Duke @ desperate NC State preview

10-11 Basketball44

Will NC State be “the same old Wolfpack”?

Same old Wolfpack: After starting the ACC schedule at 1-0 for the first time under Sidney Lowe, N.C. State has fallen back into a familiar old pattern by starting slow, playing soft on defense, turning the ball over and shooting poorly on offense while coming up small in consecutive road losses at Boston College and Florida State.

The following video is pretty good. Love the comments about NC State’s problems being between the ears with a lack of leadership. And, “Giving up 80 points to the Seminoles is like giving up a 130 points to a Duke…Florida State doesn’t score.”

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10-11 Basketball

44 Responses to Duke @ desperate NC State preview

  1. Avid109 01/19/2011 at 6:36 AM #

    I fear that tonight’s game may get ugly in a hurry.

  2. mushypulp 01/19/2011 at 6:50 AM #

    Fantasy: coach k and the boys give us a historical asspounding. Debbie Y cries uncle and shows Sid the door. Reality – we get the asspounding and the status quo remains. Think I’ll just watch my 1983 championship DVD tonight.

  3. Wufpacker 01/19/2011 at 7:43 AM #

    While I fully expect the asspounding, don’t be fooled into believing that Sid not being shown the door mid-season = status quo.

    With DY having taken the reigns, I fully expect the current shortcomings to yield dividends in approximately two months…or perhaps a little more depending on whether Sid & Co. amazingly pull an NIT bid from the flames of the current mess. Behind the scenes I’d be surprised if the wheels weren’t already in motion, but the only way Sid goes before the end of the season is if he pulls the switch himself and steps down, or does something to publicly embarrass the university (over and above the ongoing embarrassment that has already been in place the past 20+ years). Since neither of those is likely I’d look for an announcement sometime between mid-March and the beginning of April (at the very latest).

    Of course that is assuming that the team doesn’t somehow find a way to salvage the season and finish with enough conference wins (or an ACC Tournament Championship) to achieve the NCAA bid which has previously been set as the minimum benchmark for this season. That appears to be a safer and safer assumption as each day passes, however.

  4. sbas2 01/19/2011 at 7:59 AM #

    the CBS analysts missed the reason why State has performed so poorly while the people posting here did not. the issue is with the head coach who insist on running an offense which does not work. i watched much of the UNC-Clemson game last night and wondered why the new coach at Clemson is able to get his team to run their offense smoothly. i also wonder how the coach at UVA, with less talent than State has, gets more from his team offensively. its the coach at State.

  5. Wufpacker 01/19/2011 at 8:11 AM #

    Actually, I think their comments come about as close as you’ll ever hear these types of analysts come to calling a coach inept. “Leadership” and “between the ears” is pretty telling.

    It’s also interesting that they say we were never in the FSU game, despite having a lead with only a few minutes to play. The really sad part is I agree….despite having a lead with only a few minutes to play I never once thought we’d win that game. How friggin’ sad is that?

  6. coach13 01/19/2011 at 9:04 AM #

    Let’s see. I have a funeral at 6:00. I can watch “No Ordinary Family” I have DVR’d after that. And I’m sure I can find some other way to pass the time other than watching what will surely be Sid’s biggest blunder this year so far.

  7. nseast8 01/19/2011 at 9:20 AM #

    When I was at a Wolfpack Club dinner this fall, Randy Woodson was the guest speaker and I spoke to him one on one for probably 5 minutes, mainly about sports. His take on our two coaches was kind of interesting. I think we had just dropped the game to ECU but he was telling me how great of a coach O’brien was and how we needed to just be patient. However, when I switched the topic to Lowe, he really didn’t have any compliments. He said that Lowe needs to surround himself with people that understand the college game. I’m not sure how to read into that.

  8. EdMar 01/19/2011 at 9:23 AM #

    I also agree with their comments except the one about State being more talented that Duke. I agree 100% that they are tougher, almost all the teams we play seem to be tougher, more aggressive, hustle more and want it more.

    We have some young players (Harrow, Brown, etc.) that are young and fairly thin so I could understand them getting pushed around a bit, but on the other side we have bruisers like Painter, Smith, Howell that should balance things out.

    Maybe Coach Lowe will make an inspirational speech “if you guys go out and play hard for me I get to stay at my school for a few more years”. Who knows we may pull out a win or depending how they feel about him we may loose by 30.
    PS: Duke is favored by 11

  9. JEOH2 01/19/2011 at 10:00 AM #

    IDK Sbas…what I saw last night from Clemson was not a smooth offense…especially in the latter parts of the second half…shot clock violations, unwarranted 3 pointers, sloppy drives leading to turnovers/bad shots, and lack of rebounding at critical moments…it looked quite familiar to me…

  10. packbackr04 01/19/2011 at 10:08 AM #

    nseast^ that is interesting because i have felt that Sid could have been much more succesful if he had gone out and hired a more competent staff. its like he surrounded himself with “his boys” and not D1 college assistant coaches

  11. tjfoose1 01/19/2011 at 10:27 AM #

    ‘Desperate’ would imply at least a somewhat reasonable chance of turning the season around. That does not apply here.

    By that, I mean is a 2-13 NFL team ‘desperate’ going into week 17? No, ’cause they have no chance.

    Win (though extremely improbable, it is possible) or lose tonight, I think a more appropriate word would be ‘resigned’.

  12. primacyone 01/19/2011 at 10:27 AM #

    Is the game this week?

  13. tjfoose1 01/19/2011 at 10:31 AM #

    I learned last night that the game is tonight sometime. 7 or 9 I think. I passed on a ticket to play cards.

  14. Sweet jumper 01/19/2011 at 10:47 AM #

    I will use my tickets tonight. I know I will see a hard-working, smart, talented, dedicated, well-coached team play tonight–named Dook. I hope State can pull off another miracle against the Blue Devils tonight but I am not expecting it. Go Pack!

  15. Gowolves 01/19/2011 at 11:33 AM #

    I don’t want them to win. It will not mean a thing and delay what needs to happen. Lowe must go. We beat Duke last year and look what happened after that win. They went in the tank! It would be a meaningless win. It shouldn’t be that way but Lowe has never been able to get his teams to play consistant team basketball.

  16. Wolfy__79 01/19/2011 at 12:08 PM #

    clemson @ unc. um no, from tip to finish that game was completely unorganized! neither unc or clemson play good basketball, the only difference is unc keeps winning? commmentators dubbed clemson’s coach a good one last night after a very pitiful performance @ a weak unc. unc missed several layups, point blank. and i saw and uncontested 3pt airball. clemson is not good, they had endless oppuurtunities to beat unc last night. uva’s coach =’s hwsnbn =’s avg at best.

  17. Wolfy__79 01/19/2011 at 12:16 PM #

    red flag number one! sidney was hired and kept harris on the staff? number two! hired monty towe? number three! the rest of the coaching staff. yay lets toot our horns from over thirty and forty years ago.

    i think there will be alot of duke fans in the rbc tonight.. they are a sound sweet16/elite8 caliber team right now. they aren’t good on the road this season and very soft down low. the rbc this year will play like a nuetral site this year, exception being vs unc when they buyout all of our tickets (sad). so duke won’t really be on the road imo. but they are still weak down low. nolan smith has really impressed this year! he may beat us on his own.

  18. Wolfy__79 01/19/2011 at 12:28 PM #

    “Giving up 80 points to the Seminoles is like giving up a 130 points to a Duke…Florida State doesn’t score.”

    whatever, teams that play solid defense can score points! solid defense-esque acc teams this year = vatech, unc, duke, fsu, uva… just to name a few. solid may be questionable but the point is solid defense can always lead to points. and!, we may suck 9x’s out of 10 but fsu is a good team and coached well.. they are not a fluke and may even trend past duke in the ncaa’s if they continue to play as they have!

    from start to finish, it is very easy to tell if nc state under sidney lowe is in the game. i didn’t even watch the game but knew right off the bat that we weren’t considering our sputtering offense. the 1,2 or 3 has to slash and score! sl called for tracy to lead on the floor this week, he can lead and its needed but one of the 1-3 needs to back him up! my vote is for scott wood! another alarming statistic, to the coaching staff, is that we are winning/playing our best when howell is in the game. DUH! HELLO! he’s our “big easy,” he plays cool calm and collected out there!?

    so, if you want to spare yourself tonight then all you’ll really need to watch is about the first ten minutes of the game to see if we’ll compete or not! duke gets out early but is pretty mediocre in the 2nd half offensively. eek, this isn’t a campaign for our coach… but i can’t go against him either. come tomorrow, i may have a change of heart!

  19. 61Packer 01/19/2011 at 12:53 PM #

    My expectations for a superior Wolfpack performance tonight are Low.

  20. NCSUPackfan 01/19/2011 at 12:57 PM #

    I am a die hard Pack fan. I love them with all of my heart, but I was at the FSU game (sitting in the student section)and was not happy with what I saw. People wrote that we had energy, but there was NO EMOTION from them. They look like zombies at times. Is that the coach, the players or both?
    I can’t exactly answer that. We all know that our team will probably get up for tongiht…It’s Duke!! But why is it so hard to crush Delaware St or Youngstown St. I do not think that is because of our youth, there is no motivation. Should college players who want to be recognized as a top program, need extra motivation?

    Something is missing..coaching..maybe, chemistry…..maybe, egos…maybe. There is no fire!!

    Just Venting!!!!!

  21. Baccapacker 01/19/2011 at 1:02 PM #

    How sad is it that 3 games into the acc season many of us, including myself, are more interested in who the next potential coach might be than the season currently in progress. I’m 24 years old and I’m just hoping that after this season I will get to experience some good Wolfpack basketball in my lifetime.

  22. PoppaJohn 01/19/2011 at 1:03 PM #

    Prediction:

    Career high for Nolan Smith – we are great hosts for opposing guards
    Duke by 20

  23. bradleyb123 01/19/2011 at 1:20 PM #

    I think it’s possible we could actually win tonight. It may be that we match up well with Duke.

    But that’s not the point.

    Even if we do win, it shouldn’t be enough to save Sidney’s job. We beat Duke last year, and then what? Nothing. If that happens again, no one should say, “Keep Sidney, because we beat Duke (twice), so we have hope.” No, only a good, strong finish should save Sidney’s job. I’d love a strong finish. I’d love a win against Duke. But winning THIS one game is not enough.

    I don’t expect us to win this one, anyway.

  24. Wolfy__79 01/19/2011 at 2:13 PM #

    Nolan Smith may very well hurt some feelings tonight! He is what to expect from a senior! we haven’t had fire like that since julius hodge. ^its just another year of coach talk at nc state. i don’t think there is a single nc state fan out there that can muster a case for the current regime?, and that is where it ends. even with a win tonight, noone will be convinced! i don’t really feel a repeat performance of last year at all. nsmith is motivated! i’ve ignored the obvious, been somewhat catatonic with the situtation. nc state fans look like cows out to pasture (emotionless)!

    i’ve seen a few of our games versus those delewares and youngstowns. talk about walking the green mile, winning these games i still left the game with a bad feeling. that is not good.

  25. Prowling Woofie 01/19/2011 at 2:25 PM #

    Our only hope is to put 4 guys on the arc on defense, and pound the lane every time down the floor on offense. Duke will take 30 3-pointers tonight, and probably hit 18 of ’em !

    Duke by 25…

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