Lowe: ‘We’re going to get there’

Sidney Lowe met with the media Friday morning to discuss Sunday’s regular season finale against Boston College and the ACC Tournament. He even chimed in on the ACC Player of the Year discussion.

By Sunday you will know what seed you are in the ACC Tournament and what you have to do. Do you care where you are or who you play in that first round next week?

Not really. No. It doesn’t matter who we play, it’s going to be a tough game and it’s going to come down to how well we play, limiting our mistakes so it really doesn’t matter. We’re going to have to play well to beat any team in this conference.

Do you feel positive about the teams you could play because those teams from 4 or 5 through 9 have all had ups and downs? Is it a little different because of the parity in the ACC?

I don’t think any of them are going to be easy. These teams in this conference have knocked each other off, in games you didn’t think they would win. We beat a very good Duke team so you feel good about that. I’d like to say we’re going to have a chance against whoever we play, that is just the way it’s been this year. It’s a matter of who is coming out to play that day and the team that is going to limit turnovers and make shots. That’s going to be key.

What will it be like for the younger guys going to the ACC Tournament for the first time?

It will be an eye opening experience. It’s a special time, it’s a special tournament. The crowd is incredible, the atmosphere is incredible and the media attention is incredible. It will be something that they haven’t seen before and I’m sure some of them will be like a deer in headlights looking at everything but it’s also great. It’s a great experience and it’s something they should embrace early in their careers and understand. We tell them all the time what NC State is all about and what this conference is all about and I think they are going to see it now in one setting from all of the schools.

Does the team understand that what they do in the next week or two could really propel them into the offseason?

They do. We’ve talked about that. We’ve talked about trying to control what we can, and that’s us. Certainly there is a lot of basketball still to be played for this team. It’s just a matter of what we do in this next few weeks. How bad do we want to continue playing? That’s the most important thing.

What can Dennis Horner show the younger guys? He’s certainly seen both sides of the spectrum with regards to the ACC Tournament.

He can certainly understand what to expect but it’s nothing like going through it. I’m hoping that he can express to them his feeling of playing in the ACC Tournament and being eliminated and the season being over and how it felt. That is something he can certainly explain to them. How it feels to have a last game. Anytime you have a last game and it’s not the National Championship winning it, it’s just not a good feeling. He can certainly talk to them about that. He’s been through it.

Dennis’ effort was noticeable Wednesday night against Virginia Tech. I know you wanted to get Richard some more minutes and do some of that but it seems like Dennis has asserted himself and made that impossible.

He has. Part of that is that he realized that this is it. At some point in the next month or so my college career is coming to an end and what am I going to do with it. He’s just been playing hard. Even if he’s not making shots he’s going to the offensive glass, defensive glass, playing defense and it’s shown a little leadership without talking. We need that.

What does it mean that both Dennis and Farnold Degand will end up with their degrees in May?

It means everything. It means everything in the world. That’s something that we really are proud of that every senior we’ve had since I’ve been here has graduated – every last one of them. That’s more important to me than anything. Not more important because it helps me, it’s more important because it helps them. That’s not talked about a lot. It would mean everything to them. I know Dennis’ grandmother and mother are proud of him along with Farnold’s mom.

We’ve talked about scoring droughts a lot this year, but a couple of recent ones have been different because you have been getting stops on the defensive end.

That ball game the drought came became of turnovers instead of missed shots. We turned it over so we never gave ourselves a chance to score. We were solid with our defense for the most part with the exception of Delaney hitting those couple of shots. I know that we’ve made progress; there is no question about it. Just watching us and seeing us be a little more patient with it and not taking as many bad shots. We’re moving the ball and moving bodies and that’s a process. We’re going to get there. I can see it coming. If we get that down to understanding good shots and taking care of the ball we’re tough.

What do you expect to see from Boston College Sunday? They’ve played well here lately.

They are very physical. When you look at their players they are all big. The wings are big, the guards are big and thick. They are going to run their offense, their going to bang you. Trapani is going to do his thing shooting the ball. I see a very confident team and a very physical team. We have to be ready to play against that type of physicality and stay within what we’re trying to do.

Who is your player of the year in the ACC?

I tell you it’s hard to go against Greivis Vasquez. Certainly Maryland has other players who have stepped up but that young man is just special. He has got a mindset of just about winning. But he does it in the right way. I would have to say Vasquez.

09-10 Basketball ACC & Other Sidney Lowe

54 Responses to Lowe: ‘We’re going to get there’

  1. MP 03/06/2010 at 12:55 PM #

    Oh great. Yet another post taken over by ‘spewing BS’, ‘incessant consecutive posts’, etc.

  2. wolfmanmat 03/07/2010 at 10:18 AM #

    Statefans makes a good point about Fowler. When he botched the coach search he set the program back 3 years. Sid’s tenure has been extremely difficult because he basically missed 1 full recruiting class and it cost him the next years class. Recruiting is more than a 1 year game. No excuses, but he was in a bad situation. He is finally getting some solid(ie better than 3 star) recruits. He is going after BIG fish(see Wall/Cousins/Favors). Next year and the year after we’ll see if he can get the talent to work together.

    On Duke: this is a team that will go pretty far in the tourney IMO. If no reason other than being a #1 seed and getting basically 2 cakes to the sweet 16. And Scheyer and Nolan Smith are both better PGs than any that we have had since Corchi. They may not be true PGs like say John Stockton, but they are still scoring PGs and not 2 guards….Scott Wood is a 2G, Wayne Ellington is a 2, Langdon/Collins/Archie/Reddick/etc are 2 Gs. Just because a PG can score doesn’t mean he’s a 2G. A “true” 2G is a scorer who often lacks the ballhandling, passing and leadership skills to run the point. Scheyer and Smith don’t lack any of these.

  3. bradleyb123 03/07/2010 at 10:24 AM #

    Well said, wolfmanman!

  4. fmack 03/07/2010 at 11:57 PM #

    Hey fellow WolfPackers – It’s me again, the eternal optimist.
    I’ve read the comments by some of you on this post about the coach and I have to say it again – it sounds a lot like a rush limbaugh radio show. every post, every issue, every day the same complaints about the bball team.
    this really makes no sense at all.
    I’ve watched ACC bball for more years than I care to mention here and listened when I couldn’t watch for a few more than that. So unlike maybe some of you I can clearly remember the good times. I’m just at frustrated as some of you but dudes – give it a rest.
    If you guys were willing to give the guy at ASU 10 years and he was not one of us, why can’t you bear with Sid for another couple years?
    I’m afraid I’m starting to sense something more here and it doesn’t make me feel good about this.
    Choppack- you say that K is a good coach and he is. However, I would still argue that he gets more out of the officiating crew than Sid does also. No excuse – I’m just saying when your team can hand-check and stick their hands in the other teams shorts all the way up the court and nothing is called even when they are on the road – then you get home cooking away from home. I’ve seen games where the dookies basically rape a player on the court and nothing is called until the game is well in hand. One of the perks that come along with being K.
    Dean used to get some of the same treatment and G Williams gets some too.
    NJPack- I like how you can coach from the side lines and sub players and second guess Sid. I’ve been pretty good at that too. But gimme a break you really think some other coach could have done better with the talent we have on this team now. PLZZZZZ!
    You guys are too much.
    I love this university but I’m sad to say I’m starting to wonder is more than the uniforms are red.

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