Wednesday Woolgathering

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February 22, 2012

NC STATE BASKETBALL
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Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Despite loss to North Carolina, N.C. State still has shot at NCAA Tournament bid

Goal unreachable

N.C. State no longer can reach the 11-5 league mark that Gottfried established as a goal, but victories against Clemson (road), Miami (home) and Virginia Tech (road) would put the Wolfpack at 10-6. Only one team – Virginia Tech in 2010 – went 10-6 and missed the NCAA tournament since the field expanded to 64 teams.

The Hokies played a weak nonconference schedule that season, something that’s not true of Gottfried’s first N.C. State team.

Of course, the Wolfpack rarely won those marquee games, notably beating Texas and St. Bonaventure.

“We had some opportunities,” Gottfried said. “We’ve had a lot this year, to be quite honest. I think so many things can happen. We certainly had opportunities to help ourselves, no question. What we have to do now is continue to play really hard and do everything we possibly can and see where we end up.”

That starts with a trip to Clemson, which is 4-2 in ACC home games, and continues at home against Miami, which is currently the last team in ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s field of 68, one spot ahead of the recently displaced Wolfpack. N.C. State won at Miami, and don’t discount the importance of a head-to-head sweep.

Finish strong and a Friday game against Virginia or Miami in the ACC tournament quarterfinals might loom large. That’s speculative, but so is reading the Wolfpack its last rites following the loss to UNC.

“We showed the world we can compete with the best,” Painter said. “We just have to get over that hump. Once we do, I think that run is coming. And once we do, we’re going to shoot straight forward.”

Stephen Schramm (FayObserver.com)
Wolfpack’s defensive plan on Kendall Marshall backfires

Good plan

N.C. State (18-10 overall, 7-6 ACC) wasn’t crazy to treat Marshall that way. Prior to Tuesday night, he’d hit double figures just three times in 27 games. His career high for 3-pointers in a game was two.

In the fishbowl that it is North Carolina basketball, these offensive numbers drew critics.

But on the night that saw all five North Carolina starters hit double figures for the first time all season, it was Marshall – who hit four of five 3-point attempts – who had the touch.

“You play him like Rondo and he scores like D. Rose,” Tar Heels forward Harrison Barnes said. “.(He’s) green-lighted, the No. 1 option. Nah, he did a great job tonight. It’s nice to see all the hard work he put in over the summer. I think he was getting some criticism early on in the season that he was an offensive liability and stuff like that. So for him to go out there and show his offensive arsenal this late in the season, when it matters the most, I thought was great.”

It was fitting that with one of the most electric nights in the RBC Center’s basketball history, the player with the constantly calm demeanor was the one who shined.

Marshall’s early buckets helped short-circuit the arena’s energy. His calm leadership during the final minutes kept the Wolfpack from resuscitating it.

He may not have drawn much defensive attention from the Wolfpack early, but by the time he ran off the floor after the game, he had the spotlight all to himself.

Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Fans get impatient as season winds down

Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Tom Gugliotta, Chris Corchiani and Debbie Yow share thoughts on ejection, honoring of 1989 team

On being back for the UNC game …
“It’s going to be fine. These fans at State, this is going to spur a little bit, but they’re great fans. They don’t need this little thing to make them go wild for a Carolina game. They love this game and they love N.C. State no matter who we play. There’s a little bit more added incentive that they’re acknowledging the 1989 team, that this happened very recently. I think a lot of, maybe, frustration has been let out. We’ve been walked on for a while, by our own conference at times, and we’ve got to demand respect. It has to come from within. It’s not going to come from outside this program. I think the folks here are well-aware of that and are on their way to much better times in this conference.”

Stephen Schramm (FayObserver.com)
Lively scene, intriguing future suggests ACC should preserve N.C. State/UNC series

Not only does the rivalry have a storied past, it also has a potentially intriguing future.

Consider this. If underclassmen John Henson and Harrison Barnes bolt Chapel Hill for the NBA after this season – which is very possible – North Carolina will feature a much younger and likely less-daunting team next season. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack could still have regulars like Richard Howell, Scott Wood, Lorenzo Brown and possibly C.J. Leslie. Throw in a recruiting class with three McDonald’s All-Americans and suddenly the Wolfpack’s clashes with the Tar Heels look much more even.

North Carolina has owned the rivalry’s recent history, but there’s no guarantee that dominance will extend beyond this season.

[snip]

“It different from Duke,” Barnes said. “It’s a hate. It’s a distaste. They don’t want to see us. They loathe the color blue. They just want to see all misfortune happen to us when we walk in here. As we come in here, it’s great. We love it, we kind of embrace it. It helps us play better. … At Duke it’s kind of a ‘Oh, we really dislike you.’ Here it’s like, ‘We hate you. Anything that befalls you, we applaud.’ It’s like, ‘Ok, that’s really how you feel.’”

If you’re the ACC, are you sure you want to end this just when it could be getting good?

CAULTON TUDOR (N&O)
Debbie Yow leading the Wolfpack through Hess mess

ANDREW CARTER (N&O)
Corchiani, Gugliotta back at RBC

JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Tar Heels tame Wolfpack – again

LUKE DECOCK (N&O)
Not all is lost for Wolfpack

GoPack.com
State falls to No. 7 North Carolina

Even as NC State nearly doubled North Carolina’s inside scoring on Tuesday night, the No. 7 Tar Heels hit twice their average in 3-point shots and raced to an 86-74 victory in front of a sell-out crowd at the RBC Center.

The Heels (24-4, 11-2 ACC) average only five baskets from beyond the arc this season, but had seven by halftime and a total of 10 for the game. UNC sophomore guard Kendall Marshall, who had only made six 3-pointers against ACC opponents this season, hit a career-high four of his five long-range shots en route to a team-high 22 points.

Still, State (18-10, 7-6) had strong play from its front court, led by a career-high 24 points and a season-high 12 rebounds from sophomore C.J. Leslie before he fouled out with 1:09 remaining in the game. Junior Richard Howellhad nine points and 10 rebounds for the Pack, which outscored Carolina 42-22 in the paint and 16-8 on second chance points.

NC State coach Mark Gottfriedsaid the team’s game plan was to limit the Tar Heels’ inside scoring, figuring a team that had the third-fewest 3-pointers in the ACC might struggle with its outside shooting on the road.

“You have to try to take away something,” Gottfried said. “They have been so dominant in the paint this year, we wanted to try to take that away and see how much we could make them miss from the outside.”

GoPack.com
Box Score

Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
Coaching staff’s chemistry shines through for Pack

“Staff chemistry is important,” Gottfried said. “Staff ability is important as well. When I was at Alabama and had a chance to watch Bobby’s staff at Charlotte, I always felt they worked extremely hard. They worked hard at recruiting, and their teams were hard to play against.”

Early and Moxley were both assistant coaches under Lutz at Charlotte, and Early also was part of Gottfried’s staff at Alabama.

“Our objective is to have the best staff in the country, period,” Gottfried said. “That was my goal and [athletics director] Debbie [Yow] shared that same goal. Let’s get the best staff possible.”

PackPride.com
Locker Room Report: Mark Gottfried

“We’ve had some opportunities, we’ve had a lot this year. So many things can happen. We certainly had opportunities to help ourselves, no question. What we have to do now is to continue to play really hard and see what where we end up. That’s where we are, but we just haven’t been quite good enough to get over that hump. This team has to find a way to do that.”

“[Scott Wood] hasn’t shot it well lately, and we’re a different team when he scores 12, 15, 18 points. When you look at the games when he’s shot the ball well, it changes us offensively. We need him to play and shoot the ball better.”

“Our guys competed, they got themselves regrouped and ready to play, but tonight, Carolina was pretty good. I liked how we competed.”

Aaron Schoonmaker (WRALSportsfan.com)
Career nights, disappearing acts and repetition

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

microphone

WRALSportsfan.com
Gottfried: We have to keep playing hard

WRALSportsfan.com
Corchiani, Guggliotta back at RBC Center for Tuesday’s UNC game

WRALSportsfan.com
Ovies: UNC, NC State rivalry helped build the ACC

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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36 Responses to Wednesday Woolgathering

  1. UpstateSCWolfpack 02/22/2012 at 9:14 AM #

    http://www.alumniblog.ncsu.edu/2012/02/20/south-carolina-dmv-set-to-offer-nc-state-specialized-plate/

    Attention all SC residents.

  2. GAWolf 02/22/2012 at 9:32 AM #

    I absolutely love how Tom and Chris have handled this thing. It’s simply first rate PR. They simply could not have handled it one teeny ounce better. The video interview above is representative of that.

    Now that the UNC game is over, we cannot let this feeling of “Us against the World” go.

    Fan the flames!!!!

  3. Slibbidy 02/22/2012 at 10:19 AM #

    “There is no shortage of spunk in N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow.”

    Where is Michael Scott when you need him?

  4. WTNY 02/22/2012 at 10:20 AM #

    *Sigh*

    The NIT is almost like a rite of passage for 1st-year NC State coaches.

  5. 1.21 Jigawatts 02/22/2012 at 10:25 AM #

    First off the fact they have 4 lottery picks versus our Zero means they should win 99/100 games if they played up to their potential every game. We just don’t have the horses to beat them, especially when we play the same style game as they do.

    Outside of UNX constantly pushing off the dribble to make space and never getting called for it, it was a well officiated game. With the exception of a few calls, I didn’t feel the refs were making the game about them but set a tone and stuck with it. Consistent calling throughout the entire game that didn’t interrupt the flow of it. If the acc officials could call every game like that then I wouldn’t say anything about them. When I say every game I mean EVERY game, conference wide. Be consistent. I’m not an avid watcher of B10 or BE basketball but what are they known for?? Letting them play and play physical. I don’t know if that’s like that in every game but you can game plan and learn to play without constantly wondering if something will be a foul one game and not another.

    Finally after looking at the boxscore I was really surprised to see the final numbers:

    UNC
    FG 29-57
    3FG 10-19
    FT 18-24
    Rbs 40 (O = 29)

    NCSU
    FG 29-70
    3FG 3-13
    FT 13-23
    Rbs 40 (O = 22)

    If you break it down, the highest number of 3’s for a game for UNX this season & the difference in made FT’s. That’s the game right there.

    You look at it more you have Marshall who doesn’t score ever goes FG 7-8, 3FG 4-5 for 22 pts.

    On the flip side you have Wood who has disappeared in the biggest games FG 1-5, 3FG 1-4 for 3 pts. Hell AJ was more of a factor in the last 3 games than W has been.

    I’m actually encouraged to see the stats. Plus watching how they didn’t give up the entire game gives me hope for the rest of the season. Not saying we’ll win out and make the NCAAT but that they don’t appear to have thrown in the towel on the rest of the season.

  6. Astral Rain 02/22/2012 at 11:00 AM #

    Should we as a fanbase be public in our praise of the officials from last night, to show that we do recognize good officiating when we see it?

  7. Ashman87 02/22/2012 at 11:40 AM #

    Here’s how a UNC alum at work described the game today. If he had found out before the game started that NCSU was going to outscore UNC in the paint, have the same number of rebounds as UNC, have more offensive rebounds than UNC, and that the winning team was going to make 10-19 threes and 18-24 FT’s while the losing team going to make 3-13 threes and 13-23 FT’s, he said he would not have watched it because he assumed that based on past experiences, i.e.92,95,and 98, that State would have won. After he said all those things, I looked at him in disbelief, knowing that if I had known all those things as well, I would have expected a State win as well.

  8. PackManSJP 02/22/2012 at 11:41 AM #

    I am pleased wiht how the team responed to the opening salvo and hung in there most of the game. The size disadvantage and talent differential was evident in the ssecond half, but I agree with Jigawatts. Make free throws and make a couple more threes, we have a shot or even win

    Is it me or does it seem like every year we play them in RBC, somebody on their teams goes lights out from 3 while our shooter goes cold?

  9. tuckerdorm1983 02/22/2012 at 12:03 PM #

    things are a changing my friends and I am looking forward to 15 or 20 years of NCSU dominance in basketball. They may diss us at the ACC and end our rivarly with UNC but they will regret that. We have a coach with a winning plan and a winning attitude and will bring in winning players to do the job. I think we will win the next three games. I know we can do it. I have sat through many years of being the doormat to UNC and DUKE but they better enjoy it while they can. If we had had a few more players and a little bit more skill on the floor we would have beaten them last night.

  10. tuckerdorm1983 02/22/2012 at 12:10 PM #

    cj leslie just keeps getting better but needs to improve post defense

    zo just keeps getting better and can develop the three ball will be unstoppable

    wood can hit a shot if open, cannot drive to the basket and plays fair defense

    cj williams go player but has been absent for many games. If he plays well we can beat a lot of teams.

    Howell really a fantastic player, but has to avoid the stupid reach in fouls

    painter good and getting better, can hit that straight on shot from about 15 feet

    johnson much improved as the year progresses

    de thaey and harris need to play more

    I think going into the ACCT we stand a good chance of going on a run.

  11. FuquayWolf 02/22/2012 at 12:36 PM #

    Astral Rain said: Should we as a fanbase be public in our praise of the officials from last night, to show that we do recognize good officiating when we see it?

    That’s a great thought. I think we should recognize it when it is good, especially since it seems to be the exception rather than the rule. This game was a perfect example of the refs being in the background, and letting the players on each team shine – exactly as it should be.

    Last night was just a good basketball game, the way an ACC game should be. It was well played by both squads (comparatively few turnovers from both sides), and fouls only played a role late in the game (and only for us, from our lack of depth). Credit to the Holes – our game plan was for them to beat us from outside, and they stepped up and hit the shots. Their depth was also on display, as we just ran out of gas in the second half. Their talent and depth was the difference in the game.

  12. BJD95 02/22/2012 at 12:49 PM #

    It was a finely officiated game, and the proof is in the pudding of last night’s game thread. Lots of traffic, lots of emotion (game threads are essentially live group therapy, where we are at our most hot-headed). Very few ref complaints, and those few were half-hearted.

    I highly doubt there’s another fanbase anywhere that could have been as high-minded after a rivalry game loss as the SFN community last night, especially considering what had transpired over the last five days.

    Thanks, ladies and gentlemen!!

  13. BJD95 02/22/2012 at 12:52 PM #

    One more thought – it was an especially attractive game. There was definite flow, and not chippy despite both sides playing hard and emotionally. I also like how the game officiating rewarded proactive defense instead of trying to fall down repeatedly.

    Every official should apply this simple maxim – if there’s any reasonable doubt on a block/charge call, then you should call a block.

  14. Rick 02/22/2012 at 1:13 PM #

    I think they should put two thrones right behind the scorers table and let Corch and Googs sit there every game. 😉

  15. Rick 02/22/2012 at 1:15 PM #

    At half time of the game last night I was joking with my dad and brother that the first half was called too evenly and that the Swoff would correct that at the half time conference call with officials.

  16. PackerInRussia 02/22/2012 at 2:30 PM #

    Agree on the officiating. I was very pleased with the way it was called. I don’t want games called in our favor. I want them the calls to be fair and few.

    Interesting how the media is taking up the cause to preserve the UNC/State rivalry. Not sure it will happen since it will require a special exception and we ALL know that the ACC tries to treat all league members equally.
    Or maybe it’s just a conspiracy and the UNCentric media wants to see us lose twice to the Tar Heels every year instead of just once 😉
    When’s the new scheduling format supposed to kick in? It would really help the “Remember the Rivalry” camp if we give them some good games and maybe win 1 or 2 before it’s set to start if it’s not too late. This last one could be considered good game #1 in my opinion.

  17. DRW 02/22/2012 at 3:07 PM #

    PackerinRussia: If Cuse and Pitt are able to join next year, the new format is supposed to start then.

  18. 89BSBA 02/22/2012 at 3:11 PM #

    ^ re: preserve the UNC/State rivalry

    My thoughts are that the increase in the size of the conference leaves the idea of a dedicated “home and away” rvialy matchup in the dust.

    And I’m good with that – provided ALL such rivalries are abandoned – even (especially) those between the Blues.

    It’s only fair, after all. Create a balanced rotation, and EVERYONE plays the same number of games with each other conference team over a period of time.

    (Edit – I”m speaking ONLY of Basketball here.)

  19. wolfman1959 02/22/2012 at 3:11 PM #

    Chris and Tom are absolutely FIRST CLASS representatives of this University and I applaud them !!! When they are reviewing that idiot Hess and his unwarranted ejections, I hope that these mens responses are part of that review. HESS IS A JOKE and should be banned from any Wolfpack game or better yet FIRED !!!

  20. Scooter 02/22/2012 at 3:22 PM #

    89BSBA — Our best hope is that the save the rivalry campaign gets their attention and we start winning these games before the new schedule takes effect. Unfortunately, fairness matters the least in matters of money. For what it’s worth, though, I agree with you!

  21. MrPlywood 02/22/2012 at 4:03 PM #

    Haha – I love Gugs mentioning that his 14 y.o. daughter tells him when he’s embarrassing her. So true!

    re: BJD – “One more thought – it was an especially attractive game. There was definite flow, and not chippy despite both sides playing hard and emotionally.”

    So true. Not to beat a dead horse, but the second half of the Dook game was the complete opposite. The quick fouls (heck, even the quick fouls called on Dook) coupled with the numerous timeouts K called completely ruined the flow of that game.

  22. GAWolf 02/22/2012 at 4:45 PM #

    I just hope that if the rivalry does go to one game and somehow the tide ultimately turns and we regain control of it, that we tell them to stick it and refuse to ever play the Heels more than once during the season. Beat them once and give them no chance at redemption.

    That would be okay with me. Highly unlikely as it might be, it would be okay with me.

  23. Ashman87 02/22/2012 at 6:01 PM #

    I don’t think that it’s just the UNCentric media who’s doing this. I think it’s people who enjoy seeing basketball the way it should be played and wanting the best environments about where it should be played. This is why I’m sad that we no longer play in Reynolds because the intimacy there was so strong that State was always able to put up a good fight, where as that is not the case in RBC/PNC.

  24. graywolf 02/22/2012 at 6:38 PM #

    ‘Astral Rain Says:
    February 22nd, 2012 at 11:00 am
    Should we as a fanbase be public in our praise of the officials from last night, to show that we do recognize good officiating when we see it?’

    The head of NCAA officiating was at the game last night with Debbie Yow……they had to call a fair game.

  25. john of sparta 02/22/2012 at 7:13 PM #

    if we want one home UNX MBB game every year, we’ll have to sell it.
    every conference school wants one every year. Wake lost last time.
    so…what “really nice thing” will we offer to get it?
    a non-conference slot? we would have to offer Big$$$
    to the Holes to do this.

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