NC State @ Michigan Open Entry

12-13 Basketball44

A MAJOR opportunity for NC State’s struggling men’s basketball team to find some redemption after struggling with focus, effort and fundamentals in the early part of the season.

Lorenzo Brown and CJ Leslie need to break through their funks if Mark Gottfried’s Wolfpack is to weather the tough atmosphere of Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

12-13 Basketball

44 Responses to NC State @ Michigan Open Entry

  1. BureauOfMines 11/27/2012 at 9:11 PM #

    Yeah, Valentine changed the game with that bad call but we put ourselves in the position for that call to be a game changer. You know good and well what it’s going to be like in league play. To beat UNC or Duke, we’ll need a 15 point lead because the refs will negate 10 points of that.

    Poor defense, too many turnovers and too many missed free throws lost this game. That we battled our way back is encouraging but the deficit was too much to overcome.

  2. sjmac11 11/27/2012 at 9:13 PM #

    “if this doesn’t give them their mojo back, then ……” , really???? to lose again and let’s be honest, another poor lackluster performance. How in the world do we seem to be the only team in the universe that religiously gives extremely good shooters wide open looks or closes at the speed of a sloth. It doesn’t help that we can not get a call to save our lives. From 6th to irrelevant in 6 weeks. Can we please just play hard consistently like…..i’m going to say it…..UNC or DUKE???!!!! Just one damn season please! Just try, leave it on the court or look like you’re interested in doing something other than chomping your gum and taking the ball with reckless abandon coast to coast.

  3. state73 11/27/2012 at 9:28 PM #

    Why does the ACC keep the likes of Valentine and Hess. They are the 2 worst refs in the ACC. Wake up Swofford (or maybe sober up).

  4. RabidWolf 11/27/2012 at 9:30 PM #

    State shot 57.1 percent from field vs. Michigan, which shot 50 percent. Pack outrebounded Wolverines 31-25. I’m proud of the improved effort in this game, agree the ball needs to go inside more, but Zo seemed to figure out what he needed to do. Wood needs to work for his shot more, Warren is a beast, Purvis is going to be very special. Go ‘Pack!

  5. NCSU84 11/27/2012 at 9:44 PM #

    We played hard and shot better than Michigan, but its basic math – they made threes and we made twos. Their team had multiple weapons from the arc, while our main 3pt threat (Wood) was basically silent and not much of a factor. On the bright side, this was a good effort against a legitimate #3 ranked team on their home court. So, while we may drop out of the rankings for a bit, I am still excited about this team and think they can be pretty good as the year progresses.

  6. packfanfornow 11/27/2012 at 9:47 PM #

    RabidWolf is in denial.

  7. ADVENTUROO 11/27/2012 at 9:52 PM #

    RabidWolf,
    Thanks for the stats. The pre-game (radio) show talked about Michigan’s +14 Rebounding Advantage.

    They just shot more and hit more 3’s. Coach G. was very upbeat during the post game interview.

    He is not one to blow sunshine up folks’ orifices….if he was guardedly optimistic in that we were improving, then I tend to believe him.

    There was some lackluster moments, but we did claw back. When the number 3 team supposedly has you in the grave with the coffin nailed shut and it takes a backhoe to finally do the deed, you are a fighter.

    We need to come out strong against UCon and make a statement.

    I do NOT know how many of you realize that playing in the 9:00 game in the “GARDEN” during his Senior Year was one of Jimmy V.’s proudest moments.

    He was then able to coach Iona and beat Louisville (soundly) in the 9:00 game in the Garden. That was his last year at Iona and he said it was the triumph of his career there.

    So, the Pack is going into the Garden to play in the Jimmy V Classic on the 30 Anniversary of the 1983 run. That is really great. Gotta have a good game.

  8. UpstateSCWolfpack 11/27/2012 at 10:20 PM #

    Negative Nancy attitude got to go. And, I admit that have been one too. We do need to live in reality, but we also don’t need to overlook the positives. My mojo statement meant that they looked more like a team tonight then their last two games. There are things that they definitely have to work on communication on the court, and Calvin has to come out of the locker room at the beginning of game like he did in the second half. But, I do feel better about this team, when they got back to within 5 at the end, I saw the intensity back, maybe it was to little to late, but it was there, and maybe, just maybe they can build on this loss, and take the pain and channel it to better play in the future. The Gottfather has proven to inspire, and he will do it again.

  9. UpstateSCWolfpack 11/27/2012 at 10:23 PM #

    Negative Nancy attitudes got to go. And, I admit that I have been one too. We do need to live in reality, but we also don’t need to overlook the positives. My mojo statement meant that they looked more like a team tonight then their last two games. There are things that they definitely have to work on communication on the court, and Calvin has to come out of the locker room at the beginning of game like he did in the second half. But, I do feel better about this team, when they got back to within 5 at the end, I saw the intensity back, maybe it was to little to late, but it was there, and maybe, just maybe they can build on this loss, and take the pain and channel it to better play in the future. The Gottfather has proven to inspire, and he will do it again.

  10. ADVENTUROO 11/27/2012 at 10:34 PM #

    E>M>E>R>G>E>N>C>Y!!!! Call 911. There is a gang of street thugs in white costumes with red trim beating up on a group of young lads (with outstanding grades and academic credentials) and an entire arena is cheering on this mayhem.

    Someone needs to help out the lads in blue as their wounds are getting worse and their leader (on the side) is NOT storming up and down the sideline. He is just standing there in disbelief.

    What a blow out! The lads in light blue have only hit ONE out of SEVENTEEN in the second half.

  11. JohnGalt78 11/27/2012 at 10:56 PM #

    I liked the attitude that developed as the game progressed. it was good to see Lo pull the guys to a huddle and emote. Especially loved seeing Calvin block out CJ most of the game. But our perimeter defense sucked….really…so many wide open, alone in the gym, shot after shot, uncontested 3’s. Gott to get better out there! Holes are getting their tampons impacted….so all is not lost!

  12. JeremyH 11/27/2012 at 11:05 PM #

    I saw shades of March Madness Pack, and that’s a good start back out of our end of semester slump (Puerto Rico/-TurkeyDay hangover). We are very talented but we certainly do have holes, and not just on defense. When Howell is in foul trouble we are thin inside; apparently Wood is our only three point shooter at this time. We have not had multiple solid three point threats since the Sendek era. (That’s right, I said it. This is for you Jeremy Hyatt, Ilian Evtimov, Courtney Fells, Cameron Bennerman, Engin Atsur, Tony Bethel.) I love Scott Wood, but he is way too one-dimensional to play as many minutes as he does. You’re like 6-8 bro!

    We’ll be ok though, remember how many close games we lost where Alex Johnson had not found his groove yet. With more games under their belts the freshmen will be even more solid on both ends. Purvis was tasked to be our defensive stopper and right now he’s in training for it at this level.

  13. gtspack 11/27/2012 at 11:21 PM #

    HOLES GOTT SPANKED!!!!!!!!!!! I can find good in anything.

  14. Tuffy2 11/27/2012 at 11:36 PM #

    Played very good the last 8 to 10 minutes of the game. Once this team gets to the point were they understand who is the true leader then it will start happening night in and night out. We are almost there.

    CJ is a fantastic talented player but I wish he would give the ball up more. The old saying is give it up because it is coming right back at ya.

    UNC loses by 24 to #1 and we lose by 7 to #3. In my eyes they should fall below us in the polls. I would think we will not be kicked out of the top 25 for two reasons. First, we played there and showed how well and explosive of a team we are those last 10 minutes or so and the other reason espn sure as hell needs us to be ranked at the Garden.

    I say we fall to 24 in the AP, and 22 in USA/ESPN poll. What do you folks think?

  15. JohnGalt78Jr 11/27/2012 at 11:36 PM #

    Glad to see a lot of realistic positivism on the board here. I think there is much to feel good about, while still keeping high expectations going forward.

    I often thought when HWSNBN and Sid were coaching: “I don’t need for us to win every game, but it would be nice just to be competitive on a regular basis.” Well, we were competitive tonight, against a very good, well-coached, highly ranked team, on the road, early in the season.

    Things are going in the right direction, and I believe they will only get better as our chemistry improves and our talent finds a way to work together. We can be proud of our boys tonight and excited about the future.

    Personally, I’d like to see:
    1. More shots for Howell.
    2. Fewer shots for CJ.
    3. A continuation of the leadership we got from Lo tonight.
    4. Much more attacking the basket and pounding the ball inside.
    5. Much less settling for jump shots.
    6. More getting to the line.

  16. Tuffy2 11/27/2012 at 11:54 PM #

    Lo
    CJ
    TJ
    RP
    RH

    I like this line-up and I wish SW would come off the bench. There was a lot of talk of TJ starting for RH earlier this year, but I really believe that by now SW as a senior should have found a way to get open enough during a game then he is. I know there are other factors that play into this being a problem. Setting picks and player movement has much to do with it maybe. I know we are a very good passing team when we decide to distibute the ball during the game.

    Given the ball and he still cannot dribble for a shot. He has to be in that perfect spot and that perfect spot does not occur enough in a game these days. Maybe coming off the bench would take some pressure off of him.

  17. JeremyH 11/28/2012 at 12:39 AM #

    Well I think TJ, RP, and SW are all playing starter minutes anyway tonight, which will be typical given how short our bench is (in this past game 36, 29, and 35 resp). But the telling line is RH in foul trouble (30 min) , SW 2-5 from 3 (ergo State 2-9) while Burke/Saauskas 7-12 from 3. I don’t have the box score from OK St in front of me, but our perimeter defense is scary bad, and we are getting beat off the dribble on a regular basis.

    But I really don’t think these are unfixable problems, like some say, so I’ll hypothesize we are just adapting slowly to where we need to be on that end. I’m glad we got these early tests from OK State and Michigan, even if they were loses, as long as it prepares us to kick butt in ACC play. I’m used to us playing cupcakes for the first 10 games of the season (beating them in Sendek years, barely skating by most times in the Lowe era), and then getting our asses handed to us against Duke, UNC, Maryland, FSU, and having to account for a big handful of “automatic” losses when calculating what we need to do to get into the tournament. We still haven’t changed _that_ part.

    Are we bubble team turn world-beater? Get real. But maybe we will be something in between, still a program “on the rise” and not a team that has apexed.

  18. PackerInRussia 11/28/2012 at 12:57 AM #

    As a fan, this is an acceptable loss. Playing #3 on the road early in the season and having a chance to win at the end isn’t bad. It’s the kind of game you can learn from without it being debilitating (like OK St.). You want to lose these games early on and learn from them. On to the specifics:

    To the larger guys who left for more PT…there’s nothing to say except that the gaping hole left when Howell comes out of the game speaks for itself. I was glad to see Vandy be at least semi-productive (was that drive in the line the highlight of his career?). But, if he’s going to let guys get the ball down low with ease and regularity, then he’s nothing more than a Marvin Austin Twitter account – a liability. Still rooting for you, though, and if you simply dunk in any Tar Heel’s face at some point in the season, it will all have been worth it.

    When CJ Leslie got the ball in range of the basket, FOUR yellow jerseys crept closer. By the time he started making his move to the basket, there was a wall of yellow there. Now, I think that the team is better off when he’s aggressive, so I don’t want to see him give the ball up every time, but if they’re going to leave 1 defender for the other 4 players, it can’t be too hard to set a screen for Scott Wood to be open on the opposite side for a pass once in a while at least to keep the defense honest and open up some space for Leslie. Which leads me to my next point:

    Why did Wood act gun shy? There were 2 or 3 times where he had the ball and some space and he took a step toward the basket, then passed. Additionally, giving him the ball when a defender is on him is a complete waste of a pass. He’s great getting open in transition and I think if they used him like I said above, he’d be better too, but if he’s just going to meander around the 3-point line and not get any picks set for him to get open, then he may be exhibiting most patience than any of the big guys that left over the past few years.

    It was nice to see that they CAN play some man-to-man defense. Hopefully they can build from this experience and maybe come away with a win of significance next Tuesday.

  19. wilmwolf80 11/28/2012 at 8:09 AM #

    The glaring question from the game for me is this: why were we not shooting more free throws? A look at our shot distribution will tell you that we took 90+ percent of our shots inside the three point line, with many of those being inside the paint. The argument that the blue teams always have is that they are more aggressive going to the basket, which is why they shoot more FTs than everyone else. The fact is, despite our talent and preseason rankings, we are not getting any respect from the zebras. Has it cost us a game? Probably not. But if fouls continue to be called the way they have been, then we are going to have a hard time in the ACC.

    And as for Teddy “Center of Attention” Valentine: I have never in my life seen an offensive player called for a hook foul when they had both hands on the ball. Let alone a star player in the final minute of the game. Again, while that call didn’t effect the final outcome, it was horrendous, utterly horrendous.

    Going forward, we have to keep the intensity up, and we have to figure out a way to earn some respect in the paint.

1 2

Leave a Reply