Pack pride guys are delusional if they think TDT and Lewis are going to do anything this year.

10/18/2012 10:03:21 PM

Lewis has to do something, he's all we have behind Zo. Besides, I think most fan bases would expect something from a McDonald's AA

[Edited on October 19, 2012 at 12:27 AM. Reason : ]

10/19/2012 12:25:10 AM

Our trouble last year came from Howell being off the floor with foul trouble. That could still bight us this year unless Vandy has improved. To me, thats the only question mark.

10/19/2012 12:53:54 AM

lewis'll do something.

[Edited on October 19, 2012 at 1:11 AM. Reason : ^ presumably howell will have improved on that himself, as well.]

10/19/2012 1:10:46 AM

Quote :

"Pack pride guys are delusional if they think TDT and Lewis are going to do anything this year."

I don't think anyone is expecting them to be world beater...we just need them to be serviceable when they come in relief. I don't think that's a stretch.

10/19/2012 6:44:53 AM

I'm not sure they'll be serviceable. Remember Ryan Harrow's defense, and that's what you'll get in Lewis. TDT will without a doubt lead the team in getting his layups blocked. Can he guard other bigs without fouling?

10/19/2012 8:40:03 AM

TDT can't improve? I also thought a lot of his problems last year were mental. He looked like a deer in headlights out there. Besides basic physical improvements from working out more, skill improvements from practicing, I think mental improvements from general confidence (like playing well on the Spain trip) will do wonders for his play this year.

And Lewis is about 10-15 pounds heavier (while being an inch or two shorter) than Harrow was his freshmen year. He's probably a step slower, but he won't get crazy pushed around like Harrow did. I think he's probably a lot smarter defender that Harrow. The guy's been playing guys more athletic then him his whole life. Sure, he's not going to shut anyone down, but we don't need him to. It's not like the ACC is chocked full of AA point guards this year (not to mention their back-ups, who Lewis will be guarding a decent amount).

I don't see why we won't get 10-15 good minutes out of both of those guys this year...and that's not a blind-optimism prediction.

10/19/2012 9:05:58 AM

I think between TDT and Vandy we can get enough serviceable minutes to make up for Painter. I mean I'd love to have Amile Jefferson eating up those minutes, but I think Vandy can have some effect on the game defensively and eat up fouls, and TDT has knocked down some open shots and fights for rebounds.

The only part of Painters game I detested was that he was a black hole with the ball. He'd catch it at the top of the key and you knew he was going to shoot the jumper. I'm hoping TDT and Vandy can just give us enough minutes to keep Howell/Leslie/Warren fresh. I do expect Warren to play more 4 than he was expecting to this year.

10/19/2012 9:27:50 AM

Dexter Strickland, thy name is enemy.

10/19/2012 9:56:40 AM

When can we start arguing about Wood (or Howell) being a bench-player in the NBA vs. a starter in Europe?

10/19/2012 10:06:53 AM

Quote :

"They talk those guys up every single year and we beat them every single year," Strickland said. "They are the least of our worries. Beat us one year and then they can talk smack. Until then, you can't put them in the mix. "

Dexter Strickland ... Every single year??? When was the last time "they" talked NC State up? The only time I can remember recently is before Sid's second year.

But thanks for that.

10/19/2012 10:07:24 AM

what a lame jab. when is the last time we have been "talked up"? I can't wait for ZoLo and C-Les to make him look silly

10/19/2012 10:07:53 AM

He's right that we aren't in the mix until we can beat them. I think we'll do that this year, hopefully twice.

10/19/2012 10:08:47 AM

He's right in that we still have to prove it on the court. He's wrong in that we haven't been "talked up", to this degree, in decades. And we haven't been "talked up" to any degree since he's played at UNC.

Also, a big, fat LOL at this quote from him:

Quote :

" I'll be honest. If nobody got hurt, you might as well have given us the trophy. Nobody had the ability to stop us."

[Edited on October 19, 2012 at 10:17 AM. Reason : 65]

10/19/2012 10:11:48 AM

Time to pull Strickland's transcript and parking ticket record.

10/19/2012 10:16:32 AM

Quote :

"They are the least of our worries."

Hope Gottfried puts this quote up in the locker room to use as motivation.

10/19/2012 10:19:08 AM

TDT= The Awful Waffle

10/19/2012 10:26:41 AM

The Bricking Dutchman

Honestly, I really hope TDT shows significant improvement this year. We may be reliant on him playing big minutes next season after Howell and Leslie leave.

10/19/2012 10:31:01 AM

I find it humorous that so many are willing to call TDT "terrible" when he was only a freshman, who was brought in as a project out of necessity, who only recently moved to america, who only averaged about 5 mins a game. He will be better his sophomore year than his freshman, I'd bet on it. I'm not saying he will or won't be more serviceable than Painter last year (probably won't), but let's wait and see.

10/19/2012 10:38:10 AM

Quote :

"The only part of Painters game I detested was that he was a black hole with the ball. He'd catch it at the top of the key and you knew he was going to shoot the jumper. "

He practiced that shot in the offseason and converted it at a decent clip in games. Howell could knock that down too. Calling him a black hole is a bit of a stretch.

Quote :

"but [Lewis] won't get crazy pushed around like Harrow did"

I'm not buying it. I agree he's probably pretty smart defensively, but it'll take him some time to figure out how he can be effective in college. If he can't stop his man outside the 3-pt line, he'll be a liability and will almost certainly need help from teammates. Contrastly, someone like Wood can get beat on the dribble and can recover enough to block the shot from behind.

Quote :

"Dexter Strickland ... Every single year??? "

Yes. Every single year he has been at UNC, they have beaten us.

10/19/2012 10:44:33 AM

TDT aka Megahorse, will be better than last year, but not as good as next year. You heard it here first.

10/19/2012 10:45:32 AM

TDT will be much better. He seems to have picked up some confidence over the summer.

10/19/2012 10:48:52 AM

whoops

[Edited on October 19, 2012 at 10:49 AM. Reason : Double post]

10/19/2012 10:48:52 AM

^^^^

Quote :

"Yes. Every single year he has been at UNC, they have beaten us."

You misinterpreted which part of Strickland's quote Mav was responding to (even though he explained it in his next sentence). Not only did Strickland say they beat us "every single year" (which is true), he also said "they talk those guys up every single year", which is incorrect. So, no.

[Edited on October 19, 2012 at 11:18 AM. Reason : ]

10/19/2012 10:49:32 AM

Quote :

"Contrastly, someone like Wood can get beat on the dribble and can recover enough to block the shot from behind."

Wood is normally "recovering" against fellow SFs and bigger SGs. Wood can't catch quick guards after they get by him either. His reach at 6'5" helps him a bit as well. You also forget that Wood gets called for a ton of fouls in those plays (lot of bad calls, IMO).

Lewis will be going against Purvis and Brown in practice all day...so he'll be "adjusting" plenty before our first game. Wasn't like Harrow trying to check Javi during the offseason...

Again, not saying he's going to be a defensive stopper, and I'm not saying he won't get beat a decent amount...but he'll be serviceable enough to not to be a matador defender when he gets out there. He'll also have a 7-foot Aussie cleaning up after him when his defender gets by

10/19/2012 10:57:58 AM

#24, T.J. Warren, Freshman - Durham, NC

6'8" / 233 lbs., reserve Forward

10/19/2012 12:25:45 PM

[Edited on October 19, 2012 at 12:46 PM. Reason : ]

10/19/2012 12:46:43 PM

Can we get a countdown timer?

Should it be for the Nov 3rd exhibition against Belmont Abbey, or Nov 9th against Miami (OH)?

10/19/2012 12:55:33 PM

either way, it's so close!

10/19/2012 12:57:26 PM

I had a dream last night that we lost to Miami of Ohio. I guess I still remember the pain of seeing the overhyped JJ Hickson team losing to New Orleans very early in the season

10/19/2012 1:02:00 PM

that game really was a low point in my basketball fanhood.

10/19/2012 1:35:54 PM

Warren in the last picture in that post is all:

10/19/2012 1:39:27 PM

Quote :

"That could still bight us"

10/19/2012 2:17:49 PM

Quote :

"that game really was a low point in my basketball fanhood."

The lowest of lows for me was probably losing @ ECU...was that the same year?

10/19/2012 2:28:26 PM

Yep same year. It's also the year we won the Old Spice Classic.

10/19/2012 2:33:59 PM

Quote :

"that game year really was a low point in my basketball fanhood."

[Edited on October 19, 2012 at 3:02 PM. Reason : a]

10/19/2012 3:01:52 PM

Quote :

"He's right that we aren't in the mix until we can beat them. I think we'll do that this year, hopefully twice."

Who exactly is "in the mix" right now, and what mix is he talking about? Neither us nor them won the ACC last year, and they got one game farther in the NCAA tourney before losing to the same team we did.

10/19/2012 3:06:51 PM

That was also the year we were down like 43-10 or some shit at halftime in the dome.

10/19/2012 4:03:50 PM

Yep. That entire season was shit. Absolute shit.

10/19/2012 4:05:20 PM

It just means we haven't actually won anything yet, which is true. No, neither duke nor unc won the ACC last year, but that was an anomaly by recent standards.

I think we're the best team in the ACC this year, but that won't be proven true until we can beat the teams that have been considered the best for the last decade or two. Carolina and duke are "in the mix" because they've both won the ACC (and NCAA) titles within the last 5 years.

I don't take exception to what Strickland said, I just hope that the team uses that as additional fuel so we kick their ass that much harder when we play. We've got 4 guys that are relishing their final opportunities to kick the shit out of UNC at Duke, and I think they're going to make the most of it.

10/19/2012 4:07:08 PM

I'm just worried everyone will start focusing on basketball too early while we're still playing for a football championship.

10/19/2012 4:11:00 PM

Because it is literally impossible to be excited about two NC State sports at once

10/19/2012 4:11:38 PM

Do not forget that UNC required one of the worst pieces of officiating to beat us in the ACC tourney. Revenge needs to come and it needs to come fast.

10/19/2012 4:12:04 PM

How the fuck are we going to beat UNC at Duke?

10/19/2012 4:15:39 PM

if we don't beat UNC at Duke this year, the season is a failure

10/19/2012 4:17:59 PM

lmao i won't even ghost edit that one. i meant unc and duke, but please continue giving me shit for it

10/19/2012 4:18:52 PM

I'm imagining State playing UNC in Cameron, and all the crazies cheering for us and against them.

Btw, State hosted the Dixie Classic back in the 50's with the Big 4 teams, so something similar has happened before.

10/19/2012 4:26:17 PM

Anybody know when basketball season tickets are being mailed?

I have a student loyalty program rank of 6560. Never bought season tickets to bball before, and went for club level. Anybody have any idea of how good the seats will be?

10/19/2012 6:46:15 PM

The club level only has four rows, so it's just a matter of where the location is. No seats in any particular section of the club level are any better/worse than other seats in said section.

10/19/2012 6:57:54 PM

I should've been more specific. Not the champions club, but the "sidecourt/club level". They were like $600 per ticket.

10/19/2012 7:01:54 PM