VPI Win: Everyone Contributes (Updated 2/1; 10:30am)

To my thinking, that might be the most special part of our 11 point win in Blacksburg. Here’s my breakdown:

– Engin Atsur – Obvious, with clutch 3s, hustle plays, and steady leadership.
– Ben McCauley – Pretty much carried the offense in the early going, made some tough rebounds, and put the dagger in the Hokies with a nice slashing move and dunk.
– Brandon Costner – Rebounding machine, hit the shot of the night with his late 3 to silence the frenzied crowd and put State back up by 5.
– Courtney Fells – Great defense all night, active on the glass. Gave Pack fans the best “SportsCenter” moment of the night with a vicious, press-breaking dunk that left Cliff Ellis howling. Commenters – find and post the YouTube video!
– Gavin Grant – Recovered from a terrible last minute of the first half to carry the offense in the 2nd. Nailed 2 key 1-and-1s.
– Bryan Nieman – After a Pack miss and up only 4 in the 2nd half, Nieman alertly tips the ball away from the rebounding Hokie, off his face and into the waiting arms of Gavin Grant.
– Dennis Horner – Mostly invisible all night, made a great hustle play on a loose ball, scrambling to the baseline and bouncing the ball of a frustrated Hokie.

Post your key moments in the comments. And check out the fun we had last night overcoming my pessimism.

Updated: Jeff Comments (10:15am)
I haven’t had a chance to watch the game yet. I had a dinner last night and drove home during the second half. So, I got to listen to the VPI announcers on XM Satellite radio. It was a nice experience to get to listen to their perspectives of the game. Some comments and links that I have pieced together:

* I emailed a friend yesterday telling him that I had a good feeling about last night’s game. I was dying to get it on the blog before my day got away from me and I had to get to my dinner. There was just something about the evening that seemed to be a good set up for the Pack: (a) a week to rest and prepare, (b) Engin Atsur’s improving help and ability to practice with the team, (c) Coach Lowe’s recent decision to go deeper on the bench and stress hustle and defense with his substitution pattern, (d) VPI getting too big for their britches and taking ‘last place’ NC State too lightly. Instead, I now look like the ultimate Monday Morning Quarterback for missing my opportunity!

* It is extremely encouraging that Sidney Lowe was able to instill such an improvement in overall effort, defense and rebounding with the Pack’s week long break. Hopefully, the message is sinking in with certain players that this is how you WIN basketball games.

* Talk about exemplifying the impact of Engin Atsur! Atsur’s mere presence on the court for State brings with it so many things that the rest of the squad lacks – senior experience, improved defense, good ballhandling, and good 3 point shooting. Don’t get sucked into playing What If? scenarios!

* To ^this point – State was still only 5 of 18 from the three point arc. Exclude Atsur, and the Pack was only 1 of 8 from behind the arc. What are we going to do next year?

* The VPI announcers were very complimentary of NC State and Coach Sidney Lowe. They also made some complimentary comments about the Pack’s play without directly referencing Sidney that still served to compliment the Pack’s coach(ing). They highlighted State’s offense that consistently found ways to take advantage of key match-ups on the court. They also stressed how hungry the Pack played and that it was obvious that State wanted the game more. It was enjoyable to hear such nice comments.

* Speaking of the Virginia Tech announcers – this entry from March of 2005 came to mind.

* State vaulted to #125 in the RPI with the win. Due to the strong and balanced nature of the Wolfpack’s remaining schedule, the Pack could crack the Top 100 this year with only 2 to 4 more wins. That would be quite an accomplishment for a team picked last in the conference before the season started and who played with Engin Atsur for half the season.

* I have just found the “Above the Rim” blog at the Charlotte Observer. Their entry on the game focuses on Seth Greenberg’s compliments of State. I’ll take it. Greenberg has been one of my favorites through the years. I pegged him for stardom when he was at South Florida and was actually surprised that he accepted the VPI job as I thought that he would hold out for a more attractive opportunity (that he would have surely gotten in coming years).

* As likable as Greenburg is, his propensity to publicly comment on NC State’s coaching situation (Herb Sendek) last year really rubbed me the wrong way. He talked A LOT on Fox Sports radio, etc about the situation in Raleigh and was too critical of Wolfpackers for my liking. IMHO, he would have been better served to have kept his mouth shut. In 2005, Greenberg defeated a deep and experienced Wolfpack coached Herb Sendek in their first battle in Cassell Coliseum. In 2007, Greenberg lost a thin and inexperienced Wolfpack team coached by Sidney Lowe. I guess I don’t blame him for loving Sendek so much.

* The N&O’s game article can be accessed by clicking here.

* Poor GoPack.com. They are at it again. I am not going to go through the hassle of capturing their screen again – but they have included pictures of State’s November home game against Michigan as the accompaniment to he story for last night’s win at Virginia Tech. It’s just pitiful. Here is a link to the last conversation that we had when they pulled the identical stunt after State’s win at Wake Forest.

* The following are some good summary comments on the evening from GoPack’s article:

Not only did the Pack shoot 53.1 percent for the game, including 56.5 percent in the second half, it put together one of its best defensive efforts of the season, holding Tech to a season-low 35 percent from the floor. Lowe mixed in a 2-3 zone and even a triangle-and-two during stretches of the game, but the Wolfpack’s most effective defense was its man-to-man.

Spearheading the NC State defense was guard Courtney Fells, who spent most of the night chasing Virginia Tech star Zabian Dowdell. Dowdell, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, came in as the league’s third leading scorer, averaging 19 points per game. But on Wednesday, with Fells in his hip pocket, the senior struggled to get 16 points, going 0-5 from the floor in the second half.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

06-07 Basketball General

44 Responses to VPI Win: Everyone Contributes (Updated 2/1; 10:30am)

  1. Rick 02/01/2007 at 11:29 AM #

    “they’re both tall (6′10ish), lefty post men who shoot the ball well from the perimeter and rebound well.’

    Do you mena Perkins? Wallace was not left handed.

  2. Rick 02/01/2007 at 11:29 AM #

    And enough about Ferg. Anymore and there will be some editing.

  3. tractor57 02/01/2007 at 11:30 AM #

    Ferguson shows the lack of basketball for a year along with some of the usual freshman tendencies. With some time and a lot of hard work he can develop. I’m glad he now can do the developing at practice rather than in games.

  4. choppack1 02/01/2007 at 11:37 AM #

    tractor – I thought he played well in the first half.

    He’s still scared and tentative, but he hustles and plays hard. His play (not mention his appearance) reminds me a bit of Jeremy Hyatt at the same point in his career.

    Hopefully, he can build on this. He didn’t try to do to much and played w/ in his limits. He’s going to have start shooting from the outside more, play stronger, and move his feet better on D – but I still believe we can count on a few minutes to spell our guards this year.

  5. xphoenix87 02/01/2007 at 11:42 AM #

    yeah, I don’t know what I was thinking. Guess it’s just too early in the morning, but I could’ve sworn wallace was a southpaw. Whatever, the comparison still stands.

  6. Redblogger 02/01/2007 at 11:48 AM #

    Well looked very good against the press, that was a big change for some of our past games. It played a big part in us keeping our lead down the stretch.

    And if my lip reading is correct I believe Greenberg said “Thst’s F****** Bull****” after he got T’ed

  7. tractor57 02/01/2007 at 11:55 AM #

    choppack
    I agree with you totally. I think he will be a real asset in time. I’m just glad Lowe can pick the spots to use him rather than having to rely on his presence for a lot of minutes at this time. If he develops as Hyatt did he will be a big asset. I didn’t mean to diminish him at all – rather I’m glad he now can be allowed to develop with a little less pressure. Personally I like his energy and his attitude.

  8. redfred2 02/01/2007 at 12:26 PM #

    I saw Ferguson receive the ball and take off down court once last night like he was on a mission and really ready to force the issue. But then it looked like he stopped himself and he basically waited on someone to come to him so he could hand the ball off. He looked good pushing the ball across the time line anyway, maybe he’ll come around in time.

  9. gopack968 02/01/2007 at 12:36 PM #

    ^^ Maybe he needs a flaming basketball tattoo.

  10. Rick 02/01/2007 at 2:35 PM #

    “They highlighted State’s offense that consistently found ways to take advantage of key match-ups on the court.”

    This is such an overlooked point. I was talking to my wife about the game adn telling her how Sidney made so many changes during the game to take advantage of mismatches. She asked why we did not do this in the past? I had no answer.

    Also notice we beat a top team without shooting well from three. This is great.

  11. ChuckAllYall 02/01/2007 at 2:45 PM #

    yeah, where the hell did Horner’s tatoo come from? It made me damn giddy when I saw it.

  12. Texpack 02/01/2007 at 3:34 PM #

    Game was blacked out here live so I had to record the 1230am rebroadcast and watch this morning. I think I enjoyed that stretch in the second half when VT took the lead a little more since I knew the outcome already.

    After calling Costner “Charmin” after the Duke game I would have to call him “Sears Catalog” after last night. He was the most agressive I’ve seen him rebounding and on defense against an ACC foe. The effort from the whole team was excellent for 40 minutes. I thought GG looked a lot better with his effort and decision making.

    The thing I like about having Atsur back on the floor is that the guys around him are going to learn a lot faster about how they are supposed to play and handle certain game situations from going through it on the floor together in the heat of battle. Coaches can coach in practice ’til they’re blue in the face, but sometimes it takes game successes to get guys over the hump in learning things.

    Don’t give up on GG and Courtney Fells just yet as guards in this league. Anybody who watched the improvement in Spud Webb from his junior to his senior season should realize that nothing will help these guys as much as going through the wars one time.

  13. drewhuff 02/01/2007 at 5:30 PM #

    Bryan Nieman also made a key decision to foul a vatech player on a breakaway that would have put another charge into the crowd when the score was getting close. most of these seemingly insignificant plays are overlooked, but winning teams make those plays consistently and every player knows his role.

  14. Gene 02/01/2007 at 10:18 PM #

    Serious Question: When in the last ten years have we outrebounded and outscored the opposition in the paint against a solid ACC opponent?

    The teams that had Kelly, Thornton and Inge, with Gainey at guard, probably out rebounded and scored more points in the paint than other ACC opponents.

    Missed the game, and it wasn’t broadcast in my area. I picked up the final two minutes of the radio broadcast and was super happy to see that we won.

    GO PACK!

  15. smfrank 02/02/2007 at 9:22 AM #

    Not to look too far ahead – but we have 9 ACC games left. 2 against UNC, 1 against VaTech (who we’ve beaten). The other 6 are against the bottom half of the ACC (Maryland 2x, Wake, FSU, Miami, GaTech). If Atsur continues to play and we play hard – we still have a good shot at 6-7 wins in the ACC.

  16. TNCSU 02/02/2007 at 10:32 AM #

    ^^^This is such an overlooked point. I was talking to my wife about the game adn telling her how Sidney made so many changes during the game to take advantage of mismatches. She asked why we did not do this in the past? I had no answer.

    Man, I’m jealous…you’re wife actually “listens” when you start talking basketball??? YOU DA MAN!

  17. redfred2 02/02/2007 at 2:16 PM #

    ^She must’ve just gotten back from the mall.

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. StateFans Nation » Blog Archive » N&O: ‘Pure & Simple, They Tried’ - 02/01/2007

    qw2qvc Really enjoyed this blog post.Really thank you! Want more.

  2. StateFans Nation » Blog Archive » 2007.03.20_ Big Dose of Bytes - 03/20/2007

    […] If I could have chosen the (non-Big Four) team for NC State to sweep this season then it would have been Virginia Tech. As I said in a comment on February 1st: As likable as Seth Greenburg is, his propensity to publicly comment on NC State’s coaching situation (Herb Sendek) last year really rubbed me the wrong way. He talked A LOT on Fox Sports radio, etc about the situation in Raleigh and was too critical of Wolfpackers for my liking. IMHO, he would have been better served to have kept his mouth shut. In 2005, Greenberg defeated a deep and experienced Wolfpack coached Herb Sendek in their first battle in Cassell Coliseum. In 2007, Greenberg lost a thin and inexperienced Wolfpack team coached by Sidney Lowe. I guess I don’t blame him for loving Sendek so much. […]

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