Weekend open thread

08-09 Basketball51

You can use this entry for various conversations with so many different things going on out there.

State 78 Lipscomb 58

  • The Wolfpack advanced to 7-1 on the hardwood with a twenty point win over Lipscomb. 
  • The headline at the N&O says, “Mays leads Pack” (Click for article) 

    • Thrust into a suddenly prominent lineup spot, Julius Mays outfought two Lipscomb players for a defensive rebound and hustled the ball up the court without hesitation Saturday as N.C. State tried to widen its lead.

    After dribbling to the top of the key, Mays whipped a pass to Trevor Ferguson in front of the N.C. State bench. Ferguson hit one of the three second-half 3-pointers he made in N.C. State’s 78-58 win at the RBC Center.

    A freshman from Marion, Ind., Mays made the most of his first career start Saturday. He replaced injured sophomore Javi Gonzalez and wound up tying a Wolfpack team season high with seven assists.

    Mays also scored nine points and did not commit a turnover despite an overall sluggish performance by N.C. State.

    • In 24 minutes in his first start Mays did NOT commit a turnover while scoring 9 points on 4 of 8 shooting; dished out 7 assists and landed 1 steal and 2 rebounds.
    • It is always nice to see a balanced roster with different players leading the State each night, but it is particularly nice to see freshman Julius Mays adjusting to the college game so quickly.  If the Pack is going to have any chance of making some noise this year then they are going to need unexpectedly strong play from the young players in the backcourt.
    • I attended the State-Davidson game and it Mays appeared very comfortable while in the game.  I remember him driving the lane a couple of times and hit a nice floater on one drive.  Barring any improvement by Javi Gonzalez, if Mays continues efficient offensive production then the comfort in Mays ability to execute offensively would elevate him over Gonzalez in many Wolfpackers minds.

    Around the dial

    • Purdue beats Davidson like a drum.  I told some friends of mine here in Charlotte that this was going to happen.  Without Jason Richars this Davidson is partly living off the glow of last year’s run.  Mark my words – this team will NOT make the Final 8 without one lucky draw in the NCAA. 
    • YES…I fully acknowledge that Davidson defeated NC State this year.  I also fully acknowledge that the Wildcats could barely pull out the victory in the last seconds with ALL of the following working  
      • a home court
      • an officiating job so bad that it ranked alongside a visit to Cameron or the Smith Center
      • a miraculous performance from a single player
      • injuries to three of NC State’s best six players (Farnold Degand, Courtney Fells & Tracy Smith) 
    • How is this one for some fun — NC State squeaks into the NCAA Tournament as a 12th seed this year and gets a re-match with a 5-seeded Davidson?  I know that you are skeptical…but, at least one local follower of the ACC thinks the Wolfpack has a shot at that 12th seed – see Dan Wiederer’s power projections.
    • Wake Forest avenges their loss that should have never happened against Navy today and starts the ACC’s Bowl season with a win.
    • Duke dominates Sean Miller’s Xavier on the road.  Another nice one for the ACC to add to our list.
    • Yes, that IS Darth Vader (and some Stormtroopers) with Thad Matta.  WTF?

      • Video courtesy of Palestra.

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    08-09 Basketball

    51 Responses to Weekend open thread

    1. redfred2 12/20/2008 at 7:43 PM #

      WTF is right! That’s so poorly done, it’s hilarious! It reminds of something that…as a matter of fact…I’ll bet Lee’s wheels are spinning right about now. RED MEANS GALACTICA

    2. SEAT.5.F.2 12/20/2008 at 9:00 PM #

      The open practice was fun although the rain didn’t stop until it was over. I spoke with Sam Jones and wished him well here at State. He was hanging out with two OL recruits from Georgia who came up.

      I spent most of my time near the end zones watching the big boys going about their drills. I was supremely impressed with #79, Mattes, and #73, Allen. Mattes does not look like the biggest meanist guy on the block but his footwork and quickness was on full display. When the 2009 season starts you can pencil in Allen at OG, IMO.

      Al M-C is just a terror during these drills as anyone would expect but I was seriously surprised to see how quick and strong Leroy Burgess has gotten. Those were the guys who really stood out out of the lineman.

      The scrimmages were fun to watch as well and one player who really stood out was #20 Dominique Ellis. He has improved greatly during the season and he made a turn around one hand grab for a pick on Glennon that was nice. Clem Johnson was practicing and looked close to 100%. # 35 was Terrel Manning and he played with the third team, Quinn at MLB and Maddux at the other backer.

    3. Noah 12/20/2008 at 10:51 PM #

      Those two OL from Georgia…don’t be surprised if they commit this weekend.

      And you are absolutely correct about Allen. Star in the making.

    4. Wulfpack 12/20/2008 at 10:55 PM #

      Another good win for the Pack. Got a big one against Marquette coming up. Hope Mays can carry us through there as the Golden Eagles look to be a very athletic team.

      Purdue opened the game on a 21-point run on Davidson. It was over from the start. Davidson is just not as good as they were last year. They will be seeded higher than a 5-seed. Purdue dominated Davidson on the baords, something we were not able to do. Warning signs.

      Saw that UVA lost to Auburn. Ouch.

    5. Anthony Grundy 12/21/2008 at 1:23 AM #

      tracy smith should transfer b/c he’s being wasted on the bench. also seems like we are a better team when t-ferg plays more minutes. he either scores or spreads the floor for other players.

    6. Rick 12/21/2008 at 9:01 AM #

      We are not a good basketball team. No guards. No defense. Bad rebounding. 8 wins would be a miracle. I expect 4. I hope I am wrong.

      Davidson is not very good. Curry is incredible but he is all they have. When I saw WV pound them on the boards after they pounded us on them I worried even more about this year.

    7. bradleyb123 12/21/2008 at 10:27 AM #

      “We are not a good basketball team. No guards. No defense. Bad rebounding. 8 wins would be a miracle. I expect 4. I hope I am wrong.”

      Umm, we have 7 wins already. I don’t think one more win this year would be a “miracle”. Or did you mean ACC wins?

    8. Greywolf 12/21/2008 at 10:43 AM #

      Copied from BMFD thread:
      ““Spurrier found a way to mention that he won the Heisman, won a national championship, played in the pros, coached several all conference and all american QB’s, etc.”

      North Carolina, a valley of humility between two mountains of conceit.

      Is it just me? I’m so proud and pleased to have TOB represent NCSU I can hardly stand it. For every BMFD embarrassment, there seems to be an opposite and admirable attribute of Tom O’Brien.

      TOB’s starting QB, Russell Wilson, seems like the kind of young man who, in about 25 years, could be where Obama is today. That young man is a leader in every sense of the word, articulate, has character and humility — qualities exemplified by our head football coach.

      Let’s hope the days of sideline sideshows is gone forever.

    9. Dr. BadgerPack 12/21/2008 at 12:10 PM #

      “TOB’s starting QB, Russell Wilson, seems like the kind of young man who, in about 25 years, could be where Obama is today.”

      Come on… don’t insult RW like that… Wilson already has way more leadership experience. 🙂

      And for those who can’t appreciate a joke for what it is… poop on you.

    10. SEAT.5.F.2 12/21/2008 at 12:41 PM #

      Noah,

      One thing that helped the OL look so damn good at practice was the absence of McSheen (sp?) and Kuhn (atleast I did not spot him). The DL definitely has a big drop off after the two deep.

      Maybe Gardner, # 67, impressed the most-he lacks an the explosion and quickness you would like to see at the snap but he has great technique and that keeps the OL off of him for the most part. Hopefully a valuable player going forward trying to link the veterans with the newcomers coming in at DT.

      I’m going to refrain on saying anything about the “waiver wire” schollie issue until I see that Taylor Gentry, a FB # 47, gets a free ride. He p/u a block and an inside blitz by CB Gray last nite that was a thing of beauty. I hopr they are looking at his kid brother as well in the ’10 class, Genty just seems to match the TOB approach so well.

      SFN: What does a walk-on who was not recruited have to do with the issue of over recruiting and the ‘waiver wire’?

    11. phillypacker 12/21/2008 at 12:47 PM #

      CAn anyone share more reflections on the open practice?

    12. BJD95 12/21/2008 at 12:48 PM #

      This is a 5 or 6 ACC win team, but one who will not lose to any bad OOC teams. It’s already progress that we beat UNO and ECU, frankly. This team is not talented enough to do any better than that, but they are playing hard and our gameplans make good sense (at least to me). I take that as a sign of real growth from our head coach, who was clearly not ready to take this job when offered. But if he’s figured things out, we could be quite good once better personnel are in place (and such personnel is on the way).

      Right now, this is an NIT team, and I don’t see that changing for the better or the worse. I do hope that we beat either Florida or Marquette – that would be a real positive for the program.

      File this under the “what if” pile – JB and I shared a few e-mails right before Sid was hired, and can’t remember how much of the substance we posted on the blog. We know that Larry Brown was intrigued by our job (and highly motivated to stick it to the UNC athletic administration), but told us he only had 2-3 good years left in him, and that we needed to hire Sidney Lowe. What if we had a visionary AD who worked it out so that Larry Brown was hired with Sid as his highly paid top assistant and named successor? Sid would have made his bones learning from one of the Top 5 college coaches in the last 50 years, and Brown would have maxed out our potential in the interim. And I guaran-damn-tee you that John Wall would be signed and ready to run with the Pack.

      It’s thoughts like these that make me want to bang my head against the wall for an hour or so.

    13. Dogbreath 12/21/2008 at 2:08 PM #

      Our AD is impervious to good ideas like that.

    14. Greywolf 12/21/2008 at 2:11 PM #

      BJD95,
      The post preceding yours ^^ asked about the open football practice. As I read your post, I’m like “shee-it” “a 5 or 6 ACC win team, but one who will not lose to any bad OOC teams.” Daaammmm!! I’m thinking WTF do you mean, lose to and bad OOC teams. We ain’t losing to any GOOD OOC teams. Then I read about going to the NIT… Hello Earth..

      The scenerio of Larry Brown mentoring Sid is off the charts and thinking about what we missed boggles my mind. Of course we don’t know if either LB of SL would have signed off on that since it apparently wasn’t offered or even thought of. (The NHL Canes are doing something like this with Paul Maurice and Ron Francis.)

      Were you at the open practice and, if so, what was your take on a real sport? 😉

    15. Greywolf 12/21/2008 at 2:19 PM #

      Dr. BadgerPack
      Dec 21st, 2008 at 12:10 pm
      “TOB’s starting QB, Russell Wilson, seems like the kind of young man who, in about 25 years, could be where Obama is today.”

      “Come on… don’t insult RW like that… Wilson already has way more leadership experience.”

      I had the same thought when I wrote it.:-) I did think “qualities” where you had “experience.” And I factored in the age qualification for running for president, age 45 I was thinking but not sure. Thus I qualified my assessment for 25 years from now.

      As far as getting the joke, I didn’t think it was a joke. Seemed spot on to me.

      And my good Dr., if I may borrow a line from you, “And for those who can’t appreciate a joke for what it is… poop on you.” 😉

    16. SMD 12/21/2008 at 3:03 PM #

      On another note – does it trouble anyone else that we are once again dropping the ball on a so-called “honor” ceremony?

      Why are we honoring the 74 team on a Monday night, 3 days before Christmas? The students are on break, and though we can expect a little better attendance than yesterday because of the opponent, there’s still going to be lots of empty seats.

      Why not bring the team back for a conference game in February? Of course, look at the “great” job we did with the 83 team. Sigh. I am so tired of half-assed efforts in the marketing and presentation department.

    17. kyjelly 12/21/2008 at 3:04 PM #

      Let Mays play leave Javi on the bench .Javi was thrown into the fire last season ,but has not really shown any improvement at all . He is what he is I would have thought he might have improved over the off -season,but sadly he did not.
      Lets play the kid !

    18. Gene 12/21/2008 at 3:16 PM #

      Regarding Mays. Lipscomb played a lot of zone and didn’t pressure the ball much. Looking good against the Lipscomb’s of the college basketball world should be a prerequisite to play for an ACC team or NCSU at least.

      I really wonder if the coaching staff will push Fells into action against Marquette or wait to make sure he’s totally healthy for conference play. He got spot minutes in the first half, but hasn’t practices since Davidson and is probably rusty. Though having a genuine scoring option at SF will help us against a team like Marquette, assuming Fells in healthy.

    19. graywolf 12/21/2008 at 3:30 PM #

      We’ll know a lot more about how good this team is or isn’t after the Marquette game Monday night. Let’s hope that we are better than expected and better than last years team.

    20. kyjelly 12/21/2008 at 3:36 PM #

      No one said Lipscomb was a test ? Mays should get a chance because Javi is not and will never be the answer

    21. Dr. BadgerPack 12/21/2008 at 4:22 PM #

      The biggest difference in this and last season that I see is not only winning the games we should, but winning them by significant margins. None of this going down to the wire against UNCG crapola…

    22. cowdog 12/21/2008 at 4:38 PM #

      Going all out free form since the opportunity presents itself.
      BJD95, read the not “losing to a bad OOC team and saw it as quite the oxymoron. ( Greywolf caught it first. ) Other than Marquette, Fla and Davidson, who the hell could be considered good? Maybe as we get better the schedule will too,eh?

      Greywolf, and anyone that may have known Mr. Wolf in the time frame that Greywolf invoked some passages to recently. Haven’t talked to that Hickory boy in a bit and beamed a little from the post. Mr. Wolf and I saw each other often in California.( He living in Sacramento area me in Socal.) Still has a distaste for shoes. That guy would go barefoot in an ice storm.

      SMD, could you possibly expect more from our peeps residing in marketing than to present one of the true POWER HOUSE teams in NCCA history 3 days before Christmas? Jesus H. Christ.

      Lastly, on the longevity of one Russell Wilson under center and how I think Glennon has a loooong wait. Wilson, if drafted in ’10 must go no lower than the 3rd rd. That is the line of demarcation (Money) for guys with remaining eligibility and leverage. He was drafted in the 41st rd. out of high school. I’ve seen him play baseball and with no knocks here, can’t project him higher than 10th rd. yet.

    23. highstick 12/21/2008 at 4:43 PM #

      I had to look up Lipscombe College. Never heard of it and thought maybe it was started by Gene “Big Daddy” Lipscombe! Formerly Nashville Bible College, sorry but still never heard of it.

      BUT I’ll bet there’s a tie with Lee’s Tennessee connections!

      PLEASE TELL ME WHY WE CONTINUE TO SCHEDULE SUCH A BUNCH OF POWER PUFFS AND CAN ONLY BEAT THEM BY 20?

    24. highstick 12/21/2008 at 4:48 PM #

      CJ shouldn’t feel to bad about the missed dunk. Saw Billy Cunningham do that against State. The ball went 15 feet up and Cunningham landed on his butt!

    25. Gene 12/21/2008 at 4:55 PM #

      “PLEASE TELL ME WHY WE CONTINUE TO SCHEDULE SUCH A BUNCH OF POWER PUFFS”

      Million dollar question for me. I though Sid wanted to upgrade the schedule.

      Since we have to play smaller schools, why not UNC-W or UNC-A, who are at least top 300 schools, instead of WSSU and NCCU, who are the worst of the worst in D-1 basketball?

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