ACC Basketball Opener – On the Road at daU

General178

Welp folks, the preliminaries are finished.  It’s time for the main event.

The Pack got thru a weak OOC schedule relatively unscathed, managing to only stub its toe once.

Well, twice if you consider how badly Creighton beat our asses….but the loss to Creighton itself isn’t shameful.

But Illinois?  Even on the road.  We shoulda gotten that one.  We folded like a cheap suit that night.

But that’s in the rear view at this point, time to look ahead.  Have you noticed that since that WTF loss to Illinois, and two very nailbiter types to lesser programs (4 pt win over Boston U and an overtime Heritage game with TennState) the Pack has actually started looking the part of the team with a bit of a killer instinct?  I mean I realize the competition was not ACC caliber….but….

But for four straight games now, the Pack has managed to not play down to the competition.  Foot on the throat….killer instinct.

Will it continue?  Dunno.  But I hope so.

There are reasons to be concerned, as usual of late.  There will be many questions which will need to be answered.  Expectations should be tempered, to be sure.

As far as personnel, the team is at full strength and healthy for the first time all year.  It’s a young team.  There will still be growing pains.

But we’re 11-2.  Currently, our RPI sits at #32.  Which freaking amazes me, quite frankly.

If we gel and exceed expectations even slightly, we should dance.  Don’t you think?

–

Miami Hurricanes

How good are they?  What are their strengths and weaknesses?  Who the heck knows at this point?

They were predicted to be upper echelon.  Like top four double bye level.  But they’ve looked weak so far if I’m being honest.  Their competition level has been worse than ours, and they’ve fared no better.  Of course we know that means little at this point.

But currently they’re 10-2 and have looked more meh than we have, against lesser competition.

So, I’m not even going to try to analyze them at this point any further than that.  I don’t get paid enough for that kind of dedication.

 

–

Dennis. Smith. Junior.

DSJslam

In case you hadn’t noticed, this guy’s been getting some attention lately.

WATCH: N.C. State freshman Dennis Smith Jr. flashes NBA tangibles with vicious one-handed slam (CBSSports.com)

Number four, with a bullet….just saying….

4. Dennis Smith (NC State)

Smith suffered a torn ACL in high school but hasn’t shown any lingering issues since arriving at NC State. The only obvious concern with the athletic point guard is his inability to consistently make jumpers.

Or maybe number six????  Meh, still pretty good….

6. Dennis Smith, Jr., NC State

Last week: No. 7

18.9 PPG, 5.5 APG, 3.7 RPG, 1.8 steals, 48.6 2-pt%, 38.5 3-pt%, 114.3 ORtg

Smith had 23 points, six assists, four rebounds, three steals and two blocks in NC State’s 89-57 win over McNeese State last week. I’ve been saying it for a few weeks now: Smith is having the best season that nobody’s paying attention to. With ACC games on tap, that is sure to change in the next two weeks. Right now, he’s right on Josh Jackson’s heels for top-five status. Smith is a two-way player; if he can get his turnover rate down from 2.8 per game to about 2.0, the Wolfpack will become even more well-rounded.

I have a feeling DSJ is only just now beginning to emerge.  Expect some bumpy adjustments as he hits the ACC Schedule.  But by March, this dude is going to be sick good I think.

And he’s got company.  We’ve got talent on this team.  Like seriously, on paper, I really like this team.

As usual with NC State, the question is can we maximize it?

This is going to be a bumpy season, I’m quite certain.  But I am hopeful that by March, we might have figured out a way to do some damage.

I think we can.

I hope we will.

Basketball, dammit.

At this point I will turn it over to Kurtis Blow….

–

OK Dudes.  Time to get this thing going…..

–

Go Pack!!!!!

–

About Wufpacker

A 2nd generation alumnus and raised since birth to be irrationally dedicated to all things NC State. Class of '88 and '92.

General

Home › Forums › ACC Basketball Opener – On the Road at daU

Viewing 4 posts - 176 through 179 (of 179 total)
1 2 3 … 6 7 8
  • Author
    Posts
  • 01/02/2017 at 10:19 AM #113479
    Adventuroo
    Participant

    I apologize for the STRONG or BOLD italics. That was NOT my intent. It was for the quoted text. I tried to edit and that function is gone since I switched pages…

    01/02/2017 at 11:02 AM #113480
    ryebread
    Participant

    Quick thoughts:
    – The game vs. Miami was horrible. We looked more interested in partying at South Beach on New Year’s Eve than playing any basketball. Abu was about the only one who showed up to play.
    – Sadly, laying an egg early in conference season is predictable with Gott.
    – We have enough talent to secure the ACC double bye. We have a NBA point guard, a potential NBA prospect playing center, our all time leading shot blocker in the middle, a backup point guard that can actually defend fairly well, 3 good shooters, and 2 motor guys. That is enough talent to win and win big. Does anyone actually believe if given this lineup a coach like K, Roy, Pitino or Boeheim wouldn’t be a serious title contender? Heck, what if Tony Bennett or even Larranaga had this roster?
    – Getting talent to you is part of coaching, and Gott’s been good at that. I will give him credit as one cannot win without talent.
    – Gott is a mediocre coach on the court and as a program runner. He’s now got ~ 20 years of power 5 experience. He’s got a program with more resources now, but also tougher competition. At both Alabama and NC State he’s a .500 in conference coach, and his non-conference and overall winning percentages are about the same. This guy is what he is, and that’s not really going to change.
    – There’s a lot of basketball left to be played this year. The floor for this team should be the Sweet 16, and the reasonable reachable goal should be to secure one of those top 4 ACC spots that get the double bye. By doing that, the seeds will be favorable enough to possibly win the ACC tournament and to get a very good national seed, which would open the door to the Elite 8 or beyond.
    – Yow loves Gott and isn’t firing him. Those two are seemingly a package.
    – Gott’s teams do tend to improve and peak around tournament time. That means we need to be patient and wait and see how this plays out.
    – If we fail to meet the floor this year, Gott should be gone. He will have squandered a king’s ransom. He will not be though.
    – If I were Randy and Gott underperforms this season, I’d ask for Yow’s early retirement. She’ll have done here what she could feasibly do, but more loyalty to Gott (NC State’s most important coach) isn’t going to be rewarded.
    – I said last spring and I still believe that the BEST thing that happened to NC State basketball in a long time was Archie signing that extension at Dayton. Hopefully it keeps him out of play this offseason.
    – For all those who were screaming about DD during football, I felt (and still feel) that by doing so, it has hurt our collective credibility to voice legitimate concern about Gott. We just look like the lunatic fringe. DD is a pretty bad game coach, has a terrible overall record, and doesn’t manage the media and fan base well, but against resources and input$, he is acceptable. Gott’s got a machine that is top 15-20 in every measurable way except his coaching performance. He’s the poster child for doing less with more. We are a basketball school in a basketball conference, and there should be considerable scrutiny of him. Instead because of the “noise” around football in the fall, Gott seems like a saint to the AD.

    01/02/2017 at 2:49 PM #113483
    choppack1
    Participant

    Roo – regarding your assessment of V and Gott…

    V’s teams actually ran a lot in practice. As you rightly pointed out, it was a different era and V relied on his instincts and his observations. He also had a couple of high IQ guys in the backcourt and various other glue guys. He believed in a roster that allowed him various angles of attack.

    Those days are gone now and this era is different.

    Regarding Gott and his practices – I wonder how much teaching is going on and exactly what is emphasized. Since he was at Alabama, his teams have a reputation for being mediocre defensively. Since he has been at NC State, his teams have done a very poor job on he boards – xphoenix accurately broke down some of these other defiencies.

    It has to be noted that during this time frame, his teams have never been accused of having decencies in talent.

    Regarding Yow and the non-revenue sports. I don’t know whether it’s rotten luck that the 2 most important hires for a Power 5 conference haven’t had the clear success that her swimming and wrestling coach are. Perhaps someone different is making these hires or vetting them
    Perhaps, it’s only a matter of emphasis or it’s easier to identify AND secure successful hires. Perhaps, ego is playing a greater role in these 2 positions – I don’t know.

    Suffice it to say, if DD and Gott had similar success of some of these other coaches, there would be nothing but joy in Wolfpack nation and NC state tickets would be a hot commodity.

    01/03/2017 at 9:19 AM #113513
    ryebread
    Participant
    choppack1 wrote:

    Suffice it to say, if DD and Gott had similar success of some of these other coaches, there would be nothing but joy in Wolfpack nation and NC state tickets would be a hot commodity.

    chop: One has to think that if the crown jewels were performing, not only would ticket sales be up, but alumni giving would as well. At least that is the lie that proliferates to justify going big with sports spending.

    With NC State’s big endowment push, one would think the Chancellor would want the revenue sports to be performing. Wrestling and swimming and diving are great, but they don’t cause people to open wallets as much as football and basketball.

  • Author
    Posts
Viewing 4 posts - 176 through 179 (of 179 total)
1 2 3 … 6 7 8
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.