Monday Musings

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October 24, 2011

NC STATE FOOTBALL

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Ryan Tice (TheWolfpacker.com)
Quick hits from N.C. State’s win over Virginia

Hello, Bryan Underwood

Redshirt freshman receiver Bryan Underwood entered today’s game with five catches. Due to Tobais Palmer missing the game with a concussion suffered during pregame warm-ups and a first-half suspension for T.J. Graham, somebody had to step up among the NC State pass catchers. It happened to be the speedster from University Heights, Ohio, who earned his first start today.

Underwood recorded a 33-yard touchdown reception in the second-quarter that put the Pack ahead for good. He came back in the following frame with an impressive 79-yard touchdown reception that stands as the longest catch by a freshman in program history. Those marked the first two scores of the youngster’s career.

Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
David Amerson’s pick-six sparks N.C. State win

PackPride.com
NOTES: Underwood Breaks Out

Smith Gets Start

Redshirt sophomore Rashard Smith started his first game at cornerback since Oct. 17, 2009 today when he got the nod at the boundary corner. Smith started three games as a true freshman that season, before suffering a torn ACL that kept him sidelined for the entire 2010 campaign. He was also the Pack’s starting returner in the first half, as T.J. Graham and Tobais Palmer were both out.

Ryan Tice (TheWolfpacker.com)
Virginia Locker room report

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

microphone

Ryan Tice and Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
NC State locker room report (video and audio)

The Wolfpacker talked to a happy group of NC State players after the Wolfpacker topped Virginia 28-14 on Saturday.

NC State coach Tom O’Brien, quarterback Mike Glennon, cornerback David Amerson, receivers Bryan Underwood and T.J. Graham, and running back Tony Creecy, were interviewed following the game.

ACC FOOTBALL

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Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
FIFTH QUARTER: ACC defenses on the offensive

5 POSITIVES

1. Bye week bounce: N.C. State’s 28-14 win at Virginia was its first in Charlottesville since 1994, but it shouldn’t be anything but a surprise. Not coming off a bye. The Wolfpack is now 4-1 under coach Tom O’Brien with an extra week to prepare. Going back to his time at Boston College, O’Brien has won five of his last six following a bye week.

5. Amerson picker: N.C. State CB David Amerson had two interceptions, including one for a TD, to lead the Wolfpack’s win at Virginia. With eight picks this season, Amerson not only leads the nation, but he’s also tied a school record originally set by Art Rooney in 1937 and again in ’38.

5 NEGATIVES

3. Killer warmups: You almost never hear of players getting hurt in pregame warmups, but it’s now happened to N.C. State twice this season. P Wil Baumann strained a groin before the Georgia Tech game last month and Saturday WR Tobias Palmer went down with a concussion. No details have been released on how Palmer got hurt. But it’s certain that it’s something that could only have happened to the Wolfpack.

Andrew Skwara (accsports.com)
ACC Football Power Rankings, Oct. 24

6. Florida State (4-3, 2-2)
All four of the Seminoles’ wins this year have come against teams with losing records. Still, dominating a Maryland team that nearly beat Clemson is a real sign that Jimbo Fisher’s club is improving. Against the Terps, Fisher’s offense showed the balance it has often lacked, racking up 218 rushing yards and 264 passing yards.
Upcoming Game: Saturday vs N.C. State (4-3)
Previous Ranking: No. 7

8. N.C. State (4-3, 1-2)
ACC QBs may want to simply stop throwing the ball to any receiver in the vicinity of David Amerson. The N.C. State corner has a remarkable eight interceptions (ties a school record). Two of those came in the Wolfpack’s win at Virginia, including one that he returned for a touchdown.
Upcoming game: Saturday at Florida State (4-3)
Previous Ranking: No. 11

NC STATE BASKETBALL

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GoPack.com
Men’s Basketball Team Visits The Healing Place

The NC State men’s basketball team took time from its preseason preparations to visit The Healing Place, a non-profit alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility for the homeless, on Saturday.

The Wolfpack squad, along with head coach Mark Gottfried, stopped by the 279-bed facility at the request of former NC State standout Chris Corchiani for its second annual Hoops for the Healing Place event. A two-time All-American, Corchiani became involved with the center after touring the facility two years ago.

ACC BASKETBALL

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Jim Young (accsports.com)
Overheard At ACC Operation Basketball

“We see him a lot more than we saw coach Lowe last year — coach Lowe was like a close friend to everybody but coach Gottfried is like a coach and a friend.” N.C. State guard Lorenzo Brown on the difference between Mark Gottfried and Sydney Lowe.

“It’s just a matter of ‘is he going to run hard down the court?’ If he sprints and beats his man down the court every time — and I think he can — then he’s going to have a monster year.” N.C. State guard Scott Wood on talented, but inconsistent, teammate C.J. Leslie.

“Right off the bat.” – Duke center Miles Plumlee describing when he realized majoring in engineering was a bad idea.

Jim Young (accsports.com)
Overheard At ACC Operation Basketball, Part 2

“All of ‘em — who’s on the radar? I don’t think any of our guys are really on anybody’s radar.” N.C. State’s Mark Gottfried, when asked which under-the-radar players on his team could surprise people this season.

“My players tell me that I should get on Twitter. They say ‘You’d have a lot of followers.’ I said, ‘I only want the 12 of you to follow me.’ ” Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski on why he hasn’t joined the Twittersphere.

“We’re going to play you every year in Greensboro and have 25 thousand boo you.” – Krzyzewski relating what he recently told Jim Boeheim.

Jim Young (accsports.com)
ACC Operation Basketball Notebook

Jim Young (accsports.com)
ACC Operation Basketball Notebook, Part 2

Being There

When asked about the difference between Sydney Lowe and Mark Gottfried, N.C. State guard Lorenzo Brown said it’s all about how often the players interact with their coach.

While Gottfriend is more excitable in practice than Lowe was, Brown said the biggest difference from a player’s perspective is how much the new Wolfpack coach is around the program.

“We see him a lot more than we saw coach Lowe last year,” Brown said. “Coach Lowe was like a close friend to everybody, but coach Gottfried is like a coach and a friend. He really wants to pick our brains and find out what we think about what’s going on in practice and everything.”

When asked about being around more, Gottfried said that it’s just something that comes with the intensity he and his staff bring to preparation and recruiting.

“We’ve devoted and will devote as much time as we need with this group,” Gottfried said. “They’re our team and we have to coach our team — but we’re going to work extremely hard on the recruiting side of things. Our staff does a great job, they’re tireless — recruit, recruit and recruit, that’s the three jobs they have right now.

About 1.21 Jigawatts

Class of '98, Mechanical Engineer, State fan since arriving on campus and it's been a painful ride ever since. I live by the Law of NC State Fandom, "For every Elation there is an equal and opposite Frustration."

'11 Football 11-12 Basketball ACC College Basketball College Football Mark Gottfried Multimedia

24 Responses to Monday Musings

  1. hoop 10/24/2011 at 7:01 AM #

    Great work by the Gott staff.

    Great job on recruiting basketball players.

    Now we need him to recruit some football players.

  2. BJD95 10/24/2011 at 8:20 AM #

    Again, what Gott and staff are doing is the standard amount of work and attention. It only seems “great” in comparison to the clownish regime we employed previously.

    But don’t get me wrong – I’m extremely grateful to have competence in town.

    I will be pleasantly surprised if “Calvin” makes it through the entire season.

  3. Red Rider 10/24/2011 at 8:45 AM #

    C’mon Jim Young, it’s spelled Sidney, not Sydney, right?

  4. HPWolf 10/24/2011 at 8:54 AM #

    If Calvin buys into Gotts program and becomes the five star stud he is capable of becoming and Lorenzo plays consistently as the four star recruit he looked like at Carolina last year we will surprise a lot of teams. Our supporting cast with good coaching could make us the dark horse in the ACC this year.

  5. howlie 10/24/2011 at 8:55 AM #

    IF he will run down court all the time?

    [shaking head icon]… I just don’t know what to say here…

  6. packalum44 10/24/2011 at 9:42 AM #

    Circumstantial evidence says that Gott & staff are going above and beyond their duties. I mean, you have to at our school. At UNC, Roy sleeps 8 hours a night during the recruiting period and still lands top 5 classes. Not here.

    Gott says all the right things and has ignited enough passion in me to make the short hike to East Rutherford in late November. Hopefully we won’t suck ass.

  7. Packfan28 10/24/2011 at 12:47 PM #

    It seemed to me the passing game stalled when TJ came back in the 2nd half.

    An offense next year featuring Glennon, Palmer, Underwood, and Moose should petty damn exciting.

  8. Classof89 10/24/2011 at 1:34 PM #

    Here’s an odd football fact: TOB has NEVER won an Atlantic division road game during his tenure at State. Yet he has now beaten every Coastal Division team on the road…and has a 6-1 overall Coastal Division road record…Meanwhile, he’s 0-3 against Wake in Winston. Go figure.

  9. baxter 10/24/2011 at 1:35 PM #

    HP, Lorenzo Brown was a 5 star.

    And personally, I hope they both play like the NBA 1st round picks they should be in the next 2 years. Lot of people think Zo is NBA bound next year.

  10. Packfan28 10/24/2011 at 3:05 PM #

    I agree Zo is NBA bound, but learning to be a PG exclusively in addition to learning a whole new system probably ensures he will be back for one more year.

  11. Ashman87 10/24/2011 at 3:20 PM #

    I really like that Mark is around the program more. This should really help build teamwork and consistency, something which we dreadfully lacked the past five years (at least). By the way, I have to say that is a weird stat Classof89. I hope that streak does not continue with our game at B.C.

  12. vtpackfan 10/24/2011 at 4:32 PM #

    Don’t recall ever winning in Gobblertown but I agree that stat is weird.

  13. BJD95 10/24/2011 at 4:44 PM #

    We definitely won at VPI on a “just wide” missed FG, I just couldn’t remember if that was late Amato or early O’Brien.

  14. Thinkpack17 10/24/2011 at 4:45 PM #

    If Lo Brown is NBA bound after this year we are in for a good one. 1st round PGs usually have to show some serious ability to lead their teams to big wins. Big men getting drafted on upside can come from crappy teams (i.e. JJ Hickson) but it is rare to see a PG taken in the first round who was on team that didn’t make some noise in the tourny or throughout the year.

  15. TruthBKnown Returns 10/24/2011 at 4:51 PM #

    We definitely won at VPI on a “just wide” missed FG, I just couldn’t remember if that was late Amato or early O’Brien.

    BJD, I was there for that game. Seems like it was 2004. I think it was the first year sans Rivers. We had pretty much pushed them around on the field that day, but couldn’t get many points to show for it. They couldn’t really do much of anything. Then, with just a few seconds left, they threw what was almost a hail mary bomb and their guy caught it and got out of bounds (in FG range, too). I remember thinking they were going to STEAL one that we should have won, by all rights. But the football gods smiled upon us that day and the FG was wide.

    That would have been grand larceny if they had stolen that game from us.

  16. PackFamily 10/24/2011 at 5:07 PM #

    “BJD, I was there for that game. Seems like it was 2004”

    It was ’05. We sacked the QB something like 5 times. Stone plyed QB after we benched Jay Davis. We played them at home the previous year.

  17. DC_wolf 10/24/2011 at 5:54 PM #

    PackFam: No, it was ’04 – I attended both “home-&-home” games (yes, I do sometimes attend games in person), Jay Davis started & we still had T.A. McClendon, who had a monster, bruising game. On defense we had Mario Williams, DeMario Pressley & Stephen Tulloch and they pretty much stifled the Hokies all day. Davis kept turning the ball over so they brought in Stone; he didn’t do much better. 17-16 was the final of that one, I believe.

    The next year in Carter-Finley (both Amato-coached teams) we actually out-gained the Hokies on offense but had over 100 yards in penalties and the gobblers pulled away for an easy W. That game, along with the Ohio State game in ’04, were probably the beginning of the end for Chuck-the chest in terms of putting any kind of disciplined team on the field.

  18. TruthBKnown Returns 10/24/2011 at 6:13 PM #

    Yep, it was ’04. I just checked my college football “almanac” source. State won 17-16 in Blacksburg (third game of the season).

    Here’s the link. It’s great, after a couple of clicks, you get to download a spreadsheet of NC State’s football history. Not that the history is good, but the link is!

    http://www.texasfan7.greatnow.com/NCAA_Football_History.htm

  19. tuckerdorm1983 10/24/2011 at 6:43 PM #

    will friday ever get here?

  20. john of sparta 10/24/2011 at 8:52 PM #

    NBA bound?
    when?

  21. choppack1 10/24/2011 at 9:08 PM #

    While we’re on 2004 and 2005 – in both of those years, we beat the eventual ACC champion, ON THE FRIGGIN’ ROAD! In both of those years, we went 3-5 overall and lost to UNC.

    The 2004 team was absolutely loaded defensively. I think 11 or 12 of those guys either played or were drafted in the NFL. Even the offense had several guys play or drafted by the NFL. That we couldn’t do better than we did tells you a lot about Amato, his strenghts and his weaknesses.

    Regarding Gott – it’s pretty funny now that our players are openly saying what a lot of had heard about/speculated about the last few years.

  22. wolfwarrior 10/24/2011 at 10:28 PM #

    Excellent musings by the way! Thanks for the stat on Underwood as a freshman with the 79 TD reception being longest on State’s program for a freshman, that’s a good one!

    Regarding State MBB: SL & Staff, I heard that they were truly hard workers on the golf course, just not on the hardwoods. Is that true? The cost per ACC victory for just SL’s salary is staggering and unbelievable. State got robbed, again that CH MA Fox hire of AD LF cost State more ways than any of us can fully imagine, years later. Wonder who (insider) at State recommended the hiring of AD LF to CH MAF? Anyone know?

    Also just think about it! Finally to see a State MBB that displays: very good physical condition, excellent full court hustle, fights for rebound/position and plays solid D the whole game.

    I mean how many years has it been since we’ve seen just those 4 fundamental BB characteristics at State?

    20 years plus? Unbelievable. Best wishes to MG & Staff.

  23. choppack1 10/24/2011 at 10:59 PM #

    wolfwarrior – I’ll be honest with you…A lot of V’s teams were very much up and down when it came to effort. You know, back when it mattered, there used to be a saying by our radio guys, “The Pack is UP tonight!”

    I think Sendek was trying to create that kind of effort and intensity, but his plodding pace, micromanagement and out-thinking got in the way.

  24. 8pack 10/25/2011 at 12:17 AM #

    I believe that we set some sack records that day in Blacksburg ’04…If Im not mistaken, it was 10 sacks that day!

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