NC State 68 Pitt 50 highlights & must see moments

14-15 Basketball26

NC State is now 2-1 vs Pitt in ACC play and 1-1 in PNC Arena.

After yesterday’s win, the Wolfpack sits at #57 in the RPI with an 11-4 record overall and 2-0 in the ACC. This includes three wins over Top 100 teams in a schedule ranked #53 in the country. Interestingly, State’s RPI will actually IMPROVE even if the Pack loses each of its next three games: at Virginia; vs Duke; vs UNC-CHeats. But, those losses would only serve to hurt State’s record and emphasize the fact that the Pack’s resume lacks a top win…so, scrapping out just ONE victory in the gauntlet of the next three games would be HUGE for what looks to be another ‘bubblicious’ year for Mark Gottfried’s Wolfpack.

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14-15 Basketball

Home › Forums › NC State 68 Pitt 50 highlights & must see moments

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  • 01/04/2015 at 9:13 AM #68117
    StateFans
    Keymaster

    NC State is now 2-1 vs Pitt in ACC play and 1-1 in PNC Arena. After yesterday’s win, the Wolfpack sits at #57 in the RPI with an 11-4 record overall a
    [See the full post at: NC State 68 Pitt 50 highlights & must see moments]

    01/04/2015 at 11:07 AM #68123
    lawful
    Participant

    If we’re lucky, we’ll spend the rest of the season on the bubble.

    01/04/2015 at 11:20 AM #68124
    mak4dpak
    Participant

    My vote is for in the dance, and off the bubble! Possible!

    01/04/2015 at 1:13 PM #68128
    choppack1
    Participant

    I am not sure if our RPI will improve if we lose the next 3 games…you are punished pretty severely for home losses.

    That said, it would be nice not to test that statement!

    01/04/2015 at 3:27 PM #68134
    PackerInRussia
    Participant

    Was really pleased with the game compared to last. Defense was much improved and helped create points which has been sorely missing. The blocks were much more effective too. Anya’s blocks are fun to watch, but when he smacks it out of bounds, they still get the ball. It seemed like the blocks against Pitt resulted in a change of possession and fast break opportunities. It was nice to see Turner get some points finally. If they are able to maintain the defensive effort and play better during conference play, you have to point to the non-conference schedule and playing tougher times that help show your weaknesses. Better to iron things out before conference play begins. Of course it’s more likely to see an up-and-down roller coaster rather than a sharp turnaround. In way, way, way too early conference play, though, you can’t ask for any better. Two dominant wins. Here’s hoping that trend continues Wednesday (although, truth be told, I am scared to watch that game; expecting ugly, but hoping to be proven wrong).

    01/04/2015 at 4:08 PM #68136
    blpack
    Participant

    Beat the Cheats coming up soon, win the games we are supposed to and we’ll have good record and RPI. We can do this.

    01/04/2015 at 4:38 PM #68138
    TheAliasTroll
    Participant

    Nice dominant win to get to 2-0 in the ACC when not 3 days ago folks were dookying all over you and calling for Gott’s head even though we were playing in the winter break dolldrums.

    PackFansNation.com
    01/04/2015 at 5:17 PM #68140
    choppack1
    Participant

    I think a big key for this team is not settling for jumpers…part of the reason Abu is seeing more time is because he’s much more aggressive offensively.

    I think when you see our big guys contribute offensively turner will be getting better looks and it probably means cat and lacy are driving more.

    It will be very interesting to see how we do vs. Uva. We can hang with them athletically and they don’t hit the offensive boards too hard. If they don’t break our d down too bad we can hang with them and have a shot at the upset.

    01/04/2015 at 5:57 PM #68143
    Timbo
    Participant

    I spend a lot of time reading these comments, so the roller coaster ride of emotions from one game the next is little more than inspiring, I find this years team to be very functional but not very fluid. They seem to thrive off of any spark and then move forward from there. A lack of enthusiasm appears to be as much a part of there character as their wealth of talent.

    Having watched every game I believe this team struggles with an identity. It’s uncharacteristic of this team to react to another team, but appears some what reactive to there own personality.

    If they learn to be winners they will be tough to beat. I predict a 9 win season with some really bad loses and some throw downs on some realy good teams, I especially believe a slow pace with virginia could result in a surprise win. Either way this team can win!!!

    01/04/2015 at 6:04 PM #68144
    choppack1
    Participant

    The one thing that should give us hope is that is that it’s obvious that gott learned about the perils of mediocre scheduling so its quite possible he’s realized the only reason his teams haven’t been top 25 his first 3 years is because of poor defensive rebounding and mediocre d.

    It certainly sounds like it based on his comments.

    01/04/2015 at 7:47 PM #68147
    eas
    Participant

    Have we ever been in the top 25 (even for a brief second) since Gott has been here? Just curious that’s all. This is in NO WAY, SHAPE or FORM a knock on Gott! Like I said just curious that’s all.

    01/04/2015 at 7:53 PM #68148
    pakfanistan
    Participant

    I think we finished 24th after his first year.

    01/04/2015 at 7:53 PM #68149
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Coach knows what they GOTT to do…

    Told his kids at practice last week…

    NO D… NO Minutes..

    which roughly translates into…
    “I have been patient as hell with you guys… but me, Whitt and Lutz ain’t losing our jobs ’cause of you… so we ain’t F-ing around no mo… it’s January…”

    So ABU started and both TWINS GOTT minutes…
    Not too bad for just one week with the “New Rules”..

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    01/04/2015 at 8:49 PM #68156
    Adventuroo
    Participant

    Bill.onthebeach & others,

    Observations…..maybe wrong and certainly not from a talking head (OAT) paid to yak.

    Gott seemed really sincere after the Cincy loss. His apology was not staged and his anger (disgust) was evident. THEN, I wonder if the “coach” theatrics kicked in. I have started down a path to get some things fixed when I was an “in house” corporate consultant and also responsible for the overall success of programs that were developed by me, but executed or administered by others. One time in particular, I was so mad that I did something that was a little daring and it shook up the Plant Manager so much that he caved and agreed to do it my way. It turned around the entire plant and I was able to use that victory to make some major changes. The results were great….

    Gott COULD have used this opportunity at the next practice to have a “Come to Jesus meeting” of the highest order. He could have really chewed out the team and laid down the law. Something that was probably needed long ago, but better late than never.

    Wonder HOW LONG that little scenario will work? I guess we shall see as we are now in the ACC game series.

    Next, I wonder if he also had the same meeting with the assistants and the “other contributors”? I would have said….”Debbie ain’t gonna fire me this year…..but she will the next if I don’t have some more W’s…..therefore, I will have to make player and possibly coaching changes and this is my last shot….”

    ¿me entiendes, mis amigos

    SO, he got a double whammy….motivate the coaches and the team.

    NEXT….he did wear a WHITE shirt….not that same blue checked ugly rag that he wore TWICE….once at LA Tech and the other at Cincy.

    NOW, from our view in the Lenovo area….we look right down the NCSU bench. This was the first game….almost EVER, that I saw all THREE assistants jumping up and down and shouting at the same time. Pitt was on Offense and Gottfried was yellowing. Lutz will oftentimes be up and issuing instructions. This time Early and Moxley were also antimated. It seemed like the assistants were more “into” the game. They were also more vocal and involved on Offense.

    Gottfried pulled a Lowe, at least to me, on this game. He was yelling at Cat constantly on Offense and Cat seemed to be looking over his shoulder for what play or set to run. Gott seemed to be running the show instead of letting the PG’s do it.

    Which brings me to the final point….guard….that is. I have listened to Lacey at least three times, maybe four on the Radio and also the TV interviews. Yesterday, he broke down the game like a coach. Tony and Gary were asking him the SAME questions that they would have asked Gott.

    I WONDER why Lacey does NOT run the Point and let Cat do his “I can improve a score” trick as the shooting or second guard. Lacey has a much better, to me, feel for the game that Lowe did….

    Just wondering if eventually Lacey will be the PG? His 3 point % is higher than Turner’s….but Turner is of the Whitt school and he will put them up….whether they go swish or clank.

    I was impressed with Cody yesterday. He seemed to be more at ease and started to come into his own. He has not had the PT that Caleb has. But, you GOTTA wonder WHY we have to pull three Frosh into the fray…

    Finally, Des did not play yesterday. He seems to have a lot of energy, especially on defense. Guess that his skill set is not up to what the staff perceives of the others. BUT, when he goes in, the D wakes up.

    It was also interesting that Gott did NOT empty the bench and let the practice squad get some crowd recognition. It certainly was not in doubt after the 2:00 to go mark.

    What say the rest of you?

    01/04/2015 at 9:10 PM #68159
    cWOhLFrPAiCKs
    Participant

    I WONDER why Lacey does NOT run the Point and let Cat do his “I can improve a score” trick as the shooting or second guard.

    It seemed like we saw a little of that yesterday and it worked pretty well. My question is:

    If Lacey starts playing PG more, does Cat want to play PG enough to consider transferring if he’s not THE guy next year?

    01/04/2015 at 10:58 PM #68161
    Adventuroo
    Participant

    We have actually seen that quite a bit. When Cat is having one of his “chains for nets” moments….then Lacey will take over. I think that Lacey has played PG in almost every game….save the one where he was injured.

    What I am asking about is WHY is Gott keeping Cat at PG? I do not profess to be a scholar on Cat’s background. I also think that Cat signed on as a PG, but he seems to have “lapses”. My regular crew around me starts to “moan” when he keeps the ball past the 15 second (shot clock) mark and then seems to have that “WTF” do I do know and then his “streets” take over.

    He is a very intelligent and creative and talented player….but he does not, to me, have the coach’s mentality that Lacey does….and Lacey is a scorer.

    Just curious….

    01/04/2015 at 11:15 PM #68162
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    ‘Roo…

    1. How long did your plant stay fixed after your ‘show of force’ ? If there’s no Heat… there’s no decision… just talk. The is a “theatrical element” in most everything. When used sparingly and correctly… it can be quite effective and that in no ways undermines the fundamental logic of the action. The job is to get people to DO stuff, not think about DOING stuff.

    2A. Job titles aside, I’ve been saying here for weeks now that Cat on the Wing… with Lacey starting the set offense makes all the sense in the world for both players… Lacey’s career objectives, I understand, are to one day be an assistant coach in the NBA… that says it all…

    2B. Ain’t nobody in your plant getting their job done if they are looking over their shoulder waiting for somebody else to tell them what to do next…

    3. Asst Coaches to Head Coach… “Hey Coach .. it’s your world… I just live in it… just tell me what you need me to do…”

    4. If Turner goes into a deep slump for several games… Cody will be starting… otherwise he’s the first guy off the bench..
    Both twins will be starting before they graduate.

    5. Shirts don’t matter except to the superstitious … and I’m superstitious about some things … sports is one of them…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    01/04/2015 at 11:24 PM #68163
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    I did a little charting on the last two games…
    What ya’ll are seeing is the same as from here…

    FWIW … The offensive play starts in Anthony’s hands about 60% of the time and in Lacey’s the other 40%… a lot of variables work into that… fast break, press, set play, game tempo, substitution rotations, etc,etc,…

    And one big factor is … is who gets the rebound and who the rebounder makes the first pass to… now if that’s Cat or Lacey rebounding and remember they averaging 9-10 a game between them… it’s 50/50…

    If the BIG gets the rebound, Lacey tends to get the pass more.. I think…

    Could be the side OF the floor the action is on… (left), could be a matter of convenience or it could be a matter of confidence… Idk… ask the BIGS ’bout that…
    What that percentage does not show is that Lacey tends to ‘take over’ more when things bog down… especially at critical times…

    When both are on the floor… I’m thinking they are working that out between themselves… it’s not something Coach is yelling from the sidelines… Just a wink and nod or a stern look from one to the other… the way it should be…
    ———-

    Now what I’m watching closely, regardless of job titles and where they set up on the floor, is how Lacey and Cat feed each other… the pass for the open shot, the stop, the nod after the assist, the pickup after the turnover…

    The telling play I think… and it’s happened a couple of times, not often or often enough… is when one drives the lane and passes out to the other for open jumper on the opposite side (2 or 3)…

    That’s Money…. either way it goes…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    01/04/2015 at 11:51 PM #68164
    JeremyH
    Participant

    West Virginia and Cincinnati beat us due to being much more physical.

    Also our recent funk I think it at least partly due to the holidays. I’m not sure if this sort of scheduling can be avoided.

    Its ok to bring Freeman off the bench, remember he was a late addition 3 star that surprisingly contributed right away. He’s still a Sophomore that needs time to develop. Anya is basically a freshman given his playing time last year. But inexperience in the post means we need others to create for them.

    That brings us to passing, it hasn’t been great, but we’ve seen it get better but in stretches.

    If the UVa game becomes a jumpshooting contest, we’re going to lose. Move the ball, stay active, both on O and D, and we might compete. We’ll never be a halfcourt team; need to always be aggressive on D to shorten possessions and speed up the game, but we don’t.

    And Lacey should be more aggressive, its OK to take over the game from the beginning.

    01/04/2015 at 11:52 PM #68165
    Adventuroo
    Participant

    Bill.onthebeach,

    It was a GOOD Comprehensive safety program (worked well in other international operations as well as the US) that needed to be followed…..and the plant was giving it lip service. After I did my little…”I ain’t gonna put up with this mess and you are going to shut down the factory for a couple of hours….on a shift by shift and department basis”, the Plant Manager balked. Then, I told him that I was sure than the accident that triggered my anger was high enough on the “Severe, but could have been MUCH worse….an arm amputation” scale and that the first response would be the corporate director (and maybe a VP or two) and a bunch of Corporate “assistants” coming in on the following Monday…..and I would be with them giving them all the info that they needed to really make his life miserable….and his bonus would be the first casualty.

    At that moment, I was using an invisible bully pulpit….but he blinked. I then told HIM to call the Division President and explain WHAT happened….and that I would run interference and keep OUT all the corporate “help”. BUT, he had to do a 2 hour Safety lecture in every department in small groups and have his managers and supervisors there. He decided that following my lead was a better option than getting his rear ripped and having a white paper written on his incompetence….

    It worked….when I retired, the plant had gone 3 years without a lost time accident…..and they keep sending me watches with additional years added.

    SO, you can do a bit of theatrics and when you get a psychological advantage, you use it. Sort of like my old HS FB coach telling us that whether on D or O, to use every ounce of strength on that FIRST play (was on the interior line) and really “pop” the guy across the line….hit him hard, first….and get the edge and it would be a much easier night (physically) for you and that it would carry over in the game. Take your best shot FIRST.

    Yes, it really doesn’t matter WHICH one starts the O, but you need to have a dominant player that the OTHER 3 look to for direction. That, IMHO, is Lacey.

    You are correct, up to a point, on Lacey. His 10 year goal is to be an NBA assistant….but really wants to be the HC. Read the Wolfpacker that had the profiles. The rest of the guys were talking about driving their sports cars and having a stable of beauties and leading the good life…

    Trevor has his head on straight….and is a real asset.

    It will be interesting to see how Gott plays this out. Your charting post will be interesting as the season wears on.

    ALSO….did you note that Tim Nestor was one of the Ref’s. He is one of the most prolific whistle blowers and is in the top 5 as far as fouls go. KH is the king of Technicals….

    Yesterday’s game was very low, from a foul standpoint.

    01/05/2015 at 12:47 AM #68166
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Roo… The thing that’s been missing from this conversation is…

    Some forgot, most don’t know…

    It was the end of January last season before GOTT & Company got TJ Warren to start to dominate games especially during crunch time… Up until that point Cuz had been ‘getting his twenty’, showing flashes of brillance and disappearing when it counted most…

    End of January. From then on and not before, it was Cuz’s team… and that’s what made him POY …

    I expect we’ll see the same from Lacey… not in terms of total domination and POY, but in terms of Team leadership…

    I’m still scratching my head about that Coach down in ‘Bama that let Lacey go…

    RE:refs…
    It was really a clean game… and there wasn’t much to get them into trouble…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    01/05/2015 at 8:20 AM #68174
    PapaJohn
    Participant

    Dez – I think the only reason he’s not getting more minutes is that Gott doesn’t have to play him. Gott’s style is not to play a deep bench, although he did last year and seems to have adapted to it. He has said repeatedly that his freshmen need playing time to learn the game. Dez and Ralston are the only two players aging out next year – and Ralston has to play for his scoring. If he doesn’t play the freshmen and sophomores they may transfer. And obviously, playing time with this young team is an investment in the future of the program.
    So all of that kind of eliminates the need to play Dez. I think we will see him situationaly, when RT gets fouls for example, but I think his minutes will go to the twins.

    01/05/2015 at 11:24 AM #68180
    RednWhite4life
    Participant

    It is not just the next three games that can make and break a lot of things about our season but truly the next 9. After we play Virginia, Dook and UNCheat, we play the next 6 on the road. This is a huge part of our schedule in determining the rest of our season. I think we showed a lot in the game against Pitt but we need to keep the defensive effort up and balanced scoring up in order to be dancing in March. Plus King Hippo must realize how strong and big he is and play like it. He has been playing great but has a high of a ceiling as anyone in the ACC. Go Pack!

    01/05/2015 at 12:51 PM #68185
    MP
    Participant

    After we play Virginia, Dook and UNCheat, we play the next 6 on the road.

    When I first read this I said “That can’t be true.” And… it’s not.

    01/05/2015 at 1:26 PM #68187
    redisgood
    Participant

    I saw that too. I think he meant 4 out of the next 6.

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