Thursday Compendium

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March 1st, 2012

NC STATE BASKETBALL
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Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Wolfpack’s Alex Johnson comes through in clutch

With Williams enduring a rough senior night, Johnson gave the Wolfpack a welcomed boost. He sacrificed his body defensively and provided N.C. State with a second ball-handler, finding open teammates without putting possessions at risk.

And when Johnson needed to knock down two key free throws with 29.7 seconds left, he delivered, remaining poised even as Miami’s Malcolm Grant jokingly offered to give him $200 if he missed both attempts.

“We’ve kind of let a lot of easy games slip away from us,” Johnson said. “It’s not that we’re not good enough, it’s just maturity level. I feel like I bring that to this team. I’ve been in tight spots like this, so I know what to do.”

Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Wolfpack’s NCAA tourney hopes ‘still have a pulse’

Mark Gottfried is a basketball coach, not a doctor. And he didn’t even stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. But that didn’t stop him from making a diagnosis on the postseason hopes of his N.C State basketball late Wednesday night.

“We’re not dead yet,” he said. “We still have a pulse.”

Though the Wolfpack’s chances of breaking its five-year NCAA tournament drought are still very much on life support, at least there are still signs of life after gritting out a season-saving 77-73 victory against Miami at the RBC Center.

State shook off the effects of fatigue, frustration and a disastrous four-game losing streak to play with a sense of urgency it hasn’t had since the second half at Duke two weeks ago. That and the return of junior Scott Wood from the missing-in-action list helped ensure Gottfried’s team of its first .500 or better ACC finish since 2005-06.

The Wolfpack is now 19-11 overall and 8-7 in the league with one game remaining, Saturday at Virginia Tech.

Even if Wednesday’s victory and the performance that helped bring it about don’t end up catapulting State into the NCAA field, it was at least another step forward in the development of a program that is clearly – at long last – heading in the right direction.

JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Leslie leads Pack past Miami with 21 points, 11 rebounds

Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Postgame thoughts from N.C. State-Miami: Mark Gottfried is right; the Wolfpack does have a pulse

2. It’ll be a shame if C.J. Leslie doesn’t get the proper recognition for a fine season. We’ve repeatedly documented that he ranks among the ACC’s top 10 in points, rebounds, steals, blocks and field-goal percentage. He had another strong game Wednesday, posting 21 points (on 7-for-10 shooting), 11 rebounds and three blocks. During one sequence, he fired a pass to Lorenzo Brown while making an acrobatic save on the defensive end, sprinted the length of the court and dunked an alley-oop pass from Brown. Right now, I’d have Leslie solidly on the all-ACC second team with Florida State’s Michael Snaer and UNC’s Kendall Marshall. Maryland’s Terrell Stoglin is probably in that group, and I’d currently round it out with Duke’s Seth Curry.

GoPack.com
Wolfpack Outlasts Miami, 77-73

Led by C.J. Leslie’s double-double of 21 points and 11 rebounds, NC State pulled out a thrilling 77-73 win over Miami on Senior Night. The Wolfpack improves to 19-11 (8-7 ACC) with the win, while the Hurricanes fall to 17-11 (8-7 ACC). NC State is now 5-0 all-time against the Miami at the RBC Center.

NC State completes the season sweep of the Hurricanes, who came in with seven wins in the last 10 games, as the Pack won earlier in Coral Gables, 78-73.

“Our team’s resilience really impressed me,” said head coach Mark Gottfried. “The last couple weeks we’ve had a series of tough games and our guys responded with a desire to compete. They showed we’re not dead yet, they’ve got a lot of fight in them, and they stepped up and made some big, big plays.

“Richard Howell played terrific, Scott Wood shot the ball incredibly well, C.J. Williams rallied to contribute for us, we had great performances from everybody. That’s what we needed to come in and win a tough ballgame.”

GoPack.com
Official Basketball Box Score — Game Totals — Final Statistics

Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
Wolfpack pulls out 77-73 home win over Hurricanes

NC State made enough big plays down the stretch to snap its four-game losing streak.

NC State sophomore power forward C.J. Leslie set the tone early and played a near-complete game to finish with 21 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots, in the Wolfpack’s 77-73 win Wednesday in front 14,682 fans at the RBC Center.

NC State improved to 19-11 overall and 8-7 in the ACC. The Wolfpack play at Virginia Tech at 6 p.m. Sunday. Both NC State and Miami are fighting to be among the 68 NCAA Tournament teams, but the Hurricanes fell to 17-11 overall and 8-7 in the league.

Leslie said he was challenged this week to step up and become more of a leader and create energy for the Wolfpack. Leslie has scored 20-plus points in three of his last four games.

“I’m just motivating my team right now,” said Leslie, who had his fifth double-double for points and rebounds this season. “We have find somewhere to get it going. We had lost four straight games, so we knew we had to come out and get this one. We wanted this one.

“We’ve been having trouble finishing it, so that’s big for us, and we’ll take that.”

JOEDY McCREARY (AP)
Leslie leads NC State past Miami 77-73

C.J. Leslie had 21 points and 11 rebounds, and North Carolina State withstood a late charge from Miami to beat the Hurricanes 77-73 on Wednesday night.

Lorenzo Brown added 16 points and Scott Wood had 15 with five 3-pointers for the Wolfpack (19-11, 8-7 Atlantic Coast Conference).

They shot 50 percent (28 of 56) and kept Miami winless in Raleigh, while snapping a four-game losing streak and locking up their first .500 finish in league play since they were 10-6 in 2006. That was also the last time the Wolfpack made the NCAA tournament.

Rion Brown scored 15 points and Malcolm Grant added 14 for Miami (17-11, 8-7). Grant’s 3-pointer — with Lorenzo Brown’s hand in his face — tied it at 69 with 1:36 left. Wood countered with a 3 from the wing that restored the Wolfpack’s three-point lead with 1:07 left.

Joe Ovies (WRALSportsfan.com)
Triangle ACCtion: COY, POY and what to do with Hess

According to Joe Giglio, Karl Hess was scheduled to make his return to the RBC Center following the infamous ejections of Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani. The ACC took him off the game in an apparent attempt to further kill the story and it’s not much of a guess to think the conference office isn’t pleased with this news floating out there. The scheduling of officials is supposed to be kept under wraps.

However, the news was going to get out whether Hess worked the game or not. His first game back is going to be news, whether it happened tonight against Miami or at some point next season against a non-conference opponent in December. Pulling him off the game is a bad look, since it only delays the inevitable. NC State fans are going to give that guy hell.

It also sets a potentially bad precedent. Hess isn’t the first ref to screw something up and he won’t be the last. They went out of their way to not suspend Hess, but explain to me the difference in this situation. He’s still not working a game. In addition, what’s to stop a fan base from making the environment unpleasant enough to force the ACC to reconsider an assignment? The home office in Greensboro comes off as weak here.

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

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GoPack.com
Inside Wolfpack Sports – Tom Gugliotta & Chris Corchiani

In today’s episode Don Shea visits with Tom Gugliotta & Chris Corchiani, members of the 1989 NC State ACC regular-season championship team.

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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40 Responses to Thursday Compendium

  1. CaptainCraptacular 03/01/2012 at 8:06 AM #

    Does that mean Howell took the $200 for missing the two after that.

  2. logarithm 03/01/2012 at 8:37 AM #

    What a game! I haven’t checked SportsCenter today but I’ll be shocked if Leslie’s steal, pass, sprint, alley-oop isn’t in the top 10 plays. Great play from Zo as well to maintain control and then have his eyes up. Coach even tweeted to ESPN and asked everyone to retweet it to get it on the list.

  3. PackerInRussia 03/01/2012 at 8:49 AM #

    “And when Johnson needed to knock down two key free throws with 29.7 seconds left, he delivered, remaining poised even as Miami’s Malcolm Grant jokingly offered to give him $200 if he missed both attempts.”

    We will probably be put on probation for this.

  4. wolfie91 03/01/2012 at 8:53 AM #

    Fantastic senior night for Johnson! He had such a look of confidence during those free throws. Based on the things he tweets, I bet he was praying over those free throws! Glad we got him for this season. I feel bad for Williams. Hopefully he can have some great games in the ACCT to finish up his career.

  5. PackerInRussia 03/01/2012 at 8:54 AM #

    “what’s to stop a fan base from making the environment unpleasant enough to force the ACC to reconsider an assignment? The home office in Greensboro comes off as weak here.”

    I’m betting there are some on this site who might wonder why this particular situation makes them weak while some others do not. Anyway,five minutes within earshot of some coaches makes an environment unpleasant for an official. But, this isn’t about a fan base making the environment unpleasant. It’s about Karl Hess and a really bad decision.

  6. UpstateSCWolfpack 03/01/2012 at 9:00 AM #

    Okay, so maybe I missed any discussion on this already, and I didn’t pickup on it when the football schedule came out the other day. But, did anyone else notice that for the sixth year in a row, we are having to go on the road for our ACC opener? Come on, Swofford got his feelings hurt last year when TOB complained about it and just had to stick it to us again? We need to make this into just as big a deal as the Hess mess.

  7. TheCOWDOG 03/01/2012 at 9:04 AM #

    @Joe

    Joe, if you’re out there…what may make the ACC appear weak, makes NC State look strong.

    You don’t believe that Hess’s removal was a voluntary act by the ACC office, do you?

    To be honest, I’d be more than a bit surprised to see Hess work another State home game for quite some time.

  8. tvopack 03/01/2012 at 9:05 AM #

    Karl Hess made a fool of himself. Swofford et al. aren’t any better on handling it and now they have to live the nightmare they wish for.

  9. packbackr04 03/01/2012 at 9:24 AM #

    we would have lost last night with Hess Working the game….. but seriously, if Hess and the ACC had come out and apologized and admitted he was wrong, the issue would go away much quicker. the ACC has made their bed by basically sticking up for the guy who was way out of line. They still havent even told anyone what the “excessive demonstration” was that got Googs and Corch kicked out. the ACC doesnt look weak, they are actually proving us right. they look like a bunch incompetent morons who would rather protect the blues than do whats right for the league and ALL of its members.

  10. PoppaJohn 03/01/2012 at 9:30 AM #

    DY says, “I don’t want that Hess boy IN MY HOUSE!!!” (in my mind)

  11. Texpack 03/01/2012 at 9:33 AM #

    At the beginning of the year I think most people would have said fourth place in the ACC was our ceiling. With a win @ VT we finish fifth in all likelihood. I think that is precisely where we belong in the conference standings. This team is so much fun to watch when they get out in the open floor and run.

    The GT, UVa, Duke, and Clemson game will eat on everybody if we don’t make the tournament. It’s a shame we couldn’t convert 1 or two of those. I didn’t get to watch last night due to family activities but it looks like Wood came off the MIA list and Howell had his best offensive game in sometime.

  12. Master 03/01/2012 at 9:39 AM #

    packbakr04 – “if Hess and the ACC had come out and apologized and admitted he was wrong, the issue would go away much quicker. the ACC has made their bed by basically sticking up for the guy who was way out of line.”

    You are 100% exactly right. The ACC needs to admonish Hess publicly for making a boneheaded, egotistical spectacle of himself and embarrassing two former 1st team All-ACC players. Then Hess needs to apologize to the players and admit he was wrong. Anything short of that and you have a contritionless explanation that satisfies no one who was wronged. Our fans should continue to exert pressure until this is rectified or acknowledged.

  13. YogiNC 03/01/2012 at 9:45 AM #

    The officiating was still dreadful. The phantom fouls, especially the one on Leslie, were terrible. Roger the Dodger did his best to keep up from winning.

  14. PackerInRussia 03/01/2012 at 10:00 AM #

    I’d really like to see the CJ Leslie dunk sequence that was mentioned if anyone comes across a video link. The link on FRS ended up being an Orlando Magic game, so I was forced to follow the Gamecast.

  15. ryebread 03/01/2012 at 10:02 AM #

    It was odd that the team that was down in the second half on the road and who only made 3 point baskets kept getting to the line again and again and again………….

    Good win last night. We gutted one out. I was really happy for Alex Johnson. I felt bad for CJW, who seemed to get knocked in the head.

    If we can pull out a win against VT on Saturday, we’ll finish 9-7 in league play and 20-11 overall. That’s exactly what I’d predicted before the season which would mean that for the first time in years our basketball team actually met some semblance of realistic expectations. More importantly it really is positive step — to go from the league cellar up into the top half and finishing with more conference wins than losses.

    Go beat the Hokies on Saturday! Don’t underestimate how fired up they’re going to be. They’re playing for senior day as well as for their coach’s job.

  16. wolfbuff 03/01/2012 at 10:04 AM #

    Terrific win last night. Officiating was bad, as usual for the ACC these days. But the team kept their heads in the game, adapted and overcame. After a LONG time on the bench with 3 fouls, Howell came out and played about as well as I’ve seen him play. He was rebounding, knocking down 10-12 foot jumpers, playing solid, smart defense. It’s like a lightbulb came on for him. Not to downplay the all-star game that Leslie had. But I thought Howell’s play in the second half was the difference for us. Great to also see AJ and Painter contribute strong off the bench and, of course, to see Wood come out of his slump. And, yes, the play of the game was the play by CJ. My brain had hardly processed what he did near the baseline on the defensive end with the steal and pass to Zo, when he was skying for the alley-oop on the other end. That play was almost a microcosm of the difference in the team from last year. Active defense, hustle, fast-break, finish. And with the mental toughness the team showed, I’m hoping they’ve regained their confidence for a strong finish at VT and post-season run.

  17. graywolf 03/01/2012 at 10:11 AM #

    “we would have lost last night with Hess Working the game….. but seriously, if Hess and the ACC had come out and apologized and admitted he was wrong, the issue would go away much quicker. the ACC has made their bed by basically sticking up for the guy who was way out of line. They still havent even told anyone what the “excessive demonstration” was that got Googs and Corch kicked out. the ACC doesnt look weak, they are actually proving us right. they look like a bunch incompetent morons who would rather protect the blues than do whats right for the league and ALL of its members.”

    The game last night was bad enough with Ayers on the floor….its the first ACC game we have won that he officiated. And the last 4 minutes was Ayers’ attempt to keep us down.

  18. Packfan28 03/01/2012 at 10:23 AM #

    Two of Jeremy Lin’s lob passes made ESPN’s Top 10 plays. The one Zo made to CJL from just over half court was far more spectacular than either of those.

  19. Prowling Woofie 03/01/2012 at 10:24 AM #

    Ayers and crew were horrible last night – per usual.

    Kudos to the guys for sticking with the game plan and fighting through. Calvin was terrific, start to finish, Brown had his moments, Wood shot the ball like he’s supposed to (thank God !), but I thought Howell’s 13 minutes in the second half – after starting the half on the bench – were inspired. He looked focused, determined, and got Big Reggie to commit the stupid fouls that sent him to the bench early.

    Coaching decision to attack the rim (unless the players came up with it on their own) after halftime was brilliant. Miami could not stop Leslie, and Brown could’ve gotten to the rim as much as he wanted.

    Good win – nice to see the guys finish one ! Pluck the Turkeys on Sunday !!!

  20. jbpackfan 03/01/2012 at 10:34 AM #

    That was such a fun game last night. Both teams played pretty well for the most part. That last 2 minutes had me sweating, as memories of UVA and Clemson swirled around in my head. So proud of the win.

    Kudos to Howell for not picking up a foul in the 2nd half while playing solid D and hitting some key shots down the stretch. Johnson, Brown and Leslie were all exceptional, and Wood finally found his stroke. State needs to play that way on Sunday to keep it going.

  21. TheCOWDOG 03/01/2012 at 11:15 AM #

    Let me steal a little something from the new troll, Stillawhatever.

    I save my ref bashing for games that they deserve it.

    Reach in, lazy footwork fouls, hacking jump shooters…what the hell do you expect?

    Hey, State coulda salted that game away sooner had they cashed in on their own charities, which were plentiful.

  22. old13 03/01/2012 at 11:17 AM #

    It was a great game to watch last night. Among many other things, I was really impressed with Gott’s switching of personnel in the final minute or two, having Wood in for O and then switching to CJW for D at alternating timeouts. And at the end, having all good FT shooters in the game. While I know all of that is pretty much SOP for any good coach, it’s been a while since I’ve seen such from a Wolfpack BB coach!

  23. Wulfpack 03/01/2012 at 11:34 AM #

    So many great things happened last night:

    – We break a 4-game losing skid
    – A win on senior night against a solid opponent
    – The win ensures an 8 win conference season
    – We’re still alive on the far edge of the bubble
    – We figured out a way to win a close game down the stretch
    – Calvin was an abolute animal on offense and defense
    – Howell was a monster inside, and played well with fouls
    – Wood breaks out of his shooting slump
    – Zo took advantage of his opportunities and played a solid game
    – Great step-up in play from AJ on offense and defense

    What a difference a year makes. We can lose out as far as I am concerned (not that we will) and it will have been a good season compared to year’s past. We should all be very encouraged.

  24. ryebread 03/01/2012 at 11:41 AM #

    CowDog: I agree with you regarding officiating. The game this year that I really thought the officiating hurt us was at Duke. I was @#($)*@#$ mad over that one and still feel like we got jobbed.

    The incident with Corch and Googs against FSU was just bush league and shines the light on the ACC (which is fine by me). We weren’t going to win that game, and weren’t even close when the incident happened. If anything, that gave us one of our few sparks the whole day. Those who think that incident had any real outcome on the game were misguided. That game was lost within the first 10 minutes, like both of our games against FSU were last year.

    My point about the end of game last night was that the flow was a bit weird. One team was pounding it inside, getting out on the break and was playing with the lead. That’s the team that you’d expect to be getting to the line. The other team was going down, taking the air out of the ball and throwing up a three (admittedly making a huge percentage of them down the stretch). That’s not the team you’d expect to see at the line. I was surprised at just how many FTs Miami was able to shoot given those circumstances. It was just that though — mild surprise. The officiating was fairly even, and seemingly equally bad for both teams.

  25. MISTA WOLF 03/01/2012 at 12:04 PM #

    Been stressed out ever since I seen this. Ben Howland is probably going to end being fired at UCLA. At least tha’t my thinking.

    http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/ncb/story/_/id/7629031/ucla-bruins-coach-ben-howland-lost-control-highly-recruited-players-according-report

    Is it a possibility of us losing our man Gott?

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