The Wolfpack vs The Pirates (who don’t do anything)

This afternoon at 12pm (RSN) the Pirates (who are afraid of everything, Buckets, Vandwagon, Wicker furniture) will be coming to Raleigh to battle the freshly tested Wolfpack of NC State. Last time out for both squads the Pack were able to secure a big resume building victory at Tennessee while the Pie-rats finished a track-meet with VMI and came away with a 103-94 victory. NC State is 19-1 against ECU, with the lone loss coming on Dec. 8, 2007 in the Pack’s only visit to Greenville, NC. I’m still wondering if that was all just a bad dream and one day I’ll wake up and Bobby (Ewing) will still be alive. The last time I saw the Pack live was that game in Greenville and now my next game will be this one in Raleigh. Here’s to a different ending.

ECU is another rebuilding team who lost 4 starters from last year’s squad, 6 players total, one of which transferred to Georgia Tech. On top of all the graduation ECU’s lone big man this year, 6-10 SO, Marshall Guilmette, is lost for the season due to a knee injury. Guilmette, through 5 games, was performing very well and provided a low post presence for the Pirates even if his numbers weren’t jaw dropping. Now Head Coach Jeff Lebo is down to a seven man rotation with his tallest player at 6-8.

The Pirates are an uptempo team with an efficient offense. They shoot the ball well, especially from Three Land, are good at getting to the line and hitting their FT’s. They are also pretty good at defending the 3, steals, and not sending their opponent to the line – which is a good thing since they are almost as bad as the Pack at defending FT’s.

I think it’s time to put in the Big Guy.

Things ECU is bad at: defensive rebounding, blocking shots, and 2FG defense…you just know Buckets was seeing put-backs in his dreams last night…all of which leads to a bad defensive efficiency. Most of their problems on defense likely stem from the complete lack of size under the basket.

Likely Starters:

#1 Akeem Richmond (6-0, 180, SR) Guard – Richmond hasn’t met a 3pt shot he hasn’t liked. Of the 147 FGA’s this season, only 16 have been inside the arc (49-131 3FG). He also get’s to the FT line and knocks them down (.867). Since he’s taking 26% of ECU’s shot and those are basically 3’s every time, and still he’s sporting an ORating of 124, then there’s really no point in falling for any fakes towards the basket. There also, is without a doubt, no need to go under a ball screen fellas.
#22 Paris Campbell (6-3, 185, JR) Guard – Campbell is the lone returning starter from last year’s 23 win team. Even though Campbell has increased his possessions by 7.5% and taking nearly 9% more of ECU’s shots, this not only hasn’t slowed him down but he’s increased his ORating by 18.5 (122.7). There isn’t much Paris hasn’t done well this year and while Richmond is a (good) one trick pony around the arc, Campbell is who we should be more worried about.
#2 Caleb White (6-6, 190, FR) Guard – White is playing great as a freshman, ORating of 126.4, 66% eFG, while only taking up 17% of the team’s possessions. He’s playing his role and doing it well, though he does seem to get into foul trouble each game.

I’ll be honest, I have no idea which of these remaining four guys will get the start since Lebo constantly shifts them so I’m just going to group them all together.

#4 Prince Williams (6-5, 200, SO) Guard, #34 Michael Zangari (6-9, 230, SO) Forward, #25 Brandon Stith (6-7, 215, FR) Forward, #11 Antonio Robinson (6-4, 175, JR)

Of the group Stith is playing the best, he’s rebounding (especially offensive), he’s blocking, he’s shooting well, he’s just not hitting his FT’s very well. Zangari playing almost as well as Stith, just not blocking the ball like him or rebounding as well. Both the player formerly known as Prince and Robinson are great at dishing the ball, the problem is they have a tendency to dish it to both teams equally. One note about Williams is he’s taken 71 FTAs (.775) and 71 2FGAs (.493).

Richmond, Campbell, White, Stith, and Robinson all have a positive Roland Rating, while Williams and Zangari each have a negative RR.

Will NC State be able to take advantage of a clear low post height advantage or will early foul trouble plague the Pack and negate our strength in the paint? Will the Pack get caught in the classic trap game after it’s win in Knoxville and the high profile home game against Missouri next week, against an opponent who considers this their Final Four? Or will the Pack continue to make strides in improvement and not only focus on their current opponent and win but not get distracted if they get a big lead and let it slip away just to keep us watching?

KenPom likes the Pack by 11.

About 1.21 Jigawatts

Class of '98, Mechanical Engineer, State fan since arriving on campus and it's been a painful ride ever since. I live by the Law of NC State Fandom, "For every Elation there is an equal and opposite Frustration."

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Home Forums The Wolfpack vs The Pirates (who don’t do anything)

Viewing 25 posts - 51 through 75 (of 169 total)
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  • #34163
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    Halftime 45-38 Pack
    Buckets with 25pts-5rbs-1ast

    #34164
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    BJD is/was correct – Anya’s play and blocks the clear spark to close out the half

    Still waiting to see Anya +Vberg combo … I’d really like to see them throwing oop’s to each other

    #34165
    Fastback68
    Participant

    Thanks jigawatts. Somebody called 40 points for warren.

    #34166
    packalum44
    Participant

    Regression to the mean. Was fairly confident ECU’s perfect shooting and lucky bounce rebounding tactic would regress. We didn’t play poorly the first 10 minutes, ECU just played perfectly and had the ball bounced their way.

    Over time talent wins out, especially when properly coached. This team is light years ahead of that Cincy game. Going on a 15-0 run against a C-USA team is damn impressive. This team seems to have something our teams haven’t had in decades (minus 2nd half of Gott’s first year). “IT”

    How about BJ living up to the hype? Those long arms come out of nowhere opposing players are simply not used to someone with his height and girth having the longest arms of any professional basketball players ever measured.

    Don’t mind patting myself on the back for forecasting our improved post defense due to personnel and not erroneously blaming Gott last year.

    http://thehoopdoctors.com/online2/2012/04/beejay-anya-has-the-largest-wingspan-in-hoops-history/

    BJ’s wignspan is 2 inches longer than Shaq.

    #34167
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    Great positioning by le nard and pass by Vberg

    #34168
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    It seems so counterintuitive, given his size…but KH really is our highest energy player.

    #34169
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Enter the crazy shots hitting nothing but net AGAIN. FFS

    #34170
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    Lee needs to do a better job of covering Richmond.

    #34171
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    15:05 59-51 Pack
    Buckets with 30!!!!

    #34172
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    For Fastback:

    59-51 Pack at the under 16:00; defense optional

    Pack was up by 9, Richmond for Ecu hit three consecutive threes – but nice response by Pack led by Warren and Lee

    Warren with 30 now

    #34173
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Buckets has the best body control in the air since Rodney Monroe. He ALWAYS gets squared up.

    You boys wanna run? OK, we’ll run.

    #34174
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    Honestly this game Lee/Turner need to spend ALL of their energy shutting down Richmond.

    #34175
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    Wow, you could see Barber setting that one up

    #34176
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    Bad shot by Turner leads to three for Richmond … no need for that shot

    #34177
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Here comes our beloved KH, to spread his murderous fury all over the court. Huzzah.

    #34178
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    Turner, I like you … but you have single-handedly killed our offensive mo here the last two minutes

    #34179
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Man, did I hate that shot by Turner. But it went in.

    #34180
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    Ya know….I really dislike it when relatives show up (non-sports fan relatives, that is) right at tip off. 🙁

    #34181
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    9 straight for Ecu … if it seems I’m mad at Turner, I am

    He hits that three, but damn it man … all it takes is a couple of poor decisions and the other team scores nine straight

    #34182
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    It’s been 4.5 minutes and Buckets hasn’t scored.

    #34183
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    64-60 Pack under 12:00

    #34184
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Bonner’s spot on. You can never help off Buckets.

    #34185
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    There’s a reason why Turner has a negative Roland Rating.

    #34186
    Fastback68
    Participant

    Thanks wulpup and others for the score updates. Sitting poolside in Orlando with no other viewing options except the local talent. 85 degrees. Go pack.

    #34187
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    Koala jam gives the Pack a 9 point lead, 69-60, 9:04 to go.

Viewing 25 posts - 51 through 75 (of 169 total)
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