Thursday Compendium

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December 1, 2011

NC STATE BASKETBALL
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JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Wolfpack falters against Hoosiers

N.C. State and Indiana turned the RBC Center into a time machine on Wednesday night.

Both proud programs have seen their national standing usurped by in-state rivals, but the only ACC-Big Ten Challenge matchup between two teams with multiple national titles felt like it mattered, even on the final day of November.

To Jordan Hulls and Indiana, it mattered a little more by the end of a hard-fought 86-75 win over the Wolfpack. Hulls’ 20 points, to go with 19 from freshman forward Cody Zeller, sent a Wolfpack crowd of 16,597 home disappointed in the outcome but not the effort.

First-year coach Mark Gottfried noticed the environment, calling it phenomenal, but regretted his team couldn’t close out the seven-point lead it had with 8 minutes to go.

“I wish we would have been able to deliver the win for them,” Gottfried said. “It was a missed opportunity.”

CAULTON TUDOR (N&O)
Pack can take away plenty from loss

In their fourth season with Tom Crean as coach, the once mighty Hoosiers (7-0) are getting back to where the Wolfpack hopes to go, but much quicker, with Mark Gottfried.

It was a game that exposed some flaws in the Wolfpack (5-2) but also underscored the team’s potential and did very little to debunk the notion that Gottfried’s first team will be good enough to finish among the top four in the ACC.

N.C. State is multitasking on the run and will be for the next month or so. But against a Big Ten opponent that likely will be in the NCAA tournament, the Wolfpack learned that Lorenzo Brown (19 points, six rebounds, five assists) can break down defenses and that Scott Wood can find perimeter shots against an aggressive defense.

“It’s fun to play these kind of (non-ACC) games that we’re playing this year,” said senior wing C.J. Williams. “This is the kind of opponent our fans want to see us play and measure us by.”

Associated Press
Hulls Scores 20, Leads Indiana Past N.C. State 86-75

GoPack.com
Wolfpack Falls, 86-75, On Indiana’s Late Surge

Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
Pack falters late

“Our games played very hard and I liked how we competed, but I thought we had a stretch there — from the 6 1/2-minute mark to about the three-minute mark — and had a lot of opportunities, but couldn’t capitalize on them,” Gottfried said. “Defensively, we broke down a couple two, three defensive possessions, and offensively, missed some free throws.”

“It’s a tough one, but I don’t agree with the call,” Gottfried said. “You always have to be careful with what you say, but Scott clearly went after the basketball. That one was frustrating for me, but you move on. That call didn’t lose us the game. We did enough things to hurt ourselves.”

Akula Wolf (BackingthePack.com)
Loss Of Composure Dooms NC State Vs. Indiana

I could start with, “well, I have good news and bad news,” and then segue on to about seven different topics. State played hard tonight, the crowd was good, the players fed off it, and the game kinda felt like one of those games back when I was in college and there were actual stakes involved.

It looked like they were going to overcome an 11-point first half deficit and win the game going away after Alex Johnson scored to put the Wolfpack up seven with less than eight minutes to play. But Indiana didn’t fade, and yeah, there were some–shall we say–iffy whistles down the stretch, but I can’t help but dwell on the three free throws in a row that Richard Howell missed, or that gimme fast-break layup he missed, or that amusing turnover exchange between the two teams. We squandered a lot of opportunities in the second half that could have made those last five minutes different, no matter the calls. So I’m more preoccupied with how we were in control and could have put the game away regardless of the officiating. But it all super sucked hugely. I want to go Jim Bridge on this shit.

PackPride.com
Locker Room Report: Wolfpack Players

PackPride.com
Locker Room Report: Mark Gottfried

“I thought our games in New Jersey were all physical, and you’re playing good team. Indiana is much better than they’ve been. We got down early in the game, they got a great start and our guys battled back, took the lead at the half and had some momentum going into the half. Coming out of the half we played very well defensively, did a nice job for the first six or eight minutes of the half and we were able to establish a lead. We did a lot of things well and then we just had a period in there where we weren’t.”

“We’re going to have a lot of opportunities this year. That’s the beauty of playing a tough non-conference schedule, you’re going to have a lot of chances. That’s how you get better, you learn in a game like tonight, how good defensively you have to be. We didn’t guard the ball two or three trips and it hurt us. Around the basket we didn’t rotate well, we didn’t get a defensive rebound when we needed to get one. Those are things, you look at the tape, you watch it, you evaluate it, you teach, you coach and you are going to find yourself in these situations again. That’s where you have to get better.”

“Our fans are great. I wish we would have been able to deliver for them because their enthusiasm was terrific and I think our players fed off of that. Hopefully we’re going to have a lot of nights like that and hopefully even though we were disappointed and lost they see a team that’s going to compete. Our guys are going to compete hard, which they did tonight. We just have to get better and make sure we learn how to finish games.”

PackPride.com
BOX SCORE: Indiana 86, NC State 75

PackPride.com
Hoosiers Pull Away From Pack, 86-75

ACC BASKETBALL

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Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
ACC-Big Ten Challenge only proving what we already knew

When the carnage is over and the Big Ten has come out on top, all the talking heads – especially the ACC haters like Doug Gottlieb and Digger Phelps – will hail the results as some kind of monumental shift in the college basketball landscape.

But in truth, all the 12 random matchups over two days in late November will have done is confirm a lot of things that we already knew.

Among them are:

That the ACC his historically bad this season, especially among the bottom 3-4 teams;

That Duke is a talented, but young team without a true point guard and a group of experienced, but habitually inconsistent big men who got rattled in their first true road game against an elite opponent;

And that Virginia, which beat Michigan for the ACC’s best win Tuesday, is deserving of its lofty preseason expectations.

NC STATE FOOTBALL

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Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Kuechly was great, but Amerson deserved Player of the Year honor

As impressive as Kuechly’s numbers are – and they’re impressive enough that in any other year, this discussion would not be necessary – they can be somewhat deceiving. Not only are tackles a subjective stat that like assists in hockey can be padded by a friendly home stat crew, they are also affected by variables such as defensive schemes and the ability (or lack thereof) of other players on the field.

Interceptions, on the other hand, leave no room for interpretation. You either get them or you don’t.

And no one in ACC history has ever intercepted more passes in a season than Amerson did this year. His 11 picks not only led the nation, but they also broke the State school record by three and tied the league mark set by UNC’s Dre Bly in 1996.

Bly, by the way, was also snubbed for Defensive Player of the Year honors that season.

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

microphone

GoPack.com
Inside Wolfpack Sports

In today’s episode, Don Shea visits with junior forward Scott Wood before State hosts the Indiana Hoosiers in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

WRALSportsfan.com
Gottfried: Defensive breakdowns were key to States struggles

WRALSportsfan.com
Williams: We weren’t able to finish well

WRALSportsfan.com
Brown: We got excited and let up

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."

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32 Responses to Thursday Compendium

  1. JeremyH 12/01/2011 at 1:06 PM #

    I want them to play smarter; I want the point guard to take control of orchestrating the offense within crucial junctures of the game. Overall the free throw shooting was good, but still needs work. Overall very impressed and see a lot of little problems that will hopefully fix themselves with time and gelling.

  2. 808WOLF 12/01/2011 at 1:29 PM #

    Two things I noticed:
    1. Lorenzo brown seemed reluctant to create separation when he had the ball. Almost got several 5 second calls.
    2. CJ Williams seemed completely overmatched on defense. Slow feet

    Anyone else notice these?

  3. WuffDad 12/01/2011 at 7:40 PM #

    Have not had much opportunity to see how coach Gottfried reacts or looks on the bench, but he didn’t look like he was feeling too good last night – even while the Pack was leading. Anyone else see that?

  4. wolfpack4ever 12/01/2011 at 9:23 PM #

    “What I love best about this loss and the Vandy loss (if you must love something about a loss) is that there are very clear “teaching” moments for each game. Areas where it’s crystal clear that mistakes were made that didn’t have to be.”

    “This team is a work in progress and the coaches thankfully know what’s wrong, as do the players.”

    I was talking with a fellow Wolfpacker after the game last night and we are in total agreement with this. This coaching staff will be able to utilize film of some areas in this game as “teaching moments”. This can be a loss that can truly be used to create a better team down the road.

    Indiana impressed me as a much improved team as well from their previous seasons.

    Go Pack!

  5. wolfpack4ever 12/01/2011 at 9:35 PM #

    808 Wolf,

    I am very hesitant to be critical of a college player, but I have to agree with you that CJ Williams was off of his game. The mid-range game was missing for the most part. The blown dunk I felt really hurt us. The defensive assignment miscues on multiple back door cuts and opponent drives to his right just did not look like him at all.

    Was the Indiana player that much quicker than him last night?

    I also wonder if Howell was really, really tired during the stretch of missed free throws and failed layup attempt. I felt maybe he had leg weariness. It did not seem to me like we substituted as much in this game. Any thoughts?

  6. choppack1 12/01/2011 at 11:13 PM #

    I don’t know why – but I’m not as positive as others here….Maybe it’s because I’ve seen OK efforts the first few tough games of 4 of the last 5 years.

    The college basketball season is a long one, but if we’re going to make the tournament – and for me, that’s where I think State should go every year – we’ve got to win these games.

    I’d probably feel better about it if we didn’t have some of our weapons – but as far as I could tell, we had all of them.

    This team needs to learn how to close out opponents. With about 7 minutes left there were some huge mental errors – made by virtually everyone in a white jersey – that kept us from winning that game. Then, there’s the foul shooting…Ugh.

    Oh well – we’ve got Stanford next. I was thinking we’d have to win 2 of 3 to stay on the right side of the bubble given the ACC’s weakness…But the team that I saw play the last 7 minutes of the game last night will be lucky to win 6 games in a pisspoor ACC.

  7. VaWolf82 12/02/2011 at 9:34 AM #

    I don’t know why – but I’m not as positive as others here

    Trust me, you’re not alone.

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