment get erased???????????????????\\\

    VaWolf82: I deleted a stupid, ignorant post that added no value to the site. Was that yours?

    If you would like to register a complaint, contact the admin at [email protected] and explain why your comment was intelligent, insightful, and/or valuable.

  8. wufpup76 03/02/2008 at 9:55 PM #

    Forgive the off-topic post,

    BUT – Incredible, incredible comeback by Clemson tonight over Maryland …

    worthy of saying “holy cow!”

    Clemson should be all but in now, and UMd is in lotsa lotsa trouble

    Just wow … up by 20 with 11:00 minutes left and lose … NC State-esque … well, maybe not anymore 😉

  9. choppack1 03/02/2008 at 10:55 PM #

    I wouldn’t be too hard on MJ – he may just be playing out of position. Yesterday’s game was bittersweet on so many levels – if we were on the bubble yesterday would have been heartbreaking – unfortunately, it just proves that there is talent on this team and there’s no excuse for the way they’ve played the second half of the ACC season.

  10. Tau837 03/02/2008 at 11:34 PM #

    “Just once I would love to see Sidney Lowe have a conniption fit about a bad call. T him up, maybe even go so crazy he got ejected.”

    I agree. I particularly think this would be appropriate in a game against Duke or UNC, given that it seems they get unjust preferential treatment.

    Regarding someone’s comment that it could be a 5 point swing, that is a stretch. You wouldn’t draw it when your team has the ball, you’d draw it after a non-call when your team had been on offense and the other team has already obtained possession and started the other way. Heck, you could probably stop a fast break, to boot. Regardless, you could strategically limit the damage to 2 free throws, given the other team already has the ball.

    I also think it could be appropriate to raise some tension with the other coaches. If K or Roy are working over the refs, it would be perfectly fine for Sid to make it clear he doesn’t like it. Think Rick Barnes at Clemson here.

    I not only want to see more passion from the players (which they showed yesterday), I also want to see more from Sid.

  11. brickman 03/02/2008 at 11:39 PM #

    let us see what he dose on a better point guard. paulas could not guard a bucket of cement ! we match up with duke because there guard is slow and they are weak on inside.

  12. TTandB74 03/03/2008 at 2:03 AM #

    RE Costner’s defense.
    This year he has bee noticeably bad because the team, overall, has been horrible. But to haul me up from the depths of ungodly Pack-induced depression, I put in the tapes of last year’s ACC tourney.
    Costner was a bad D then, but occasionally he showed flashes. I saw him and Big Mac jump out on screens frequently, then hustle back to pick up their man. It seemed like Costner’s defensive lapses were all inside, via not blocking out, not helping out when somebody droe the lane, etc. Seemed he had the perimeter stuff down for a big man, though.
    He also doesn’t know how to box out and rebound. That’s no surprise to people on this board, but even when he blocked out on free throws, he would get pushed up under the backboard, out of the play.
    This year, I have seen him box out on rebounds and not get pushed so far.
    He also, frankly, looked faster. Not Jesse Owens, but no nearly as lumbering as he has appeared this year.
    No defense or excuses or anything, just observations, for what they’re worth. If anything.

  13. Girlfriend in a Coma 03/03/2008 at 9:43 AM #

    Slightly off topic, but has anyone youtubed the “Javi clothesline” yet? I was at the game and have not seen a replay. Watchig it live, it looked far more absurd than even the Nelson one at the end. Did I see it right?

  14. packgrad93 03/03/2008 at 10:39 AM #

    I liked that Sid started Smith & JJ together then played Ben & Brandon together. I wish he had done that earlier in the season.
    Trev will be a valuable asset to this program. MJ & Horner, not too sure.

  15. RabidWolf 03/03/2008 at 4:28 PM #

    MJ seems a little bit lost….Horner just can’t seem to find his place, either. Tracy Smith really impressed me with his hustle and absolute personal NEED to prove himself in this game. If Javi’s play is a glimpse of the future at PG for the team…..I think I like it.

    Now it’s time for a run….a big run with a big finish.

    I HOPE WE MEET DOOK IN THE TOURNAMENT!

  16. redfred2 03/03/2008 at 4:39 PM #

    “Just once I would love to see Sidney Lowe have a conniption fit about a bad call. T him up, maybe even go so crazy he got ejected.”

    Um, RAWFS, don’t forget this is NC State you’re talking about. Even if it was warranted and Lowe went off on one of the officiating crew, you gotta know that the stuffed shirts would frown on it, not to mention of the many high browed NCSU fans. It may help to motivate the players, or even affect the outcome of a ballgame, but I ask you, would something like that be considered a “class act”, or what?

    And afterall, aren’t appearances more important than anything else at good ole NCSU?

  17. choppack1 03/03/2008 at 5:47 PM #

    Rabid – I wouldn’t expect career highs every game from Javi. He won’t be guarded by someone like Paulus a lot in the ACC. Here are some ACC PGs who Javi will/would have a hard time w/ until at least next year:
    Grevis Vasquez
    Ty Lawson
    Quinton Thomas
    Matt Causey
    Douglas (FSU)
    Stitt (Clemson)
    Tyreese Rice

    A lot of those guys may be gone, but I still think his height and strength may give him challenges. Next year, we’ll see if comes back stronger and quicker, because he won’t come back much taller. (Still, I like what he can do at times and I am thrilled that he has a competitive fire that doesn’t appear to be shared by some of his teammates.)

  18. RabidWolf 03/03/2008 at 6:58 PM #

    I don’t expect games like that from him all the time, but hopefully, we will see more consistent play from him. As far as the competition goes…well, that’s how you learn. I just hope some of that fire jumps over to his team mates!

  19. chilly water 03/03/2008 at 9:43 PM #

    ^OH so I guess when 5JD95 posts “we fucking suck” thats fly?

    Fuck you.

  20. Afterglow 03/04/2008 at 8:30 AM #

    On Javi-I would tend to put much less stock in height and more stock in strength and conditioning, ability to shoot the outside shot and quickness. You can’t teach height… and quickness (although to some extent can be improved upon) can be a difficult thing to come by as well.

    I think if he has the parts around him, takes care of the ball, becomes more cerebral in game situations and can play better defense he’ll do fine. I think a lot of the latter have been painful learning experiences and I only hope they pay off dividends in games to come. He has improved, so we have that going for us. As far as him being a serviceable point guard in the ACC-you just never know. Unfortunately, unless we get Wall or someone else (which I have my doubts on) we may just have to deal with serviceable for a while.

    I say serviceable because I simply don’t think he has the athletism to play a small point guard in this day and age or league.

  21. Ed89 03/04/2008 at 9:01 AM #

    ^^^I disagree. Javi is a freshman, and clearly played a great game on Saturday. I think he will be a fine ACC guard, which by the way, I’ve been saying since the first Duke game. How athletic is Steve Nash?? How tall is he?? I’m not saying he’s Nash, but there are alot of great PG’s that are not extremely tall or athletic…a certain Chris Corchiani comes to mind…Sidney Lowe wasn’t too shabby either.

  22. Rick 03/04/2008 at 9:57 AM #

    “I wouldn’t be too hard on MJ – he may just be playing out of position. ”

    Any position other than sitting is out of position for him.

  23. inhoc... 03/04/2008 at 12:33 PM #

    sid or any other coach will never be able to get away with the things that coach K and his team do. everyone talks about his class. people who know him and sit close to the floor know what i’m talking about. every time he has his hand over his mouth, he is insulting refs and using obscenities. its a fact that the coach k dynasty gets away with walks and hand checks no matter who they are playing. just a fact of life. the best way we could deal with that is to get sid to call time out when the game is on the line and regroup the team and keep the team from pissing the game away. i`m sure thats not a fail safe plan, but i`m still baffled by the fact that timeout isnt called when the game goes arie. he did it in the first half and stopped a duke run cold and reversed the momentum back in our direction….

  24. Greywolf 03/04/2008 at 2:24 PM #

    chilly water
    Mar 3rd, 2008 at 9:43 pm
    ^OH so I guess when 5JD95 posts “we fucking suck” thats fly?

    Fuck you.

    Chill, man. It’s partly his site. How this post stuck is a mystery to me.

  25. Ed89 03/04/2008 at 3:36 PM #

    Concur Greywolf — somehow, it’s still there.

    Chilly needs to chill. 🙂

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