NC STATE BASKETBALL
Stephen Schramm (FayObserver.com)
N.C. State seeks rare win in Chapel Hill today
Levi Watkins clearly remembers his victories against North Carolina in Chapel Hill.
The former N.C. State forward, now the Wolfpack’s assistant director of basketball operations, said he can recall the horde of red clad N.C. State fans that had scooped up tickets to the Smith Center to see a victory against a struggling Tar Heels team in 2002.
He smiles when talking about the team bus pulling alongside Reynolds Coliseum, where the team’s locker rooms were at the time, and seeing scores of fans waiting outside to greet the Wolfpack after a win at North Carolina in 2003.
“It’s a game that counts as one, like they all do, but it is a rival game,” Watkins said. “It counts a little bit more.”
Stephen Schramm (FayObserver.com)
Matchup between UNC’s Hairston, N.C. State’s Leslie gets spotlight in rivalry game
Just because P.J. Hairston knows what he’s up against today doesn’t mean it will be easy.
According to North Carolina coach Roy Williams, the sophomore guard-turned-occasional-forward will start today’s game against N.C. State matched up with the Wolfpack’s C.J. Leslie.
Leslie, a 6-foot-9 junior forward with length and explosiveness, is one of the league’s trickiest defensive assignments. After two seasons of inconsistency in Raleigh, his maturity is a central reason the Wolfpack fields one of its most dangerous teams in nearly a decade.
Hairston, who gives up nearly four inches in height, has the muscle to bang with Leslie down low and the offensive range that makes him a defensive challenge too. After struggling to find his niche as a reserve, his insertion into the starting lineup is a key factor in the Tar Heels’ late-season resurgence.
So you’d be hard pressed to find a more intriguing, unpredictable and important individual matchup in a game anywhere today.
But this won’t be the first time they’ve squared off.
Leslie, who’s from Raleigh, and Hairston, who’s from Greensboro, have known each other since high school. Leslie said they’ve guarded one another during summer pick-up games.
Hairston said the two clashed during last summer’s N.C. Pro-Am in Durham. But he said there was little to take away from that showdown. Given the informal vibe of the event, he said the two were essentially playing point guard.
“(It’s) very competitive, we go at it,” Leslie said. “We have very intense games.”
Stephen Schramm (FayObserver.com)
N.C. State at North Carolina: Three to know
N.C. State (19-7, 8-5) heads to Chapel Hill to face North Carolina (18-8, 8-5) Saturday at 4 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN. N.C. State beat North Carolina 91-83 on Jan. 26 in Raleigh.
1. Low-post liability?
Much has been made of North Carolina’s use of a smaller lineup. The Tar Heels essentially switched out a center in favor of 6-foot-5 guard P.J. Hairston, making them a smaller, quicker unit. The move has paid off as North Carolina has won its last two and looked like a much improved group.
“I feel like they’re an entirely different team,†Wolfpack senior center Richard Howell said. “I’ve seen them play a couple of times since we’ve played them. … They have a new confidence level. They’re playing at a good pace right now.â€
But against an N.C. State team that will likely start four starters that are 6-6 or taller (North Carolina will start two), there’s reason to expect the Wolfpack to dominate the glass. Howell is one of the most dogged rebounders in the league. Fellow forward C.J. Leslie and freshman T.J. Warren are both 6-9 and will have a considerable size edge on their Tar Heels counterparts.
“I feel like it helps us tremendously, especially on the rebounding,†Howell said. “But not only that, just getting the ball on the inside in the post-up position just because of our size is something we can utilize. So going into the game, we’re going to use that to our full advantage.â€
On Friday, North Carolina coach Roy Williams, whose team has been outrebounded in two of its last three games, said it’s a concern.
“We’ll have to see how it’s going in the game but we’ll still go with that same lineup,†Williams said. “I really foresee that we’ll play two big guys together a little bit more.â€
Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Evolving lineups give State-UNC II a much different look
Only four weeks have passed since the first time North Carolina and N.C. State met on the basketball court this season.
It might as well have been a million years ago.
That’s how much each team has evolved since the Wolfpack’s 91-83 victory at PNC Arena on Jan. 26. It’s a process that’s still ongoing, as the teams face each other again at the Smith Center on Saturday in a game that means much more than just the usual rivalry and revenge.
Those themes will still be part of the narrative as always, especially in light of the way that first game in Raleigh played out. But they’ll be relegated to secondary status because of significant postseason implications and the recent tweaks coaches Roy Williams and Mark Gottfried have made to their respective lineups.
[snip]
State will also be a deeper, more diverse team than it was the first time around thanks to the introduction of backup point guard Tyler Lewis into the regular rotation.
“Everybody is getting into their roles,†senior center Richard Howell said. “We’re really starting to get over the hump. That’s something that we’ve had trouble with all seasonâ€
Another problem for the Wolfpack has been maintaining its intensity for the full 40 minutes, a problem that reared its ugly head last month when it allowed UNC to cut a 28-point lead down to just five before finally holding on for the victory.
That struggle with consistency isn’t just a familiar battle for State. The Tar Heels have also had their troubles putting two good halves together this season.
Whichever team is able to impose its will on the other and keep its composure the longest will be the one that comes away the winner. It is, after all, State vs. UNC and emotions will be running just as high as they did that first time the rivals met.
Any other similarities to that earlier game will be purely coincidence.
Associated Press
NC State Hoping To Use Size Advantage On UNC
The Wolfpack had been outrebounded for three straight games before the FSU game. And Gottfried sensed his team has occasionally been too dependent on the relentless Howell, who is averaging 10.9 rebounds and has pulled down at least 14 six times this year.
“I feel like we can be a good rebounding team regardless of who we play,†Gottfried said. “Our whole team, we’ve got to find ways to make sure collectively we’re a better rebounding team. That starts everything for us. I think at times it’s hurt our ability to run because we’re down there thinking, ‘OK, Richard’s going to get that one’ and we’ve got guys four steps, five steps down the floor. That hasn’t been a good thing.â€
The 6-foot-8, 223-pound Warren certainly can help in that area considering he’s versatile enough to tussle inside or roam the perimeter for the Wolfpack (19-7, 8-5 ACC). His emergence will only make things tougher for a UNC team that will already have its hands full Leslie or Howell inside after switching to a four-guard lineup.
“I feel like it helps us tremendously, especially on the rebounding,†Howell said. “But not only that, just getting the ball on the inside in the post-up position just because of our size is something we can utilize. So going into the game, we’re going to use that to our full advantage.â€
GoPack.com
NC State Travels To UNC For Saturday Matinee
NC State will ride a three-game winning streak into Chapel Hill on Saturday when the Wolfpack and North Carolina meet for the 224th time at 4 p.m. at the Dean E. Smith Center.
“We’re going against a team that is playing very well right now,” Pack coach Mark Gottfried said. “They’ve really improved a lot from the first time we’ve played.”
Both teams enter the contest in a three-way tie for third place with Virginia in the ACC standings at 8-5. A win would help the Wolfpack maintain its position to secure one of the four first-round byes in the 60th edition of the ACC Tournament (March 14-17) in Greensboro.
NC State and UNC are both looking to extend winning streaks – the Pack has won its last three contests, while the Tar Heels have won their last two games. A fourth win by State would be its second longest winning streak this season, behind a 10-game streak spanning from the Dec. 4 triumph over Connecticut at the Jimmy V Classic to its Jan. 12 home victory over Duke.
Ken Medlin, Mandy Mitchell (WRALSportsfan.com)
UNC, NC State set for pivotal ACC contest
North Carolina and NC State have identical records in ACC play, and are battling to stay above the all-important No. 4 seed line meaning they get Thursday off when it comes conference tournament time.
It’s been nearly a month since NC State (19-7, 8-5 ACC) beat UNC in Raleigh and the Wolfpack are expecting to see a different Tar Heels team Saturday in Chapel Hill. More Info North Carolina vs. N.C. State Logo NCSU v. UNC basketball stats
“We are playing against a team that is playing really well right now,†Gottfried said. “I think they have improved a lot and got better since the first time we played.â€
A lot of the UNC improvement has come from the emergence of PJ Hairston. The sophomore played just 17 minutes in the first meeting and is now averaging close to 30 minutes per game.
“I think that him in the lineup makes them much more confident,†NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said.
“They have a lot of shooters out there that are shooting well right now. We have to try and make them uncomfortable and eliminate some things that they like to do,†senior Scott Wood said.
WRALSportsfan.com
Rivalry picks: UNC hosts NC State
Saturday’s contest at the Dean Smith Center marks the 224th meeting between in-state rivals North Carolina and North Carolina State.
The Tar Heels hold an overwhelming advantage in the series, 147-76, but the Wolfpack won the most recent match-up on Jan. 26 at PNC Arena, 91-83. More Info North Carolina vs. N.C. State Logo Inside the Rivalry: NCSU vs. UNC Basketball
Lorenzo Brown had 20 points and 11 assists to help the 18th-ranked Wolfpack beat the Tar Heels, ending a 13-game losing streak in the century-long rivalry.
UNC is (18-8, 8-5 ACC) on the season and NC State is (19-7, 8-5 ACC). Roy Williams is sticking with his small starting line-up against the Wolfpack and Mark Gottfried has said their focus will be on PJ Hairston.
As in any rivalry, it is not about the record; it is about the pride and bragging rights that go along with beating the combatant with whom you share nothing more than bad blood.
The WRAL sports staff weighs in on Saturday’s rivalry game offering their keys to the game and tell you who they think will win.
KCarpenter (RushTheCourt.net)
T.J. Warren is the Right Answer to the Wrong Question
Poor defensive rebounding is a well-known weakness of the North Carolina State Wolfpack. As gifted as this team is offensively, shoddy interior defense and an inability to snag defensive rebounds have been a thorn in the side of Mark Gottfried all season. So in an attempt to supercharge his lineup’s skills on the boards, Gottfried went big and started 6’8″ T.J. Warren at small forward and benched fellow freshman Rodney Purvis. The move paid off big time in a game that saw near-total board dominance against the overmatched Florida State Seminoles. At least, that’s the narrative that we were treated to here.
Starting Warren over Purvis is a move that makes a lot of sense, but there are a few things about this story that don’t add up. First, was it the lineup change that led to such a great game? I doubt it. Florida State is the worst rebounding team in the conference — everyone kills them on the boards. They are ranked 242nd in the nation on the offensive glass. They are even worse on the defensive boards. Out of 347 Division I schools, there are only 27 that are worse on the defensive boards than the Seminoles. If the test for successful rebounding was being able to handle FSU, the bar was set incredibly low.
The rest of this story of strategic adjustment poses the simple idea that adding Warren is what helped NC State improve on the defensive boards. It makes sense on the face of things: Adding height to the lineup is usually a pretty sure-fire way to improve rebounding. There’s only one problem: Warren is the worst defensive rebounding rotation forward in the ACC. Seriously, of all forwards and centers who have played over 100 minutes in the conference this season, no one has a lower defensive rebounding percentage than he does.
ACC BASKETBALL
Lauren Brownlow (accsports.com)
ACC Weekend Preview, Feb. 22
N.C. State (19-7, 8-5 ACC) at North Carolina (18-8, 8-5 ACC)
Time: 4:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN/WatchESPN
Announcers: Dave O’Brien (play by play), Doris Burke (color)Key for North Carolina
Force turnovers.
North Carolina’s current lineup might bring more energy defensively, but its forte is not shutdown halfcourt defense. The Tar Heels’ new lineup allows them to be more aggressive and go for steals, and that’s really the only way this year’s team can be effective defensively. It’s when they’re at their best, as the steals allow them to get out in transition. At Georgia Tech, UNC forced the Yellow Jackets into 17 turnovers (14 of which were UNC steals) and turned them into 21 points. UNC also had 14 fast-break points, its most since an ACC-high 19 at N.C. State. Since going small, the Tar Heels have forced three straight opponents into a 20.2% turnover percentage or higher. In the first N.C. State game, Carolina was forced to go small quite a bit late and forced 16 turnovers (six steals), turning those into 18 points. N.C. State’s ACC opponents average 12.6 points off turnovers, but the 18 UNC had were the third-most allowed by N.C. State all year. If UNC can force turnovers, it has to turn them into points.
Key for N.C. State
Dominate the glass.
N.C. State has certainly been an inconsistent rebounding team this year, to say the least. But the Wolfpack showed up on the glass in the first game against UNC, holding the Tar Heels to just 23.1% OR% and retrieving 34.3% of its own misses. Against UNC’s smaller lineup, you’d think the Wolfpack should dominate up front. But the Wolfpack has made a lineup change of its own, starting the 6-8 freshman T.J. Warren on the wing. It’s a mighty tall lineup, and it could match the Tar Heels on the boards. N.C. State rebounding 58.3% of its misses against an admittedly awful rebounding team in FSU, but it also rebounded 80% of FSU’s misses. That’s huge after N.C. State allowed Virginia Tech to retrieve 44.6% of its missed shots on Saturday. And all the height, plus more of a team rebounding approach as opposed to “Stand And Watch Richard Howell Get All Reboundsâ€, could give N.C. State a huge edge against UNC. After rebounding 42.6% of its misses against Duke in the debut of the small lineup, UNC has posted a 34.4% mark against Virginia (pretty good considering the opponent) and 26.2% at Georgia Tech, one of its lowest marks of the year.
Remember The Name
P.J. Hairston
The whole “should P.J. start or not†controversy began at N.C. State, when UNC had a late comeback fueled at least in part by Hairston’s 19 points in 17 minutes (5-of-8 from three). He would follow that up with 14 points in his first 12 minutes at Boston College before going out with a concussion. Hairston was inserted in the starting lineup against Duke and since, he’s averaged 21.7 points (although he’s shooting just 8-of-26 from three). Hairston missed the first part of that comeback at N.C. State, though, because he didn’t hustle to pick up a loose ball (according to Roy Williams). It’s not like Hairston hasn’t had similar frustrating moments – at Georgia Tech, he either didn’t know or didn’t pay attention to the shot clock resetting and launched a bad shot quickly after UNC inbounded the ball, a play which clearly drove his head coach insane.
Remember The Name
Richard Howell
North Carolina’s smaller lineup certainly creates a lot of mismatches, and Howell has the potential to exploit a lot of those. He’s not 100%, nursing an ankle issue from a few weeks ago, but that never seems to matter to Howell. And it explains his game against FSU: considering the tear Howell was on, he had a bit of a letdown with eight points on 1-of-4 shooting (6-of-8 from the line) and seven rebounds, his fewest since December 22. Howell was in foul trouble for the first time in awhile, too. In the last game against UNC, Howell had his way, with 16 points and 14 rebounds in 34 minutes, and he committed just two fouls. He could be a difference-maker for the Wolfpack, as he and Lorenzo Brown have saved N.C. State in a number of close road wins.
Tempo-Free Time
North Carolina is 3-7 this year when it posts an offensive efficiency below 100, and two of those wins were against Georgia Tech. North Carolina’s only loss when posting an efficiency rating over 100 was at N.C. State (103.3). …. N.C. State is 2-4 when allowing opponents to shoot higher than 51% (eFG) from the floor, and one of those wins was against UNC (52.1% eFG). … N.C. State hasn’t been the best defensive rebounding team this season, but it held UNC – usually a very good offensive rebounding team – to just 23.1%, its second-lowest this season.
Narratives
North Carolina Win: TAR HEELS ARE BACK! Thankfully, Roy listened to all the smart people like the fans and media and stopped being so stubborn.
North Carolina Loss: OUTOFTHETOURNAMENTOUTOFTHETOURNAMENTOUTOFTHETOURNAMENT
N.C. State Win: N.C. State has turned it around! The Wolfpack is 0-3 without Lorenzo Brown and with its new rotation, it has really figured things out! This will be a DANGEROUS team come tournament time.
N.C. State Loss: Everybody knows this team can’t win on the road. Is the NCAA Tournament played on the road? No. They’ll be fine. They’ve still figured it out! They just played a team that as also figuring it out and something had to give! ALL OF THE FIGURING IT OUT NARRATIVES!
Prediction
North Carolina, 87-82.
Could easily see this going the other way, though. (Cop out.)
Jim Young (accsports.com)
ACC Hoops Power Rankings, Feb. 22
1. Miami (22-3, 13-0, No. 2 RPI)
I certainly wasn’t a pretty week for the Hurricanes, as they averaged 49.5 points and a margin of victory of 3.0 points in wins at Clemson and at home over Virginia.
While the Canes’ ACC record looks dominant, they’ve only won by 10 more points in five of their 13 ACC wins.
Does that mean, there’s still a chance in the ACC regular season race? Of course not. Now the ACC Tournament? That’s another story, and likely a very entertaining one.
Previous ranking: 1
This weekend: Saturday at Wake Forest, 1 p.m.2. Duke (23-3, 10-3, No. 1 RPI)
The Blue Devils recently illustrated the perils of drawing firm conclusions after a game or two. Based on his first half against UNC and his total no-show at Maryland, I was starting to wonder if Mason Plumlee was suffering from an undisclosed illness or was getting worn down.
He looked anything but at Virginia Tech and was much, much more assertive on defense against the Hokies.
Meanwhile, Seth Curry, who looked like an old man against UNC, has looked like the ACC player of the year in his next two games, averaging 23.5 points.
Oh and Mike Krzyzewski said Duke now expects to get Ryan Kelly back.
Suddenly, everything’s coming up Millhouse in Durham.
Previous ranking: 2
This weekend: Sunday vs Boston College, 2 p.m.3. N.C. State (19-7, 8-5, No. 21 RPI)
Did we all overreact to the Wolfpack’s 2-5 stretch in ACC play? Yup. Consider that State’s three most recent losses were by three at Virginia, by one (at the buzzer) against Miami and then at Duke. Also consider that star point guard Lorenzo Brown missed two of those games entirely and most of the third game with an ankle injury.
Still, if the Wolfpack loses at UNC, the skeptics will return with a vengeance. You know it, I know it and State certainly knows it.
Previous ranking: 3
This weekend: Saturday at UNC, 4 p.m.4. North Carolina (18-8, 8-5, No. 26 RPI)
So, yeah, this small lineup thing is working out pretty well, right?
HOWEVAH (Stephen A. voice)
It’s one thing for P.J. Hairston to face off against power forwards named Josh Hairston, or Justin Anderson (another undersized four). It’s another when that opposing power forward is C.J. Leslie.
Of course, Leslie will also have to chase Hairston around the perimeter. I’m giddy to see how this all shakes out.
Previous ranking: 5
This week’s schedule: Saturday vs. N.C. State, 4 p.m.
Andrew Carter (N&O)
ACC: Where have all the seniors gone?
Of course, you wouldn’t know it based on how quickly college players come and go. Williams has described college basketball as a “bus stop†– a forced detour for players who’d rather get to the NBA.
But what about those guys who stay? Quality seniors have always been valuable, but their value has increased in recent years, given the exodus of underclassmen to the pros.
It’s no coincidence that the rise of the so-called mid-major has come in this era. While power programs are forced to adjust their rosters every season – or often enough, if not every season – teams like Butler and Gonzaga and Creighton and New Mexico can build cohesive and unified teams over time. That counts for something.
Even in the ACC. Miami isn’t a mid-major, yet the Hurricanes are built like one, with a core group that has been around a while. Outside of Shane Larkin, Miami’s sophomore point guard, Miami’s key players – guards Durand Scott and Trey McKinney-Jones, center Reggie Johnson and forward Kenny Kadji – have all been in the program for at least three years.
Contrast that with, say, North Carolina – which is reliant on a freshman point guard and without a junior or senior frontcourt player – and it’s easy to see Miami’s advantage. The Tar Heels have talent, but the Hurricanes have talent and experience. So, too, does Duke. And N.C. State.
Luke DeCock (N&O)
Williams finds wins going against own winning formula
Rarely has a basketball coach seemed so unhappy about a successful gambit than Roy Williams and his small starting lineup.
When he first made the change, in the close-fought loss at Duke, he spent most of his time lambasting critics who had previously encouraged him to make a change without knowing “the dickens†about his team. Even now, two wins later, he admits he’s still out of his coaching comfort zone.
Yet there’s no denying since inserting P.J. Hairston into the North Carolina lineup before the Duke game and going with what is essentially a four-guard offense and against Williams’ usual practice, the Tar Heels have played some of their best basketball of the season, and Williams said he’s sticking with it against N.C. State on Saturday.
“I’d like to get the basketball inside and score inside more and have better balance, but the fact of the matter is we don’t have that kind of player now,†Williams said Friday. “Whether I’m comfortable or not, you’ve got to put guys out there that give you the best chance to win.â€
Andrew Carter (N&O)
Small ball, big results for UNC
The losses weren’t any easier to take in the beginning. They never are at North Carolina, no matter when they come. But defeats in November and December could be attributed to youth, to inexperience, to learning how to move on after losing four first-round NBA draft picks.
It wasn’t until the Tar Heels’ 91-83 defeat at N.C. State on Jan. 26 when UNC players looked inward and asked themselves what was wrong, and how to fix it. After an 0-2 start in conference play, the Tar Heels entered that game on a three-game winning streak. Early in the second half, they trailed by 28 points.
“We just weren’t happy, getting embarrassed the way we did,†Marcus Paige, UNC’s freshman point guard, said this week of the defeat at N.C. State “We knew something had to change, so we did do a little bit of soul-searching and tried to figure out what we could do to not let something like that happen again.â€
For a few games, things were good. UNC put together another three-game winning streak. And then came a 26-point loss at Miami on Feb. 9 – one of the worst defeats of Roy Williams’ head coaching tenure in Chapel Hill.
Williams said later, on his weekly radio show, that he was due on a recruiting trip later that day. He was in a hurry. There wasn’t time to waste.
Yet after that humbling defeat in South Florida he called together his assistant coaches. They gathered in a locker room in the bowels of the BankUnited Center and talked about ways to fix a season that seemed in peril.
Williams and his assistants traded ideas. They met again the next day, a Sunday, and finalized a plan to move P.J. Hairston, who’d been the Tar Heels’ most productive player off the bench, into the starting lineup. The move left UNC small, and with a four-guard starting lineup.
MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS
David Glenn (accsports.com)
David Glenn Interview: Mark Gottfried, Feb. 22
David Glenn recently caught up with N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried on Glenn’s afternoon radio show.
Among the topics they discussed: This weekend’s matchup against UNC; game-planning against the Tar Heel’s new small lineup; and where the Wolfpack stand, as a program, compared to both Duke and UNC.
