Also, I wouldn't even consider mccauley and costner "go to" players


Costner can be really good, but he's streaky and not good down the stretch.
McCauley can be ok, but he's been nothing short of terrible down the stretch all season.


Go to players make plays when nobody else can...and that usually involves handling the ball...something none of our so called go to players can do.

1/20/2009 10:41:06 PM

i have no qualms with the game we played today AT the number 2 team in the nation. I was actually pleasantly surprised with our performance, just not the end game.

1/20/2009 10:48:57 PM

^ apparently you're the only one. At least we beat the spread. People get really pissed off and say things that don't really make sense when we lose to Duke and UNC.

1/20/2009 10:52:44 PM

Quote :

"Fells only counts as three-fifths."

fucking LOL

1/20/2009 10:55:57 PM

yall are intolerant. lol.

1/20/2009 10:58:07 PM

i must say, I thought you were a fucking troll

now I know you're just unrealistic

but I respect you anyway, OhBoyeee

[Edited on January 20, 2009 at 11:00 PM. Reason : ]

1/20/2009 11:00:44 PM

add packboozie onto that list as well

1/20/2009 11:08:13 PM

^^ thanks, I told you I'm not a troll... I think I just reached my breaking point earlier than most.. but I will say Lowe and the team played great today and with lots of intensity, so I'm eating crow, even after the loss.. but it was to the #2 team in the nation.

1/20/2009 11:14:18 PM

just watched the highlights on SC and god damn Henderson was tearing up Fells


Everytime he drove fells just kinda watched

like others have said, play like this and we will win several more games.

1/20/2009 11:16:30 PM

henderson is just an unreal athlete.

he's like courtney fells if courtney fells really wanted to play basketball.

1/20/2009 11:19:30 PM

^^^no, I hear you about the breaking point. Its really frustrating because Costner, McCauley, and Fells have so much POTENTIAL. It's so frustrating.

but,

I mean, we all knew EXACTLY what would happen during this game

just like everyone KNEW exactly what would happen when Beck went in the game in Alabama





something is rotten in the stake of denmark, period.

I just don't think it's Lowe. There's something wrong with the players. A great coach could possibly help that, and Lowe isn't a great coach, but he isn't a fucking moron either. But he is recruiting very well, and I don't buy into the theory that he will never be a good coach. That's all I'm trying to say.

[Edited on January 20, 2009 at 11:20 PM. Reason : .]

1/20/2009 11:19:37 PM

like i've said before, a lot of coaches in this game see success on mediocre coaching and great recruiting.

clearly, sidney lowe is not a coaching mastermind, but he could end up having a really good career, but it's going to take time to get it going.

1/20/2009 11:22:11 PM

You can't fault fells for that. Everyone knows coming in that fells cannot guard smaller guards who have the same level of athleticism as him. You put fells on a slower player (bigger or smaller).

With a scorer like henderson, your best bet is try to match up foot speed and deny them the ball as much as possible.

1/20/2009 11:22:31 PM

well he's definitely got another year, probably 2 with our AD even if it is shitty, so might as well sit back and watch the fireworks.. you know being an NC State fan you are conditioned to expect the worst.

1/20/2009 11:23:18 PM

jesus christ, you really turned a corner tonight.

1/20/2009 11:23:52 PM

i'm glad we all could use this opportunity to grow, and become friends.

1/20/2009 11:24:36 PM

el oh el

[Edited on January 20, 2009 at 11:39 PM. Reason : rawr]

1/20/2009 11:39:23 PM

i dont know if this has been said yet, but on the front page of ESPN.com the anchor just said,

"Coach K's halftime speech was better than Sidney Lowe's."

thats some good pub right there...

1/21/2009 1:21:09 AM

I'm still not fully convinced, but I think Sidney did well last night. Rat-face was going to win, no doubt about it, but we tried and put some fear into Duke's players last night.

1/21/2009 10:49:43 AM

still credible

1/21/2009 10:54:11 AM

INcredible.

1/21/2009 10:54:49 AM

fells was in foul trouble when henderson was abusing him, he really couldn't do anything. The real question is, why was fells guarding him in the first place?

1/21/2009 12:12:13 PM

because he's athletic and has historically played with passion in the Duke games.

Sid did great last night and was so pissed with the PG's throughout the game, especially when they would run the corners of the floor and basically set up the trap for Duke.

Damn...what an experience going to Cameron. Really does make me miss Reynolds.

SO

FUCKING

LOUD.

1/21/2009 1:01:21 PM

fells was at the 3 and so was henderson?

1/21/2009 1:01:44 PM

Quote :

"why was fells guarding him in the first place?"

who would you suggest guard someone as athletic as henderson, other than our most athletic player fells?

1/21/2009 1:03:40 PM

yeah really, if you think henderson went off w/ fells guarding him w/ 3 fouls you don't want to see him w/ anyone else on our team, except maybe johnny thomas. but johnny thomas did try, and gave it a good one, but henderson is just too good right now.

1/21/2009 3:17:57 PM

Quote :

"Damn...what an experience going to Cameron. Really does make me miss Reynolds."

was that your first game there? it really is a special place to watch basketball and every time i have been i have walked out thinking about Reynolds

1/21/2009 3:44:06 PM

yeah. First time there.

During Duke's comeback, the cheers got so loud that it was just that white noise sound, like a damn airplane taking off or something.

I can't even imagine what the Duke/UNC game is like.

Then I think of the RBC and a half empty stadium for an ACC game that's not Duke or UNC. So quiet. So

1/21/2009 5:02:27 PM

if we won like duke won, the rbc would be full every night.

1/21/2009 5:09:59 PM

its kind of odd, and annoying, that Duke and UNC can recruit SO WELL while having OLD SHITTY gyms

1/21/2009 5:10:04 PM

I think I'd rather have an old shitty gym than an old shitty program

1/21/2009 5:12:37 PM

we have one...but we only play one game a year there

but yeah i agree

[Edited on January 21, 2009 at 5:13 PM. Reason : .]

1/21/2009 5:13:35 PM

Quote :

"Then I think of the RBC and a half empty stadium for an ACC game that's not Duke or UNC. So quiet. So "

the thing is our attendance for the first 2 ACC games have been 17173 and 16468. Hardly bad figures for this kind of team.

1/21/2009 5:13:48 PM

then maybe it's psychological because it's so fucking quiet in there....

I'd take 8k loud and rowdy ass fans over 18k fans sitting on their hands.

Granted, we don't give them much to cheer for...but at the RBC's loudest, it still doesn't hold a candle.

Let me also say Go PACK. I am just thoroughly impressed with Cameron.

1/21/2009 5:21:48 PM

its just bigger...RBC has more air space...Cameron, Reynolds, etc are small so all the yelling hits lower ceilings, closer walls, etc

1/21/2009 5:26:10 PM

The RBC doesn't get loud because our team generally sucks too much for that to happen.

However, I remember a couple of years ago when we were pounding Duke, the roof was about to rattle off it was so amazingly loud.

Same goes for the UNC upset from a couple of years ago.

We can bring the noise, but its hard to stay consistently loud when 5 mins of good NCSU bball is followed by 5 mins of bonehead turnovers.

1/21/2009 6:06:06 PM

Post-nut punch was the loudest RBC has ever been.

1/21/2009 9:57:37 PM

^was front row sideline for that game


kicking the boards the whole game hurts your toes


Had some wake forest fans in front of us to tell us to keep it down. We all kinda looked at them funny and proceeded to scream louder.

Paul making that game winner was the ultimate kick in the nuts

1/21/2009 10:37:11 PM

in case anyone missed it in the Duke thread, here's a good read

http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/articles/?p=26541

I'm not gonna post the whole article but I think it fits a lot better in this thread than the game thread, dude makes some good arguments

Quote :

"It must be the most frustrating thing in the world for Lowe, who wore his big-game red jacket to Cameron. If you look back at his stats when he was at State, they were never overwhelming. Yet he was a superb leader for his team who got his guys to be steady and when they were in a close game hell would freeze over before he made a critical mistake. He was not just a good leader, he was an excellent leader. He sits there and he is bound to see the mistakes coming, and he’s surely told his guys what to do and not to do. And they are effective for most of the game. But at the end, when his knowledge and experience should be most valuable, they simply can’t do what he has tried to teach them. They rush, they dribble too far, they try to make passes that are a stretch, and slowly, his team crumbles under the pressure and fails. You can think back to any number of reasonable point guards in the past (or contemporaries for that matter), and they don’t have to be great ones, just good ones, and imagine them at State. How much better would they be? What about Terrell McIntyre? Bobby Frasor? T.J. Bannister? Charlie Ward? Keith Gatlin? Larry Drew II? For that matter, Sidney Lowe? Just one steady guard who knew what to do in the clutch would make this team a viable tournament team. One steady guard and one reliably intelligent small forward could put them deep into the tournament. For a competitor like Lowe, sitting and watching incompetence, when he sees the error almost every time, must just eat him alive. After this game and a number of close shaves this season, we have to say this: he’s staying in games despite a critical flaw in his team. We’d have to say that’s the mark of a good coach."

[Edited on January 21, 2009 at 10:58 PM. Reason : ]

1/21/2009 10:49:33 PM

words from coach k on state's performance and sid

Quote :

""Those two guys [Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner] are really good,” Krzyzewski said. “They’re not [just] good. They’re really good. And I think they’re getting more solid point guard play. "[Courtney] Fells hasn’t played like he can play yet. I don’t know if he’s still hampered by, doesn’t he have an ankle injury? He’s an elite player when he’s right. If he gets right, then you have three guys. And they do have good complementary guys in there, guys that can make shots. "Not everyone in the league will play them defensively as hard [as Duke]. They might play zone or play off. Like against [Georgia] Tech, [Trevor] Ferguson got three huge threes. We tried not to let him get an open look. I think they’re good. They’ve played us really well the last three ballgames. "Sidney [Lowe] has a way of trying to figure out what weakness you have in your defense and goes at it. He’s a good coach. He’s a good coach.”"

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/coach-k-praises-pack

1/21/2009 11:41:05 PM

what do you expect him to say after winning by 20?

1/22/2009 12:46:41 PM

Quote :

"who would you suggest guard someone as athletic as henderson, other than our most athletic player fells?"

Look, there's almost no one in the country that can actually STOP henderson. He's a tremendously gifted athlete and he's going to score regardless. We just have to account for that and try to minimize his scoring in order to give ourselves a chance. Fells obviously wasn't cutting it when Henderson blew by him a few times due to laziness and lack of attention on Fells' part - we might as well have put Johnny on him, even though he's a freshman, and let him develop his defensive skills to prepare him for the future. Besides Johnny, no one else on our team could have handled Henderson.

1/22/2009 12:57:16 PM

^Ehh I don't really agree with that. Fells is just as athletic as Henderson. Call me stupid but Fells could be the same player as I have said before. He could stop him, he just doesn't put enough effort into it.....

1/22/2009 1:11:03 PM

i agree 10 fold. i dont know if fells dont give the effort or if his basketball IQ is really low.

i would give a pinky finger to have that much athletic ability

1/22/2009 1:39:21 PM

Quote :

"Granted, we don't give them much to cheer for...but at the RBC's loudest, it still doesn't hold a candle. "

I don't agree with this. I've been to Cameron, and I've been to the RBC center. On average, yes, cameron is much louder. However, at crunch time, when RBC is its loudest, its just as loud as Cameron.

It would be nice to get it loud for smaller games, and more consistently through all games, and thats what makes cameron great. But RBC can be amazing.

After the d00k game when we beat them my freshman year and they were number 1, my ears felt like I had just been at a rock concert for the rest of the night and even a little the next day.

1/22/2009 1:51:34 PM

If there is a team and an atmosphere (and the fans) to cheer for, RBC is the loudest arena in the country.

Unofficially.

128 db, bitches.

[Edited on January 22, 2009 at 2:36 PM. Reason : .]

1/22/2009 2:36:24 PM

16-13 will be our final record (prior to ACCT)

1/22/2009 2:58:26 PM

Quote :

"For a competitor like Lowe, sitting and watching incompetence, when he sees the error almost every time, must just eat him alive. After this game and a number of close shaves this season, we have to say this: he’s staying in games despite a critical flaw in his team. We’d have to say that’s the mark of a good coach.""

Being a great ball player doesn't mean you'll be a great coach. For someone who has a lot of natural ability it is probably hard to teach players how to do things that came to you naturally. Look at the great college coaches out there. Some of them might have been good players but most were not. Guys like K and Roy weren't great ball players. Maybe they can relate to college athletes better since they themselves had to learn through hard work.

I'm sure it drives Sid crazy to watch our players screw up so bad. But one mark of a good coach is to develop players. I haven't seen too much of that out of him yet.

I'm starting to think maybe he is only a good X's and O's coach. So if he gets a constant stream of great hs players coming here who don't need a lot of development then we'll be ok. But if the recruiting ever falls off, we'll be back to where we are now. Basically, if Larry Harris ever leaves, we're screwed.

Reminds me of Gary Williams. They had an assistant coach (don't remember his name) that brought in talent. They won a national title. The coach left a couple years ago and they've sucked ever since. They can't recruit great players.

1/22/2009 3:40:30 PM

Quote :

"Look, there's almost no one in the country that can actually STOP henderson"

Henderson is good, but he is actually a bit undersized at the wing position. I guarantee that guys like Terrance Williams, Sam Young, Tyler Smith, Stanley Robinson and KC Rivers can defend him well since he's giving at least 2 inches to every single of those guys and they are just as athletic. None of those guys, with the exception of Young have as polished an offensive game as Henderson but they are all premier on the ball defenders...

Plus, he isn't going to get those free trips to the basket against tough inside teams. You think Samardo Samuels, KC Rivers or Hasheem Thabeet will just let him fly over the top of them? They will either send his shit back or foul him hard...

[Edited on January 22, 2009 at 3:51 PM. Reason : he is one of the most improved players in the country though and very fun to watch]

1/22/2009 3:47:45 PM

Quote :

"Call me stupid but Fells could be the same player as I have said before. He could stop him, he just doesn't put enough effort into it....."

Fells could be...

He could stop him...

BUT HE DOESN'T!!! I wouldn't have a fuckin problem putting Fells on Henderson if he actually lived up to his potential and played some intense defense. So I'm not really sure what you're disagreeing about. Fells' defense consists of him letting players beat him off the dribble, then he runs and catches up to them and swats the ball out of the air. But against players like Henderson, it doesn't work.

[Edited on January 22, 2009 at 3:54 PM. Reason : .]

1/22/2009 3:51:57 PM