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 รขโ‚ฌโ€ 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. Dan 01/14/2009 at 3:44 PM #

    Hey newt!

    That checklist is hilarious. Explain Marques Johnson. Oh and Bartoz. You can Farnold to that list as well.

  2. Rochester 01/14/2009 at 3:50 PM #

    Dan, like this?

    Good size, big body – Bartosz
    Good speed – Farnold Degand
    Cool initials – Marques Johnson

    Or did you want players that fit in more than one category?

  3. JeremyH 01/14/2009 at 3:50 PM #

    wtf ….. Gavin Grant? this is SO random.

  4. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 3:53 PM #

    Newt, you should have added tenacious defender to the list. Sendek may have been many things, but he did demand his players play hard on D.

  5. newt 01/14/2009 at 3:53 PM #

    Okay, Dan.

    First explanation is that MJ and Farnold are not big men, so the checklist doesn’t apply.

    Second explanation is that I provided a hypothetical evaluation checklist of the desired qualities of a big man for each coach, not a list of the qualities of the players actually landed by each coach. I said earlier that recruiting suffered for 2 years because of the timing of Lowe’s hiring.

    JJ Hickson meets Lowes checklist, as does Derek Favors. Ben McCauley meets Sendek’s checklist, as did Andrew Brackman. Why would Ben McCauley succeed in Lowe’s system?

  6. Girlfriend in a Coma 01/14/2009 at 3:54 PM #

    I emailed Fowler and have not gotten anything back. Not that I am a high roller. I’d say I’m a medium roller.

  7. JeremyH 01/14/2009 at 3:58 PM #

    Gavin Grant stacks money and women.. and now apparently credit cards.

  8. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 4:32 PM #

    Dear (insert name here)
    Girlfriend in a Coma,

    Thank you for your letter. As a basketball coach myself I always enjoy hearing from fans.

    Please be assured that Coach Lowe and his staff are working night and day to make the Wolfpack competitive. I am monitoring the situation and have the utmost confidence in Coach Lowe and our team.

    Go Pack!

    (signed)

  9. com state10 01/14/2009 at 4:37 PM #

    Great article. The line I thought was as good as any,

    “Coaches, in any sport in the college or professional ranks, want to sink or swim with their players.”

    I think last night, from what I saw, and what Sid said post game, was a breaking point in the season. I am not saying all of a sudden we’ll go on a run. Just in playing time and the fact he realizes his time has run low, and if he’s going to sink, it’s going to be with his guys.

    I thank the older guys for their effort to this point, but add me to the club that is perfectly okay with seeing as I’ve posted the last few days, player development.

    I am too young to have been around all the disappointments over the past. I think Sid deserves one more year, with his players. I loved the passion I have seen out of them so far.

    GO PACK.

  10. StateFans 01/14/2009 at 5:15 PM #

    ^ Good post.

  11. buttPACKer 01/14/2009 at 5:26 PM #

    spot on, Alpha.

  12. pyejam 01/14/2009 at 5:28 PM #

    Derrick Favors is supposed to announce where he is going tonight? any chance for the pack? probably not.

    SFN: To answer your question, no – we are not getting Favors. And we are not having the Sendek discussion all other again. Thanks!

  13. BJD95 01/14/2009 at 5:33 PM #

    To be a bit contrarian, I think the Mays/Williams/Thomas/?/? lineup will have far weaker results against a real opponent and on the road. Especially once opposing coaches have film to study.

    But it’s fair enought to say that if we are going to suck (and we certainly are), might as well push all in with the younger players and lay some foundation for 2009-10.

    That said, there is one risk – by rolling them out to get pounded night in and night out, they might all develop the shell-shocked look on Javi Gonzalez’ face last night.

  14. pakfanistan 01/14/2009 at 5:35 PM #

    Nevermind, ignorance is bliss.

  15. choppack1 01/14/2009 at 5:41 PM #

    I’d love to see Lowe give the line-up we saw last night during that nice run more time. They actually looked athletic and quick.

    Still, there are some disturbing realities out there:
    1) CJ Williams had pretty much been rotting on the bench the last few games until last night – this after starting at the 2 spot earlier in the year.

    2) Johnny Thomas’ knee may not be strong enough to do what he did last night.

    3) While the “Big 3” take a lot of flack – and suffer from some frustrating lapses, Horner is actually a worse ball-player than he was when he set foot on campus, Javi may have taken a step back – and after scoring 31 points, Tracy Smith has been struggling and has seen tons of time. This should worry us all about development from the kids who should end up being starters and solid contributors – not the stars, but the kids who end up making or breaking a program.

    There definitely should be some learning going on, but when the coach’s response night in night out is “we just aren’t running our stuff” – well, I think you limit how much you can improve.

  16. whitefang 01/14/2009 at 6:02 PM #

    If we make a coaching change after this season (not likely) it will put us another 3 years behind. The problem is that if we don’t we will be 5+ years behind.

    SFN: Howso? Why are you choosing to completely ignore the obvious ‘basketball IQ talent’ that has is coming into the program over the next two years?

  17. BSIE80 01/14/2009 at 6:12 PM #

    I think Costner & McCauley were shocked they were sitting on the bench and the others were leading us to success. When they went back in, they were out of sink, lost confidence, etc.
    I am sure Sid discussed this with them after the game.

    Costner and McCauley will need to adjust or they won’t- like last year.
    To me this shows what the problem was last year. Costner and McCauley’s lack of ability to adjust to team play.
    Fells- he adjusts, he just is inconsistent and terrible in the halfcourt set.

  18. wolfpack74ms 01/14/2009 at 6:33 PM #

    Probable scenario:

    Fowler to Big Contributors – “Coach Lowe needs 2 more years to get his players in place.

    Following Year – Fowler to Big Contributors ” Coach Lowe made substantial progress this year, we made the NIT”.

    Third Year – Fowler to Big Contributors ” We are almost there, we made the NIT again!

  19. Noah 01/14/2009 at 6:41 PM #

    Big Contributors to Fowler — Didn’t we fire you about two years ago?

  20. BSIE80 01/14/2009 at 6:45 PM #

    Big Contributors will continue to contribute as they always have.
    Obviously Fowler is their man, so u might as well move on.

  21. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 6:53 PM #

    Sigh … well, I’m just going to settle in with my drink and prepare to watch Favors’ new team battle with Duke

    Have a fun night all … Watch a funny movie … Watch a good team play … Take your mind off of NC State ๐Ÿ™

  22. BAC79 01/14/2009 at 7:10 PM #

    The sad thing is we will be having this same discussion two years from now.

  23. JeremyH 01/14/2009 at 7:25 PM #

    I still think Fells, McCauley, Degand, and Fergie should get gametime (in descending order) but it really should be limited and performance based. I also know the lineup I finalized on (Mays, Smith, Costner, Williams, Thomas) will not always match up great with the respective opponent. Horner definitely as a super-sub, you guys knot his physical ability, but he is a heady player whose mid-range game and passing we need to exploit. I don’t know what to say about Javi except, emotional damage aside, there is no reason Sid should have stuck with him after the first turnover.

    If there is a jay-vee team, can he play on it? At point, Mays should play about 36-38 minutes a game, with Degand subbing for him for quick blows. The rest I could probably get mostly right, but might want to review game tape from this season to decide.

    Oh, and I’m not sure why Lowe would be motivated to take any blame, but in the end it is his job to be the coach, HE is the coach, and unfortunately for him game play results are the only way to gauge if he is doing well.

    One good thing came out of last night: we found a starting point guard. Now, we have a couple combo guards coming in that can play, so we need one more top notch forward to be a middle of the road next year.

    Hopefully how things ended with Favors will end with Wall. Hometown boy in to rescue his hometown team. Wall….Lee and Sidney really need ya!

  24. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 7:28 PM #

    Ga Tech is playing pretty well thus far against Duke …

    Their length and athleticism is causing Duke some issues … Sound familiar?

  25. BSIE80 01/14/2009 at 7:52 PM #

    I think it is hard for Sid to take the blame when the experienced players don’t execute. I agree, he should shoulder it and keep some of his comments for the locker room. However, he is human and frustrated as most of us.
    Hope Walls does pick State, but I have this bad feeling he will pick Duke.

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