ACC Operation Basketball: Pack picked last (by a mile), Dennis Hopper added to staff?

09-10 Basketball College Basketball115

Operation Basketball has been going on this afternoon and it has been very interesting to follow the event via various internet outlets.

For example, NC State bloggers like ourselves have been able to interact with some members of the media via Twitter during the event. It is truly a new world!! You can follow our Twitter feed by clicking here. Also, many Tweeters took advantage of tagging from the event, so you can see all the Tweets that had the #accopbk tag by clicking here.

Early in the day Commissioner Swofford announced that the 2012 ACC Tournament slated for Atlanta will be played in Phillips Arena as opposed to the Georgia Dome. We had it early and added it to a related thread on our message board so that you could get the highest impact of information for your time. Click here.

You can watch the coaches’ interviews for free by clicking here.

It was not a surprise that NC State was selected last in the preseason poll…the big surprise was just how few points the Wolfpack garnered. Hell, I’m surprised they didn’t leave the 12th spot open and rank us 13th.

1, tie, Duke (25) 545
1, tie, UNC (20) 545
3, Clemson 409
4, Georgia Tech (2) 387
5, Maryland 378
6, Wake Forest (1) 315
7, Florida State 314
8, Virginia Tech 273
9, Boston College 251
10, Miami 135
11, Virginia 116
12, N.C. State 76

Again, this isn’t a surprise. The Wolfpack was recently selected #119th in the country by CollegeHoopsNet.com

Additionally, CollegeHoopsnet.com has taken an interesting approach to projecting the season – you can click here to see their “High / Low” for the entire conference. Their view of the Wolfpack is clearly consistent with today’s media poll.

NCSt High-Low

But, in spite of the struggles that the Wolfpack Basketball team projects to have this season, all is not lost. As you can see from the Twitter feed of the ACC office from today’s events, NC State has added the one and only Dennis Hopper to our staff. As ACCSportsJournal.com Tweeted — nobody can wait to see the Wolfpack run the picket fence this year!

Hopper

More from the day:
* Lowe gives lip service to being identified by up tempo and defense. (Link) Defense? Really? Defense? Would love nothing more. Will hold our breath.

* Lowe says State is heading in the right direction. (Link)

* Horner & Degand talk about preseason and uptempo. (Link)

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09-10 Basketball College Basketball

115 Responses to ACC Operation Basketball: Pack picked last (by a mile), Dennis Hopper added to staff?

  1. HPWolf 10/26/2009 at 11:15 AM #

    We do have the red jacket and Sid did get his degree so how bad could this year really be?

  2. Stateman 10/26/2009 at 11:44 AM #

    HPWolf: you can’t be serious lol 20 wins a year doesn’t do you any good if you can’t get out of the first round of the tournament without a miraculous play by the best player you’ve ever recruited, who had to go outside of your system to do it. Respect of the rest of the coaches??? Refer to last statement. Could coach circles around Sid??? On what planet are you/have you been watching NCSU basketball?? Herb Sendek had to be the single worst gameday coach in the history of man. Sendek SUCKED coming out of a timeout. He was absolutely atrocious at making adjustments. In fact he did NOT make adjustments after halftime, he just kept his players running around for 30 seconds and then launch the ball in the air with 2 seconds left on the playclock. And 20 wins a year?!? That’s absolutely laughable. He put so many cupcakes on his schedule year in and year out, he should have won 30 games, every year. At least Lowe has the balls to play some decent teams OOC. There are plenty of reasons for his NBA record and none of them have to do with collegiate basketball. Sid did good when he had a servicable PG and will do well once Harrow and Brown come in. On what grounds do you say the rest of the ACC coaches think he’s a joke?

  3. Clarksa 10/26/2009 at 11:49 AM #

    “it continues to play daily over the 50,000-watt voice of WTNY in Raleigh.”

    Maybe we should mount a campaign to change the campus radio station from WKNC to WTNY.

    http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/673/wtny.jpg

  4. PoppaJohn 10/26/2009 at 11:53 AM #

    “WTNY the flagship station of the Wolfpack” – excellent!

    This is the time for optimism!! Here’s my out of control optimism for this year.

    1. We will win more games than the football team plays this year – barely
    2. We will definately make the tournament – the ACCT (and our one game will be a slaughter of Old Testament proportions)

    Those predicting higher are not paying attention. I’ve already heard Sid tell us in two different interviews that we don’t have much talent. In one interview he was asked about the quality of the team, he said, “I don’t think we have any Pros.” This morning, quoting from a media event he said something like ‘we’re putting the system in we want, now what we need is players.’

    Think about it. This is the time of year that everyone is undefeated and coaches are all talking about goals and possibilities. Sad’s saying his players aren’t quite up to the task. And this is a coach that know mediocre, so believe him!

  5. theghost 10/26/2009 at 12:11 PM #

    Here’s a question I posted on another thread, but never got answered – other than the 3-year W-L record, what is it about Lowe’s coaching that you think is bad? Do you point to anything that can’t be attributed to lack of a competent point guard?

  6. CaptainCraptacular 10/26/2009 at 12:36 PM #

    ^^^^^At least GT’s fans had enough intelligence to give him more than 3 years before making the judgment of whether to keep or fire him.

    let’s see:
    Paul Hewitt
    year 1 NCAAs
    year 3 NIT
    year 4 NCAA runner up.

    Hewitt had done at least something of note to warrant a 4th year (Sid is in year 4 now remember). What has Sid done yet exactly?

  7. WolftownVA81 10/26/2009 at 12:44 PM #

    ^theghost, here’s the short answer: Lack of player development, losing control of the team (they quit on him), team chemistry, not stepping up to take responsibility for the program’s failure, inability to recruit a quality point guard, use of available scholarships, use of playing time/subsitution patterns, communicating player’s roles, off season conditioning, etc,…..there’s more but these are just some of the issues. Suggest you look under the tags to pull up the many excellent entries over the last two years which touch on these items (you’ll be reading for long time). These have been discussed in excruciating detail which is probably why no one has responded to your request.

  8. Thinkpack17 10/26/2009 at 12:47 PM #

    If we do decide to go in a different direction in the coming years I hope we can keep Sid on in some way, shape or form. Bad things can be said about his coaching/program management, but the guy can recruit. With CJ skipping out on Kentucky’s midnight madness State has a legitimate shot of having the #1 recruiting class in the country next year.

  9. HPWolf 10/26/2009 at 12:49 PM #

    Hey stateman, are you honestly gonna argue that finishing at the bottom is better than middle of the conference every year? Do you even remember the ACC tour runs and NCAA bids? Sid does not have the respect of his players or opponents. Read the twits and blogs. His teams DO NOT PLAY HARD. This is the first sign of a bad coach. We are picked dead last by a large margin. Take your blinders off and see what the rest of the ACC and nation sees. Also, check out what ASU is doing these days.

  10. blackdom 10/26/2009 at 12:56 PM #

    Stateman^ Herb sucked but compared to Sid he is Claire Bee .As far as OOC look at last years ranked at like 326 in the country.

  11. StateFans 10/26/2009 at 12:59 PM #

    Herb Sendek has ZERO relevance to this conversation unless you are proposing to bring him back as head coach at NC State. If not, then he is irrelevant. If you do choose to bring up his name/tenure, then please do us a favor of supporting your claims with actual facts.

  12. Thinkpack17 10/26/2009 at 1:00 PM #

    Mike loved Herb. He loved him to death…and that’s because he kicked his butt everytime they met. It’s the same love I have for my little brother. When I hold him at a distance by his forehead, and he swings at me until his little arms get tired. He brings me great joy.

    Great for little brothers, terrible for your head coach. I’d rather have a coach that others pretend to like. Like Roy and Coach K’s relationship, that’s what I want. Herb does have great strengths, he can make a mediocre team good, but he won’t make a good team great.

    I do remember the ACC tounry runs…esp. my Junior year…2003. Still Hurts.

  13. theghost 10/26/2009 at 1:05 PM #

    Thanks, Wolftown – that helps. And, again, reason I ask is that I’m not in Raleigh and don’t get to see many games, so I’ve followed the posts from time to time and keep hearing “Lowe sucks”, but no one seems able to articulate why beyond the standard 20 years of frustration schtick, which certainly isn’t Sid’s fault.

    So, conditioning, team control, communication – all seem legitimate concerns, if those persist, there’s an issue. The rest, though – really seem to point more to the previous condition of the program and the lack of a point guard – you can’t expect to win in the ACC w/o a PG, and so you lose until you get one, and losing breeds the standard complaints and criticisms – all understandable.

    So is it possible that, with a PG, Lowe can win? Picture the ’06 team with Atsur, but replace Fells, Costner, McCauley, and Grant with Brown, Cothron, Howell, and Smith. Painter, Wood, Vandenburg off the bench? If Lowe beats carolina and duke with the former, do we really believe he can’t with the latter? Doesn’t the question become, is he improving? From a distance, it seems to me that he is – last year was a definite improvement over the previous. Hard to argue that recruiting isn’t improving. Not saying he’s a lock by any means, but it seems far from conclusive that he can’t get it done. If you get a PG – is it really that bad?

  14. HPWolf 10/26/2009 at 1:13 PM #

    Sid was a great player and 83 was a fantastic year in NCSU sports but Sid was also Fowlers last choice because everyone else he wanted turned him down. Sid was the sentimental safe hire but we should have went after one of the younger up and coming coaches. Sooner or later we will have to bite the bullet and move on. How many years can you blame on the previous coach who happens to be building a solid program at ASU in the same amount of time it has taken lowe to take us to the bottom.

  15. Thinkpack17 10/26/2009 at 1:25 PM #

    ^I don’t see how someone can blame our current situation on Herb. I don’t think anyone has tried to. We basically forced him out. When people (me included) try to justify Sid’s lack of wins we blame it on our situation…not Herb.

  16. Texpack 10/26/2009 at 1:26 PM #

    Lowe’s first team played hard. Since then, not so much. Sidney needs to remember a little bit of Morgan Wooten and Norman Sloan. Lack of effort wasn’t tolerated by either of those guys, no matter how talented you were. I think this is one area where Sidney’s years in the NBA really hurt him as a college coach. The lack of quality depth the last three years also set up a situation where certain players obviously dared Sidney to bench them with their lack of effort. I still say he should have called their bluff. Waiting until the ACC Tournament to do something to Gavin Grant was way too late. Coach K played HIS guys in those early crappy seasons at Duke in order to establish how the program was going to be run. Sidney had better have this team busting it for 40 minutes every night this season.

    As for the team talking about how they’ve been running and conditioning, I find it appalling that 18-22 years olds weren’t already in tip top shape. I got myself in shape to run my first marathon at the age of 47 on my own, so I don’t have any sympathy for guys who have access to trainers, weight rooms, etc. not being able to run all night.

  17. Stateman 10/26/2009 at 1:42 PM #

    WolftownVA81: (Somewhat) Short response: The only players who did not develop over time were the players inherited by Sid, not recruited by him. It’s hard to keep control of your team when your upperclassmen are fighting like little children and whining and complaining about someone who’s better than they are. You’re going to have a hard time with team chemistry when you have players ACTIVELY trying to turn your players against you. The program has not failed, this was expected by people who understand collegiate basketball. That’s why he was given a 6 year contract. Considering the fact Sid had to build connections because he came from the NBA and had few, if any, AAU and HS connections and considering the fact that he didn’t have enough scholarship players to run a practice when he got here, it was common knowledge that it would take him a little more time than normal. Not meeting unrealistic expectations does not make him a bad coach. You can’t FORCE a PG to commit to your school. Not to mention he has, what will probably be, the best PG to come to NCSU in a very, very long time coming. What exactly is your problem with the scholarship allocation? I would have to know exactly what you’re talking about concerning playing time and substituting patterns. Sid has been very clear IN PUBLIC of his players roles, you can bet he’s been very clear in private with his players roles. It’s not his fault if a player refuses to accept his role. Again, he can’t force a player to work in the off-season. If they don’t have the work ethic, they just dont have it. By all accounts, all the new players have it. I’d be happy to discuss the rest.

  18. ms termeaner 10/26/2009 at 1:43 PM #

    Sid is never accountable here and I am afraid the powers that be don’t really care one way or the other. This is going to be the longest “internship” in history.

  19. Alpha Wolf 10/26/2009 at 1:44 PM #

    ^ I agree completely. Wootten still leads basketball camps even in his retirement, so maybe Sid oughta call him up and get some fatherly advice.

    I’ll tell you, a little fear never hurt a kid.

  20. statered 10/26/2009 at 2:46 PM #

    You know I agree to extent…but then again, easier said than done. Anyone who has ever been a manager knows what I am talking about. It is a fine line.

  21. BJD95 10/26/2009 at 3:03 PM #

    There was a blurb on News14 Carolina this morning too. They asked Lowe about whether being picked last could be a motivating factor for this team. He smiled and said he was happy not too many expectations would be placed on him.

    I wouldn’t “expect” anything more from you, “Coach.”

    My theory has been and remains that a significant number of Lowe defenders are clinging to him (perhaps subconsciously) because they want so much to be “right” about Sendek.

    Which misses the point entirely. Moving on from the Sendek era was about Sendek not being able to get us to that next level. The possibility of going from B-minus limbo to the land of suck was ALWAYS real. But if B-minus limbo isn’t enough for NC State (and in view, it most certainly was not), then you have to move on. And hey, I didn’t make Fowler run the most incompetent search in recent D-1 history.

    Oh, as to the rest of the conference. VT is much too low (Delaney gets my pre-season POY vote), GT is much too high (Paul Hewitt is still their coach). I can never get a good read on Maryland.

  22. Bubba 10/26/2009 at 3:16 PM #

    Stateman Any combination of Javi,Farnold,Mays and CJ at guards will solidify this team being one of the worst ever. No one has the ability to beat a press,….Just ask Richmond 🙂

  23. bradleyb123 10/26/2009 at 3:29 PM #

    There really needs to be a variation of Godwin’s Law that states that when someone brings up Herb Sendek’s name (instead of Hitler) in a pro-Herb kind of way, that they, by default, lose whatever argument they’re making.

  24. Rufftown Wolf 10/26/2009 at 3:33 PM #

    I wouldn’t put much stock into the Richmond scrimmage. When I think of a scrimmage I think of everyone on the team playing a little. Did they play a entire game? I know Sid wants to get these young guys some playing time when it doesn’t count. I know we’re going to take some lumps this year. I just want to see better effort. I hated seeing the half ass running back down the floor. Hopefully Sid will get a good rotation going and we can upset some people.

  25. bradleyb123 10/26/2009 at 3:38 PM #

    ^^^ “My theory has been and remains that a significant number of Lowe defenders are clinging to him (perhaps subconsciously) because they want so much to be “right” about Sendek.”

    Regardless of what happens with Sid, we were “right” in letting Sendek go. We only should have done it sooner.

    I want Sid to have a successful season so the people that continually bring Herb into the conversation will finally stop doing that. I don’t so much want to be RIGHT about Sidney as I just want the Herb topic to go away. He’s gone. He’s happy. We’re happy. We don’t want him back. That’s the bottom line. Until we have just ONE great season, people will still have their fun bringing up Herb, as if to imply that we made a mistake in letting him go. But it was not. And we did not.

    If we could trade Sidney for Herb, and KEEP all the players and current 2010 recruits, I still wouldn’t do it. Even if Sid fails miserably this year and we fire him. I don’t want Herb anywhere near our basketball program ever again, unless we happen to face Arizona State in the NCAA tournament or something. Then it’s OK for him to shake hands after the game with whoever our coach happens to be at the time.

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