NC State vs San Diego: Pack wins in good fashion

General51

Wolfpack battles San Diego on some of the Fox Sports Net channels today at noon.

Wanted to open this entry for anyone who wanted to discuss.

18:40 — LESLIE PASSED!! LESLIE PASSED!! For maybe the first time this year, CJ Leslie had the ball within 6 feet of the basket, started to make and offensive move…and, actually passed the ball! The results were great – DeShawn Painter gets fouled and hits two free throws.

17:19 — All NC State. Key has been DEFENSIVE REBOUNDING. Pack getting the ball off the defensive boards and out on transition. And hitting free throws.

NC State 8 San Diego 0

15 mins — Tracy Smith in the game!! Hits his first shot since returning while getting fouled.

NC State 12 San Diego 5

11 mins — NC State 16 San Diego 6 Tracy Smith playing and is active. 4 points in last 3 minutes. Pack getting defensive rebs. SD only 1 FG in gme.

NC State 22 San Diego 8 with 10 minutes in the first half.

2:36 mins — NC State 39 San Diego 19

Halftime: NC State 43 San Diego 25

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51 Responses to NC State vs San Diego: Pack wins in good fashion

  1. Wufpacker 01/01/2011 at 2:28 PM #

    Re: Howell vs CJl….today at least Howell has been much more effective both offensively and on the boards than CJL. In fact, if CJL can’t do any better than this against a cupcake opponent, I’m not sure he’s going to have much value against league opponents.

    I know it’s unlikely CJL remains this unproductive, but today at least, Howell has shown he deserves the quality minutes over CJL. But again, that’s just today and it could certainly change.

  2. GameOfInches 01/01/2011 at 2:29 PM #

    Instead of CJL. I can see us being a solid team either way. It is noticable, IMO, that we are a better team when Howell and T Smith are on the court together.

  3. STRUTTER 01/01/2011 at 2:36 PM #

    I think I’ve seen more people in a phone booth than are in the RBC today.

  4. TheAliasTroll 01/01/2011 at 3:42 PM #

    CJ Leslie has not come close to living up to expectations to this point and contributing like I thought he would. He’s like 1/4 of a Courtney Fells. It certainly doesn’t look like he’ll be a 1 and done. Hope he’s able to improve throughout the season.

  5. jbpackfan 01/01/2011 at 4:31 PM #

    CJL has played well, though inconsistent. He has been our best rebounder and is currently 8th in the ACC in rebounds per game. His offensive game is raw, but didn’t we expect that? Give the kid a break.

  6. imawolf 01/01/2011 at 4:58 PM #

    This team basically played us even during the second half…… PERIOD! We should have won by at least 35………..

  7. packfan03 01/01/2011 at 6:16 PM #

    Another win. Can’t wait for ELON, then the ACC Opener. They really passed the ball well today, and rebounded very strongly.

    Energy, Hustle – both were there today. If they play like this during the ACC season, we might just be OK.

    Harrow sure looked good again.

  8. Rick 01/01/2011 at 6:24 PM #

    “Tracy Smith entered the game to roaring applause from the dozens in attendance.”

    I went to the park. Too nice a day to watch a horribly coached team beat a cupcake.

    CJL is raw and will take a ton of coaching. Too bad.

  9. packfan03 01/01/2011 at 6:29 PM #

    Definitely did not look like a poorly coached team today. Quite the opposite.

  10. wolfonthehill 01/01/2011 at 7:30 PM #

    ^ When you may or may not look like a poorly-coached team any time you take the floor, you’re a poorly-coached team.

    When you have grossly more talent than your opponent, no coach is needed. I guarantee… GUARANTEE… that I could’ve coached the guys today & they’d have looked good.

    Let’s give credit where it’s due, and refrain from doing so when it’s not.

  11. packfan03 01/01/2011 at 8:16 PM #

    Let’s give credit where it’s due, and refrain from doing so when it’s not.

    I think my statement fits your request to a T. We played hard today, had great ball movement, and did this while incorporating someone who had been out of the lineup for some time.

    When a team takes the court, regardless of opponent, they can still look poorly coached. That’s how upsets happen (Just ask Utah). Also, I would argue that our team is not as poorly coached as some of you think.

    I realize you will obviously disagree. Just my opinion.

  12. imawolf 01/01/2011 at 8:38 PM #

    Packfan03, what is your opinion of our second half play compared to their second half play?………… They basically played us even…..explain how that happens or should have happened………

  13. packfan03 01/01/2011 at 9:07 PM #

    ^That happens all the time in college basketball. It’s not abnormal in the least. Did you watch the game?

  14. packfan03 01/01/2011 at 9:17 PM #

    Let me clarify. It’s not uncommon for these games to be closer in the second half than in the first. It appears that we only beat them by 4 in the second half, however we were up by as much as 29 at one point, if I am remembering correctly. They had a player on their team hit a few threes in the midst of that and they made a run.

    Of course, I would have liked for us to win by 40, but I think it’s vastly unfair to judge the coaching staff for not winning by more than 4 in the second half as this truly does happen to other teams as well.

    In a game where we couldn’t find our three-stroke, incorporated a new player, and had CJ Leslie playing pretty poorly I think we played extremely well. It’s just ONE game (well, two in a row now) against lesser competition so not much needs to be made out of it. I just get tired of all the criticism after WINS. I understand when we lose, but when we win, and handily at that?

  15. wufpup76 01/01/2011 at 9:32 PM #

    Was at the game – crowd was ok. Those of us that were there at least had a little energy.

    Speaking of energy, everyone was energized from having the big guy back. Tracy wasted no time establishing his prescence / dominance – something he’s excelled at for four years. We – or at least I – have been spoiled at how easy he makes it seem to establish position, receive the ball and go up strong. So glad to have him back.

    It may be in no small part due to the competition, but the team has looked better the last two games. The energy level and work ethic are far better. It’s unfortunate we even have to discuss this, but nevertheless the team has actually worked hard in these last two games.

    I continue to be impressed with Howell nearly everytime I see him play. He proved once again that he is by far the best rebounder on this team, but added point production and some more great passes today.

    Leslie struggled on offense, but continues to get boards. We definitely need him to learn how to stay within the offense and when to go all out on a fast break – but I don’t want him to lose his natural aggressiveness. ‘Aggressive’ is not exactly synonomous with Pack basketball over the past two decades.

    Overall, we looked ok against the zone … ball movement was pretty good in addition to movement and cuts. Defensive energy was good for the most part and we crushed the boards. Go ahead and say that to yourself again b/c it is indeed rare. We hammered a team on the boards.

    I wouldn’t read too much into them playing us even (points wise) in the second half. We had pushed the lead to 30 at one point. You never want to see or excuse lackadaisical play – and to his credit Sidney called a quick ‘chew them out’ timeout when SD outworked us for a couple of minutes.

    All in all not bad … SD was way overmatched, but hopefully our guys can build some confidence and buy into working hard all the time.

    Go Pack

  16. Wulfpack 01/01/2011 at 9:42 PM #

    The ONLY thing that iws of any relevance about this game is that Tracy finally returned and played very well all things considered. So for that, I am much more optimistic about ACC play. If he were done for the year, this team would struggle to win 5 league games. With him in, we have a fighter’s chance.
    Cj Leslie is an absolute cluster**** offensively. Howell should start in his place until he proves otherwise.

  17. PoppaJohn 01/01/2011 at 10:51 PM #

    You guys that are discounting CJL jumping to the NBA have a very short memory. Remember Josh (“what was he thinking???”) Powell? These guys get a high opinion of themselves based on being highly touted HS recruits, add in a few good college games, their buds tell them they are great,then they declare for the dollars.

    I think CJL needs both bulk and a couple of years experience (at least) before he goes, but there is no predicting what these guys will do.

    I liked the defensive effort today, but it was a bunch of slow, short guys we were beating. Tracey played well, but as expected, got gassed quickly.

    Thank heavens the season starts with Wake – I’m sure we’ll struggle, but maybe we’ll squeak by.

  18. tjfoose1 01/01/2011 at 10:59 PM #

    Josh Powell’s jump to the NBA was more about family need than Josh thinking highly of his abilities.

    He wanted to stay, but felt he needed to start bringing home money… preferably in the NBA, but oversees if need be.

  19. imawolf 01/01/2011 at 11:06 PM #

    Clearly San Diego State played as well as we did in the second half, period. I don’t see how it can be justified….a three here a three there, a three over there…and a drive here, a drive there and some lazy play by the Pack. The point is, what I want to see is a killer instinct….I want to see them play HARD and CRISP the whole game…. Why justify letting your team play at a low level……. These kids slip into lethargic play…….even the announcers made mention that the play was getting sloppy….And It Was…and this is what I saw and Where I feel the coaching needs to improve. Just my Opinion……..Did I watch the game????? For crying out loud…….

  20. russwuf 01/02/2011 at 12:55 AM #

    call me back when we actually beat somebody….then we can talk eh?
    Cruising by supposed cupcakes or even eaking out wins over such doesn’t impress anyone.

  21. bradleyb123 01/02/2011 at 5:17 PM #

    packfan03, you’re fighting the good fight. But there are some who have already made up their minds about Sidney. We can recruit good players, coach them up to All-conference status, etc., but since minds are made up, some will always refuse to give the man credit, even when it is due.

    Now that Tracy is back and looking good, there’s a good chance they’ll be eating a lot of crow at the end of this season. Hope they brought an appetite.

  22. wolfonthehill 01/03/2011 at 7:18 AM #

    ^ As soon as Sid coaches a single player up to any status whatsoever, we’ll have the discussion you’re talking about. Right now, that’s a purely hypothetical situation.

    Tracy was an all-conference performer who was relegated to the bench for about 1/2 season too long…

  23. bradleyb123 01/03/2011 at 10:47 AM #

    ^ packfan03, case in point. ^

    Tracy wasn’t ready to play the last time we really had to have him to win a game. I have no problem with him staying out a little longer in order to get 100% healthy. We didn’t need him against our recent creampuffs, although Delaware State was closer than we wanted. Why risk another injury by coming back before he was ready?

  24. zahadum 01/03/2011 at 12:35 PM #

    So far this season, this team is just weird. There are some very peculiar things in the, admittedly, early season stats.

    For example, of the top 10 assist to turnover ratios in the conference, 3 of them (#1, 9 & 10) are Pack players. Yes, I had to read that several times to believe it myself.

    We have 0 of the top 20 scorers, although that should change with Smith back.

    We have the top FT pct guy in the conference in Harrow. Has that happened for us since DT’s soph. year? (I don’t mean for entire year, but any part of the year.)

    We are 2nd in the conference in 3 pt fg pct defense, and 3rd overall.

    We are dead last in rebounds allowed.

    Coming into this year, I would never have thought we’d have more problems on offense than defense, but that seems to be the case so far. If the team could manage to add 5 pts per game to their average, and shoot 10% points better, they could be pretty dangerous.

  25. walton 01/03/2011 at 1:31 PM #

    Seems like Leslie hangs his head after a few bad plays. Howell just puts his nose to the grindstone. Glad we won and put together 2 solid performances back-to-back. We did let down in the second half though. Let them have too many wide open jumpers. Got to have 100% effort the entire game against every opponent.

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