Obviously, a top 6 ranking is a little to high for next season. Far to many assumptions go into us being a top 12 team entering next year, such as; Calvin returning, Wood gaining a new element to his game besides the wide open 3 pointer, teams learning that our best offense is pushing the ball in transition, and the freshman playing up to all their hype.

I would say that a top 25 ranking to start makes sense, but a top 10? I don't think so. I'd love it, but I just think we would need to many good things to break in our favor for that to really happen.

4/3/2012 9:16:04 AM

^This is the post you make when you are too used to losing. The column says it is conditioned on Leslie coming back, anyway. If he does, there are few teams in the country who will be more talented than us. That's the bottom line.

If we are merely a top 25 team next year, then we have underachieved. You losers better get used to success.

4/3/2012 9:26:45 AM

Did I say we were merely a top 25 team? I said starting the year as a top 6 team seems to be a reach. We showed this year that we were a tournament team, that we were better than a #11 seed. But I do not think we proved that we should be a top 6 team to start the year. A top 25 team yes. A top 20 team yes. But I don't think a top 10 team yet.

4/3/2012 9:30:45 AM

skooiann is a WINNER!!!!!

4/3/2012 9:31:09 AM

^^Next year's rankings aren't just based on performance this year. We've got some amazing freshmen coming in too.

4/3/2012 9:33:47 AM

As a born winner, I am not surprised by this turn of events.

4/3/2012 10:11:31 AM

preseason #4 here:
http://collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/03/indiana-louisville-top-our-too-early-2012-13-preseason-top-25/

Quote :

" 4. N.C. State Wolfpack (24-13) Too high for a team that was an average ACC team that got hot at season’s end? Maybe. But the Wolfpack return four starters and bring in a top 5 recruiting class headed by guard Rodney Purvis. It’s an athletic, balanced group that also boasts elite athletes. Now we’ll see if coach Mark Gottfried can pull off some magic for an entire season."

4/3/2012 10:42:51 AM

.

[Edited on April 3, 2012 at 11:16 AM. Reason : /]

4/3/2012 11:16:01 AM

I'm a UNC fan...



loljk I'm an NCSU fan

4/3/2012 3:27:53 PM

an athletic recruiting class...WITH ATHLETES!

4/3/2012 3:30:23 PM

4/3/2012 4:05:11 PM

This girl will win us a lot of games next year. I just know it.

4/3/2012 4:14:21 PM

a wildcats fan?

4/3/2012 4:17:55 PM

Quote :

"Obviously, a top 6 ranking is a little too high for next season. Far too many assumptions go into us being a top 12 team entering next year, such as; Calvin returning, Wood gaining a new element to his game besides the wide open contested 3 pointer, teams learning that our best offense is pushing the ball in transition, and the freshman playing up to all their hype."

Fixed it for you.

Quote :

"^^Next year's rankings aren't just based on performance this year. We've got some amazing freshmen coming in too."

Obvious post is obvious.




[Edited on April 3, 2012 at 11:29 PM. Reason : .]

4/3/2012 11:27:47 PM

Quote :

"Obviously, a top 6 ranking is a little to high for next season. Far to many assumptions go into us being a top 12 team entering next year"

you mean like making the sweet 16 not losing much and having a top 10 recruiting class coming in?

Quote :

", such as; Calvin returning, "

no shit, he states that

Quote :

"Wood gaining a new element to his game besides the wide open 3 pointer, "

troll hard. we were top 16 this year, top half of acc, and small amounts away from more with wood

Quote :

"teams learning that our best offense is pushing the ball in transition,"

you mean like UNC, kentucky or kansas?

Quote :

" and the freshman playing up to all their hype. "

no. fucking. shit. you think unc is top 15 if their frosh dont contribute?

4/3/2012 11:31:25 PM

now guys, be easy on the noob.

4/3/2012 11:33:39 PM

pass.

i get nervous whenever we are ranked in anything, but only b/c it gets my hopes up and i'm always worried they will be crushed b/c, well, they always have been

but in every other respect it is only good that we are ranked high and fuck the douches acting like its a bad thing. state fans have been begging for years to get the media attn that duke and unc get, hype can be a good thing.

of course, that said, gott's espn connections surely dont hurt us here.

4/3/2012 11:38:20 PM

i predict 4 losses next year. one to UNC at UNC. one wtf loss to Wake at home. lose the first game of the ACC tournament. victim of a 15/2 upset.

4/3/2012 11:40:32 PM

Quote :

"but only b/c it gets my hopes up and i'm always worried they will be crushed b/c, well..."

that's a loser's mentality!!!

but seriously, be rational and don't let hype and pre-season rankings cause worry. the hype will help. hopefully this is the beginning of something great.

4/3/2012 11:44:19 PM

Quote :

"Obviously, a top 6 ranking is a little too high for next season. Far too many assumptions go into us being a top 12 team entering next year, such as; Calvin returning, Wood gaining a new element to his game besides the wide open contested 3 pointer, teams learning that our best offense is pushing the ball in transition, and the freshman playing up to all their hype."

It would've been nice if Scott Wood had made even a few of those wide-open 3's against Kansas, Duke or UNC, let alone the contested ones.

Wood's 3-pt shooting in big games:

4-17 vs UNC (combined)
1-5 vs Duke
1-7 vs Kansas

The performance against Kansas was particularly brutal; we absolutely needed him to shoot well since we couldn't score inside. He had a wide-open shot with a minute to go to take the lead, and he just blew it.

Dude seriously needs to man up and stop disappearing in big games.

4/3/2012 11:45:38 PM

I guess Wood felt the pressure...

4/3/2012 11:51:54 PM

in the duke game that you mention, scott still had 10 pts. 6 rbs

and in the kansas game, he had 12 pts (6/6 FTs)

but he was completely ineffective against unc

4/3/2012 11:53:38 PM

Quote :

"Brown puts high expectations on NC State Originally Published: August 24, 2012 ESPN.com 0 0 0 EMAIL PRINT Grant's bold predictions Bob Donnan/US Presswire Can Mark Gottfried's red blazer maintain its mojo this season? He had just finished producing more bulletin-board material than there is cork in ACC country, so when Lorenzo Brown took a breath, the question had to be asked. Did he know what he just said? "I know," the NC State guard said. "Go ahead and print it. I meant it." So listen up, Tar Heel faithful and Blue Devil worshippers. Gather 'round, Clemson Tiger believers and Cavalier converts, because here it comes. "With the incoming freshmen we have coming in here and what we have coming back, I don't see us losing any more than four games this year," Brown began. "Honestly. If we stay healthy, I think we have the talent to be a Final Four team and contend for a national championship." Pausing briefly to take a breath that surely will fan the flames, Brown continued. "I'm not just saying that because I'm here," he said. "Looking at the talent we have, I firmly believe that we can play with anyone in the country. There's no team in the country that can beat us. We can only beat ourselves." Yes, Brown knows his team went to the sweet 16 last year. Yup, he realizes the Wolfpack was looking from the outside in at the postseason until a thundering run through the conference tourney. He knows, but he also believes strongly that the team that showed up in March is the one that will be rolling come November. And his teammates agree. They just don't say it quite as strongly. "We're setting the mark pretty high," said CJ Leslie, the ACC's top scoring sophomore. "We think we can win the ACC, win the ACC tournament and go very far in the NCAA. You don't want to jinx yourself, but I feel like we have so much talent and so much depth at every position that the only place we can go is up." Outsiders might write off last year's postseason run as merely catching lightning in a bottle. The players see it differently. They believe that adjusting to new coach Mark Gottfried's style took its toll early. His players weren't sure what to think at first, and the skepticism led to some of those early struggles. "He'll be in the middle of a game and he'll see something," Brown said. "He'll say, 'Listen, every time down, they're doing this or doing that, so you need to do this.' I've never seen anything like it. The first time he did it, it worked. We scored like eight points in a row, so I was a believer. He called some for me, so I was like, 'Alright I like this.' I think we've got the best coach in the country." Forgive Brown his giddiness. Up until early August, he was not sure if he would even be able to stay in the country, let alone play hoops here. In October 2005, federal authorities questioned whether Brown, who as a 9-year-old came to the United States from Jamaica with his mother, was in the United States legally and began deportation proceedings. Originally slated for June, the hearing got pushed back to August, leaving Brown in an uncomfortable limbo the entire summer. Finally a judge closed the removal proceedings, paving the way for Brown to apply for a permanent visa and permanently fixate his attention on the Wolfpack. "I think if me and a few other guys had played better in that sweet 16 game last year, we would have beaten Kansas and been in the elite 8," Brown said, barely pausing between incendiary thoughts. "That game just made me realize how good we are. We're too good to be accepting moral victories. "Man, I just can't wait for this season to start with a whisper and slowly turn to a scream." Ya think?""

4/4/2012 12:03:07 AM

I really hope Zo doesn't get deported back to Jamaica, that would really throw a left-handed monkey-wrench in the spokes.

4/4/2012 12:07:55 AM

Now we need to prove the hype is real instead of losing big games. Last time we played UNC when we were ranked higher than them, they beat us by 24 on our home court. Then this past season we didn't even show up at the Dean Dome.

4/4/2012 1:05:03 AM

Quote :

"i predict 4 losses next year. one to UNC at UNC. one wtf loss to Wake at home. lose the first game of the ACC tournament. victim of a 15/2 upset."

i've been thinking about it for like 10 minutes now and i can't decide: would this be a good season?

4/4/2012 3:48:45 AM

^I'd be ok with that, minus the third part. If we won the ACC, lost to UNC and Wake, and suffered a mild upset in the NCAA, I think I could handle that.

4/4/2012 4:09:07 AM

it's definitely a hard one to call

4/4/2012 4:09:18 AM

Is Vandenberg going to be enough to help the depth on the front court when Leslie or Howell get into foul trouble? Painter did a great job coming off the bench, but his offense is a 12-15 foot jumper which obviously hurts the team's chances for offensive rebounding.

I only ask because from what I have seen of Vandenberg and from what people have told me about him on campus, it's just that he looks totally uncoordinated and goofy,

4/4/2012 7:46:10 AM

^^^
won the acc? Mild upset?

he said we lost in the first round of the acc tourney and ncaa tourney

why am I arguing about this?

[Edited on April 4, 2012 at 8:16 AM. Reason : who wins the acc and ncaa that year, that would help determine happiness]

4/4/2012 8:15:17 AM

Quote :

"Can Mark Gottfried's red blazer maintain its mojo this season?"

wat

4/4/2012 8:21:15 AM

Quote :

" Is Vandenberg going to be enough to help the depth on the front court when Leslie or Howell get into foul trouble? Painter did a great job coming off the bench, but his offense is a 12-15 foot jumper which obviously hurts the team's chances for offensive rebounding."

I don't know. You'd think after 3 years in the program and a year+ of solid coaching from a good staff, he could at least provide a solid defensive presence and block some shots at his height. But he does look pretty damn goofy every time he's out there.

Maybe things will click next year, and he can give us solid minutes in the post against bigger teams. The way recruiting is going, we may need to rely on him in 2013-14.

4/4/2012 10:30:17 AM

Its too damn early to be breaking out pessimistic talk like this. These guys will finallly get a good offseason with this great staff in place and when preseason starts up, Gottfried won't have to spend (as much?) time on converting the players to his system, focusing instead on the fundamentals to his game which clicked with our guys at the end of last season.

4/4/2012 10:43:50 AM

That is completely true. Another off-season in Gott's system will do wonders for everyone involved. I was just curious if Vandenberg is someone we can look at as reliable off the bench next season, or more of a liability. He has the body size to make a difference for us, which would be amazing for us. I hope that his redshirt and off-season will allow him to click into his potential and help contribute.

4/4/2012 10:48:22 AM

Vandy will never be an impact player against ACC teams but he may come in and block a few shots and alter some others. In a perfect world he will simply provide depth whole Howell/Leslie are in foul trouble.

Biggest problem is that he is a huge liability on offense. He doesn't move well, is constantly out of position and will clog up the middle for Zo and Purvis.

But you know, thats fine. Decent depth and squad players are always needed over a season. Anything more than 5-6 mins from him a game and we're in trouble.

[Edited on April 4, 2012 at 11:06 AM. Reason : X]

4/4/2012 11:05:21 AM

To get away from criticizing Vandenburg, today is the 29th anniversary of our last national championship.

4/4/2012 11:10:21 AM

Quote :

"You'd think after 3 years in the program and a year+ of solid coaching from a good staff, he could at least provide a solid defensive presence and block some shots at his height. But he does look pretty damn goofy every time he's out there."

If anything, he's already capable of blocking some shots. This year he had 5 blocks in 83 minutes, which which is a slightly better clip than Calvin who had 54 in 985 minutes. Last year he had 17 in 223, which is even better. We really need him to improve on the offensive side, and I'm confident he will under this coaching staff.

Hands down the best twitter poster on the team though

4/4/2012 11:15:54 AM

We're using 83 minutes as a valid sample size now?

Hey guys, Eddie Gaedel's OBP is 1.000!

4/4/2012 11:19:01 AM

Vandenburg had several stretches last year when he actually looked pretty decent. I'll bet he'll be a decent contributor by his senior year, like Painter is now. More than 5-6 mins.

4/4/2012 11:30:49 AM

Quote :

""i predict 4 losses next year. one to UNC at UNC. one wtf loss to Wake at home. lose the first game of the ACC tournament. victim of a 15/2 upset.""

Not sure sure why there would even be a debate about whether this was a good season or not. I'd much rather we sneak our way into the tournament, and play out of our ass and make the Final 4, than have the team get everyone's hopes up and flame out when it mattered the most.

[Edited on April 4, 2012 at 12:02 PM. Reason : fuck UNC]

4/4/2012 12:01:51 PM

A lot of Vandy's awkwardness out there stems from the fact that he doesn't know where he's supposed to be. I'm sure the staff has been working with him to understand the offense and his role in it. I don't think he is a bad athlete; he's just confused and hesitant. That can be fixed.

Ideally, Vandy gets 10-15 minutes per game next year as part of the frontcourt rotation, and averages 2 blocks, 5 rebounds and 3 dunkaroos in 20+ minutes per game as a senior.

4/4/2012 12:02:02 PM

back in 2010-2011 Vandy had a stretch of games with the following stat lines:

15 minutes, 2-3 FG, 3 Reb, 3 Blocks, 4 Fouls, 1 turnover, 4 points

16 minutes, 4-4 FG, 3 Reb, 1 Block, 1 Foul, 0 turnovers, 8 points

22 minutes, 0-0 FG, 1-2 FTs, 3 Reb, 1 Assist, 2 Blocks, 3 Fouls, 1 turnover, 1 points

10 minutes, 1-1 FG, 1 Foul, 1 turnovers, 2 points

10 minutes, 0-1 FG, 3 Reb, 2 Fouls, 0 turnovers, 0 points

those games were against UNC, GT, @Va, FSU, MD (in ACCT). that's not a bad stretch of games for a guy like Vandenberg. 3 turnovers in 75 minutes, 7-9 FG (probably all dunks and layups), and 6 blocks. His rebounding numbers weren't that great and that's something that it'd be nice to see him improve on. But it's not like Vandy is some bum who is incapable of contributing meaningful and productive minutes against decent competition. ESPN doesn't do +/-...it'd be interesting to see vandy's in some of those games. IIRC, he came in and played pretty well vs UNC. Really altering some shots and providing some much needed height against Zeller and Henson.

and ^, i agree. vandy definitely seems hesitant and disoriented at times on offense. hopefully that was something that he's improving on this year.

[Edited on April 4, 2012 at 12:07 PM. Reason : dd]

4/4/2012 12:05:17 PM

yeah, i posted some similar stats when someone was bitching about how much vandenburg turned the ball over and fouled... some people just like to talk shit

4/4/2012 12:22:24 PM

Vandenberg isn't going to be All-ACC or anything, but I think he'll be a lot better than most people think next year. Look how Painter came on with this staff; he still took a lot of dumb shots but he rebounded well, and he was a complete scrub as a freshman. Assuming they taught him to catch the ball this season, he can come in and be a good defensive presence without being an offensive liability next year.

4/4/2012 12:25:17 PM

Quote :

"Not sure sure why there would even be a debate about whether this was a good season or not. I'd much rather we sneak our way into the tournament, and play out of our ass and make the Final 4, than have the team get everyone's hopes up and flame out when it mattered the most."

the question is not "is this your ideal scenario?", the question is "is this a good season?".

4/4/2012 12:38:28 PM

i say that's a good season. a 2 seed, finishing first in the acc reg season, and likely being top 10 most of the year. of course losing to a 15 seed would be a terrible way to the end year, but i'd say that's still a damn good season given where we've been the past several years. it wouldn't be different than duke losing this year to lehigh. they are perennially in the top 10 and almost always a top 3 seed. for a program that's not been all that relevant for the past couple of decades, i'd consider this a good season and something to build on.

4/4/2012 12:49:36 PM

Quote :

"We're using 83 minutes as a valid sample size now?"

Is 223 not good enough for you either? Either way the point is proven.

4/4/2012 1:57:17 PM

Nothing's proven until he does it over the course of a season. Everything up to that point is pure speculation. You of all people should know that.

4/4/2012 2:19:32 PM

I love how Purvis has been tweeting for months about how he can't to get to campus. Should be a huge change from his HS environment.

4/4/2012 2:31:36 PM

^^It's not like the dude is ever gonna play 600+ minutes per year or anything. I think 2010-2011 was close enough...he played 23 games and averaged 10 minutes per game. My only point is that he's already capable of blocking/altering shots...I think we can all agree with that.

[Edited on April 4, 2012 at 2:35 PM. Reason : ^ can't wait?]

4/4/2012 2:34:37 PM