Second Half Offensive Meltdown Dooms Pack

Stop me if you heard this one before – but after building a solid first half lead, the Wolfpack offense goes into a coma for the entire second half, losing 72-64. At least it was just shitty and braindead play, not effort (unlike the Maryland game).

State will be seeded 10th, and square off against Maryland unless VT wins tomorrow and the Terps lose later today. For the rest of the weekend, here’s what you should want as an NC State fan:

1) Maryland to beat Virginia. If the Cavs win, you are looking at 3 ACC teams projected to fall into the NIT (Maryland, Miami, Virginia Tech) ahead of NC State. Although there is no hard and fast rule, the only reason I saw for leaving Wake out of the NIT last year was that 3 ACC teams were already in the field.

2) UNC to beat Duke. From a “hoping for a miracle” matchup standpoint, we need to avoid UNC for as long as humanly possible. Perhaps someone else (I’m thinking FSU) can beat them for us.

3) Wake to beat Clemson. Coupled with a Duke loss, this would put the Deacs in the #2 slot, and Wake is by far NC State’s best possible Friday matchup.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

08-09 Basketball General

142 Responses to Second Half Offensive Meltdown Dooms Pack

  1. redfred2 03/08/2009 at 10:18 AM #

    “Like I said, his record is currently equal to the man he replaced after 3 years. We were concerned w/ his start and I’m concerned w/ Sid’s start.”

    Chop, that isn’t really factual. Right now, and only in hindsight, would comparisons of the two records be causing anyone to see red flags. There is no way that Herb Sendek had to suffer this much criticism in his first three seasons at NC State, it just did not happen.

    Herb took over after Les, Herb did bring the expectation level up, but he didn’t leave the program in any shape to where his replacement could come in and build upon it, without first experiencing a fairly steep drop off.

  2. turnoffthetv 03/08/2009 at 10:19 AM #

    Hay, Now it may only be me but I saw more of a defensive meltdown in the second half than an offensive one. I know we had a field goal drought and all but we still managed to score more points(34)in the second half than we did in the first half(30).I thought we done an excellent job on defense in the first half holding the canes to 21 points. Then we come out in the second half and give up 51 points. HUH???

  3. redfred2 03/08/2009 at 10:31 AM #

    ^In all fairness to Herb, had the BB program been taken proper care of during the replacement process, and had some of players who could have returned to continue playing for the Pack, actually have returned, along with those who were suppose begin their college careers at NCSU, I personally, would be expecting a lot more in this third season. But that’s neither Herb’s or Sidney’s fault in my mind.

  4. oldflyingfarmer 03/08/2009 at 10:32 AM #

    TJ,
    I thought I was the biggest NCSU fan in Edgecombe Co.
    But actually there are a lot of us. Just don’t get to negative on tne Pack.

  5. TJEVERETTE1984 03/08/2009 at 10:57 AM #

    Wolfpack Nation,

    Thanks for mostly kind words about my post. I do understand some of the replies but 1 thing that I do not understand is hearing Herb Sendeck’s name ever other post. Guys I hear from time to time on this site that people are tired of hearing about the past as far as the 83 team and all of the wins and success we had back then and all NC State fans do is live in the past. I have heard that alot and now you want to do the same thing, listen guys like I stated we are nowhere close to were we will be in the next 5 years. We will be running the right style of play from here on out with capable players to run the system not have to settle for mostly half court offense and have to hope we hit 50 percent from behind the 3 point line to half a chance to win ball games. Sidney Lowe has recruited his ass off and with guys like Howell,Brown,Wood,Leslie,Harrow,Mabry, and the possibilities of Wall,Cousins the future is looking very very bright for N.C. State. Under Herb we never got athletic smart i.q. basketball players like the guys we are starting to bring in.

    Sure we had some guys who could run backdoor cuts and could shoot the 3 standing still with no hand in there face but that will only get you so far. If you do not believe that then watch Arizona State the ONLY reason they are doing well is his system is okay to win some games but in the Pac-10 he looks like a genius because the play is soo less than mediocre than the best conference in all of basketball the ACC. That system he runs will only get you so far, he had us at a dead end road where we could not progress any further. So Sidney had to take a step back by losing recruiting that whole first year and he is building back a powerhouse in the ACC. We will win more than 6 games in the ACC next year there is no question in my mind because Sidney Lowe is now capable of coaching in the ACC and he has a much better nucleus coming in next year of flat out basketball players that can create when thing’s are not falling from the outside.

    I hope you guys realize that Richard Howell is really a beast I have seen him play in person about 10 times and I am telling yall he is better than Tracy Smith, He can FINISH down low and he is a mean kid in the paint. He will swat shots and grab rebounds and throw around his elbows and go chest to chest with anybody in the acc right away. DO NOT slouch on LO Brown either because this kid is amazing!!! he didn’t get quite the recognition that he deserves for some reason but do not always go by the 3 stars or 4 stars because this kid is a 5 star athlete. He can create,shoot,defend,hustle,he is smart, and all of those thing’s combined will make for a GREAT player next year who can break you down and take you to the basket. Scott Wood is underrated like I stated in my earlier post he is the next JJ Redick. He can shoot the basketball just as well as JJ did and that is saying alot. Go check him out on youtube.com He is also long and lean and quick and can defend and get to the rim and score some points as well. Mark my words state fans we WILL get John Wall and with this nucleus we are going to be a very good basketball team and then we have CJ and Ryan coming in the following year and we will have no drop off!! Someone asks who will get the ball inside besides Smith next year well his name is Mr. Richard Howell and also we will not have to rely nearly as much on the inside game dictating our offense because we will have better athletes to get to the rim.

    I am very excited and I know it is hard for some NC State fans to get excited because we all hear the same things every year, we have gotton better we have better talent coming in and so forth. I am not blowing smoke to you dedicated fans and I am a HUGE nc state fan but I am telling you guys the losing constantly is over. We will have a talented team next year and for many years to come. Sidney Lowe coach of the year next year mark it down I said it !!!!! Now let’s support our guys next week in the ACC Tourney because I feel like we may make some noise and stop all this CBA talk we are going to AT LEAST the NIT tourney but we may make a run in the ACC and win it all and go to the NCAA !!!! UNC’s best player Lawson has hurt his toe and that is a aggravating injury hopefully they fall early in the ACC tourney and we can beat anybody else. I will leave you with a Jimmy V quote

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

  6. redfred2 03/08/2009 at 11:23 AM #

    61packer,

    Let me see now, to put it in a different prospective, how about this?

    Sometimes, say like when someone lives in a really NICE NEIGHBORHOOD, but yet they’re having to do it while living in a mobil home because they haven’t made the right decisions along the way, and it may even be a nice mobile home comparatively speaking that is. But once they decide that it’s not quite cutting it, and that they want more, do they…

    1) take their hard earned money and add on to that mobile home, which would be taking what is essentially still a mobile home, having those very same limitations and that same stigma attached, but only now with costly upgrades?

    or

    2) Do they bite bullet, slap the Michelins back on that baby and send it on down the highway, which means basically having a cleared lot and NOTHING for awhile, as they build a home that is more in-line with that of the OTHERS in that particularly NICE NEIGHBORHOOD?

    The first scenario, which will maintain a certain level of comfort throughout the entire process no doubt, but in the end, that route will only get you so far. And when looking around, it will never get you anywhere in comparison with your neighbors.

    The second scenario, well, that is a complete tear down that involves some waiting, much patience, but it might just also get you really want to be in the end.

    That way, you can sit there on the veranda, and be right on eye level with those same NEIGHBORS who might have been looking down on you for much longer than you ever thought it would be possible for them to do so.

  7. Sweet jumper 03/08/2009 at 11:46 AM #

    Redfred2–I will take option 2. We were forced into option 2 before Sid ever coached a game. Simmons and Brackman left for the NBA and ML Baseball, respectively, and Wright and Werner were allowed to back out of their LOI’s, and Bennerman and Bethel graduated. Boom–Option 2. Sid had no choice but to majorly overhaul this program, and it will take at least 5 years. There are no shortcuts. We are fortunate that we have have had several average players for three years because these last 3 years could have been much worse without them (and much better with Simmons, Brackman, Wright and Werner). Sid is building a very strong recruiting pipeline, and people are going to be surprized at the improvement at NC State over the next 3 years.
    Thanks for your posts TJEverette1984.

  8. Noah 03/08/2009 at 12:28 PM #

    Chris Wright never signed a letter of intent with NCSU.

  9. tvp1 03/08/2009 at 12:41 PM #

    Cousins to Memphi$ per SI

    Sounds like we came in second…again.

    Hope Sid has a plan C for another big man in the 09 class.

  10. wufpup76 03/08/2009 at 12:45 PM #

    Noah on a basketball thread. Yay!

  11. Coach Abatemarco 03/08/2009 at 12:48 PM #

    I just saw that cousins will be going to Memphis as well….oh well

    according to cbs sportsline john wall is likely to follow cousins to calapari country as well.

    we can’t compete with calipari’s “recruiting skills”

  12. Rochester 03/08/2009 at 12:56 PM #

    I think we’ll take another small step forward next year, to 8 or 9 wins in conference for a few reasons.

    1. The lineup, though young at spots, will be athletic and should be strong enough at most spots to compete in ACC play. Javi looks solid enough at PG that with guys like Brown and CJ, or even Mays if he finds some minutes at the 2 or squeezes past Degand at the 1, we should move the ball all right. With Tracy, Howell and Horner in the front court, we should be okay there. If Costner comes back we stick with the big lineup. If not, someone smaller plays the 3, like Johnny Thomas if he’s healthy enough to do it.

    2. Sid may have taken a while, but I think he’s learning and the lessons he’s learned this year will pay off next year. Maybe he’ll even figure out his 8-man rotation in December instead of February.

    3. The ACC says so long to the likes of Jack McClinton, Tyrese Rice, Toney Douglas, K.C. Rivers, Ty Lawson, Handjob, Danny Green, Lewis Clinch (hey, he went off on us), AD Vassalo, etc. At least half of the teams in the league are losing All-ACC caliber players (obviously they can’t all make the All-ACC team because we’re not the Big East and don’t have like 22 guys on the first team). We’ll miss McCauley, but Fells was a disappointment overall given his physical gifts. If Costner goes, we’ll miss the good Costner, but not the crappy Costner.

    In short, I think we come up just a little next year, but the league comes down, so I expect we’ll fare better overall and finish solidly in the upper middle of the standings instead of this 10th place crap.

  13. highstick 03/08/2009 at 12:59 PM #

    Herb didn’t have to put up with this much criticism his first three years because he didn’t have this darned “Interweb” to deal with! Danged lunatics out there!

  14. Gene 03/08/2009 at 1:01 PM #

    As far as recruiting big men, I think the search is expanding beyond Cousins. There’s a Croatian kid in Indiana that Towe’s gone to see play. Purdue’s already made him an offer and other schools like Boston College are interested.

    ESPN-U’s website has us looking at some JUCO players but I don’t know how serious that is.

    I heard or read somewhere that Sid said he’s going to sign five players total for the 2009 class. Be interesting to see who the last two are.

    As far as TJ’s optimism goes, I’ll wait and see how players play when they get here before deciding they are going to help us. Courtney Fells and Brandon Costner were players of the year, in their respective states and have had up and down careers here.

    I really want to believe we’ll have that special recruiting class that elevates this program, but the only one I’ve seen that did it was the 2001 class, which unfortunately was followed up by the disasterous 2002 and 2003 classes.

    There’s so much that’s gone wrong, my optimism circuit’s all worn out regarding WTNY.

  15. Wulfpack 03/08/2009 at 1:16 PM #

    Without Cousins and Wall, we are middle tier at best next year. I was really hoping for Cousins. Oh well. Hope springs eternal.

  16. redfred2 03/08/2009 at 1:40 PM #

    “Noah
    March 8th, 2009 at 12:28 pm
    Chris Wright never signed a letter of intent with NCSU.”

    It’s a small step to be sure, but at least he’s here.

    Welcome back old buddy, old pal!

  17. redfred2 03/08/2009 at 1:50 PM #

    The media is hyping Memphis, and Calipari’s style of play, saying stuff like, “Who wouldn’t want to play in that system”, and saying it over and over again. Calipari has been there for awhile already, we may be losing out on kids like Cousins FOR NOW because of that single fact. Lowe is right there and competing with the likes of a John Calipari already, but it will take time for him to once again establish NC State as a legitimate/ACC alternative.

  18. wolfonthehill 03/08/2009 at 1:52 PM #

    turnoffthetv – You’re hitting the same nerve I hit up above. We gave up 51 in the second half. Ballgame.

    The offense is NOT what melted down in the second half. (30 in the first half, 32 in the second half, as compared to 21-51 for Miami)

    I may be penning a piece at S6 on the topic in a week or so…

  19. LKNpackfan 03/08/2009 at 1:54 PM #

    I know this type of thinking isn’t healthy, but if you all will remember, Tracy Smith didn’t play significant minutes until the second half of the @BC game, on January 24th! (ignoring Towson Jr High). Three months into the season. SEVENTEEN games into the season and FIVE games into conference play. I can’t help but think that his contributions would have helped us significantly in several losses up to that point.
    That being said, with Javi’s and Smith’s continual improvement, and immediate help from Brown and Howell, (coupled with key losses at other programs, as mentioned by Rochester above) I’m slightly more optimistic than most about next year.

  20. wufpup76 03/08/2009 at 1:57 PM #

    “Mays if he finds some minutes at the 2 or squeezes past Degand at the 1, we should move the ball all right.”

    ^I would like to see Mays get a little time at the 2 possibly … the kid can shoot. Fergs and CJ are 2’s, but can play 3 in a pinch. It’s promising to hear how well Wood can shoot, so we should have some options in the backcourt.

    Main concern is depth in the frontcourt, especially if Costner decides to leave. We don’t have an all-star point guard, but I feel much better about it now with Javi’s tremendous improvement. I haven’t given up on Farnold or Mays either – each have had their moments. So, if we don’t get John Wall I don’t think we’re completely lost at sea at the point … I look forward to seeing if we apply more defensive pressure next season and seeing if we push the ball some more with what figures to be a little more athletic lineup … Time will tell.

    Too bad about Cousins … we surely could have used him.

    Go Pack

  21. LKNpackfan 03/08/2009 at 1:58 PM #

    SweetJumper probably meant Larry Davis and Dan Werner, not Chris Wright. Basically, the entire class except Horner

  22. Noah 03/08/2009 at 1:59 PM #

    Lowe is right there and competing with the likes of a John Calipari already, but it will take time for him to once again establish NC State as a legitimate/ACC alternative.

    I’ve made this point before, but it bears repeating: The head coach at NCSU (no matter WHO it is) will always compete for the best recruits in the country. That has nothing to do with the coach…it has to do with the school.

    Herb Sendek regularly brought in top-100 players and we came in second for any number of elite players (Al Harrington, Dion Glover, Jumaine Jones, and about 50 others).

    Les Robinson brought in plenty of top-100 players (yes, really) and came in second for any number of elite players (Stackhouse, Ray Allen, McCinnes, Donald Williams, and about 50 others).

    Valvano did. Norm Sloan did. Press Maravich did. Everette Case did.

    That takes you back to the Korean War.

    Bragging about coming in second for a recruit at NC State is like bragging about outsmarting your dog.

  23. PoppaJohn 03/08/2009 at 1:59 PM #

    We may be hoping for a lot if we are expecting one incoming class to turn things around. Think of the really great freshmen in recent years, how many have really helped their schools take a giant leap forward? From MAYBE the NIT bubble to the NCAAT? That’s a big jump considering who we are losing.
    Let’s hope for slow, steady progress. If these guys are as good as JT says – and I hope they are, life could get a lot better – just getting to the point of being relevant would be great. Just getting to the point that in March 2010 we’re talking about how many ACCT wins we’d need to make the NCAAT, and there actually being a possibility of doing it.
    It sounds like Cousins is gone, and I’m not believing in Walls until I see him in Red. If we don’t get them, I hope Sid doesn’t just blow the scholarships like he did with Big Lew. If you can’t fill them with quality, wait. We don’t need any more ‘projects’, we ARE the project.

  24. redfred2 03/08/2009 at 2:17 PM #

    wolfonthehill

    Miami came out in the second half, scored 5 points right off the bat, and dictated the play. We made several sloppy turnovers in response, lost our confidence on both ends, and eventually lost the game.

    We have a very fragile mentally on this team and we haven’t responded well at anytime when the pressure is on. I don’t know exactly where you’re going with your story, but it’s going be that way until some coach can gather up enough players on his NC STATE roster, that can withstand a shot in the mouth, and come back fighting. We’re not there, and Sidney is not there, what else is there to add?

  25. redfred2 03/08/2009 at 2:28 PM #

    Uh, Noah, did you happen to notice my welcome back?

    Trying to thread lightly here, but you are WRONG… AGAIN!!!

    Some of the other coaches brought in some top talent, sure, but especially over the past two decades, NC State has not been showing up on any of the #1 and #2 player’s in the country lists.

    You can write it off if you want to. I say that it shows that our coach believes that he, as well as NC State, are more worthy of those types of kids then NC State has been in the past twenty years. I applaud his efforts in going after those kids when the NC State that he is now representing, hasn’t really given him any bargaining leverage, or even a leg to stand on when dealing with the kids of today.

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