Giglio: Same problems for Pack

Joe Giglio has penned an excellent blog entry at ACCNow – New season, same old issues for Pack.

I’ve got a ton to say and not a lot of time to say it – WolfpackNation is more divided this morning than we have been in the last couple of years. There are probably as many different solutions to our problems as there are different perspectives that exist out there right now.

I wanted to copy and paste some excerpts from the entry but that resulted in me basically pasting the entire article. If I had to pick something short and sweet to highlight then I would go with the following:

By the 15-minute mark of the second half, Lowe had seen enough of his senior and fourth-year junior, he turned to Mays, Thomas and Williams — three freshmen. If you’re going to lose, don’t let one losing season turn into two. Lowe has every right to attempt to develop the talent for next season.

“Those are the guys we’re going to have count on now and down the road,” Lowe said.

Personally, I think Coach Sidney Lowe would serve himself and his job security well by rolling out a line-up of Julius Mays, CJ Williams, Johnny Thomas, Tracy Smith and a 5th player of his choosing (personally, I would go with McCauley). If the rest of the players don’t like it, then they can either work their asses off by playing defense, blocking out and keeping their heads in the game or they can simply not play.

Hell…we are probably going to lose anyway. If we are going to lose, then most fans would rather lose with players that:
(1) obviously bust their asses;
(2) obviously care about the outcome of the game: and
(3) can gain valuable experience that can be helpful in the years to come.

Why bother losing with players that can’t get it done either physically or mentally?

If Coach Lowe takes this opportunity to actually/FINALLY execute a ‘my way or the highway’ mandate then he will do more for his job security in losses than he would by winning a couple of extra, ultimately meaningless games. He also would be laying a sustainable foundation for success in the future. If not, he runs a greater risk of not having a future.

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08-09 Basketball General Sidney Lowe

134 Responses to Giglio: Same problems for Pack

  1. highstick 01/14/2009 at 2:29 PM #

    Heck, just put 4 out there and tell the rest they aren’t good enough!

  2. newt 01/14/2009 at 2:33 PM #

    My post on the previous thread probaby best goes here:

    The transition from Sendek’s program to Lowe’s program is more drastic than your typical example and may be part of our struggles. The kind of players recruited for Sendek’s system may not be players that are built to succeed in a traditional system, like Lowe’s. I think this fact, combined with the late hiring that impacted two years of recruiting, has set us back in Lowe’s first 2.3 years.

    What is starting to show more and more is that the players that Lowe has brought in have a higher upside within his system than the players that were here when he arrived. That is not an insult to those veteran players; it’s more a matter of fit. Although I will say that part of that fit is related to mental approach to the game. Sendek was cerebral, Lowe is more about feel for the game and aggressiveness.

    Fundamentals are good to have, but the best players have a certain feel for the game, and natural physical ability, outside of fundamentals, like Lowe himself had when he was playing.

  3. Trip 01/14/2009 at 2:37 PM #

    I’m just excited to see that everything I had heard about Thomas was true. If his knee is giving him problems, has medical science found out a way to transplant knees or cartilage ? I’ll give him mine, it hasn’t been abused at all and I can get a cane.

  4. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 2:40 PM #

    Remember when Tom O’Brien quipped that some players moved up on the depth chart and said “we’re a performance-based organization over here?”

    Words for Sidney Lowe and his players to live by.

    We have some good young players. If their play exceeds those upperclassmen, then fine, let the older players sit. This isn’t the NBA and you don’t deserve playing time because you are a senior.

    I’ll repost my post-game comment from last night:

    McCauley thinks he should start because…he’s got this tricked out name tag:

  5. Girlfriend in a Coma 01/14/2009 at 2:44 PM #

    I would rather watch gay dwarf porn than watch this team play basketball.

  6. Sam92 01/14/2009 at 2:44 PM #

    what is there to say – Sid doesn’t have what it takes, it’s already apparent. some people say give him more time to build a program, but that really only applies in football. i basketball the really good players are only there for two years anyway, the coaching has to be a lot more immediate than in football.

    sid gets this lousy year, plus one more because of who he is. our long-term problem is that lee fowler is going to be picking our next bball coach just like he picked Sid – and that’s what sucks

  7. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 2:44 PM #

    Giglio seems to be really in touch with what’s going on … If you haven’t read his post yet, I highly recommend it if and when you get a chance to do so …

    About the line-up, I haven’t totally given up on Costner – but that’s just conjecture

    “Heck, just put 4 out there and tell the rest they aren’t good enough!”

    ^It worked out in “Hoosiers” 😉

    “My team is on the floor.” – Norman Dale

  8. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 2:47 PM #

    I am still laughing at Girlfriend’s post …

    I bet they run their “STUFF” well

  9. old13 01/14/2009 at 2:48 PM #

    Sid seems to have made a commitment to playing the younger guys in that quote of his above. Let’s see if he sticks with it. Seems like he’s said alot of things this season that fell by the wayside soon after he said them (e.g., “we’re going to have a faster tempo, fast-breaking offense.”) Of course, I realize that one has to make adjustments according to the situation. But I don’t think we have enough players to rotate in and out to play every style there is just to match the opponent. Maybe that’s an NBA philosophy.

  10. PackMan97 01/14/2009 at 2:50 PM #

    The transition from Sendek’s program to Lowe’s program is more drastic than your typical example and may be part of our struggles.

    I don’t see it. In Lowe’s first season we were a pretty decent team offensively. I wonder how of that had to do with Atsur running things? Could this be shades of a Riversless Amato? an Atsurless Lowe?

  11. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 2:55 PM #

    What’s really unfortuanate is that Lee Fowler will still be here and J.P. Giglio is more in touch with the pulse of our program and fanbase than ANYONE involved in the athletics department at NC State

    Do you think any of them even know that the natives are getting more than restless?

    “Oh, I’m sorry – I wasn’t listening to you, but then you said something about MONEY. What was that part about money again? Don’t worry about all that other stuff – it will all just work itself out. We need to talk about how much money you’re going to give us. Ok? THANKS!”

  12. newt 01/14/2009 at 2:59 PM #

    Let’s think about a Sendek player evaluation chart vs. a Lowe player evaluation chart for a big man:

    Sendek’s checklist:
    Good passer
    Good ball handler
    Able to step out and shoot 3-pointer
    Interested in and able to learn offensive system

    Lowe:
    Good size, big body
    Shot blocker
    Rebounder
    Good speed
    Fights to get open
    Aggressive to the basket with the ball

    So take player 1 or player 2 and plug him in to the other’s approach and he would not do as well.

  13. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 3:03 PM #

    Hey! Just saw this ad at the top of the page!

    “Hire Athletic Coach

    Post Jobs & Search Resumes Target the Right Candidates!

    www Monster com”

    YES!!! How relevant! Get on it Lee! Be sure to use Monster for all of your hiring needs.

  14. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 3:06 PM #

    wufpup,

    we can’t say for sure that Fowler and company don’t know. I’m sure that the big donors see what’s going on and are letting him know.

    Now, whether he is registering these complaints with anything more than a

    “Go Pack!
    Lee Fowler”

    type of response is anyone’s guess. But I am sure his email box and his ear are both getting burned up.

    Folks, this feels like year four of the Sendek era, where knowledgeable basketball people are noticing things amiss. Others are making excuses for the coaches, and while they may have a point, we are now at the edge of that slippery slope of no return — a fan base turning sour.

  15. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 3:08 PM #

    I think that sums it up, Alpha

  16. DRW 01/14/2009 at 3:08 PM #

    OT: Gavin Grant charged with felony.

    http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4313403/

  17. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 3:13 PM #

    newt, I don’t care what system you are playing in, fundamentals like hustle and focus are required. Score and clock awareness too. And making the right shot within your capability. That’s missing from some of our team, and all of those traits are contained between each ear, not in a basketball philosophy.

    I have played for a lot of coaches, some brilliant, some not so much, others that were player’s friends and others that were like the DI in “Full Metal Jacket.” I can honestly say that when I stepped onto a baseball diamond or a football field I always hustled and tried my best to do what I was asked. I simply do not see that in our upperclassmen and I will welcome the day that they graduate.

  18. newt 01/14/2009 at 3:20 PM #

    We don’t disagree, except some of what you call fundamentals I call feel for the game.

  19. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 3:23 PM #

    ^ Fair enough.

  20. primacyone 01/14/2009 at 3:24 PM #

    At least the new guys seem to acutally care and play with some heart.

    I’m more than fine if Lowe only plays his players the rest of the year and only plays for next year.

    I’m sick of everything Sendeckan, including the lacadasical attitudes.

  21. ClassOf95 01/14/2009 at 3:29 PM #

    Derrick Favors is announcing his college choice tonight at 6:30 on ESPNU. People are thinking it’s GT as Hewitt was at his game last night and the announcement comes 30 minutes before the Duke v GT game.

    And, Gavin Grant has been arrested for felony credit card fraud.

  22. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 3:37 PM #

    ^ That won’t help him stay in this country.

    Not smart at all, Gavin. And I expect we will hear howls out of the Carolina contingent.

  23. Rochester 01/14/2009 at 3:39 PM #

    Gavin Grant has been arrested for felony credit card fraud.

    Nice. Real proud moment for the program. At least he waited until after he was gone. Was he buying something for someone else’s girlfriend?

  24. DoubleE 01/14/2009 at 3:40 PM #

    Speaking of Carolina, looks like BMFD is already running players out to free up room for all those recruits 5* recruits…
    http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/sexton-wont-play-for-unc-in-09

  25. Dan 01/14/2009 at 3:41 PM #

    I just hope that NC State fans have learned a lesson: It can always get worse.

    Fire Lee Fowler now.

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