State beats Clemson

12-13 Basketball98

It was plenty ugly, especially the first half when State executed poorly and played uninspired. But the Pack ended a three-game losing streak (and five-of-seven skid) on Scott Wood’s three-point game-winner with one second remaining. Richard Howell was again a beast with another double-double (16/11) and although it won’t show up in the box score, his screen set up Wood’s game winner.

State improves to 6-5 (5th place) in the league and has kept itself off the bubble and still in position to avoid Thursday in Greensboro.

Box Score (ESPN)

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12-13 Basketball

98 Responses to State beats Clemson

  1. tjfoose1 02/10/2013 at 10:54 PM #

    Think what you want, but Valvano himself as well as other members of that 83 squad said on many occasions that team was Sid’s, not Valvano’s.

    Valvano would joke that his job was easy, just hand the ball to Sid.

    Of course, that’s hyperbole, but it makes the point. That team was neither of theirs, it was both of theirs.

  2. Thinkpack17 02/10/2013 at 11:15 PM #

    @Tau…I could come back with a time where he caught the ball at the elbow, saw the defense sagging and gave the ball up for a reset but that wouldn’t be productive. Instead I will say if CJ was really a ballhog and playing outside the framework of the offense he would be putting up a ton of shots. But he’s not…even though he’s the focus of our half-court offense I bet it’s tough to find a box score where his FG attempts seem unnatural when compared to the rest of the squad.

  3. packalum44 02/11/2013 at 12:11 AM #

    “Someone please give Packalum44 his medication.”

    Already had my Prilosec today but thanks for your concern.

    Not surprisingly the majority of responses were emotional backlash as predicted though I am surprised mulitple people even responded to begin with.

    Couple weak arguments:

    1) X is like Y. X is smart bc of degree from Z. Z is a good school. Therefore Y must be smart.

    X is Herb. Y is Lowe. X and Y are not similar. Logic died. Z is Carnegie Mellon. Lowe went to St Paul’s College taking online classes. If premise of an argument dictates that an alumnus of a good school is smart, then logically an alumnus of bad school must be the opposite of smart. Just disproved own argument though that’s a non-sequitur bc you can’t disprove something that was based on a false premise to begin with. I.E., X and Y are similar.

    2) was that since he was a good player, specifically implying that he was relatively unathletic but made up for it with high b-ball IQ, he must be smart. Unlike IQ b-ball IQ has no official form of measurement. There are lots of successful players who failed at coaching. I’d imagine there are even more who want to coach but are never given the opportunity.

    I define smart, an ambiguous word, between 115-120 IQ. This put you ahead of 85-95% of the general population. I’d guess that most successful NCAA coaches are in that ball park. I’d guess Lowe is between 95 – 105. I don’t know for sure. I just suspect based on my observations and his personal track record. Intelligence is not all you need to succeed in life, but without it, you really don’t have a chance. The other characteristics of great coaches (persona, leadership, recruiting, strategy, in-game instincts) don’t really matter.

    What made Lowe different is that most men of his aptitude are never hired to begin with. Now that I think about it, it is a strange thing to say and hear – for a coach to be fired for his lack of intelligence. Most coaches are basically all of the same intellect so their failures can be attributed to more specific flaws such as poor recruiting or using a flawed system etc… Ironically the person who hired Lowe was rather dumb himself. I bet not many would disagree there. No emotional attachment.

    Whatever. We won the game. Gottfried won’t fail for lack of intelligence, if he fails at all.

    This team is strange. No synergy. If it were a company I’d strip it down and sell the parts. How much of it is because of Gott’s failure to create synergy remains unknown to me.

  4. mak4dpak 02/11/2013 at 12:14 AM #

    If Leslie would learn to kick it out when he is double and tripled teamed, then he would get more scoring chances, by virtue of defenses fearing him kicking the ball out to open guys. As for the Lowe thing, lets discuss the win today by Gott’s team, and regardless of his fan club, Lowe never had success as a head coach, anywhere, and the reason he lost his job. Let his record speak for itself.

  5. Alpha Wolf 02/11/2013 at 1:27 AM #

    This team is strange. No synergy. If it were a company I’d strip it down and sell the parts. How much of it is because of Gott’s failure to create synergy remains unknown to me.

    I think we have a case of a mixed group, some recruited by Gottfried, others inherited…and one extremely talented but mercurial player who is an X factor.

    There’s no denying that this team can play cohesively, can work as a unit and can beat anyone. They have Duke and UNC victories. They played well enough to beat Miami but came up less than a second short on a scoring play that quite honestly had a foul before the shot and a three-second violation that was ignored.

    And there’s no denying that this team can lose to anyone — UVA, UMD and WF had no business beating this team, and let’s be honest, Clemson was a short-ironed free throw from sealing the deal today.

    They are playing mentally tired from playing so many minutes in tight games and are nicked and banged up physically, with much of it coming for the same reason. Some of them — Purvis and Lewis — are still just a little behind the pace of the game in key moments. This week off is coming at a perfect time…not only for Zo Brown’s ankle but also for their mental outlook. They can now take a breath, gather up their strength for the road to come.

    Much as I would love to give up on this team as contraption whose parts don’t quite fit together right, I still think that they are quite capable of doing something special. They just have to make that choice.

  6. Gene 02/11/2013 at 1:46 AM #

    “Is it just me or do we not match up well with anybody?”

    44, I think the problem today, especially in the first half, is we turned the ball over a ton and dug ourselves a hole.

    If we play a complete game, we should be able to handle the UVa’, Clemson’s etc. of the league.

  7. tractor57 02/11/2013 at 4:40 AM #

    ^ this

    I missed the game as I was traveling back from “Chicken central” yesterday afternoon. I have watched some of the first half on the replay stream then I watched a you tube clip of the Wood end of the game shot. Nice play design and of course nice execution.

    I’m not ready to consign this team to the dung heap of unfulfilled expectations but it is apparent that the mid season grind has taken a toll. Zo back, Lewis has stepped up a bit, the old CJ vs Calvin thing, yada, yada.

    A week off at this time of year is like gold – some time to heal a bit, to refocus to adjust Lewis’ role and maybe a time to get a mental break.

    This team might still be quite special or might head for the dumper. The good this is we can have a discussion of an elite team in the NCAA two years in a row since when …

  8. moreforw 02/11/2013 at 5:21 AM #

    THIS TEAM CAN WIN THE NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP!

  9. moreforw 02/11/2013 at 5:23 AM #

    …Oh and Valvano called Lowe the smartest player he ever coached.

  10. tuckerdorm1983 02/11/2013 at 6:40 AM #

    Without brown we are a different team. Every team we face when tl is in the game will take him to the basket.

  11. Prowling Woofie 02/11/2013 at 7:36 AM #

    Hoping we can learn in one week how to come out on fire, and play the first ten minutes of a game like they matter !

    Ridiculous that an ‘experienced’ team continues to dig itself a hole by sleepwalking through the first half, regardless of opponent.

  12. wolfonthehill 02/11/2013 at 7:42 AM #

    Agree it was Gott’s best in-game coaching job. Plenty of good in-game decisions, but the last timeout to (1) keep CJ from turning it over or clanking it, and (2) draw up the play for Wood, executed to perfection, was what great coaches do.

    All the talk about how we don’t generate good offense after timeouts? There’s been previous evidence to the contrary, but this was a thing of beauty.

  13. ADVENTUROO 02/11/2013 at 8:04 AM #

    Lots of interesting, and some, inciteful comments.

    I believe that we are a pretty good team. Yes, we lost some games prior to UVA that we probably COULD have won.

    I think we did LOSE the Miami game due to lack of desire, focus, player motivation, whatever. Out of our four “CS” losses, that one was the most winnable.

    But the “pony” hidden in that loss was Tyler Lewis. I sound like the TL fan club prez, but he has some impressive numbers and his coming out party, other than the score, was a smashing success.

    After yellowing obscenities at the ref’s for the lack of tweeting when the muggings were going on in the first half, I figured we would pull it off. Now admittedly, when we were down to a trey and win or a duece and tie, I would NOT have emptied out all the retirement accounts (NOTE, I am retired and LIVE on these) and immediately put in on the line)….but still figured it would either end with US as the victor, or 5 more minutes of excitement.

    I think, and might be wrong, but we were in our SWB or 1WB offense at the end and ZO was running it. That is in contrast to our TWB or 2WB offense that seemed to be pretty solid in the first half.

    NOW, remember, the team is going through transition. They were adjusting to TL and he was not as big a factor. I think that Clemson watched the video and did a better job of prepping. Miami did NOT expect him to have such an impact.

    So, when Coach called the TWB offense, it took a while for the guys to adjust. We WILL see more of the TWB offense….maybe even at the tip.

    Our OTHER two Freshmen need this week off to adjust (mentally, physically, metaphyically, hypothetically….ran out of “ally” word). Don’t know if they have an underlying concern over PT, are in a synergist slump, hit the Freshman wall or what. It HAS to end.

    I do not recall WHICH of them was on the floor in our SWB offense, but obviously size, defense and rebounding was needed, so WTTL (Wee Tiny Tyler Lewis….this is a promotion from WBS….which he earned) was not the choice. Suspect it was Purvis…..does anybody remember?

    I did yell at CJ NOT to try to do it all. He had been “trapped” in the paint on the possession where we did not score. I used the term “Hero Ball” and some agreed – others didn’t. I have read the comments and that might have been a bit severe, but then I read Coach’s comments and don’t know. What I DO know is that he is a vital and essential part of our success. There were only a few games (most not tough) when we gutted it out on a night when he was off.

    In closing, we are not a bubble team. Perhaps folks that are packing their bags for the NIT need to read the polls and rankings. Unless we quit winning and our regular season ends on Thursday in the ACCT, we WILL go to the NCAAT. We DO have the talent for a big dance run….and I have my bags packed and have programmed my GPS for an Orlando to Atlanta trip on Friday, 4/5/13 as we are taking the GK’s to WDW that week.

    Here are Gott’s comments and a snip from the N&O article. He probably was the 6th man out there yesterday.

    I could not help buy think that he coached MORE like Coach Lowe yesterday than some other (losses) games. Coach Lowe DID micromanage the game. Partly his style and partly in that he rarely had a PG as smart as he was.

    BUT, he did take control and wanted to make sure the lads knew what HE wanted in case they had other alternatives or strategies in mind….

    “State fouled Jennings on the ensuing in-bounds, and Jennings clanged the front-end of the 1-and-1 off the rim. C.J. Leslie collected the rebound and hustled down court against a reeling Clemson defense, but Gottfried decided to call timeout with 7.5 seconds remaining rather than let Leslie attempt to tie the game.

    “Although at times he’s good there, it was important that we got exactly what we wanted,” said Gottfried, who alluded to Leslie’s travel in the post just two possessions earlier. “There are times I’ve let my team play before if I feel like we’re in a good place and the ball’s in the right guys hand and guys seem to be in the break running and there’s a good feel for where we are and running then certainly. But I didn’t feel comfortable there and I thought it was important for us to get organized.”

    Gottfried drew up a play for Brown, who finished with 15 points and four assists in 32 minutes off the bench, to penetrate and draw defenders while Wood worked baseline screens by Leslie and Richard Howell. Brown dished to Wood in the corner, whose 3-pointer finished the Tigers.

    “’Zo did a good job of getting me a good pass… and it was real good to have him back,” Wood said. “He’s great player and a great leader and even when he’s not out there that leadership key is big for us. In my opinion he’s one of the best players in the nation and that showed again today.”

    Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/02/10/2669055/woods-3-gives-nc-state-a-58-57.html#storylink=cpy

  14. theghost 02/11/2013 at 8:34 AM #

    “I define smart, an ambiguous word, between 115-120 IQ. “This put you ahead of 85-95% of the general population. I’d guess that most successful NCAA coaches are in that ball park. I’d guess Lowe is between 95 – 105. I don’t know for sure.”

    Asinine.

    “The other characteristics of great coaches (persona, leadership, recruiting, strategy, in-game instincts) don’t really matter.”

    To paraphrase the great Hank Hill, “I swear, man, every time I think you’ve said the stupidest thing ever, you keep talking”

  15. tractor57 02/11/2013 at 9:40 AM #

    Won the game and the focus for many is the previous coach? At some point gotta let go. I watched the whole game by streaming earlier today. The Tiggers played well and on the back of a Scott Wood 3 pointer the Pack played a bit better. Pretty darn good last shot play all in all.

    This team can be special, this team can head to the dumper. I can’t really affect what happens but I can sure enjoy seeing real basketball again.

  16. Thinkpack17 02/11/2013 at 9:56 AM #

    “If Leslie would learn to kick it out when he is double and tripled teamed, then he would get more scoring chances, by virtue of defenses fearing him kicking the ball out to open guys. ”

    1. That logic only works when the outside shooters he is kicking it out to makes the defense pay.
    2. We double and triple teammed Booker yesterday, he didn’t seem to get MORE scoring chances.
    3. CJL often looks to kick it over to Richard Howell instead of kicking it out.
    4. See my post on CJL acting on orders to be aggressive.

    “I think we did LOSE the Miami game due to lack of desire, focus, player motivation, whatever.”

    We lost to Miami because our 3 freshman got tight and made freshman mistakes on back-to-back-to-back turnovers. We should have been able to just sit on the ball and win that game. Not blaming it all on the young boys because they played well up until that point, but that was an absolute meltdown.

  17. NCSU84 02/11/2013 at 10:45 AM #

    Interesting points Packalum44. Funny, coach V stated that having Lowe on the floor as a point guard was like having another coach on the floor. I guess coach V was as dumb as dirt too for having Lowe as his point guard. PackAlum44, I have read many of your posts and it boggles my mind some of your logic. And if you are an alumnus, I am really embarrassed for myself and other alumni of NCSU.

  18. Texpack 02/11/2013 at 11:06 AM #

    As someone who watched Sidney’s entire career while I was at State, I would say that only Towe and Corchiani can even be discussed as having an equal basketball IQ to Sidney among the State players I have watched over the last 45 years.

    Calvin has to share the basketball much better if we are going to make any kind of late/postseason run. He has become a black hole in the post. If he starts to pass the ball, his opportunities will increase. It’s Gott’s job to make that happen.

    Calvin really got full of himself after the Duke win. Duke tried to play him straight up with Plumlee for most of that game. Almost nobody can contain Calvin in the half court playing solo defense. That’s why he sees so many doubles. Unless Vandy is on the floor, any of the other four guys should be able to make the defense pay for doubling off of them to help on Calvin. Late last season, when we were running the UCLA offense very well, our cutters were getting great shots. This year we decay into watching Calvin way too often.

    As for Gott and the players he inherited, it’s hard for me to imagine two post players better suited to this offense than Howell and Leslie. Lo is as good as anybody with the shot clock running down. If he can simultaneously get a trio to State that’s that good in the future he will have a chance to do something special. I would argue that he has been seriously out coached in almost every conference game this season. Certainly in the five losses, but also the BC and Clemson games as well.

  19. patientwuf 02/11/2013 at 11:43 AM #

    This team has consistently made their opponents better than they really are.

    Hopefully we started figuring this out in the 2nd half.

    I’ll take it.

  20. MP 02/11/2013 at 12:33 PM #

    Oh boy… Somebody on here calls Lowe an idiot. And someone else ‘seconds the motion’ and wait… justifies it by referencing Saint Noah!

    I wonder how Lowe was able to get another well-paying job immediately after being let go from NC State… Pretty impressive to be so connected with the NC State donors/admin (as alluded to by one of these self-proclaimed geniuses) AND all those fools in the NBA.

    Get off your f’in high horses.

  21. choppack1 02/11/2013 at 12:52 PM #

    Great to see us pull a close one out.

    Great to see the last play executed to absolute perfection.

    The bad news is that I think part of problem defensively is that the staff doesn’t demand the kids defend or box out.

    I don’t know if the boxing out thing is philosophical or not drilled down enough. Some coaches, Denny Crum in particular if memory served correct, coached their kids to “just go after the ball” rather than worry about boxing out.

    One play in particular I saw makes me wonder if they just aren’t coached to do so. In that play a jumper went up – Tyler Lewis was worried more about his position on the court and the ball than finding the man. OTOH, I watched Clempson and when the shot went up, they generally found a man and tried to box him up.

    The Reggie Johnson put-back was as much a result of a passive box out as it was a push from Reggie Johnson. ..and that’s from our best rebounder on the team.

    I think we’ll continue to struggle against teams who want to grind it out because you have to rebound and defend well to win most of these games, and we simply don’t do that.

  22. newt 02/11/2013 at 1:18 PM #

    We won 4 conference games the year before Gottfried was hired. We are on-track for 10+ conference wins this year. He really only has one full recruiting class. Name the sophomores on this team…

    You don’t win every game. Winning on the road is hard. At home, we have only lost one game, to Miami, on a last-second tip-in, starting a freshman in place of our All-ACC point guard. Miami is undefeated in the conference. They beat Duke and UNC by 26 and 27 points.

    So on the whole, we’re doing pretty good.

  23. WeAreCured 02/11/2013 at 7:10 PM #

    Amen, newt!

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