A Victory Over the Tarheels Would Salvage an Average Season

It’s that time of the season again; time for NC State to face off against our rival Tarheels at 8pm in PNC. Unfortunately the Tarheels have been doing well this season with a 11-3 conference record, while NC State has been extremely up and down with an average 14-13 overall record and 4-10 CC record.

Although NC State basketball is less than reliable this season, there is always the chance for a Wolfpack win. However, that hope tends to make the year a rougher emotional rollercoaster than necessary. With that being said, the Pack is coming off of a close win against Clemson and it’s a home game, which tends to favor the Pack.

NC State has the ability to surprise people, but sometimes it seems like it comes down to whether or not the players really want to win. When the team tends to fall apart in the second half, it makes you wonder if they want it bad enough.

It’s no secret that Carolina has a strong team, including 4-year veteran Marcus Paige (thankfully he’ll be leaving soon), Brice Johnson, and Kennedy Meeks. The Wolfpack defense needs to step up and play consistently like when they out rebounded Clemson 43-30. Beejay Anya finally played big with Malik Abu combining for 6 put back dunks and nine dunks total.

If Cat Barber plays like his normal dominating self, and gets a little help from Abu and Caleb Martin and the team plays together like they did against Clemson last week, the Pack may give PNC something to cheer about tonight.

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Home Forums A Victory Over the Tarheels Would Salvage an Average Season

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  • #100127
    VaWolf82
    Keymaster

    Herbert was winning and recruiting at a pretty high clip his last 4-5 years.

    Better than his first five years?…yep.
    Better than Sid?…absolutely.
    Better than this year?…sure.

    But if Herb had actually been winning and recruiting at a high level, then the Great Herb Debate would have never gotten started.

    #100128
    wolfpack92owen
    Participant

    Herbert was winning and recruiting at a pretty high clip his last 4-5 years.

    Better than his first five years?…yep.
    Better than Sid?…absolutely.
    Better than this year?…sure.

    But if Herb had actually been winning and recruiting at a high level, then the Great Herb Debate would have never gotten started.

    I guess it would define winning. He was winning a ton of ACC games and finishing high. He just was flaming out in the tourney.

    His recruiting was good though based on rankings, you cant argue that. In business, and NCAA sports are a business, sometimes you have to part ways. After 10 years it was just time for NCSU and Herb to split. He just wasnt doing or saying the right things for the fan base. I truly think we are at the same point with Gott. We paid him millions and he got us some positive attention but now I think its just time to go each others way. It just happens.

    #100129
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    Not sure 46-34 (basically an average of 9-7 in the days of the 16 game ACC slate) qualifies as “a ton”.
    But then again, I didn’t know 4-10 was considered average so….WTF do I know?
    I disagree that it’s time to part ways with Gott. This year is a flameout, and ultimately his responsibility, of course. But so far it is an outlier. If it becomes a trend, then it’s time to make a move.

    #100130
    Rick
    Keymaster

    Gott is the third highest paid coach in the ACC.
    We are not the third best program in the ACC.

    #100131
    wolfpack92owen
    Participant

    Not sure 46-34 (basically an average of 9-7 in the days of the 16 game ACC slate) qualifies as “a ton”.
    But then again, I didn’t know 4-10 was considered average so….WTF do I know?

    “ton” may have been the wrong word, but Herb was finishing relatively high in the ACC.

    I thought it was time for him to go.

    I cannot believe we are debating herbert on the day after the UNC game. That shows the depths of where we are right now.

    #100132
    13OT
    Participant

    I guess .500 is now considered an “average” season per this thread. Expectations run high; why, we could even finish above .500 overall with a few upsets before this miserable season has mercifully ended.

    I was among the hundreds who headed for the exits last night long before the final seconds ticked off. There were Carolina fans decked out in blue all over the lower bowl, but even they became quiet as the final minutes played out.

    This isn’t a rivalry anymore, folks. What we have is two programs that are poles apart, and ours is moving rapidly away from relevance to just plain substandard. It is unimaginable how much worse State would be if Cat Barber’s offense suddenly went south the way Marcus Paige’s has this season. The Heels, even without Paige, are still double-digits better than we are. It may be even worse next year.

    I did renew my WPC membership this week, and will for now continue to get basketball season tickets. My football attendance ended last season because I see Wolfpack football as hopeless even in the long run. And there is no logical reason to think that basketball will get any better anytime soon. We have mostly marginally talented players who lack skill sets in the areas of shooting the ball from the 10 to 15-foot range, team defense (especially forcing turnovers), and most basic fundamentals like blocking out and setting screens.

    Those who say that things won’t change under this Wolfpack coaching staff and administration are probably right. We have an AD who will likely stick with the status quo for the long haul. It is unimaginable to me why we keep the same people in charge of athletics and coaching, given that we are absolutely among the three worst programs in the ACC in both football and basketball.

    The hell of it is, we’re getting worse.

    #100133
    wolfpack92owen
    Participant

    The hell of it is, we’re getting worse.

    Granted I am an eternally pessimistic State fan and I always look at the negative. Thats what years of State fail has done to me but I see next year with our new qb and schedule to be a ugly season. The schedule doesnt do us any favors. As to Bball we lose Cat and as you mentioned above holy hell the offense may be beyond putrid if a true frosh pg is supposed to be the savior.

    So as to your last comment I totally agree.

    #100136
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    FWIW, I understand why people are irked about this year. I am too. I also get why they are pessimistic going forward to next year. I am too.

    And Gott’s seat SHOULD be very warm. And he should be made aware of that fact by the PTB.

    But there is no question that it should remain his seat for at least one more season IMHO.

    But opinions differ, of course. That’s why this place exists.

    Yay dissent!!!!!

    #100137
    ryebread
    Participant

    13Ot: you are at where I am at. I’d suggest taking it a step further and leaving the Wolfpack club and giving up your basketball tickets. The only thing that changes this is money. It will either take a massive influx from someone unhappy with Yow and Gott, or it is the bleeding out from fans canceling out that even she can’t ignore.

    The problem with Pack fans is that we’re too good. We keep buying tickets despite lack of performance. We’re sort of like a battered spouse.

    In that model, why would anything ever change? The university doesn’t care about butts in seats. They care about gate sales. Some sketchy attendance reporting this year can show you that.

    I hate to say it, but as long as the money keeps flowing in, one is edfectively supporting the status quo.

    #100138
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    The problem with Pack fans is that we’re too good. We keep buying tickets despite lack of performance. We’re sort of like a battered spouse.

    Being male, I always gravitated to the “Cheating/Gold digging gf” analogy. But yours is equally apt. Bravo.
    Yay getting in touch with our feminine side (not that hubby’s can’t be battered as well…yay, I just got in touch with my “I’m not sexist side”).

    #100142
    choppack1
    Participant

    Stupidly weighing in on this Sendek / Gott comparison. Sendek inherited a program where the NIT was a huge step up…after a promising start he plateaued. He had a disasterous year 5, but then made 5 consecutive tournaments.

    The only reason I held out some hope with Sendek was because this was first major gig, he had good bloodlines, didn’t seem to do much else other than coach basketball, and because he proved a ton of folks wrong when he made the tourney, and I figured it could have been just part of painfully slow progress. (That he had already shown).

    Gott, OTOH, was a guy who actually left (or was forced to leave mid season.) His career showed steady progress at Bama, then it fell apart. Either he changed, the game changed or his conference got tougher. When he came here, the hope was and still remains that he knows exactly what went at Bama and won’t let it happen again.

    This hear creates doubts that he has. Even in his successful seasons, there have been some glaring red flags that we weren’t building, bit rather simply treading water.

    Next year will tell us a ton. Hopefully, after it, we won’t lose our best coaching options if it ends like I expect.

    I don’t want Gott fired, he doesn’t deserve it. He has delivered solid results, and has earned next year.

    #100145
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    #100155
    VaWolf82
    Keymaster

    His [Herb’s] recruiting was good though based on rankings, you cant argue that.

    But how much do the rankings mean when the big wins don’t follow? Herb cleaned up against the bottom of the conference year after year and struggled against anyone that could be considered “good” (ie RPI Top-50). Teams moved beneath or above State in the conference rankings, but State was pretty consistent in years 5-10 (exception: #2 regular season finish in 2004).

    The Great Herb Debate was driven by the issue of using present/past results to predict future performance. In other words, pretty much the same place we are today.

    #100167
    Since74
    Participant

    Only thing that will salvage this season is when Cat dunks on senior day!

    #100169
    rtpack24
    Participant

    All I have to say is wait til next year or maybe the year after that!

    #100170
    mowog67
    Participant

    If you kept watching that game after the 8min OTO in the 1st half, God bless you.

    #100172
    gso packbacker
    Participant

    I’d be pissed if I bought season tickets and had high expectations too. Fortunately, I’ve tempered my season expectations 2 or 3 times already this year and gave up making regular, long treks to basketball games years ago.

    As for football, I’ve found the key to success (for me anyway). I make my primary focus the tailgate since I may or may not be satisfied with what I see once I walk in the stadium. 🙂

    Either way, I love the University and will continue to watch us play all sports, especially when I can enjoy a cold, adult beverage at the same time.

    #100174
    mak4dpak
    Participant

    The day started with locking my keys in my car, bad sign, we come out of the gates vs. the holes and gain a 13 point lead, thanks to Barber, nobody else, except for some good play from Abu. Then as Barber goes, so goes the team, and the lead quickly faded. And our bricks kept coming. Game over, then get to my car, only to be stuck in the mud, by the football stadium, but thanks to some nice young men, I was pushed out of that problem. Bad day! Roy has a ridiculous record against us. Why can’t we get top notch recruits. I remember the day when Duke wasn’t the power it is now. We put money in the program and deserve a better outcome. We should be able to have a deep bench of players capable of playing in games. Not just bench warmers.

    #100178
    john of sparta
    Participant

    67 comments for a Cheater Game.
    that says it all for our season.

    #100231
    tjfoose1
    Participant

    I wish I was smart enough to understand what this means

    I wish you were too.

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