It seems to happen earlier every year, and the new look Pack will face a “better than pure garbage” foe in Happy Appy (7:00, ESPN3.com). It will be interesting to see how “small” we play, at least for the majority of minutes. I would like to see much more of “Buckets” Warren as a stretch 4, opening up more minutes for Des Lee and Cat Barber. Although with Cat’s concussion issues, we might not see more of the dual PG look until mid-December or so. But I do think we will see it featured heavily in ACC play. And that it will be highly effective.
Perhaps the most unequivocally positive aspect of the Gottfried regime is scheduling. Refreshingly, State only plays two games against likely dregs (ie, RPI worse than 200). Even those two games (Campbell, NC Central) are timed appropriately, giving the Pack a chance to work out the kinks that will likely reveal themselves in Game Two, a tough road test at Cincinnati. How do you make an OOC schedule that interests fans, toughens your team for conference play, and builds a solid NCAAT resume? You play sneakily interesting Nov/Dec home games against the Credit Union, Detroit, and Long Beach State. Only have two real road tests (Cincy and Tennessee)? Play a Dec. 30 road game at middling UNC-G. All smart choices by Gottfried and company.
I have no idea what to expect early on. I do expect the team to build to a strong mid-range contender by January. But the journey to that point starts tonight.
