Champions or Also-Rans? Wolfpack Players Will Have To Decide Which They Want To Be

This year’s NC State team has a simple question they need to ask themselves: are we willing to do what it takes to be champions?

Judging by the results during the Duke game, the answer would have seemed like it was “yes.”  Ever since, not so much.

Compare and contrast: against Duke, NC State shot 50.8% from the field, went 4-8 from beyond the three point mark and when they were at the foul line with a chance to score, they knocked in twenty of twenty-three attempts.  And during the game itself, every time the Blue Devils tried to assert themselves and take over the game, the Pack’s players put their foot down, stopped Blue Devil runs and proceeded to roll up their sleeves and get needed baskets time after time when they needed to keep Duke in their rear view mirror.  Collectively, it was a solid effort that demonstrated what the 2012-2013 edition of NC State basketball was capable of: playing a solid game and beating perhaps any team in the country.

Ever since, a different team seems to be wearing Wolfpack uniforms: they shot a miserable 31.1% from the field against a lesser Maryland team, and from the free throw line, made only 58% of their attempts.  Despite that bad performance, while leading by one with a chance to win if they could stop Maryland’s last-gasp attempt at the buzzer, two NC State players inexplicably tried to block Pe’Shon Howard’s errant jumper — leaving Maryland’s Alex Len unguarded beneath the rim.  Len easily dropped the ball into the basket at the buzzer and NC State lost a game that it should have won despite itself.

That Maryland loss — road game or no road game — was one that can be blamed solely on a lack of mental discipline and consistency of effort.  The last shot only typified the night: a breakdown in discipline had led time after time to easy Terrapin baskets, and when the Wolfpack had the ball, all too often it seemed like one or two of the NC State players on the floor weren’t too interested in making the Maryland defense work very hard.  That in turn led to difficult and well-defended shots that missed their mark, and NC State found baskets hard to come by.

That trend of lax play continued in the next Wolfpack game back in Raleigh, this time against Clemson, another team that no basketball pundits would label a powerhouse on either end of the floor.  Perhaps thinking it won the game by simply running out of the dressing room before tipoff, State turned in another subpar effort: 45% from the floor and slightly less than 61% from the free throw line.  The Pack, lucky that night that it wasn’t playing a leading ACC foe, eeked out an ugly four point 66-62 win.

Last night’s second half against Wake Forest, however, was probably the worst twenty minutes of basketball for NC State this season.  Leading by twelve after the first half of play, State somehow turned Wake Forest into the reincarnation of John Wooden’s UCLA teams of yore: the Demon Deacons thrashed the Pack 51-37 and won a seemingly unlikely victory against a ranked opponent.

Credit where it is due: Wake wanted to win more than NC State, and held on to hand the Pack yet another W-T-F loss.  A closer look, however, shows the same problems: a decided lack of defensive intensity, poor shooting from the field and the free throw line and an inability to will itself back into the form it is capable of except when the team is in deep trouble and about to get blown out.  With around four minutes left, State trailed by ten points yet had a chance to tie or win at the end.  Which leads to a simple question: where was that effort with eight minutes to go?  Where was it at the start of the second stanza of basketball?

And that leads to the question posed at the start: are NC State’s players willing to do what it takes to be champions?

Frankly, right now, it doesn’t look like it.  It shows in the lack of defensive urgency.  It shows in lapses of offensive effort, which makes the opponent’s job easier – most teams can defend 3-on-5 pretty well when two Wolfpack players decide to be spectators.

It most definitely shows from the charity stripe. While not everyone is going to be a free-throw sharpshooter, any player can will themselves into being a reliable scorer from the line.  All it takes is the proper fundamentals and plenty of practice.  Lots and lots of it.

Julius Hodge, one of my favorite Wolfpack players in the modern era, took himself from being a mediocre free throw artist to a very dependable scorer from the line during his time in Raleigh.  He did it with dedication, hard work and then some more hard work.  He made his free throw shot into a good one grooved into muscle memory that he could depend on when game pressure was at its greatest.  When asked about it, Hodge uttered one of my favorite sentences ever to come out of a Wolfpack player’s mouth: “Champions are made when no one is watching.”

All due respect to Hodge, champions are also made in the heat of battle on the court, and to be a winner, you have to play every play like you want to win, in fact, like losing is an impossible outcome.

And that’s what NC State needs to show up with for every game, not just the Dukes, the Carolinas and the other top programs.  It needs it night after night for EVERY opponent.  If they choose not to, as they have in their last three games, they’ll forever be remembered by State fans as a team that didn’t have the heart to do what it took to be great.

12-13 Basketball ACC & Other College Basketball NCS Basketball

54 Responses to Champions or Also-Rans? Wolfpack Players Will Have To Decide Which They Want To Be

  1. LRM 01/24/2013 at 7:56 AM #

    The team that played Duke is still a scary match up in March. Hopefully that team shows up Saturday night against a much-improved UNC team.

  2. PoppaJohn 01/24/2013 at 8:03 AM #

    “The KenPom site has us losing 4 of the next 5 games …”
    Holy crap! Those guys are pretty good, I’m betting it will happen.

    Most of the posters have kept their composure so far, wonder how many will be on the ledge when we get from 15-4 to 16-8.

  3. Wolfpack93 01/24/2013 at 8:34 AM #

    I believe the makeup of this team will be determined based on the outcome of the UNC game this weekend:
    1) State wins: our guys play up (or down) to the level of competition, the crowd’s energy and the importance of the game. If we make it the tourney, we do well when it matters most.
    2) UNC wins: internal strife and some players have “checked out”. Remainder of season in question and we’ll be discussing what this team will be like once Gott has all his own recruits.

  4. GotNCState 01/24/2013 at 9:23 AM #

    After they beat Duke, Howell said he was going to take leadership of this team. I see no signs of that. In no way am I inferring that his effort lacks. IT Does Not! Playing as hard as he does does not qualify as taking leadership.

    Team needs an upperclassman to take charge of the team on the court, get ’em fired up when NCState Schit begins to occur…

  5. 61Packer 01/24/2013 at 9:35 AM #

    I’ve yet to see a championship team that wouldn’t play defense and couldn’t shoot free throws.

  6. FergusWolf 01/24/2013 at 9:55 AM #

    ^^ Hungwolf

    Remember that we are playing an 18-game regular season this year. We still have Duke, Miami, 2xUNC, 2x Florida St. left on the schedule

    I’m personally hoping for a 12-6 ACC record (with losses at Duke, Miami, at UNC and one more WTF).

    That would put us solidly in the top 4 in the conference and a good NCAA bid with a 23-8 record with only two WTF losses (Ok St. was a WTF, but only because of margin, not the opponent)

    I think that Coach Gottfried will slowly get this team turned around in the remaining 12 games of the season and get us into the ACC Championship game (hopefully against Miami, because a non-blue ACC Championship would be great).

  7. BJD95 01/24/2013 at 10:07 AM #

    My two cents:

    1) Ask any current or former athlete – they are instructed to say “the other guy/team wanted it more” after a loss. Don’t EVER read anything into such a comment.

    2) There is NO excuse for losing to Wake Forest. They match up with us worse than any team in the league.

    3) Don’t over-exaggerate our troubles. There are exactly ZERO dominant teams in the NCAA this year (irrefutable). Going a step down, I would argue (IMHO) there are exactly ZERO very good teams this year. It won’t take much tweaking/improvement for us (or 40ish other teams) to become a Final Four contender.

    4) If we had still Alex Johnson and Pringles, this team would be unstoppable. That and a dime will get you a subsidized Pepsi product from my office vending machine.

  8. JohnGalt78 01/24/2013 at 10:19 AM #

    I see the remainder of the year as a challenge to the head coach. I believe the final results will be a measurement of Gott’s ability or inability to coach this group of very talented players both on the court and off. IMHO, coaching is 10% what is happening on the court. We see the results (or lack thereof) of the other 90% during the game….attitude, demeanor, execution, desire, hustle, spirit, preparation, discipline, consistency, handling adversity, cohesiveness, etc. We have superior talent. We have the talent to be a final 4 team. Coaching will get us there, or not.

  9. SqlWolf 01/24/2013 at 10:38 AM #

    Did anyone consider the possibility that this team’s capabilities and output may have been affected by more than a schedule requiring quick turnarounds for games? I heard rumor that Howell may have had a cold recently. Since the team is physically close for hours at a time, other players may be afflicted by virus too. That may explain why the team appeared gassed in the second half. I am not making excuses but merely pointing out there are other possibilities to reduced performance beyond simply “wanting it more.” Although, to bring on the obverse of that argument, there are many examples of great athletes who were ill and still brought their best performance to the game at the time. I can point to a certain Chicago Bulls player who appeared nearly dead during timeouts but then would lift himself to greatness during play. I prefer not to name him since he did not play for State during his college years.

  10. TheCOWDOG 01/24/2013 at 10:56 AM #

    I don’t ever recall having said, “They wanted it more.” In defeat. I hate that cliche.

    Now, the day I see SOMEONE take the baseline away, may be the day I will say, “Yep. They wanted it more.” in a State victory.

  11. Hungwolf 01/24/2013 at 10:59 AM #

    Thanks FergusWolf. Yes, I forgot about the 18 game schedule. Showing my age and my wife tells me all the time for a man with a degree in mathematics, you sure can’t count. And I agree 12-6 is a realistic prediction for this team. Lets us not forget this team didn’t set the world on fire last year during the season and stunk the year before. Plus many ACC schools have had coaching changes/upgrades the last two years. With Syr, Louisville, and Pitt joining the league you can bet ACC play is going to get more physical. We better start loading up on more big men!

    As far as after game comments. Coach K has helped set the standard for classy comments after a lose. “They wanted it more!” “They were a little bit better than us today.” We get everyone’s best shot night in and night out and need to be ready for that challenge, today we were not ready.” “I didn’t expect this team to win every game.” “They played a great game and won.”

  12. packof81 01/24/2013 at 11:50 AM #

    Two weeks from now, we’ll have a purdy good idea what kind of season it’s going to be. These next 4 games are kinda critical.

  13. wolffpride 01/24/2013 at 12:19 PM #

    A few losses and everyone is ready to burn down the program. Our losses have nothing to do with beating Duke. They have nothing to do with a lack of intensity. They have nothing to do with a lack of focus. Losses happen, especially on the road. Did you not see Maryland and Wake storm the court on us, did you not see them bring their absolute best to those games. I am going to say this one last time, refs hurt us badly in both the Maryland and Wake games. They absolutley changed the way we had to play in both of those games, and yet we still had a chance to win both in the end. If you expect us to blow teams out with performances like we had against Duke the rest of the year, then you just dont know college basketball. We have won more grinder games this year than we have lost. That is a lot more than I can say from teams in the past. Saturday is going to be very telling to me in regards to what this team is capable of doing come March. When you win the big matchups and play with an unbeatable attitude, then that is how you win a championship. You string together six wins in games that are bigger than life itself.

  14. MP 01/24/2013 at 12:30 PM #

    “2) There is NO excuse for losing to Wake Forest. They match up with us worse than any team in the league.”

    I agree.

    KenPom ranks for WFU:
    Rank 135
    AdjO 167
    AdjD 129

    You cannot lose to that team in any venue, on any schedule. I agree with the overall post by AW – It is time for this team to choose what it wants to be. Two months from now, I want to hear players referring to the WtFU game as “the turning point”.

  15. MP 01/24/2013 at 12:34 PM #

    One other thing – I wonder if the national geniuses are finally going to put Miami on their ballots. If anyone has been watching, they’ve been delivering the goods for weeks, last night was only a shock due to the margin.

  16. wufpup76 01/24/2013 at 12:44 PM #

    “Wish we had Alex Johnson for one more year.”

    ^Yeah. Unfortunately for us, AJ, CJ Williams, and DeShawn Painter are not walking back through that door.

    We miss that leadership and those glue guys. And each of those guys were unbelievable glue guys. I give a lot of credit to CJ and AJ not allowing the team to fold shop last season after the four game losing streak. I also saw nothing but positive energy from Painter while he was here.

    We need somebody to be willing to take on that role. Howell is doing his best and leading by example (total effort, all the time), but from what I see/understand he is not a vocal leader. We seem to be missing some intangibles, but we can still get there (Twitter-verse notwithstanding).

    I see lot of takes about guys not caring or calling out Calvin … I just don’t agree at all. I think all of these guys care a lot and we have some great young men on the team. It seems to me that everyone may still not be quite comfortable or sure of their current role. It can be pretty daunting / frustrating to be really eager to please yet also know when to ‘do your thing’.

    The freshmen are still learning Div I ball, and the veterans seem to still be working their way out of the abyss that was the last regime (no offense Sid – sorry bud). Plus, as I myself keep forgetting – this is college basketball. Sh*t happens. La Salle over Butler. Drake over Creighton. Northwestern over Minny.

    Still a long way to go with the ebb-and-flow and ups/downs. Thought we had been through our crucible, but maybe not. Anxious to see how the team responds and what happens Saturday night. No matter what, not giving up on them.

    Even still, make some free throws and some point-blank shots and the record could be very different … Pull it together boys!

  17. TheCOWDOG 01/24/2013 at 12:56 PM #

    ” I am going to say this one last time, refs hurt us badly in both the Maryland and Wake games. ”

    Do you promise? Really, really promise? I don’t suppose actually committing the fouls had something to do with having to change approach, or even being in such poor position that a reach in looks like a hack,or a hip.

    I don’t really read people burning the program, either. Most seem to be taking a good look at the obvious. With a fair amount of optimism, I might add.

    Sidenote: Let me be clear to some, before the usual suspects chirp up. There is a vast difference in poorly officiated games, which Wake was, and ones that turn the tide on a dime, ie; Duke of ’12. Even TV Teddy in plumage, didn’t turn the axis upside down.

    My old man was a pretty hip coach…” Ya gotta go with the flow.”…even at the worst of calls.

    (After getting T’d up, off course.)

  18. NOT A FAN OF BLUE 01/24/2013 at 1:23 PM #

    Stats offer a very interesting perspective.
    Source: (www.scacchoops.com)

    The following is based on pre-season projections vs. actual production for each of our returning starters:

    Projected Points/Actual Points:
    Wood …15.7 projected, 11.7 actual … – 25.48% off target
    CJ … 14.1 projected, 15.3 actual … 108.51%
    Zo … 14.1 projected, 12.8 actual … – 9.22% off target
    Rich … 12.5 projected, 12.6 actual … 100.80%

    Projected Assists/Actual Assists:
    Wood …2.5 projected, 1.3 actual … – 48.00% off target
    CJ … 1.4 projected, 1.3 actual … – 7.14% off target
    Zo … 4.0 projected, 6.9 actual … 172.50%
    Rich … 1.1 projected, 1.7 actual … 154.55%

    Projected Rebounds/Actual Rebounds:
    Wood … 4.1 projected, 3.0 actual … – 26.83% off target
    CJ … 7.6 projected, 6.8 actual … – 10.53% off target
    Zo … 3.7 projected, 4.5 actual … 121.62%
    Rich … 8.5 projected, 10.9 actual … 128.24%

    Projected Steals/Actual Steals:
    Wood … 0.9 projected, 0.2 actual … – 77.78% off target
    CJ … 1.0 projected, 0.9 actual … – 10.00% off target
    Zo … 1.4 projected, 2.1 actual … 150.00%
    Rich … 0.7 projected, 0.9 actual … 128.57%

    Projected Blocks/Actual Blocks:
    Wood … 0.3 projected, 0.8 actual … 266.67%
    CJ … 1.2 projected, 1.1 actual … – 8.33% off target
    Zo … 0.2 projected, 0.7 actual … 350.00%
    Rich … 0.7 projected, 1.1 actual … 157.14%

    Projected Turnovers/Actual Turnovers:
    Wood … 2.2 projected, 0.9 actual … 244.44%
    CJ … 2.2 projected, 2.6 actual … – 18.18% off target
    Zo … 2.3 projected, 3.4 actual … – 147.83% off target
    Rich … 2.1 projected, 1.6 actual … +131.25%

    More stats …

    FG%:
    TJ … 64.6%
    Rich … 58.6%
    CJ … 55.8%
    Purvis … 44.9%
    Zo … 44.3%
    Wood … 43.2%

    3PT%
    TJ … 52.9%
    Wood … 42.1%
    Purvis … 40.4%
    Zo … 31.4%
    CJ … 25.0%

    OFF EFF
    Zo … 85.9
    Wood … 72.1
    Rich … 65.1
    Purvis … 59.8
    TJ … 55.5
    CJ … 53.9

    Based on the stats …
    Zo and Big Rich are over-performing BIG TIME …
    Zo needs to PROTECT THE ROCK
    Given his ability, CJ is under-performing, especially on “D” … needs to step-it up (see Zo and Rich)
    Wood is way under-performing in almost every category, including “O” and especially “D”
    IMO, bring in Wood off the bench
    TJ should start
    As accurate as he is, TJ needs to shoot the ball more
    TJ should take more 3s than Wood
    Purvis needs more playing time
    My conclusions: If I were the coaching staff, FOR PLAYING FOCUSED, INTENSE “D”, I would reward TJ and Purvis with increased playing time – they should be on the floor more anyway. For lackluster “D”, focus and effort, I would decrease CJ’s minutes. When “Calvin” comes to play, get him on the floor. Because he is a liability on D (and because he is under-performing), I would decrease Wood’s minutes.

  19. adoptedpup83 01/24/2013 at 1:58 PM #

    You can tell that NC State is an engineering/mathematics university. What outsiders would consider much negativity towards our teams I see as engineers, mathematician, accountants, etc doing what they were trained to do. Analyze a system and look for the cause of a problem or identify a potential problem. I love sharing some of these posts with my tarhead friend. I tell him not to mess with fans who understand math. You can tell the difference between critiquing the team in an analytical manner and going negative, it’s all in the emotion. We don’t need any “I’ve had it with this team” type posts. Save that for when we are by ourselves and no outsiders can hear us.

  20. doug 01/24/2013 at 3:28 PM #

    We will be ok. I still after 41 years continue to have faith. We must however start playing defense.

  21. Classof89 01/24/2013 at 4:39 PM #

    This team is looking a six game ACC losing streak/meltdown square in the face: the next four after UNC are visits to Virginia, and Clemson and a visit from Miami wrapped around the payback visit to Cameron. Talk about a fanbase meltdown…imagine 4-7 in the ACC with seven games left…

    I said 12-6 ACC before the season. I’m now revising that downward to 10-8, based on what I’ve seen so far. Let’s hope, like last season, this team picks up steam again when it rolls into tourney season, because they look dead in the water right now.

  22. ADVENTUROO 01/24/2013 at 5:27 PM #

    OK,

    First of all…..for those that have a life and are pouring over StatSheet, like my wife says that I do….

    TV Teddy (that is what Google has) Valentine does NOT list the ACC on his “common conferences”. In fact, Wednesday’s WF game was the ONLY ACC Conf game he has worked this year. He did two ACC teams in the “challenge” series…one with us and one with GT. We lost to Michigan.

    Now check this out. It is about the most concise read on the WF game with the Ref’s being called out also.

    http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/three-points-bad-defense-bad-calls-and-hard-choices

    If you call tick-tacky fouls and intimidate the defense, what else can you expect?

    We did NOT play well. We did NOT defend well. If you look at the MD game, which was FAR more physical, there were considerably FEWER fould called

    We will probably draw Hess, Dorsey nd Vallentine this weekend against UNX.

    If we play like we did at MD and WF, then it will be a very UNHAPPY red crowd….
    But if we step up and play like we did against Duke, then Roy and the boys will be outclassed and outgunned.

    GO PACK….

  23. Wufpacker 01/24/2013 at 5:41 PM #

    Frankly, I expected us to look like crap against UMd after the Duke game. I still thought we might win it anyway, but it turns out they had other ideas.

    The two games since then just underscore what most of us have observed already…this team is not mentally or emotionally there yet. They got potential, but it will only get them so far.

    Saturday will be telling. Personally, I’m bracing myself because I think it will not be pretty.

  24. rockpile 01/24/2013 at 8:34 PM #

    watched the michigan/purdue game thursday night and it was officiated by ted valentine. only 23 total fouls called as opposed to 44 tuesday night. there was some contact that was allowed to be played through. guess it’s true about ncaa officials and their schedules. teddy must’ve been tired. well ted, we all are.

  25. NCSU2WFU 01/24/2013 at 9:32 PM #

    Could type a lot of specifics, but this guy does it already for me, and fairly accurately… http://idonesaidit.com/2013/01/24/n-c-state-shit/

Leave a Reply