Monday, January 21, 2008

Concerning The Shout Heard Round The World

If you have been paying any attention to other fan sites like SFN or Tar Heel Fan you have no doubt read and/or heard the comment one Carolina fan directed towards the Maryland men's basketball team. If this is your first time hearing about this incident you can go here, http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/TheSportingBlog/131379/, and listen for the remark your self.

While the Maryland team is celebrating their unexpected victory at center court of the Dean Dome, one Carolina fan can clearly be heard shouting' "Go back to the ghetto!!"

This poor use of words has created quite the buzz on the Internet. Articles criticizing the statement can be viewed at http://brahsome.com/2008/01/20/unc-are-whiny-and-racist/ and http://www.sportingnews.com/blog/TheSportingBlog/131379/. Meanwhile UNC fans like THF, http://tarheelfan.wordpress.com/, beg for others to understand that not every smurf fan is as stupid as the one heard screaming this comment.

My Take- The comment that can be heard following the game is disgusting. To berate anyone with comments that insult thier economic, and possibly their ethnic background is vile and shows that you have no class.

Lets be honest. Yes this does reflect poorly upon the entire UNC fan base. From now on people who have taken notice of this situation will probably associate UNC fans with privileged white kids who see themselves as better people than everyone else.

But I myself have observed "NC State fans" make similar comments. My friends at UNC say they hear Duke fans make comments like this as well. This is not just a UNC problem. Every fan base has stupid people who make stupid comments. It is our job as sane, well mannered fans to show class and set an example for future die hard NC State fans that these idiots and their comments should not be tolerated.

So next time you hear an idiot from either fan base make a comment similar to the one heard on the video, let them know that they need to get a clue and show some class.

Sunday, January 20, 2008

What A Thriller!!

NC State finally showed some heart and came out on top against a tough Miami game 79-77. State came out fast and went into half time with a 36-27 lead thanks in most part to Costner hitting all of four of this three point attempts. The second half began and State maintained their lead until there was 12 minutes remaining it the game. Miami guard Jack McClinton scored 24 points after half time and hit 8 of his 10 shots in the second half to give Miami the edge heading into the final moments of regulation.

Trailing 76-72, State brought the ball up court and set up the play that would give them a chance to get back in the game with less than a minute remaining. Courtney Fells, tightly guarded, got the ball four feet beyond the 3-point line and threw up a prayer. Some how this prayer was answered and the ball found its way into the basket and put the game at 76-75 with 20 seconds left. Miami increased their lead when Anthony King hit one of his two free throws with 15 seconds left in the game giving Miami a 77-75 lead. Lowe then drew up a play that would hopefully push the game into double overtime. The play was a drive by Johnson who would pass to Grant coming off a pick. Grant's shot hit the rim and bounced off but J.J. Hickson muscled his way past the opposition and tipped the missed shot back into the game. State had done it. Unless a miracle shot went in we would be able to push the game into double overtime. During the celebration, King threw an inbound pass intended for Jack McClinton. Gavin Grant, tired of seeing McClinton hit shot after shot, jumped in front of the pass and hit the lay up giving State a surprise lead with two seconds left in the game. Miami's next inbound pass hit its intended target but it was too late. The half court shot missed the rim and State finally got an ACC win.

What a turn around from the last two performances when State showed no heart or chemistry. Players worked for each other and created good shooting opportunities. State shot 61% from the beyond the arc, which aided their dismal shooting effort inside the three point line only hitting a little more than 30% from that range.

State attacked the zone defense Miami threw at them and found open lanes. Costner made his shots and Grant has proven once again that he is the heart and soul of this team leading the Wolfpack in scoring (22 points) and having the vision to pick off the inbounds pass and give State the lead late in overtime.

What could possibly make this day any better? How about a UNC loss? 7 loss Maryland went into Smurf Hill and pulled off the upset. I don't know if any of you saw the end of the broadcast, but which was funnier, Hansborough attempting a last second three pointer to win the game or the girl who was balling her eyes out at the end of the game? A video of these events can be seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fil6wXFaWnE.

Anyways, lets hope our guys can build on this win and keep up the intensity as we await for Georgia Tech on Wednesday. State's heart came through in this game. After giving up a lead halfway through the second half and coming back twice to win the game was impressive. Hopefully this team is finally understanding how to play with each other and the preseason predictions can hold true.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Turnovers the Story as State Loses Again

J.J. Hickson slammed the ball home with 17 minutes remaining in the first half to give NC State a 2-0 lead. This was the only time State would take the lead in the game. During the next hour and a half NCSU would commit 23 turnovers as we gave the game away. In all seriousness, I think I might have been able to take better care of the ball than our guys did.

Here were the low points of the game:
-In 20 minutes of play Costner had 0 points. He has yet to rekindle the magic of last year on a consistent basis and at times gets lost on the floor. He needs to become more aggressive, take his shots and start to become a leader on this team

-Marques Johnson got the start at point guard and failed to contribute on the score board. He also played for 20 minutes and had 0 points. How can State hope to be competitive without an effective scorer running the point. Hopefully with some experience his play will get better and he can develop into a smart efficient scorer.

-Lowe needs to tweak our offense. I'm not saying he should change it or that it's a bad idea. In fact I'm sure it's a great scheme and will prove to be very effective in the future. Right now however is a different story. Our offense is stagnant. When ever one of our players get the ball it appears his only goal is to drive to the basket. Some of our players have that ability but when it occurs so frequently we start getting shots thrown right back in our faces. No one moves for each other or sets picks. We have the athletes run around opposing teams and create shots. Hopefully this can all get sorted out soon.

-Please don't let McCauley's injury be serious. The last thing we need is for one of our experienced players to go out.

Now its time to remember the good things about last night. Lets hope I can find some.

-We shot decently from the field, 44.2%, and made 5 of 12 from 3 point range. If we could have kept possession of the ball we might have been able to win this one.

-I don't know how many of you have taken notice, but I really like Tracy Smith. He did make a few mental errors but he put up 13 points in the most action he has seen this season. I really think he will be a great player for this team in the future and any experience he gets this season will really help us out in the future.

-Finally, lets not overreact to recent events. Sure we got embarrassed by UNC and smacked by Clemson, but its still early in conference play. There is still time to put a competitive team out on the court. Let's not jump on Coach Lowe's back and start questioning his coaching abilities. We all saw what he was able to do last year during the ACC tournament. He a great coach and we're lucky to have him. This is a tough time for NC State basketball but this is when we need to get behind our players and let them know that we know how good they can be.

Monday, January 14, 2008

The Massacre at the Hill

Sunday was a dark day for Wolfpack fans. Personally I don't know where to begin. A total of 13 points in the first half, 18 missed shots, 10 minute scoring drought, 17% from the field in the first half. From what I can see, and what most other NCSU fans are noticing, is a total lack of chemistry. It appears Grant, Costner, McCauley, Hickson, Fells, Horner and all other players just don't like playing with each other or for each other.

On the other hand UNC's chemistry was in full view. Ty Lawson hustled up and down the court setting up other players who were working for him and for others wearing that hideous shade of blue.

The second half went as well as I could have hoped for considering the circumstances. The Wolfpack knocked down 49 points as Roy kept his starters on the court for most of the half. In all seriousness it looked as if Hansborough and Green were out there scrimmaging during the last 20 minutes.

NC State got embarrassed and now this team has to face a harsh reality. They're not that good. Coach Lowe has his work cut out as he has the difficult, but defiantly possible, task of turning this incohesive glob of pure talent into an ACC contender. NC State wont have much time to turn it around though as they travel to Clemson to take on a Tiger team that should have beat the smurfs.

Friday, January 11, 2008

Keep Your Enemies Closer

Check out http://tarheelfan.wordpress.com/. In his most recent article this UNC fan smashes NC State and predicts a huge win for the North Carolina Dirty Feet. Let's hope our boys can shut up all smurfs in the area.

Previewing UNC

Section Six does a great job previewing and reviewing each NC State game. Their most recent post is no different. One thing that jumps out at me, UNC's offensive rebound rate. NC State has had a difficult time lately gaining possesion of the ball off a missed shot. UNC has proved they are agressive on the glass and this could prove to be a problem for NC State. Let's hope the Wolfpack can put smurf hill in their place and wash those dirty feet clean. http://www.sectionsix.blogspot.com

Article From the N&O

Chip Alexader from the News & Observer recently wrote this article highlighting the NC State v. UNC match up. http://www.newsobserver.com/sports/college/ncsu/story/874572.html

Thursday, January 10, 2008

A Lot To Catch Up On

It's been a while since I last discussed recent wolfpack events so I have a lot to catch up on. Lets get started.

- The wolfpack basketball team is now 11-3 coming off wins against Presbyterian and most recently NCCU. State has looked solid against these teams but in all seriousness it hasn't been pretty. The wolfpack was able to hold Presbyterian to 43 points and NCCU to 29 but there has been a lack of offensive fire power. We continue to struggle with our outside shooting and injuries have continued to plague the team. Wednesday night Courtney Fells went down with an apparent ankle injury and is questionable for Saturdays game against UNC. I also noted that Dennis Horner was in his Sunday best for the NCCU game. Bottom line- Defense is looking pretty good. We haven't played the best competition but anytime you can hold a team to under 30 points in a game something is going right. On the other hand we need to find a rhythm and get more points on the board if we wanna compete for an ACC title.

-Dajuan Morgan, in my mind our most outstanding defensive back, is foregoing his senior year to enter the NFL draft. He is currently in the southwest training for the combine. He has been told by some that he could go as high as the second round if he has a good work out. How does this effect the pack- not good. Whenever I am in the student section I always look for Dajuan Morgan on the field. He is an excellent defensive back and appears to be one of the emotional leaders of the team. It's gonna be tough to replace him but I hope he stays healthy and has a good result at the combine.

-The NC State men's basketball team has recently been raked as the 13th most valuable program in the nation by Forbes magazine. The triangle region did well in this poll with UNC being ranked #1 and Duke being ranked #13. This is surely a testament to the fact that NC State is consistently ranked in the top 20 in average attendance every year.

-I don't know how many of you have noticed, but Saturday is a pretty big day. Not only is it the wolfpack's opening ACC basketball game but it comes against UNC at the Dean Dome. UNC comes into this game ranked number one in the country after squeaking out a game against Clemson. If only Clemson could shoot free throws they might have won. Here are my keys to having a chance at winning this game.

+Please let Courtney Fells and Dennis Horner be healthy. It's not enough we lost our starting point guard for the year, but to lose these two would put NC State in a real bind. We beat them last year with only 6 men but the more the merrier.

+Put some bodies in Hansborough. Clemson did a nice job of limiting Hansborough to only 7 shots by denying him the ball and playing him very physical under the basket. Costner and McCauley did a nice job on him in the win last year and we need to continue this trend by adding in Hickson to the mix to give ourselves a chance.

+LET IT RAIN!!! If we ever needed a time for our outside shooting to make an appearance this would be it. UNC averages 92 points a game and if we can't get them to slowdown and play half court basketball were gonna need some amazing performances from our shooters.

+Use our big men. I would really like to see McCauley and Hickson down low together. Whenever they are in the game together Coach Lowe usually puts Hickson down low and pushes McCauley up high to the key. I know McCauley is great at the back door passes and finding open shooters but if I would like to see how effective we are with both our big boys down low under the basket.

Saturday's game is setting up to be a pretty good match up. Our performance hasn't been quite up to the expectations we had in the preseason but maybe State is on a 7 game winning streak and is playing pretty decent defense. This is the game I've been waiting for all year. A chance to beat Carolina at their own place and give them their first loss. This game means so much to so many, and I'm sure Coach Lowe won't let them forget that. Hopefully Saturday night will be a celebration. GO WOLFPACK!!