State @ Carolina Pre-Game Thread (Updated Wed 9am)

08-09 Basketball General175

Note: Originally posted by Alpha Wolf and amended on Wednesday by Jeff

State is obviously improving and has won back-to-back ACC wins for the first time this season. The Wolfpack also snapped a nine-game conference road game skid Saturday in Atlanta. For their part, UNC’s Tyler “Will.i.Am” Hansbrough loaned PG Ty Lawson some of his infamous determination last night.  Lawson put that to good use in the final minutes of the UNC-Miami game, as he led the Tar Heels win 69-65 in Coral Gables.

On paper this looks like a Tarheel romp, and all indications are that will be how it plays out. Yet Another has some nice general statistics. Speaking of statistics, Section Six will statistically show you Tracy Smith’s impact on our offense by clicking here. With that said, I fully expect Smith to be in foul trouble and on the bench within the first eight minutes of tonight’s visit to Chapel Hill.

Caulton Tudor has gone so far as to say that the Wolfpack’s goal in Chapel Hill tonight is simply to ‘compete’. Honestly, I can’t disagree with him. The talent differential between these two rosters is just too large and is only accentuated by the strength of Carolina’s backcourt compared to the struggles of the Wolfpack’s backcourt (which is definitely improving).

Tudor makes a legitimate point about the debacle in Chapel Hill last year…

For all practical purposes, State’s 2007-08 season ended on Jan. 12 with a 93-62 loss in the Smith Center. Sidney Lowe’s second team entered that game at 11-3 overall, on a seven-game win streak and with a resume that included respectable wins over Davidson, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, South Carolina and Villanova.

But after one of the most humiliating first halves in school history (UNC 43, Pack 13), the Wolfpack disintegrated. State won only four more games and lost all sense of team unity. That’s how fast you can slide from 11-3 to 15-16 and into oblivion.

…but he fails to mention that was one of the Wolfpack’s first games without injured starting point guard, Farnold Degand and with struggling freshman, Javi Gonzalez. Degand wouldn’t have meant a Wolfpack win; but his presence would have made a huge difference in the manner in which we were embarrassed.

Don’t forget, the Wolfpack went to the halftime locker room down only 41-40 in his Coach Lowe’s first trip to Chapel Hill before Coach was rushed to the hospital during halftime. So, I am not convinced that this program just ‘naturally’ gets clobbered in Chapel Hill.

If NC State can have their best game of the year – and our bigs get fair enough treatment from the officials to get to the free throw line for a number of shots proportional with the contact that they draw – then Pack could have fighter’s chance tonight because of the improved play of Farnold Degand in the backcourt and Courtney Fells on the wing. The team is surely aware that a win would be money on any regular season resume.  They’ll need a complete, forty minute effort against a Tar Heel squad starting to head towards its peak, and winning will be difficult.  Thing is, this is the ACC and anything can happen.

* WRAL has a lot of insightful comments from Coach Lowe regarding changes, substitution rotation, our post play and more that you can see by clicking here. This is interesting stuff.

Starting with the Virginia Tech loss, the largest number of players that have seen more than a minute of playing time in any one game is eight…

…”[We are] just looking at our team, being fair, giving everyone an opportunity and trying to narrow that thing down to eight players.”

* The N&O has recognized that for the second straight year that no players from North Carolina high schools will be starting in tonight’s Game. (Click here)

This is the second straight season that neither basketball team has had a starter from North Carolina. The 2007-08 season was the first time in at least 29 years that all five starters from each team came from outside North Carolina.

* ACCNow also has a video podcast that can be seen by clicking here. We’d love to embed their stuff, but their technical department obviously falls short of the talent of JP Giglio’s impressive administration of the site.

08-09 Basketball General

175 Responses to State @ Carolina Pre-Game Thread (Updated Wed 9am)

  1. newt 02/18/2009 at 12:23 PM #

    If we win tonight, it will be huge. You could say at that point that we are playing some of the best ball in the ACC, if not the nation. Our last three games would include wins over #7 and #3, with two of those wins coming on the road. We’d definitely be talking dance.

    Really, we continue to look a lot like one of those top-35 NCAA bubble teams from a few years back – you know, the 5-years-in-a-row ones.

    Win or lose tonight, we can finish this season strong and definitely show significant improvement from last year.

  2. wufdog 02/18/2009 at 12:29 PM #

    I know on paper we would not beat the tarholes. I also realize to some this does not have a lot of meaning because in thier veiw we have not shot at the ncaa tourney. BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH. Stats, bubbles, bids, spreads, rankings are all filler to me. Honestly I would not care if we lost the remainder of games this season if we won tonight. I am not saying this is logical, objective or reasonable. it is a statement based on emotion and I guess that is the perspective from which I see things. I am sick of what the tarholes snobbery and sense of entitlement. Thanks to those who do compile the stats and interpret it for the left brainers like myself. a win tonight would do a lot to rekindle the rivalry. GO PACK

  3. Gene 02/18/2009 at 12:34 PM #

    I hope we find a way to win tonight. Man, making the series with UNC a rivalry again would be sweet.

  4. JeremyH 02/18/2009 at 12:34 PM #

    .

  5. wufdog 02/18/2009 at 12:35 PM #

    In the last couple of seasons when I carry on conversations with tarhole fans I have noticed a disturbing trend. They say things like ” i hope you guys get it back on track”, and they claim to pull for state in certain situations and they have this pity for us as a team and they exibit pity on the fandom. THis pisses me off. It is like they are saying we are not worthy of the rivalry and to an extent it is true. Nothing would turn that sentiment around like an old fashioned whomping. I want the unx fans to hate us again. I want to be able to argue with tehm again. Is that too much to ask?

  6. JeremyH 02/18/2009 at 12:36 PM #

    JimValvano, don’t go getting us all riled up for nothin. What did Julius Hodge say? “When we’re hungry, we eat”. Wolf……………………….pack………………………Wolf…………pack

  7. primacyone 02/18/2009 at 12:57 PM #

    Dang this board is full of extremist – in both directions.

  8. BSIE80 02/18/2009 at 12:57 PM #

    I’m an idealist.

    The idealist in me hates coaching tactics aimed to get the refs in their favor resulting in changing the outcome of a game. The fact that they have determined that this is that important to exploit the system to gain favor is what makes me hate these particular guys to the core. Especially, when most of these guys have the best talent already assembled on their roster.

    The idealist in me understands that coaches must put in a system that will provide their team with the best possibility of winning. Along, with the system, they must figure out a way to motivate each of their players to play to the upmost ability when faced against a team with superior talent.

    They must also protect their players during the game if they feel that calls are going against their team. This does not mean that you complain or talk to the ref during the entire game. Only when is necessary.

    Coaches that bark at the officials during the entire game, should be penalized. It is time to change the system- since a proportion of the human race can not identify this as unprofessional.

    Can you imagine a baseball coash coming out of the dugout and yelling at the umpire every inning. Afraid not, they would be kicked out?
    You see some complaining from Football coaches when they get called for a penalty, etc. but not too much.
    I think it is one of the worst things that Basketball has allowed to occurr and it should be changed.
    A good example is the ass from VT last week. That was uncalled for period. The system should not allow it.

    So, I am voting for a system change, since we the people can not control who we hire and how they conduct business for us.

  9. Gene 02/18/2009 at 1:06 PM #

    It’s “good entertainment” to watch coaches blow up at refs. There’s no reason to change it.

    I personally would be all for refs tossing coaches, who got out of line. It’s one thing to point something out to the ref, it’s another to go on tirades like so many college coaches do.

    They spend so much time making sure players don’t celibrate in sports, I think the same energy and effort should be put on keeping coaches under control.

  10. SMD 02/18/2009 at 1:08 PM #

    Gene –

    For us to make this series a rivalry again, we’d have to at least split with them for about 4-5 years in a row. As it is, even a win tonight means NOTHING.

    Think about it – let’s say we win. There’s no crowing to do because everyone knows it was a fluke and that they are miles ahead of us as a program.

    What else is on the tube tonight? 😉

  11. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 02/18/2009 at 1:18 PM #

    It will be a rivalry again when the games means something for the regular season championship. As long as State is out of the top 25 and in the middle/bottom of the regular season standings the game doesn’t mean anything to anyone but State fans.

    We can hope this will change. It has only been a two decades of ‘rebuilding’ the house that NC State’s administration imploded by their own will.

  12. Wolf Dog 02/18/2009 at 1:29 PM #

    One thing for sure no matter what happens tonight, we will not win with the media.

    Headline will either be: Pack beats depleted and Injured UNC team!

    Or

    Even in Coma Hans and Depleted UNC team Beat Pack.

    No one cares who we have injured, but it will be all about Hans coma. ginyard injured, player suspended, 7 foot player coming back early with hand still broken.

    Headline Could be: Woody Durham calls came with 110 fever inspires team to victory and gets crowd so fired up the radio crew does not have to invent crowd noise. A Chapel Hill Miracle!

    Headline: Roy coaches miracle game after counsulting Dean leads team to victory. Fans forgive him for wearing Kansas PIN!

    Here’s the one I am hoping for!

    Headline: Pack Wins! Tudor becomes Pack fan after 50 years of being a die hard chapel hill beat writer! Writes 50 retractions for misinformation about Wolfpack sports, asks Ms. V for forgiveness! N&O prints paper in Wolfpack red asks for forgiveness promises to cover the Home town team in the future!

  13. PackWolf7 02/18/2009 at 1:49 PM #

    For those State fans going to the game tonight, just make sure you howl like the dickens. The whine and sleeze crowd from Chapel Hell will be their usual comatose selves. Make a difference at the game wolfpack fans. Support the boys. And for those of you who say that a near miracle win tonight for the pack means nothing, think again. GO STATE!!!!

    “Be a dreamer. If you don’t know how to dream, you’re dead.”
    JIM VALVANO

  14. PackerInRussia 02/18/2009 at 2:03 PM #

    wufpup76, I saw what you said earlier about your gravatar. Go back and check its rating. Mine wouldn’t show up at first and I looked and it had automatically been assigned an X rating. I changed it to “G” and now it shows up.

  15. JeremyH 02/18/2009 at 2:20 PM #

    ok i’ve searched my bookmarked streaming sites and don’t see this game showing up (although sometimes it shows up closer to start time). if anyone has a suggestion, feel free to mention it here.

  16. b 02/18/2009 at 2:38 PM #

    We’re playing well enough to avoid embarassment, I expect we will be within 10 into the final two minutes and then Hansbro’s will force state to run out of gas and we lose by 10-14. A win is not impossible and would springboard this team as surely as the debacle (deb-uh-kel) in the Hole last year sunk them.

  17. chuckybrown 02/18/2009 at 3:00 PM #

    watching the game w/two tarholes, hope we make a game out of it. I agree wholeheartedly w/the sentiment that it sucks getting pity from hole fans, I want them to hate us like they hate their ESPN rivals down the road

  18. wufpup76 02/18/2009 at 3:05 PM #

    ^^Thanks Russia, I’ll go back and take a look …

    As for coaches manipulating the refs, I’m surprised no one has brought up what Sidney said about Hansblah in the embedded video (unless I overlooked someone saying something about it).

    I watched it this morning, so I’m not sure what the minute mark was – but Sidney was praising Hansblah for his “aggressiveness” and said “he’ll go over your back – he’s so aggressive … He’ll take a foul for over the back (and make you call it)”

    ^It isn’t much, but I’m glad Sidney said this … If the other coaches are going to play this stuff I want my coach to as well. He at least planted the notion that sometimes Hansblah’s aggressive play actually does result in a foul (called or uncalled)

  19. Grumpy Llama 02/18/2009 at 3:15 PM #

    “For us to make this series a rivalry again, we’d have to at least split with them for about 4-5 years in a row. As it is, even a win tonight means NOTHING.”

    SMD,
    Splittng the season 4-5 years in a row has to start somewhere, doesn’t it? I don’t personally think it will be tonight, but you can’t say say that a win tonight means nothing. It could very well mean the beginning of something. If nothing else, a win tonight means I get to turn to my wife and offer her a completely insincere apology for her boys losing. Haven’t been able to do that since football season. 😉

  20. SMD 02/18/2009 at 4:00 PM #

    Grumpy – I suppose then that nothing is indeed relative. Of course *to me* any smack we could talk as the result of a miracle win is sorta hollow since everyone would know it was a fluke.

    If we won (which we won’t) it doesn’t change the fact that we are now an NIT program going against a perennial Final 4 program. This isn’t going to change anytime soon, as we have failed to keep the pace for nearly 20 years now – something we used to do.

    Wake me when we’re playing for a top 4 spot in the ACC standings, can ruin their season, NCAA seeding, etc. I’ll probably be napping for awhile.

  21. newt 02/18/2009 at 4:17 PM #

    It would not take long for the rivalry to heat up again, like it was until the late eighties. If we were putting up teams like Wake Forest has done with Tim Duncan, Chris Paul, and this year, the NC State/UNC rivalry would be pretty hot.

    A couple of years knocking around the top 10 and at least splitting with UNC, and the sympathy, which is mostly an act anyway to annoy us, would quickly stop.

    UNC fans would much more hate to lose to us than Duke on a regular basis, because A) there’s more of us and B) we’re just local NC rednecks that think we are the flagship school in NC.

    There’s a reason that the biggest rivalries across the country are “University of” vs. “State,” not “big state public school” vs. “tiny private school.”

  22. JimValvano 02/18/2009 at 4:25 PM #

    We can f*ck up their NCAA seeding. If we beat them, they are at risk of not being a number 1 seed with a loss in the ACC tourney. On another note…we’re only 2 games out of fourth place with 6 games left to play. Three of those games are against teams that are currently ahead of us for fourth place in the ACC (Wake, Maryland, Boston College).

  23. TheCOWDOG 02/18/2009 at 4:26 PM #

    I was at a seminar today in G-bo with none other than our own Greywolf.

    Business was at hand and neither the venerable Grey or TheCOWDOG came within miles of talking about tonites matchup on the way over from Raleigh.

    Somewhere, within a break, TheCOWDOG’s sniffer went on high level alert.

    Sure enough, making court just to the right was a guy with a name tag spelling JEFF LEBO.

    That was it. COWDOG’s ears laid back a bit and the instinct to herd the dolting sheep away from this predetor took over.

    Glancing around in search of Grey for back up, TheCOWDOG saw that he was doing what all experienced wolves do. He had major prime beef cattle cornered to his persuation.

    Now it was completely up to TheCowdog to steer these innocents out of harm’s way of the LEBO.

    Careful not to nip too agressively at the HEELS of the high strung sheep, TheCOWDOG managed to place himself between the fleece and the LEBO.

    Within moments, the LEBO was in search of an umbrella. TheCOWDOG was getting bisquits.

  24. 66pack 02/18/2009 at 4:34 PM #

    With the passion many of you have for state bb its to bad you did not experience the 70s and 80s when state-unc was like duke-unc today.

  25. TheCOWDOG 02/18/2009 at 4:45 PM #

    66…most of us were there, my brother. Read us from time to time.

    There’s a ton of old fucks here.

    Who do you think carries it on?

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