Trending on Thursday

General40

As we are all still catching our breath from the big Belk Bowl victory on Tuesday night we’ve got a potpourri of interesting topics developing that we didn’t want to ignore today.

First, if you want to re-live some highlights from the other night then this link is a great place for you.

Our message boards (available here) have served as a great resource to keep up with current developments in and around Wolfpack Sports. A few trending hot topics right now that are worthy of some time are:

 

=====>  A lot of football recruiting being discussed as the local programs now shift into ‘2012 mode’.   Of course the huge local news this week came a few hours before NC State’s bowl win when highly rated offensive lineman, Bryce Kennedy switched his commitment from UNC-CH to NC State. Kennedy is 6’2″, 285 lbs, and the 41st ranked OG in the country (according to ESPN) out of Southern Pines. Thread linked here.

 

=====> Donte Paige-Moss continues to be the gift that keeps giving to NC State fans. A lot of good detail, conversation and related links are available by clicking here.

 

=====> The Wolfpack basketball team takes the floor tonight against Campbell in an attempt to stay on course for completing the non-conference schedule with a respectable 11-4 record (against one of the toughest OOC schedules in the country). The Wolfpack currently ranks 60th in the RPI having played the 20th toughest schedule in the country. There is still a lot of basketball to be played, but a rudimentary projection model from RealtimeRPI.com projects the Pack to finish 21-10 for the season with a resume that would easily qualify Mark Gottfried’s first team for the NCAA Tournament.

 

=====>Speaking of basketball, Rodney Purvis is currently playing in Raleigh and was on the radio this morning. You can click here for that conversation and also click here for our tag archive of past Purvis conversations. Pack Pride has linked Purvis’ interview here.

 

 

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40 Responses to Trending on Thursday

  1. BassPacker 12/29/2011 at 11:15 PM #

    BJD95, Campbell was no patsy. They were 11-1 and ranked in the top 25 before one of their key players got hurt during VT game. Campbell still has one of the leading scorers in Div 1 play. It was a good win for Pack.

  2. Tau837 12/29/2011 at 11:38 PM #

    ^Bass, your post is pretty far off. Campbell was 8-2 going into the Virginia Tech game and I don’t think they have been ranked in the top 25 at any point this year.

    Campbell was 8-5 coming into tonight’s game, with an RPI of 185 per RealTimeRPI. They had lost 4 straight coming into the game, including losses to Houston Baptist, Appalachian State, and UNC-W, in addition to a 25 point loss at Virginia Tech.

    They are indeed a patsy.

  3. ancsu87 12/30/2011 at 1:11 AM #

    They were 8-2 going into the VT game and they were ranked on December 13 at 8-1:
    “For the first time in the program’s history, Campbell University is ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 men’s basketball poll.

    Off to the team’s best start (8-1) in the school’s Division I era (since 1977-78), Campbell is rated 25th in the Dec. 12 poll, which is selected by a 31-member voting panel of mid-major head coaches.

    With 64 points in this week’s poll, Campbell is 15 points behind 24th-place Loyola (Md.) and two in front of Valparaiso heading into Wednesday’s 7:05 p.m. (CST) tip-off at Houston Baptist.”

    They did beat ECU and Iowa (at Iowa with a RPI of 195). They were 8-5 coming into the game with us with an RPI of 180.

  4. Tau837 12/30/2011 at 2:15 AM #

    ^When someone just says “top 25” that implies AP top 25 or possibly coaches poll top 25. Not the mid-major top 25 poll.

    Regardless, the RPI says all that needs to be said. They are a patsy.

    Of course I am glad State won. But no one should kid themselves about the quality of this win.

  5. stillapackfan 12/30/2011 at 2:23 AM #

    Again, we are being delusional Pack fans. This was NOT a quality win nor was the Bonnies. Also, need I remind you that we beat Texas while their leading scorer was on the bench. Frankly, I’m worried about what’s in store for the Pack this year. I really don’t see them even being a bubble team.

  6. gotohe11carolina 12/30/2011 at 3:06 AM #

    has anyone called steven rivers to find out if he wants to be 3rd on the depth chart at lsu still. they just landed a top 5 recruit for qb. maybe its time we see if he’s interested in coming and seeing if he can show big brother up here…

  7. Wufpacker 12/30/2011 at 3:53 AM #

    Have to agree with Tau. Mid Major Top 25 ain’t the same as top 25 (AP or Coaches). I didn’t even know anyone bothered to rank a top 25 for mid majors. And Campbell is a patsy, a cupcake, a creampuff….whatever you want to call it. But they shot pretty dang well and we gutted a win out of a classic trap game. Still counts as a W.

  8. Wulfpack 12/30/2011 at 7:51 AM #

    Yes, Campbell is a cupcake. But we won – disaster avoided. Also saw where ECU took it to NCCU pretty good. Really interested to see how this team performs in conference play.

  9. BassPacker 12/30/2011 at 8:42 AM #

    I stand corrected on Campbell was 8-1, my type error. But….Campbell is not a pansy this season. Delaware State and Northeastern are pansies. When was the last time NCSU was ranked nationally? Campbell has players in top percentages of national stats, Griffin is a future NBA star. Injuries helped them lose close games during their last games. When healthy, you will see Campbell make a run for the NCAA. Unfortunately, the best team in the mid majors does not get in unless they win their conference tournament, and we have all seen that keep the best overall team out.

    Campbell is traditionally a program that is a cupcake even though they have beaten State before. I’m not saying this is not a game Pack should NOT win specially at home… just giving Campbell some respect when they are a good team this season and when healthy will beat higher profile programs.

  10. Texpack 12/30/2011 at 9:36 AM #

    I have the same concern about this team I had at the beginning of the year, shooting. We are winning games by dominating the offensive glass. Just playing against ACC players will cut into our ability to win games that way. We have to find more consistent shooting. It is nice to see that we use our rebounding advantage to get out and run and create easy baskets. Without the transition points in ACC play we will have some long dry spells.

  11. Prowling Woofie 12/30/2011 at 10:02 AM #

    Wood’s gotta get more than 7-8 shots a game. State let Campbell take him out of the game in the second half last night, and that can’t happen… If he’s not taking 12-15 shots a night to open the defense a little, we won’t win many.

  12. wolfbuff 12/30/2011 at 11:46 AM #

    Guys, I was at the game last night. Campbell is a good scrappy team. They might not be good from an RPI perspective, but I expect that it will rise through the season and they will make a run at their conference title. Granted, the win is not likely to help our NCAA resume but they are not cupcake city.

    As for improving our chances for quality wins, I think it’s about turnovers. We are way too sloppy with the ball. Our free throw shooting has gotten a lot better. We need to make them when it counts though. Scotty stands around too much and doesn’t always work for his shot. But then neither do I see a lot of off the ball screens to try and get him open. And he makes too many stupid fouls and his defense is generally atrocious. If it weren’t for our depth problems, he would not play as much as he does in my opinion. CJW also continues to struggle with the cramps – both in his leg and his brain sometimes. I’ll have to say his brain cramps are fewer and farther between. But, damn dude, drink some Gatorade. They should hook him up to an IV when he’s on the sideline.

  13. Tau837 12/30/2011 at 12:07 PM #

    Not sure how much Campbell’s RPI can improve now that they will be mostly playing Big South games. 7 of the 11 teams in that conference are currently ranked 218 or worse at RealTimeRPI. Campbell’s SOS rank is 321. And they have now lost 5 straight, including 3 bad losses (from an RPI perspective).

  14. JEOH2 12/30/2011 at 12:11 PM #

    People are glossing over UVA…a team that has only lost one game over the course of the season and is currently ranked in the Top 25…unfortunately we only play them once, but it is on the road after the UNC game. If we are able to steal a victory there (while avoiding any slip ups) we should be a bubble team.

    While I agree that we don;t look flawless and ACC play will challenge this team, I would argue that all the teams in the ACC are fatally flawed…enough so that every game (besides anyone who plays BC) will be competitive. Losing between 5-8 games is certainly possible, if not likely…

  15. ancsu87 12/30/2011 at 9:03 PM #

    I was also surprised to learn that there was a mid-major top 25 poll. I was just trying to show where basspacker might have come up with the fact that they were ranked #25.

    My opinion would be that the Campbell game was a pasty but then again we did win and RC was sold out. Way to go Pack fans!

    At the end of the day, I see this team playing better than any team I ever saw under Les (expect for his first one with JV players) or Sid. Our season so far sure beats 4-8 with one of the four being over North Dakota State on a buzzer beater!!

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