[Edited on October 20, 2011 at 4:20 PM. Reason : tinier?]

[Edited on October 21, 2011 at 3:44 PM. Reason : stop putting in giant fucking pictures plz]

10/20/2011 4:12:57 PM

dude we can't edit your posts and nobody cares about the team photo

10/20/2011 4:16:27 PM

dude, a mod edited it last time, i just f'ed it up later. and i beg to differ. it's a pretty appropriate thing to put in the NC State Basketball 2011-2012 thread isn't it?

[Edited on October 20, 2011 at 4:24 PM. Reason : V yeah, i'll just hope that a mod does it]

10/20/2011 4:18:19 PM

it might be appropriate, but not to try this hard


what you can do is put it in a photo editing program, resize it, upload to TWW/tinypic, then post

i recommend 600-pixel width max

10/20/2011 4:20:49 PM

Take it easy on my eyes, bro.

Edit that shit.

10/20/2011 4:29:02 PM

i feel like the team staff is enormous

10/20/2011 4:33:49 PM

everyone in that pic is enormous

10/20/2011 4:35:55 PM

10/20/2011 4:35:57 PM

Need a 4 zoom for dude on far left, and Coach Early.

10/20/2011 4:36:21 PM

his expression reminds me of Lane Kiffin's introductory press conference when he took the Raiders job

10/20/2011 4:36:42 PM

Even I can shrink pictures with MS paint. It takes 8 seconds.

10/20/2011 4:37:06 PM

horizontal scroll bars make me

10/20/2011 4:38:53 PM

^^shrinking it ain't the problem, i just don't know a quick way to repost after it's been reshrunken, and my time is precious. i'm working here, you know!

10/20/2011 4:43:28 PM

It appears you didn't shrink it at all

here I did the work for you: http://i51.tinypic.com/4huhe.png

10/20/2011 4:49:07 PM

or you could give us your password and we'll do it for you

10/20/2011 4:49:38 PM

I guess Scott Wood was the only one that heard "everyone say cheese"

10/20/2011 4:55:08 PM

Quote :

"the sole unc basketball win during the six fucking years that i was there is easily my fondest memory."

10/20/2011 5:01:50 PM

Thanks Dweedle, I'll use "tinypic" next time.

Apologies to everyone. If I could delete the pic, I would. But alas, I cannot.

10/20/2011 5:02:34 PM

Just use paint and put it in your gallery

You've been here three years; this is basic stuff

10/20/2011 5:04:13 PM

I tried that once, and it posted as a thumbnail, so i didn't try it again.

But not to worry, this travesty won't happen again.

Can anybody spot the tennis ball in the pic?

10/20/2011 5:07:26 PM

found it

10/20/2011 6:03:09 PM

To avoid it posting as a thumbnail, change the extension to capital letters ( instead of .jpg, .JPG)

10/20/2011 6:44:37 PM

I feel like this is the movie airplane! and we're all lining up to beat the shit out of Bullet

10/20/2011 7:49:04 PM

Quote :

"for Hartford, they had the one guy that would be booed, then 3 other guys that had shot airballs, so when they would be on offense, it would be like "BOOOOOOOAAAAIIRBBAAALLLAAIIIRBALLLBOOOOOOOOOOOAIRBABOOOOOOOOOOOAIRBOOOOOOOOO""

hahahaha i totally forgot about that.

10/20/2011 8:43:19 PM

Coach Early and Stuart Scott in a staring contest

10/21/2011 3:44:08 AM

Some video of practice: http://packinsider.com/?p=10533

10/21/2011 12:28:58 PM

I say this every year about this time, but I really think CJW is going to have a good year. Seems like he was left out of a lot of sets last year. This motion offense is going to get him so good looks in the mid-range area he thrives in.

Also interesting Vandy appears to be working with the first unit (Zo, CJ, Wood, Leslie, Vandy). Probably just drill-related though

10/21/2011 12:42:51 PM

can someone with ESPN Insider post the Blue Ribbon report?

http://insider.espn.go.com/ncb/story?id=7124138&_slug_=blue-ribbon-2011-12-college-basketball-preview-north-carolina-state-wolfpack&action=upsell&appRedirect=http%3a%2f%2finsider.espn.go.com%2fncb%2fstory%3fid%3d7124138%26_slug_%3dblue-ribbon-2011-12-college-basketball-preview-north-carolina-state-wolfpack

10/21/2011 12:46:04 PM

NC State Wolfpack
Last Season 15-16 (.484)
Conference Record 5-11 (t-10th)
Starters Lost/Returning 2/3
Coach Mark Gottfried (Alabama '87)
Record At School First year
Career Record 278-154 (13 years)
RPI Last 5 years 72-103-110-88-126

COACH AND PROGRAM

At one point during the press conference introducing Mark Gottfried as NC State's new basketball coach last April, an excited athletic director Debbie Yow leaned over her microphone and made a triumphant proclamation.
"We're back in the game," she said.
It's a statement to which Gottfried reacted with the quickness of the ball-hawking guard he once was.
"Slow down, Debbie," he replied with a made-for-television smile. "We're not back yet."
That's at least one thing the surprise choice to replace Sidney Lowe has in common with the skeptical fan base he's been hired to win over.
It's all well and good to be giddy about winning the press conference, which Yow and Gottfried unquestionably did. But when it comes to NC State basketball, the only thing that really matters is winning games and getting back to the NCAA Tournament.
That means the book will remain out and opinions will be split on the former Alabama coach and ESPN analyst, at least until the Wolfpack suits up and takes the floor for the first time this fall.
If first impressions count for anything, though, Gottfried is off to a promising start.
No, he's not the home run hire most fans were hoping for when Lowe mercifully stepped down after five passionate, but unsuccessful years at his alma mater. But at the same time, he's also not the doomsday scenario many feared a day earlier after VCU's Shaka Smart and two other prominent candidates took their names out of consideration within hours of one another.
Though he left his last job under curious circumstances midway through the 2008-09 season and hasn't coached since, Gottfried brings a strong resume to Raleigh.

Streeter Lecka/Getty Images Gottfried convinced forward C.J. Leslie to stay at NC State for his sophomore season.
PLAYERS

He also inherits a solid roster that, even with the transfer of unhappy point guard Ryan Harrow to Kentucky, still has enough ACC-caliber talent to end a streak of five straight seasons without an NCAA appearance.
As realistic as that goal might be, the optimistic 47-year-old coach understands that accomplishing it won't be easy -- especially given a history and geography that make NC State one of the most difficult assignments in the ACC, if not all of college basketball.
"When I look at our team, I see a team that has a long ways to go," Gottfried said. "There're a lot of questions about whether this returning group can learn how to win and how much a couple of the freshmen can contribute.
"We're an unknown, really. We should be viewed in my opinion as a team that is up in the air. Who knows what we can do? I don't think this team should be bad. We won't be a terrible team. I do know that. I don't know if we can get real good in one year or not."
The chances of that happening increased exponentially about two weeks after Gottfried's hiring when the new coach scored his first victory with the Wolfpack, convincing forward C.J. Leslie (11.0 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 0.8 apg, 1.3 spg) to stay for his sophomore season.

Leslie is a 6-8 McDonald's All-America who was considered Lowe's most significant signee.
Though he had an up-and-down rookie season in which he struggled with the consistency of his effort and some balky perimeter shooting (.250 3PT), Leslie still ranked second on the team in scoring and rebounding while earning ACC All-Rookie honors. And his room for improvement this season is vast.
Leslie briefly toyed with the idea of entering the NBA draft, but decided to defer his professional career after he and Gottfried spent some time getting to know one another.
"We had a lot of worthwhile conversations and I felt like it would be in my best interest to stay another year," Leslie said. "I didn't really focus on the NBA side. I was really focused on what our new coach was going to be like, getting to know him.
"I kind of wanted to build one thing at a time. I was just curious about who we were going to get, what style he was going to coach. I really didn't know much about him until the conversations we had, and I'm still here."
Joining Leslie are two other starters -- Scott Wood (9.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.4 apg, 0.9 spg, .419 3PT, .923 FT) and Lorenzo Brown (9.3 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.3 spg).
Wood, a 6-6 junior from Indiana who has started every game during his first two seasons with the Wolfpack, is the quintessential Hoosier -- a fundamentally sound, court-savvy gym rat who was the team's best three-point marksman (72-of-177).
Brown is a solidly built 6-5 sophomore who was recruited to play shooting guard but proved to be a much more effective offensive contributor with the ball in his hands. Not only was he able to use his physical strength and quick first step to get to the basket on his own, he was also adept at creating opportunities for others while handing out a team-leading 116 assists.
It's a skill he'll be called upon to use even more this season when he assumes the point guard duties vacated when Harrow left to play at Kentucky.
"I've got a lot of faith in Lorenzo Brown," Gottfried said, even though Brown has never previously played the position on a full-time basis. "I think he's going to blossom like a flower in the springtime.
"I've told him, 'I'm going to hand you the basketball.' But with that comes great responsibility. It's something he and I are going to have to work at daily to make sure he plays up to his potential."
As an insurance policy, Gottfried went out and signed Cal State Bakersfield transfer Alex Johnson(13.3 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, .771 FT) to bolster his team's backcourt depth.
Johnson is a 5-10 dynamo who will be allowed to play right away under the NCAA's rule regarding graduate students. While he was originally recruited to serve as Brown's backup, his play during the summer in the Raleigh Pro-Am League has raised Gottfried's hopes that his impact can be even greater.
"After Ryan left, we felt the need to get another ball-handling guard," Gottfried said. "We wanted to find a player that had graduated with the rules the way they are. He's a great young guy. He's a college graduate. He's got maturity. He's quick, he shoots it well and he's got good leadership skills."
The only other scholarship guard on the roster is promising, but raw 6-4 freshman Jaqawn Raymond (21.3 ppg, .793 FT at Statesboro HS/Statesboro, Ga.), though energetic 6-5 senior wing C.J. Williams (4.7 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.1 apg, .463 FG), the team's best defensive player, can and probably will also play in the backcourt if the need arises.
Gottfried's options are more numerous up front. The problem is that other than Leslie, none of State's three junior big men have shown they are ready to take on a full-time role. And all of them have weaknesses in their games that must be addressed before they can make that jump.
Richard Howell (7.4 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 0.9 apg, .518 FG, .400 3PT) is the most polished of the group and will probably get the first crack at the starting job. The 6-8, 261-pound banger is a surprisingly good passer for a man his size and has shown an ability to hit the boards and score from the low post. But because he's always had issues with conditioning, he's never played the kind of minutes that were expected of him as a top 100 player coming out of high school.

10/21/2011 12:48:47 PM

Quote :

"Also interesting Vandy appears to be working with the first unit (Zo, CJ, Wood, Leslie, Vandy). Probably just drill-related though"

I can see him getting some big minutes this year...especially against teams with big frontcourts.

He's really not that bad for a "project" big man.

10/21/2011 12:49:11 PM

DeShawn Painter (4.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, .467 FG) is a slender 6-9 center who started 11 games while senior Tracy Smith was out of the lineup last season. Painter showed plenty of athleticism during that audition, but his defense and shot selection were often questionable and his playing time diminished to almost nothing as the ACC season went on.
The opposite was the case for 7-1 Australian Jordan Vandenberg (1.6 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 0.7 bpg, .652 FG). Lost on the bench for most of the season, he suddenly played 15 minutes against North Carolina on Jan. 23 after having been on the court for a total of 13 minutes in the previous 16 games combined.
Vandenberg played well that day, added a career-high eight points against Georgia Tech a few days later and ended up starting the final five games of the season. For him to be more than a role player, however, he still needs to improve on his mobility and court sense.
Because of the questions surrounding the three returners, there's a good chance two newcomers will get the opportunity to make major contributions right away, especially 6-8 freshman forwardTyler Harris (14.5 ppg at St. Benedict's Prep/Newark, N.J.).
Harris is a three-star recruit whose brother Tobias played last season at Tennessee and is currently a member of the Milwaukee Bucks.
Because Harris' game is more perimeter-oriented at this stage of his development, Gottfried brought in 6-8, 235-pound Belgian Thomas de Thaey (15.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg at Canarias Basketball Academy in the Canary Islands) to help out on the boards.
While Gottfried admits that there's still a lot of work to be done on the recruiting front to upgrade the Wolfpack's talent level, he's already taken steps to beef up his team's traditionally weak schedule. He's also made it clear that he has no intention of settling for second-class status in a neighborhood traditionally dominated by rivals North Carolina and Duke.
"Every job in America in athletics has different challenges, obstacles, those things that make the job difficult," said Gottfried, who briefly had Alabama at No. 1 in 2004-05. "I'm not backing down from anyone here. We want to win, period."

BLUE RIBBON ANALYSIS

BACKCOURT: B-
BENCH/DEPTH: C+
FRONTCOURT: C+
INTANGIBLES: B
Just when it seemed as though the Wolfpack would be turned down by every hot name in the coaching profession, and then some, Yow pulled a rabbit out of her hat by hiring Gottfried -- an old friend from their days together at Oral Roberts.
Gottfried certainly has the credentials to be successful at State, having helped UCLA to the 1995 national championship as an assistant to Jim Harrick and winning a pair of SEC West titles on his own at Alabama. But he also comes with some baggage after walking away from his last job at midseason and having spent the last two years out of coaching and on television.
But Gottfried says his experience at ESPN helped him see things that will make him a better coach, and he's certainly motivated to succeed. As such, he may just be the right man at the right time for NC State.
The new coach has said all the right things so far when it comes to the Wolfpack's potential, his concern for the returning players, his excitement about coaching at a basketball school in a basketball conference and his desire to compete on a national level. But State's long-suffering fans have heard all that before.
They're waiting for the day when somebody can come along and turn those words in the result. Only then will they consider their program to truly be back in the game.

10/21/2011 12:49:23 PM

^thanks. had to put it in a word document so i didn't have to slide back and forth on the page., it was driving me insane. someone really needs to resize that giant team photo.

10/21/2011 12:59:16 PM

Seriously. That giant photo is annoying.

10/21/2011 1:01:48 PM

Quote :

"He's really not that bad for a "project" big man. "

Not at all. He seems to thrive playing with Zo too. There were a few games where those two had some epic alley-oops

10/21/2011 1:08:17 PM

Quote :

"Scott Wood Gym rat"

Saw that coming from a mile away

10/21/2011 1:18:29 PM

Quote :

"CJ Williams looks blazed in all his pictures"

10/21/2011 1:20:54 PM

where's the rest of the preview?

10/21/2011 1:28:22 PM

Lets get to page 13 asap pls.

10/21/2011 2:34:19 PM

contributing toward page 13

10/21/2011 2:35:56 PM

I'm very excited for this season

+1

10/21/2011 2:42:22 PM

I can't wait to see what this new regime of State basketball brings

+1 for getting to the next page too

10/21/2011 2:54:55 PM

on to page 13

10/21/2011 3:09:07 PM

come on lucky 13.

10/21/2011 3:14:40 PM

I'll be paying attention to Josh Davis at Tulane, too.

10/21/2011 3:18:35 PM

ol' Josh "I wince in pain when I shoot free throws" Davis

10/21/2011 3:23:46 PM

And go

10/21/2011 3:37:28 PM

where did julius mays transfer to? i don't think i'll be following him.

10/21/2011 3:44:11 PM

resized image = Gottsend

[Edited on October 21, 2011 at 4:01 PM. Reason : .]

10/21/2011 4:01:12 PM

Julius Mays transferred to the place Brad Brownell (clemson coach) used to be at, too lazy to look it up though.

10/21/2011 4:12:32 PM

what up, wright state

10/21/2011 4:14:38 PM