Curry 32-Footer Sinks Pack

WRAL Sports: Curry Drops 44 Points, Davidson 72 – NC State 67

Overall, I was really pleased with State’s performance and Sid’s gameplan. Without Curry’s prayer, State would have had the ball at the end shooting for the win (with OT as worst-case scenario). The effort was there, and the defense was much better. Until the last 8 minutes, the rebounding was solid (thus my only critique – would have liked to see more of Tracy Smith in the second half). Other thoughts:

– If Johnny Thomas was healthy, I’d like to see Courtney Fells thrown off the team. Kudos to Sid for benching him for most of the second half, even with 11 seconds left and State down three. What a waste. He should watch Trevor Ferguson out there busting his ass and hang his head in shame. NOTE: Radio guys are claiming Fells hurt his shoulder during the game. If that were true, it still doesn’t explain how he started the game in a fog. I also never saw him getting treatment (on the bench or going to locker room). Sorry, don’t buy it.

– The chip is back on Costner’s shoulder, and I mean that in a good way.

– CJ Williams is much better than I expected. Ladies and gentleman, meet your “glue guy.”

– NC State can be a middle-of-the-pack ACC team. If we had just one healthy PG that didn’t suck out loud, we could contend for an NCAA berth.

– I don’t think Farnold Degand is ever going to be right again. And without his lateral quickness, he can’t contribute at all. Very sad.

– Davidson sure has some douchebag fans, chanting for the asshole who got ejected after almost decapitating Trevor.

– I went a little nuys yelling at the TV at the end. Mike Gminski is such a dumbass, noting “The Davidson people don’t consider this an upset!” Well, no shit, Sherlock. Davidson made the Elite Eight last year, and return the best player in college basketball. NC State finished dead last in the ACC, and lost it’s best player. The game is played in Charlotte. Only a complete fucking moron would have considered it anything other than a huge upset if NC State had won the game!

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.

08-09 Basketball

173 Responses to Curry 32-Footer Sinks Pack

  1. redfred2 12/06/2008 at 10:29 PM #

    Just so you’ll know ky, any future mention of the coach who cut his teeth at Miami of Ohio, then was granted the privilege to further his education at an ACC university with a rich tradition that he totally ignored, and who is just now, and only possibly(???), finally figuring out that he should have changed his ways quite awhile back, will garner you a similar nasty response from me every time. 😉

  2. PackMagic83 12/06/2008 at 10:30 PM #

    Redfred2 – just wanted to let you know that my comments weren’t directed at you personally, just at the previous 80 or so comments in general and the extreme negativity I was seeing. I hated to see us lose but also wasn’t completely surprised. Perhaps we can see how “weak” Davidson is after they’ve played West Virginia, Perdue and some other reasonably good teams on their early schedule.
    We’ll also know more about us after Marquette and Florida.

  3. gcpack 12/06/2008 at 10:32 PM #

    Back to Football for a minute.

    Troy State has won their game so according to our AD and the reports in the N& O that a Troy win puts us in the
    PapaJohns Bowl against a Big East team.

    Much better to get that game against a BCS team than in Detroit against a MAC.

    I don’t think we can let Lowe go after this season in order to keep some continuity with the latest recruiting class.
    To me the only time to let Lowe go would be after next season not this one unless this year ends of being even worse than last season.

  4. b 12/06/2008 at 10:33 PM #

    Birmingham, here we come!!!

  5. redfred2 12/06/2008 at 10:39 PM #

    We are no where close to letting Lowe go. And, if you don’t want to make some bad basketball get even worse, without any chance of improving through an influx of better talent, you will stop posting public statements to that affect.

  6. Sw0rdf1sh 12/06/2008 at 10:56 PM #

    In my best Forrest Gump voice “AlaBAMA!”

    Ps. Lowe isn’t going anywhere. You guys can so overreact sometimes.

  7. redfred2 12/06/2008 at 11:04 PM #

    Packmagic, no harm done. I’m just frustrated right now. No where near as frustrated as sitting through a half decade of the PO of course, but frustrated nonethe less. I didn’t really expect a win today either, but I am getting really tired of seeing, or in this case, hearing, that the same players over and over again, aren’t doing the basic things that should, very literally, come naturally to them. And yet, they are being allowed to continue NOT to do those very same game in and game out, and right in front of the future of the NC State basketball program.

    THAT, I do not get at all.

    I don’t care if the ref’s give us shit call, after shitty call, quit wasteing valuable time on that crapola. I want to see Sidney Lowe pulling his players aside instead, barking instructions to his player’s in front of everyone watching, and letting them know that he isn’t going to tolerate the same pitiful effort anymore. Especially when it’s apparent that everyone in the building is aware that some of those players are not doing what they are supposed to be doing. He has more important things to think about then worrying about whether the ref’s are going to win or lose him any ballgames, especially when he goes up against the ‘chosen ones’ in the ACC.

  8. gcpack 12/06/2008 at 11:09 PM #

    “Stop posting public statements””???????????

    That’s all I have read here tonight is multiple comments about the coaching in today’s game and actual description of Lowe’s “mediocre”(not my words but someone else’s post)
    ability in addition to a couple of posts about his status.

    I am just throwing in my 2 cents worth after reading these comments and you tell me to be quiet. Why single my comment out when there have been far worse above mine that started the chat re: Lowe.

    If you dont like it then dont start complaining 2 hours after the blogs start with the coaching critcism.

  9. Greywolf 12/06/2008 at 11:11 PM #

    BJD95
    Dec 6th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
    “Guys, you are overreacting. The following teams have looked worse than us so far: BC, UVA, GT.
    These teams look to be ballpark equivalent to us so far:
    MD, VT, FSU, Miami.

    Absolutely no reason to panic.”

    Relax, BJD95. This is the same group of expert analysists who knew the football team wouldn’t win another game when they were 2-6. There’s hardly room on the bandwagon for them now.

  10. redfred2 12/06/2008 at 11:22 PM #

    Sorry gcpack, a little touchy tonight are we? Jeez. Who pissed in his cornflakes?

  11. wufpup76 12/06/2008 at 11:25 PM #

    We’re starting to tread into true message board territory here …

  12. Ed89 12/06/2008 at 11:37 PM #

    ^^^Relax, BJD95. This is the same group of expert analysists who knew the football team wouldn’t win another game when they were 2-6. There’s hardly room on the bandwagon for them now.

    I agree. That’s all I was trying to say earlier, Wulfpack.
    This is ONE loss to a good Davidson team with a Great player who scored 44 points. If not for an unreal 30 foot 3 pointer w/about a minute left, I think we win this game.

  13. Alpha Wolf 12/06/2008 at 11:40 PM #

    We’re starting to tread into true message board territory here …

    Agreed.


    Reminder:
    What separates SFN from certain monkey boards and other forums is that posters take the time to think through and support their opinions tactfully, even when they are frustrated or angry.

    Even more importantly, everyone here shows respect to one each other when they strongly disagree. Personal insults are never allowed.

    Thanks, and consider yourself reminded.

  14. TOBtime 12/06/2008 at 11:40 PM #

    HWSNBN never brought in Hickson’s either.
    Better to lose ugly early to Davidson and have hope for improvement than ugly in the sweet 16 and know for d@mned sure it will NEVER get any better.

  15. Ed89 12/06/2008 at 11:45 PM #

    Wulfpack, for the record, I don’t mind differing opinions, and didn’t mean to direct my frustration directly at you, but the negativity after losses on this board just amazes me sometimes. Yes, we have room for improvement, but Curry is a top 5 pick in the NBA draft, and played a great game. Even so, if he misses that 3, I think we’d have won this game. We’ll never know, but I think we beat some teams this year. The thing I want to see is improvement, that’s all. But, I’m not going to throw in the towel — just as I didn’t when the football team was 2-6.

  16. gcpack 12/06/2008 at 11:55 PM #

    red its not me thats touchy.

    apparently i need your permission to speak and then let you do the editing. I just dont appreciate you singling my comment out that when there were 2 hours of coaching criticism prior to me even logging in and u didnt tell anyone else to “stop posting public comments”

    start a private blog for a fee if you want control over a blog

  17. ryebread 12/07/2008 at 12:35 AM #

    Watched the game on FSN. I was really impressed at how focused we came out. I was very happy with the early 11 point lead but figured Davidson would win when we couldn’t put them away. This game was ours for the taking and we let it get away.

    Some misc. thoughts:
    – Curry was a machine today — he’s the best college player I’ve seen in some time.
    – Really feel bad for Degand. That was a rough game.
    – Glad Fergie wasn’t hurt. That was a dirty play. The guy plays really hard.
    – Don’t know what happened to Fells. He kind of disappeared early when his first few shots didn’t fall. Not sure why we didn’t have him on Curry — he and Williams were the only players we had that I thought could stop him.
    – If I were coaching, we’d have played box and one today. We may not have won, but Curry wouldn’t have ever gotten to drive towards the basket without SOMEONE facing him.
    – CJ Williams continues to improve. I like how he looked for his shot early. I wish he was always that aggressive.
    – Costner and McCauley gave good effort. They’re light years ahead of where they were last year.
    – Mays played the best I’ve seen him play.
    – Not sure why Smith didn’t play more.
    – Javi played hard, but not necessarily well.
    – We don’t rebound well.
    – Davidson is very physical.

    Since watching this team play the exhibition games, I’ve consistently said that we’re at best a NCAA bubble team but most likely destined for the NIT. I didn’t see anything today that suggested anything different.

  18. travelwolf 12/07/2008 at 1:23 AM #

    i have to think that fells injured his shoulder BEFORE the game and Lowe just didn’t want anyone to know. in the past, having the challenge of stopping a great player turned Fells on, so I have to think that something else happened this game. we’ll find out in a few days…

  19. Anthony Grundy 12/07/2008 at 3:17 AM #

    Trever Ferguson for PG duiies! Javi and et al suck….bigtime.

    Tracy Smith hasn’t played a bad minute yet at state, but sid is too scared to ben costner for a far superior player.

    damn…

  20. wufpup76 12/07/2008 at 6:34 AM #

    “Since watching this team play the exhibition games, I’ve consistently said that we’re at best a NCAA bubble team but most likely destined for the NIT. I didn’t see anything today that suggested anything different.”

    Exactly how I have felt about this team, though I’m pretty sure a lot of folks on here consider me an unobjective loon for not being overly negative … We are far improved from last season, but making the NIT might be the high water mark for this squad (I hope not – I hope we can do more)

    The second half of this game was by far the worst I have seen us play yet this season, exhibitions included (in fairness, I had to listen to the New Orleans game on the radio) … That said, you have to give Davidson credit b/c they really ratcheted up their physical play and intensity in the 2nd half and we just didn’t respond the way we should have … I’m hoping this will be a lesson in how hard you consistently have to play rather than a foretelling of how we will compete

    Today’s first half squad (minus an injured Fells?) would be able to win a few games … The second half reminded me very much of last season – particularly the rebounding … Will it be a lesson that leaves a bad taste in our mouths or is it a sign of things to come? I’m hoping it’s the former, but that’s what I hoped last season … Oh well, we’ll see what happens

  21. robopack 12/07/2008 at 7:46 AM #

    The bottom line is that we do not have a good team. We WILL NOT have a good team until maybe next year or 2010. We have dealt with this for so many years,,,,deal with it for another. Question Sidney’s coaching all you want…Id like to see anyone win the way we want to with this bunch. (upperclassmen jeez)
    JOKE
    If we took a jack ass pack mule from the vet school over to church hill downs and fed it like a thoroughbred, trained it like a thoroughbred, and then raced it in the derby.
    What would we win???
    ANSWER.. Jack shit!!! We an’nt wining squat until we get some f***ing horses!!!! Please……….

  22. choppack1 12/07/2008 at 8:01 AM #

    Here’s why I’m not thrilled or optimistic about what I saw yesterday:
    *Since Sid has been here, we have these games against good opponents where we show up and try (and a lot of others where we don’t) but we can’t make key stops and grab key rebounds, and the same thing happened yesterday. In all of those games, we were a couple of key stops away from walking away happy – same thing yesterday.

    *Let me get this right, our Big Guys got worn down by Davidson’s big guys? That sounds to me like a combination of conditioning and a lack of effective substitutions – I guess there’s a first time for everything.

    *While CJ Williams and Julius May look to be solid basketball players, I don’t see these guys having the scoring ability – yet- that a decent ACC team needs from the backcourt.

    *There’s no excuse for not blocking out and playing proper help defense – and letting the nation’s player end up wide-open after an offensive rebound – unless – maybe it’s not coached. I wonder if this is the case.

    *For all this talk about how great Davidson is, that collegeiate power that was NC State last year beat them. That we won isn’t important, what should be noted is that NC State hung w/ a better Davidson last year than they hung with this time. The only difference between the 2 games was the result.

    *For those of us who were expecting tough, physical basketball – and a crisp new attitude – it’s not here yet. Without great backcourt scoring – our main hope for being a NIT quality or even a bubble team will depend on us playing solid D and rebounding. That should strike fear into the heart of anyone who has watched us play the last 2 years.

    *Right now, to me, this game falls in under the definition of insanity – trying the same thing, but expecting different results.

    *I’m wondering if Fells has an ankle or hamstring or groin injury – it looked to me like he was limping out there.

    Here’s what I saw that was encouraging:
    *Julius Mays looks solid.
    *CJ Williams looks solid.
    *Like others said, given the ACC’s potential mediocrity, we can have a decent season and win more conference games than we did last year.
    *This team can improve – and the coaches can improve. If they do that, I’ll be happy.

  23. Bubba 12/07/2008 at 8:21 AM #

    Wow, Thought I had logged in to Pack Pride Monkey Board reading this one.

    BJD, Good synopsis overall. Sat behind our bench today, effort was there.Ben and BC were gassed at the end. Both played well for the most part(Look at their stat lines)

    Javy will never be an ACC point guard. He will play good against the scrub non-con teams.Thats it. Julius Mays is the only guard that has been taught fundamentals growing up(Thank-you Indiana Basketball)PLAY HIM NOW he’s our only hope

    Fells played hard at the start, missed a couple of mid-range jumpers and then hurt his shoulder. Went to locker room and came back later iced and bandaged.Surprised he went back in,but when he did he rolled his ankle. Went back to bench and trainer retaped it. Coach asked Fells if he could go again and Fells shook his head no

    We played a good team on the road to final possession. It happens

  24. Rick 12/07/2008 at 8:33 AM #

    Our team is simply not good.
    When we had the ball down three seconds who did you want to shoot the three? I could think of no one. I would have preferred having myself out there to shoot it.
    The problems on this team are both personel and coaching.
    We rebounded poorly, very, very, very poorly. That is why we lost. Davidson is not a very good team.
    We are an irrelevant athletic program. I have pretty much accepted that.

    And I still do not want you know who back.

  25. grouchomarx 12/07/2008 at 9:51 AM #

    Outrebounded 21-12 on the offensive boards and 45-39 in total.

    Against a team with no front court at all, with their “best” big ejected in the first half.

    Just a little fundamental basketball and we win this game.

    I guess when Sid gets “his” players we’ll suddenly play with a basketball IQ that most HS teams have.

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