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. redfred2 01/14/2009 at 7:57 PM #

    I don’t want to get into “The Debate” again, but for me personally I’ll swear I hated watching a neat and tidy, over-organized and unwaivering, SYSTEM of basketball as it struggled while losing basketball games. I hated always watching as a few players who were seemingly dying to bust free of the system and just play all out BB, but who were never given that opportunity. While it doesn’t look like we have very many like those right now, and call me crazy if you will, but I would MUCH RATHER watch THIS BB RIGHT NOW, then to sit and watch a team that was already limited before the players ever hit the court, and no matter how hard those players played the game.

    Sorry, that’s it from me.

  2. wufpup76 01/14/2009 at 8:17 PM #

    C’mon redfred, you need to honor the process in your daytight compartment

    If you chop enough wood, eventually you will have a lot of wood chopped … Then the fire will ignite

  3. Alpha Wolf 01/14/2009 at 8:29 PM #

    C’mon guys, let’s talk about the present and the future. A decent search through the site will show you “The Debate” from beginning to end.

    I think all we want to see is hard-nosed basketball played with desire and reasonable intelligence and for sure with a never-say-die attitude. Kind of like what anyone with a 3.0 or higher GPA in the challenging majors at State would have to have: a work ethic and sense of determination. Also, why can’t our players show increasing competence skill-wise and in leadership, as nearly any successful undergraduate would show as they progressed to graduation?

    In other words, I want a basketball team (and a football team) that reflects the character of our beloved school. The students over at NC State are not perennial losers, they are future engineers, teachers, scientists and business leaders. You cannot earn an NCSU degree without being a winner. You just can’t. Why can’t our sports teams reflect our passions and our work ethic?

    Ahhh, but that’s too much for the cognescenti at the top of the school to ever get. Just shut up and send a check. Kind of like the attitude they had over there towards undergrads prior to Dr. Thomas, with further improvements by MAF. Honestly, at times, I think that the old guard views students as a hassle that they have to deal with….but that’s a subject for another time.

  4. kyjelly 01/14/2009 at 8:40 PM #

    ^ so rf it is Herbs way or Sids way nothing in between??? Tell me what is Sids way?

  5. CStanley 01/14/2009 at 9:05 PM #

    Sid is going to have to win, regardless of who he puts on the floor. So whether is McCauley, Costner, Fells this year, or Mays, Thomas, Williams, etc. next year…one way or another he is going to have to win or be fired.

    But he will gain a ton more respect, both from me and most other fans, if he puts our upperclassmens’ lazy asses on the bench right now. These guys aren’t producing and aren’t working. It’s obvious on the court and in the standings the past few years. I agree with the assessment above:

    “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.”

    Couldn’t have said it better.

  6. BoKnowsNCS71 01/14/2009 at 9:25 PM #

    Still support Sid but chemistry might not have been our problem last year. We got problems. And maybe 4-5 more years of basketball hell.

  7. MatSci94 01/14/2009 at 9:32 PM #

    My opinion of where we are depends on how the players come out for the next game. If Lowe is able to motivate guys with “I pulled players who were actually playing well to give you a chance to show what you’re made of, and you blew it”, or if that was a couple of players last chance to show something and starting and minutes change because of it, then I think we are moving in the right direction. If things are same old same old after this, we are in real trouble.

  8. Ed89 01/14/2009 at 9:41 PM #

    Here’s some good news:
    Our defense is NOT that bad, it’s our offense that has been BAAAD. We just don’t shoot the ball well. Hope for the future could be this:
    Mays 5-8
    Thomas 2-2
    Williams 3-5
    Smith 3-3

    That’s 13-18 or 72%

    Costner 3-8
    McCauley 2-5
    Fells 5-15

    That’s 10-28 or almost 36%

    That’s double the percentage! Ultimately, the point of basketball is to put the ball in the basket. The coach can prepare the players, but ultimately the players have to make shots. That’s what we haven’t done well at.

    Also, 7 TO’s for the “3” and 5 for the other “4”. Mays did have 3 (he’s a FR PG and improving), but Williams, Thomas, and Smith had 1, 1, and 0. Horner had 0 turnovers as well. Make shots, don’t turn the ball over, play defense……it’s actually a pretty easy game. 🙂

    I think we may have found our “reliable” red team. Not trying the throw the “3” under the bus, but those stat lines won’t cut it for upperclassmen. You got to “bring it” every game. If you don’t there’s a spot next to one of the coaches.

  9. JeremyH 01/14/2009 at 9:50 PM #

    note all the players that shot bad were forwards, and fsu had a sizable frontcourt including a 7 footer. is that an excuse? no. tracey smith did ok. just our frontcourt players are one-dimensional. that’s why they play here, they play better in an ‘system’.

  10. truewolfpackfan84 01/14/2009 at 10:12 PM #

    Hello N.C. State Fans,

    I want to start off by saying this is my first post on this website and I have been reading and keeping up with all of these posts the past couple of weeks.

    Let me start off by saying I know we as a whole are wanting to win on the basketball court and get this thing turned around very soon ! I am a die hard 26 year old N.C. State fan and I want nothing more than to be able to compete at a high level every time we step on the court.

    I have been a huge supported of Mr. Sidney Lowe ever since day 1 when he was hired but I do not thing he is the right man for this position at N.C. State. I am very sure I will get a lot of bad replies because we are all passionate about our team and that is the way we should be. I feel we all have different opinions and they are deserve to he heard but I feel like Sidney is too NBA prone to be a success here.

    I am not trying to question his passion and love for N.C. State because we all know that he wants to win just as bad as us but I do not think he is capable of winning here. To me against FSU he coached the worst game since he has been here and I believe it is not going to get any better for the duration of this year. (Num. 1 we have terrible guard play and that starts with degand & javy who i believe are both not acc caliber players.)

    I do believe Julius Mays can possibly get the job done with some more experience because he has his head on straight and plays under control and knows his limits.

    Num. 2 I believe Courtney Fells has completely hit rock bottom this year with our program and that is a big part of our failures as a basketball team. He has not shot the ball well at all and he is very clumsy with the basketball.

    Num. 3 I do not like Dennis Horner at all, I do not think this kid should even be on the basketball court because he may have a I.Q. for the game but he is terrible defender and I just do not think that he fits in with our system at all.

    Num.4 I believe Mccauley is getting way too much playing time because of the fact he is not rebounding at all or boxing out or beeing aggressive enough with the basketball but yet he continues to get the majority of the playing time at the 5 spot. Lastly Num 5. I believe Sidney Lowe is a great person however not a good basketball coach to lead young men at all. I have watched every N.C. State basketball game this year and from what I see I feel like Tracy Smith is a big bright spot for us and should start the remaining games this year at the 5 spot. I would start Brandon Costner at the 4 spot and let the kid play !!!!! STOP sitting our best player on the bench like he was against F.S.U. that is plain ignorant.

    I think Courtney Fells should start at small forward and let’s get his mind back into the basketball game !!. At the 2 guard I would 100 % start Trever Ferguson because the kid has a great shot and he knows how to defend the basketball!!! At the point guard spot we need to start Julius Mays and let the kid progress and get a bulk of the minutes at the point guard position to get team chemistry down with the starters. I really in my heart believe these 5 guys could start and be very competitive from this moment on and let the kids play the game of basketball and not have to look back for Sidney to call the play every time down the court.

    I would bring Simon Harris off the bench along with Mccauley and Degand and C.J. Williams and that would be my rotation. The only way Horner,Javy,Thomas would play is if we get in MAJOR foul trouble. I believe with this solid 8 man rotation we could get guys to know their roles more and we could build some team chemistry instead of having 3 or 4 differnt lineups in and no balance at all on the floor.

    Defensively we are alot better than we were last year but offensively we need more flow to our game and we need to get out on the fast break for some easy opportunities instead of running everything out of our sets because it becomes drastically hard to get production when you have to grind it over every time down the floor. If we can do this we can win some basketball games this year in the ACC and not be the laughing stock like we were last year and how we are starting out this year. I think if we could possibly get John Wall then maybe give Sidney Lowe 1 more year but if we lose Wall like we just lost Favors then I would get rid of Mr.Lowe and go after someone like maybe a Bob Knight if he were to be interested in coming out of retirement because I beleive he could coach against the Roy Williams and the Mike K without being scared of th is. If we could not land someone like a Bob Knight then I beleive 1 of the best youngest coaches out there is Sean Miller from Xavier!! We all know he is brothers with Archie Miller who was a pretty good guard at N.C. State and I think Sean Miller is a great young coach full of discipline and also he is very aggressive style of play ! I am aware we have some decent talent coming in next year but if we do not get Wall I see us in alot of trouble so why not just start fresh and get a real basketball coach in here that knows the game not just a guy that is here because he used to play here and was considered 1 of the best. So let’s make the next hire with our heads not with our hearts if Lowe can’t turn this terrible season around. Thanks so much and I will respect all feedback !!!!

    SFN: Welcome to the site.

  11. Greywolf 01/14/2009 at 10:16 PM #

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

    Can we get a link here? 😉

  12. Pack Leader 01/14/2009 at 11:21 PM #

    truewolfpackfan84 welcome to the site good comments but i have one opposing opinion.
    1. if we get rid of sid now we just lose all our good recruits.. brown, howell, and more than likley leslie and harrow in ’10.
    2. say we do decide to get some balls and fire him and ur ideas of knight (which would be a HUGE longshot) miller, although interesting, are not garenteed by any shot so then we are back where we were 2 years ago.
    3. then we are talking 2015 before we can get any type of progress in the sport.
    as much as i hate to say it with the economy the way it is its either sid and pray for help or fire him, lose millions, and hope fowler doesnt pull a folwer screw it up like last time.

  13. truewolfpackfan84 01/14/2009 at 11:42 PM #

    Dear Pack Leader,

    I appreciate you reading my comments and I understand where you are coming from. However I believe Bobby Knight would be a possibility if not it would be a great chance to throw the idea out there and see if we could get any interest out of him at all… if not him I would be very sure that I am sure Sean would love to come back to where he assisted to turn the program around and get it so that we can contend with everyone in the ACC. Lastly I understand we have some pretty good commits coming but I do not feel they are going to be able to turn this program around with the coaching that we have right now….. We received a great player in JJ Hickson and he got ran off after 1 year because of team chemistry that Sidney Lowe could not handle ! Sidney should have put his foot down last year and would be in a lot better shape this year with a more balanced front court that he likes for his style of play which is big defenders who can rebound and close around the basket , we could have Tracy Smith & JJ Hickson in the front court with costner,fells,mays in the backcourt with ferguson,mccauley,degand, and williams coming off the bench. We would have alot more size and skill on the inside but he got ran off because Sidney could not control his team. So I just think bringing in these 2 guys next year is not going to mean a whole lot without a coach who can learn to receive talent and to actually be able to work with the chemistry to make the flow what it needs to be to win. It all starts with leadership and we do not have that right now.So if it takes losing a couple of guys then it may be well worth it because let’s face it I have heard the these guys do not fit Lowe’s style of play but as a coach you have to change and do what your players can do well until you get the players that you need to run your system…. Herb won with these guys consistently and they always competed for Herb so I know we have some guys here that can win together but Lowe is not adapting to the players he has until he can get a couple of good years of recruits then he can transition over to his style of play. So I say if we can’t get drastically better and have something to build on then let’s start over and make the right choice this time with the Head Coach and get players in here that want to win not try for highlights on ESPN. We need someone to come in and change the culture around here so we expect to win not try to win. There is a big difference between the 2. Fowler needs to go as well !

  14. frankiepack 01/14/2009 at 11:44 PM #

    ^Pack Leader: Stop with the setting the program back we do not have one and please lets not pin our hopes on unproven on this level HS kids that may come here. “If we let Sid go ” He lost 11 acc games in a row fsu will not win a league road game this season ,he will throw anyone and anybody under the bus to stay here andwith out AD it is working.In the three years Sid has been hereeverytime something goes wrong it is someone else’s fault. Giglios article reads like it came from Sids pr firm. Wakeup, setting the program back? Sid has sent this program back 10 years already .
    If Ben,Costner and Courtney are the problem he should have done something about them 3 or at the least 2 years ago. It happens all the time a coach leaves or gets fired his players either stay or transfer. So that excuse does not wash.
    Also they play “Herbs” system, Herb sucked but at least he had a system. As a coach you adapt to the talent or lack of talent that you have,give me a break. What is Sid’s system??
    And for all you if we fire Sid no one will come and coach here I beg to differ. It is a great school ,area, fans ,facility we have to make a change it is almost too late already.
    Check out St Johns and Seton Hall bottom feeders in big east once always successfull and proud programs they play at MSG And the Rock in Newark 17,000 seat arenas for the most part to empty buildings it is sad that is what the RBC center will look like soon unless doke ,or unx are playing us.

  15. leaderofthepack 01/14/2009 at 11:44 PM #

    Also I don’t understand State Fans including myself. It’s tough being a State Fan but I have learned to be patient. We are only in ACC game #2. I think some of you guys are the same fans that were ready that were mentioning we would go 1 – 11 during Football season.

    It is a possibility that all may be lost this season, but I still see solid guard play as the solution to winning in the ACC and it’s obvious that Sid is fixing this through recruiting. Lorenzo Brown is real deal. I still have a good feeling about John Wall, but we need someone of their caliber if we are ever going to be back on top.

    When Wake lost CP3 and had guys such as Harvey Hale starting at point guard they were absolutely horrible. If you take Jeff Teague away from Wake now they aren’t a top 25 team. Man, if you put Ish Smith on our team we maybe have 1 loss right now. I say all of this to state, that recruiting changes everything, so be patient.

    Now is not the time panic, because we sure don’t have the deep pockets like Alabama football to keep running off coaches and trying to get an upgraded coach. Let’s see how things play out for the rest of the season, before we are quick throw the season away.

    Also, quick side bar. I don’t think that Herb won too many games with these guys. If I recall Costner was injured, Ben & Fells rode the bench. Herb won his games with Julius, Cedric Simmons, Anthony Grundy, Atksur, and Josh Powell. Guys that I think would have been great players with Sid.

  16. wolf pack 01/14/2009 at 11:45 PM #

    From what i have seen so far out of Coach Lowe, i’m not very confident he knows how to coach the college game…but i totally agree with him putting in the younger players and taking the older ones out…the older ones don’t seem to have much passion at all…which is unacceptable

  17. JeremyH 01/14/2009 at 11:50 PM #

    Jeff Teague turns pro next year.

  18. truewolfpackfan84 01/15/2009 at 12:15 AM #

    Sidney Lowe has to Go !!!! That is the Number 1 thing that needs to happen so that we can get this program turned around. If we keep Lowe we are going to continute to lose because he has absolutely no idea how to coach in the NCAA that was made 100% aware against FSU and we could very easily have lost to a couple of the teams that we played non-conference that we happened to pull out late in the game. We are a laughing stock of the ACC and something has to change and it starts with leadership at the top Sidney Lowe needs to go back to the NBA and be a assistant he is not meant to be any type of head coach anywhere. He blames everyone but himself when he gets asked a question. Keep the responses coming thought his is great discussion. Do not ever compare this to football we have a KNOWN leader and coach in Tom O’ Brien who has the background and leadership skills to turn us around Sidney Lowe lacks all of the areas that Tom O Brien has. So give me a break on that one !

  19. packpigskinfan23 01/15/2009 at 12:35 AM #

    truewolf84- NO… Lee Fowler needs to go first. That is “leadership at the top”.

    Sid needs a wake up call… Hopefully this is it. If he does not improve this team substantially by next year, he needs to go.

    I am sick of hearing about an “uptempo” offense. How many times have you seen Fells or Degand rush the ball up the court, on what could be a fast break- just to dribble it inside and back out again. This is NOT a faster tempo offense. This is the same thing we have seen for the past 2 years. If Lowe wants to bring in an offense that is “fast paced” then he needs to do it already. If he needs “his players” to make this work, then play HIS PLAYERS! Screw the rest of them.

    This is disgusting.

  20. jay95 01/15/2009 at 1:37 AM #

    I am afraid that I am losing all faith in this entire program from the top down. I am tired of seeing lazy passes, no block outs, and poor free throw shooting. It just never seems to get any better! It seems that this team has never learned the basics of the game of basketball and that has to start with the coaches! I’m not ready to throw Sid under the bus yet but we had better seem some changes starting with the next game or wolfpacknation will really start screaming.

  21. iwantsidneysjob 01/15/2009 at 4:06 AM #

    Sidney has been already been hit by the bus in my opinon. The first step in the success of this team, is for Sidney to hit the road. Our players all have the ability to shine. Tracy Smith had an outstanding 31 point game against Towson. Look at the performance from Johnny Thomas and CJ Williams. When a man gets hot, Lowe sits him down! I find myself seeing Costner WALK up court, and NOT boxing out. Fells makes the same stupid errors.. rushed shots, turn overs off the dribble. McCauley hasn’t shown me anything the entire season.

    Our older players are horrible examples of leaders. I truly believe that most of them wouldn’t even START for another ACC team. Our young guys come in and give it all they got.

    I’m sick of Sidneys excuses for the SAME mistakes. When have you ever seen a good coach, SIT down during a game? Did Jimmy V sit? Hell no. Sidney seems so nonshalant.

    Lowe’s abilitys to coach consist of whistling, reaching in his coat pocket, smoothing his eyebrows, inserting the most RIDICULOUS lineups, possessing the inability to call a time-out when our opponent’s go on a 14-0 run, babying our older players, benching the man with the hot hand and one DECENT victory per season, and in my opinion that is NOT enough!!

  22. ktoh 01/15/2009 at 7:50 AM #

    “Hope this is a wake up call for Sid” So we wait for a 11 loses in a row to send a wake up call??

  23. BAC79 01/15/2009 at 8:10 AM #

    Any discussion of when it is appropriate to look elsewhere for a coach is academic. Who is going to fire Sid? As long as LF, the current BOT, and Oblinger are at the helm Sid will not be fired.

    With our current leadership only a severe loss of revenue will produce any change.

    How many years are we willing to endure the lack of leadership at the top. Of course this begs the question. What if anything can the fan base do about it? Seriously, other than the discourse on this and other blogs, what can we as fans do to bring about a change in leadership?

    I graduated in 1979. I have watched the downfall of NCSU for over twenty years. It doesn’t take long to simply become numb to the whole problem.

  24. Wulfpack 01/15/2009 at 8:23 AM #

    Red, point well taken. There is no doubt the previous regime’s rigid “system” was debilitative at times. Had he been a little more flexible and open to new ideas, we know there would have been considerbale more success.

    The issue now is that there is absolutely no system of accountability. It’s the other extreme, where nobody knows what the hell is going on (See Mays’ post-FSU quotes). And how do you think T. Smith feels? Go out and score 30 then you barely see the floor the next few games. I don’t get it. I don’t understand what it is we are trying to accomplish. He’s in the process of losing his team again.

    Maybe now that Sid seems to have settled on the idea of playing the young guys, “his guys”, then we will begin to recognize something in the order of a program. But right now, watching this team is a lot like watching a 3rd grade teacher throwing out a ball at recess.

    One coach was too much like a robot — agreed. It has worked for him to achieve better than average results. The other coach, well, I’m just not quite sure what he is and I’m going on three years of sensing that. That isn’t good.

    Welcome, Truewolfpackfan. I have to disagree with your comment about Hickson last year. He did not get “run off” due to chemistry issues. He may have well been a 1 and donner from the start and he was just looking to get to the next level. Good for him.

  25. boonami 01/15/2009 at 8:25 AM #

    Folks, to add insult to injury, I read that Favors is going to GT and not to State.

    http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ncsu/mens_basketball/story/1367973.html

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