Basketball season starts tonight!!!

10-11 Basketball42

Let’s all step away from the ledge for at least one evening and enjoy the start of basketball season tonight in Reynolds Coliseum.

Nov. 8, 2010

RALEIGH, N.C. –

Live Internet Broadcast | Radio Coverage

The NC State men’s basketball team plays its only exhibition game of the season Tuesday night against Pfeiffer in Reynolds Coliseum at 7 PM. Fans can watch a live broadcast on GoPack.com All-Access.

The game will also be available on the Wolfpack Radio Network. A full list of stations is available here.

The NC State Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be sponsoring a food drive at the exhibition contest. Fans may bring three cans of food and receive free admission. For more information, click here.

Tuesday’s game is the first of two at Reynolds Coliseum this year. The Wolfpack will host USC Upstate on Dec. 11 at Reynolds.

Kenpom has come out with their pre-season predictions for NC State and I think it is a fair assessment of what might actually happen this season due to the very difficult ACC and non-conference games on this year’s schedule. Kenpom is predicting a record of 18-8 and 8-8 in the conference despite the Pack being picked 4th in the ACC’s pre-season poll. It is important for NC State fans to understand that we could be the ACC’s 4th best team even with an 8-8 record due to the uneven ACC schedule. Caulton Tudor mentioned the tough schedule in today’s N&O:

If the ACC basketball race pans out as handicapped, N.C. State will have to make progress the hard way.

On preseason paper, the Wolfpack will face one of the league’s most demanding conference schedules, probably the most demanding.

There will be two games each against Duke (the ACC’s preseason league favorite), North Carolina (picked to finish third) and Florida State (No. 5), as well as a home game against the presumptive second-place finisher, Virginia Tech. But the game in Raleigh against the Hokies could be offset by a single game against Maryland that will be played in College Park, Md.

Why go tonight besides the debut of Ryan Harrow, CJ Leslie, and Lorenzo Brown?

To check out the newly renovated Hillsborough St that was completed earlier this year and visit some local businesses on Hillsborough St that many non-students haven’t been to in years. Despite the talk that Hillsborough St. isn’t what it used to be, places like Players Retreat, East Village, Mitch’s, Two Guys, Amore’s Pizza, Porter’s Tavern, Sadlack’s are all great options for food and beverages before the game. The improvements to the streetscape look great, especially at night. Parking isn’t near as challenging as people make it to be as spots on Hillsborough Street are usually available. If not, then just try streets like Pogue, Vanderbilt, Clark, etc…all immediately north of Hillsborough St. Also, any NC State parking lot can be used after 6 pm and there are several on Hillsborough St itself both on the north side and the campus side.

10-11 Basketball

42 Responses to Basketball season starts tonight!!!

  1. JeremyH 11/09/2010 at 10:36 PM #

    The information is that we are really fluid on offense. Harrow, Leslie, Brown, Howell, are all good passers. We just need to get these kids to play defense. CJ Williams played like a vet, shoots with confidence and at a good percentage. I think playing with these new guys makes him better. Wood still solid, Smith still the workhorse. Javi was fine but we are a different team with Harrow controlling the ball, he is fantastic off the dribble, always looking for passing lanes, and very quick with everything he does. Harrow and Leslie can just flat out score the ball. Brown was rusty, but a solid contribution today.

  2. redterror16 11/09/2010 at 10:38 PM #

    Good turnout for the game. Ryan Harrow looked like a giant on the floor against their backcourt

  3. lush 11/09/2010 at 10:45 PM #

    Listened to the game. Sounded like Tracy was as expected. Lo brown dominated all over. Wood was 4-9 from three. Leslie had some highlights. Cj Williams and Howell were the definition of glue.

    Harrow was amazing. 17 points 8 assists 1 turnover.

    Can’t wait to watch on Friday. Go pack!

  4. 87stategrad 11/09/2010 at 10:46 PM #

    Had a blast at Reynolds tonight! All of the Freshmen were awesome. It’s going to be a good season. Only weak point tonight was rebounding, and maybe a little sloppy on defense.

  5. packfan03 11/09/2010 at 10:51 PM #

    87stategrad, what was the turnout at Reynolds tonight?

  6. modobrew 11/09/2010 at 10:51 PM #

    I was at the game. Defense looked very out of sync at times. Very sloppy in getting back and picking up their man. Pfeiffer had a guy that shot nothing but three’s, yet we were unable to lock down on him. Scott Wood had his stroke back and knocked down a couple of in-rhythm 3’s. Harrow looked very solid handling the ball and seemed to find the open man when he needed to. Tracy banged around down low, though our team as whole had a hard time rebounding against a much smaller team. I don’t know how many second chance shots they got due to us not getting defensive rebounds. Brown looked very quick, but did get a little bit out of control at times. He is still going to be a very solid player for us this yr. Leslie, he actually didn’t impress me like I thought he would tonight. He seemed to force quite a bit of things, and over pursued on defense. Vandy, well what can you say? He’s 7 foot tall and just awkward. He had a couple of blocked shots which is always a plus. Richard Howell looked strong, though he needs to work on his rebounding and free throws. He seemed to only want to use one hand while rebounding. Javi showed his Rican attitude tonight. He will eventually be a good bench player I believe. The score makes the game look a little more lopsided than it was. We average about a 16 pt lead until about 10 minutes to go in the second half. Again, this was due to a hot 3 point shooter and our lack of defensive rebounds. All in all I think it was good game for our guys and a good learning experience for the freshman recruits. Lets hope they only continue to grow together as a team. At this point I think defense and quicker offensive sets are two key areas in need of attention. Offensive sets just took too long to develop and guys were having a hard time remembering where they should be. I guess only the next guy will tell us what this game did for them as a unit. Hope this helps some of you get a feel for how this new team looks.

  7. packalum44 11/09/2010 at 11:06 PM #

    ^ Disappointing our D is off, but to be expected with 3 freshman playing significant minutes. For us to maximize our offensive potential, we MUST force turnovers and get defensive rebounds so we can push the ball with Harrow and Leslie. If Purnell was able to coach up those random athletes to do it at Clemson surely Lowe can coach up our 4 and 5 star guys 😉

  8. 87stategrad 11/09/2010 at 11:08 PM #

    I’m not good at judging crowd numbers, but I would guess there were around 7,000 or so.

  9. wolfpackfan09 11/09/2010 at 11:13 PM #

    ^^^^^^^
    Yeah thats what I guessed

  10. BSIE80 11/09/2010 at 11:32 PM #

    Really enjoyed the game tonight. Great crowd for exhibition game!
    Starting 5:
    Javie
    Brown
    Wood
    Howell
    Smith

    All 3 freshmen were great. Brown is solid. Harrow is special. Leslie is super athletic and is great to watch.
    The main areas for improvement are Defensive and low post scoring (other than Tracy).
    Tracy will continue to be the 5 spot. Painter and Vandenberg are just not skilled enough yet to take on major minutes.
    Harrow is better than advertised. Javie is better when playing off the ball. He and CJ Williams will be make significant contributions this year feeding off of Brown and Harrow. Wood is solid as ever.
    I thought our rebounding was ok. We gave up a lot of 2nd chance points but I think some of this was due to our focus on pushing the tempo.
    This team is very good!

  11. SlapAbutch09 11/09/2010 at 11:41 PM #

    I thought the turnout was great. I don’t know how to describe it but the whole game i was pumped up. Ryan brings so much excitement to the game and he knows how to run our offense better than anything i expected. Ryan looked great tonight, but the most notable player of the night was lorenzo brown. If you were in attendance you know what i mean when i say smooth. The guy has cold blood running through his veins and if there was a last second shot needed i would get him the ball every time. Tracy looked good as always but should have been passed to more. Scott wood seemed to have worked on his arch more and has improved even more at the 3. Javi was okay, he had some good plays but really couldn’t move the ball like ryan. Howell was good in the paint but i felt like he never tried to rebound with two hands which usually lead to a score by them. Cj Leslie had his moments but kind of stayed low key and spread the ball around(which i like). Cj is the man when it comes to big plays though… i feel like he will always be the one getting the RBC rowdy. Cj williams looked great and i can see the veteran qualities starting to surface. Vandenburg was vandenburg. 7 foot and still having a little trouble at the basket. He did have a few blocks and some great rebounds so he has improved in that category.

    With all that said i enjoyed the game a lot and I am even more pumped for this Friday. We finally have a team that moves the ball and plays as a complete team. Hopefully Sid will play ryan more at point instead of javi come game time. He did play javi at shooting guard and ryan at point when Zo needed a break, and this worked pretty well.

    http://www.gopack.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/110910aaa.html

  12. Daily Update 11/10/2010 at 12:52 AM #

    Brown and Harrow are huge difference makers. Brown was fluid and smooth. Several people made the comment that he was our best player. Harrow could do whatever he wanted and rarely made a mistake. I have been a big proponent of Javi in general and Javi starting this year, but I can’t see that happening(unless it is in the form of a 3 guard lineup) for long. Maybe it won’t be important that Harrow starts, but it is hard to imagine him not playing in crunch time assuming he performs similar to tonight relative to Javi. He just has more ability in general than Javi(and that is not a knock on Javi at all).

    Harrow’s ability to handle the ball, read plays, pass and/or finish(in the form of layups, bank shots, or floaters) will make him a starter soon. We didn’t see a dunk tonight, but he apparently can do that as well.

    How many freshman since the Les Robinson era are as talented and ready to play as Harrow and Brown? Julius Hodge obviously. I saw Hodge extensively prior to playing his first game for NC State, so nothing he did was a surprise to me. Hodge was more of a “franchise player” in that he was a legit top 10 recruit(Brown and Harrow weren’t). Damien Wilkins was another that was highly rated and ready to play for the most part despite being somewhat of a disappointment in his two years at State(maybe that was more the fault of his coach and not Damien as Damien has had a long NBA career).

    I haven’t even mentioned Leslie who isn’t as ready, but obviously is an incredible physical talent in his own right(and he played well tonight too). He did good things tonight as well.

    Very much looking forward to see if this type of play continues on Friday in the opener.

    The biggest concern coming out of tonight was rebounding for me. The starting lineup included Wood, Howell, and Smith in the frontcourt which is a short lineup. I still see Howell and Smith getting the bulk of the minutes at the 4 and 5, so rebounding may always be a struggle because of their size.

    We will need the guards(we have good size in the backcourt now) and the small forwards to really help on the glass.

  13. NCSU@UNCG 11/10/2010 at 1:37 AM #

    Didnt watch the whole game but I did catch most of the 2nd and connected my computer to the tv. My roommate sitting in the living room with me is a UNX fan and he was really impressed/shocked with the play of our freshmen. I think he knows the boys in baby blue are going to be in for a real fight against us.

    Anyway, here’s some observations of what I saw. Keep in mind we were play Pheiffer, so nothing done tonight means it will be done against ACC play.

    Javi – didnt impress all that much, but wasnt bad either. Javi played some solid D but just didnt have it on the offensive end.

    Harrow – WOW! His upside is huge. He is super quick with a great handle. He did a good job of looking up court as soon as he got the ball and really dished the rock nicely. The kid is a down right crafty scorer. Only thing that I didnt like was that he seemed to want a steal every play which left the D compromised occassionally.

    Brown – The best scorer we’ve had since Jules. Had a great overall game, really filled up the box score in more than just points. 6 rebs, 6 asts & 2 stls. Seemed to want to go for the steal just like Ryan which cost us a few times for some easy buckets.

    Williams – CJW was solid, played great D and quietly looked good on offense.

    Wood – Scott’s 3 ball looked smoother than I remember seeing it last year. Played solid D, should be locked in as a starter.

    Leslie – Didnt look controlled all the time but he showed his ball handling off a few times and had some awesome dunks. He will be a fan favorite in no time. Played decent D but really impressed me with his passing.

    Smith – Looked pretty good. I didnt get to see too much of him in the 2nd half. Tracy is Tracy, he will benefit more with harrow at the point IMO.

    Howell – Sir Rich looked a little lackluster on the boards at times but played well overall.

    Vandenburg – Big V had an easy night since Pheiffer was the size of a HS team. He rebounded pretty well, had a few blocks and slammed down an alley from Ryan that appeared to be headed for Leslie.

    Painter – Didnt look all that good. He appears stronger no doubt but his offensive game doesnt appear as polished as it needs to be for him to start any time soon. He missed badly on a hook shot at the end of the game.

    All in all, a very good performance. It was a very fun game to watch. The uptempo offense suits this squad The defense should get better as things progress. Pheiffer was scrappy and Woods their big man is a beast. The show really starts Friday, hope the boys are ready to get the season started!

  14. packpowerfan 11/10/2010 at 1:58 AM #

    First off…

    Our freshman look awesome.

    Second…

    Tony and Gary mentioned that Pfeiffer scored an avg. of 100 a game in their league last year…they aren’t a bad offensive team, especially because they are returning most of their scoring.

    Third…

    Duke played them last year (obviously their National Championship year) and beat them 128-70. We aren’t far off!

    This team was fluid on offense, and was pretty good on defense against a team that played lights-out offense last year. I’m very, very excited!

  15. wufpup76 11/10/2010 at 4:36 AM #

    100 points!!!

    Awesome!

    Hate that I couldn’t make the game (or see it or hear it) – but glad to see we hit triple digits for what seems like the first time in a century … And thanks for the recaps!

    Can’t wait for Friday – College Basketball Time!!!

    Go Pack!!!

    (Btw – I like that starting 5 … I think it’s important that the experienced veterans play until the frosh’s really pick up the subtle nuances – defense and rebounding in particular)

  16. Oldwolf 11/10/2010 at 8:47 AM #

    it was fun to watch the team, scoring will not be a problem this year, many options – unlike the past. Smith and Wood will benefit from having the other scoring options.

    Pfeffier’s top scorer is a div II All-American – he was pretty good.

    A bit concerned at some of the defensive effort – some of their shots seemed too easy, however, looking at the stats, not too bad – their leading scorer Wood (AA div II) shot 9-24 for 23 points, and the team only shot 34 % for the game and were 8-30 from the the 3-pt line, so perhaps it was not as easy fore them as it seemed.

    The rebounding was a problem, but as Sid dsaid, they got 20 off, rebounds but had 12 of them in the first half, so some adjustment aat halftime was somewhat effective. Sid also indicated that there was too much one-handed rebounding attempts – he had not seen that in practice this year and would be working on that. We shot almost 50% so we did not have quite the number of offensive rebound opportunities 🙂

    Lo Brown put up some numvbers: 6-9 shooting for 17 points, (2-3 from 3pt, 3-4 ft), 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals

    We have not had anyone like Brown and Harrow in a long time – this year should be fun!

  17. coach13 11/10/2010 at 9:25 AM #

    Brown/Harrow probably played a bit aggressively frequently going for steals and compromising the defense when they missed. They will likely play a little more conservatve against better opponents. Sounds like if the D catches up with the O, this team could be pretty impressive.

    And while I know it is just Pfeffier, we have played cream puffs in the past but never put up gawdy numbers like 111. That is a score you would expect a very good team to put up against a Pfeffier.

    The fact we have such depth is impressive. I can see 10 players hitting the floor just about every game, with Vandy and Painter getting the fewest minutes. I think CJW could be a very nice lift off the bench this year. If Javi doesn’t pout if Harrow takes the staeting spot, he could be a solid veteran when he gives Harrow a breather.

    If the chemistry is good this team could be a blast to wacth.

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