Monday Musings

NC STATE BASKETBALL

Jonathon Jones (N&O)
Wood’s 3 gives NC State a 58-57 win over Clemson

“Although at times he’s good there, it was important that we got exactly what we wanted,” said Gottfried, who alluded to Leslie’s travel in the post just two possessions earlier. “There are times I’ve let my team play before if I feel like we’re in a good place and the ball’s in the right guys hand and guys seem to be in the break running and there’s a good feel for where we are and running then certainly. But I didn’t feel comfortable there and I thought it was important for us to get organized.”

Gottfried drew up a play for Brown, who finished with 15 points and four assists in 32 minutes off the bench, to penetrate and draw defenders while Wood worked baseline screens by Leslie and Richard Howell. Brown dished to Wood in the corner, whose 3-pointer finished the Tigers.

“’Zo did a good job of getting me a good pass… and it was real good to have him back,” Wood said. “He’s great player and a great leader and even when he’s not out there that leadership key is big for us. In my opinion he’s one of the best players in the nation and that showed again today.”

[snip]

Brown, who said his ankle was at 85 percent before the game, had six points and all four assists come in the second half. He was in pain, but his team was finally back in the win column for the first time in two weeks.

“It’s throbbing right now,” Brown said of his ankle. “It hurts, but I’m just happy we won.”

Joe Giglio (N&O)
Wood’s big shot helps Pack in a lot of ways

It’s impossible to overestimate the value of Scott Wood’s 3-pointer with 1 second left to beat Clemson, 58-57 on the road on Sunday.

The Wolfpack’s season was not miraculously saved by one shot. As N.C. State has proven all along, it is only as good as its next game. What the win did do is throw a life line to the 2013 season.

A shot at the ACC regular-season title is probably history, with Miami rolling at 10-0, but the Wolfpack has the talent to win the ACC tournament. The best chance to win the tournament is to get one of the top four seeds in Greensboro and avoid the Thursday play-in round.

With N.C. State’s depth issues, winning four games in four days would be a difficult challenge.

To get a top four seed, N.C. State probably needs to get to at least 11 wins, without Sunday’s win at Clemson, that was probably not going to happen. It still might not, but N.C. State is a thousand miles ahead of where it would have been had Wood’s shot not gone in.

AP (GoPack.com)
Wood’s 3-pointer gives NC State 58-57 win over Clemson

Scott Wood hit a 3-pointer with one second to go to lift North Carolina State to a 58-57 win over Clemson on Sunday.

Lorenzo Brown, returning after missing two games with an injured ankle, drove to the hoop before passing to Wood on the winning basket for the Wolfpack (17-7, 6-5 Atlantic Coast Conference).

The Wolfpack set up the winning play after a timeout with 7.5 seconds to go.

Brown also hit two free throws with 14 seconds left to cut Clemson’s lead to two. The Tigers (12-11, 4-7) led for most of the game, but Milton Jennings missed the front end of a 1-in-1 with 12.3 seconds left.

Richard Howell led N.C. State with 16 points and 11 rebounds, while C.J. Leslie added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Wolfpack. N.C. State plays just one team in the ACC top four the rest of the way, giving them a chance to climb back toward the top of the league.

PackInsider.com
The Aftermath: Our take on NC State’s win over Clemson

– Now to a few concerns. Calvin Leslie has to be on the court at all times, right? He’s a great shot blocker, a good rebounder and as athletic as anyone in the nation. But at what point do you ask yourself, is Leslie really State’s ‘go-to’ guy? Let’s take a look at a few numbers – Calvin is leading NC State is scoring at 15 points per game and pulling down 7 boards per game, however over the last 5 games he has absolutely killed the Pack in the turnover department. In 5 games Leslie has committed 25 turnovers on his own. That’s an astronomical number for forward. So what’s going on? …I think what you’re seeing is a guy who is pressing and forcing the issue. He’s being aggressive which is good, but he really needs to pick his spots and play smarter basketball. Right now when he gets it on the block and the double team comes down, Leslie turns into a bull in a china shop. He makes his move and sometimes it works, but more often than not he travels or throws up a poor shot. What’ happening is that double teams are coming and instead of kicking it out and reposting, Calvin is just forcing his way in. Just throwing your body into a double team isn’t the best idea and I think the refs are calling that accordingly. He’s making a poor decision to go in against a double team so the refs are swollowing their whistle on contact that would otherwise be called. There’s no doubt that Leslie gets bumped almost every time he makes a move, but it’s his decision making that’s getting not respect from the refs. Calvin and his team would benefit a lot more if he’d pick his spots and attack only when he has the clear advantage. I think you saw today, when he started sharing the ball a little more out of the post and was more patient, this team started to click and things started getting rolling. I think Leslie really needs to focus on making better decisions with the ball and start learning when to attack. This will help a lot of things. NC State, his personal numbers and his draft stock.

Daniel Wilson and Rob McLamb (technicianonline.com)
Pack takes season series against Tigers

After dropping its last four road games and last three games overall, N.C. State (17-7, 6-5 ACC) has found itself back on the winning side in its travels after defeating the Clemson Tigers (12-11, 4-7 ACC) in the closing seconds.

“We did not play very well early in the game,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We kept fighting, kept battling and we found a way to win the game.”

The Wolfpack, after trailing by as many as 12 points, earned its third and final lead of the game off a three-point shot from senior forward Scott Wood with one second remaining. Wood finished the game with nine points off three baskets beyond the arc, giving him a career total of 293. The mark propelled him past former Clemson Tiger K.C. Rivers for 11th all-time in the ACC.

“It was a good team effort,” Wood said. “We kept fighting, and at the end, we got the result that we needed.”

State struggled throughout the game, shooting only 37.7 percent, despite entering the game third in the country in team field goal percentage. It was the defense, however, that kept the Pack within reach. Clemson turned the ball over 17 times and only shot 38.6 percent for the afternoon.

TheWolfpacker.com
NC State locker room report

Mark Gottfried

Did you want to go for the win on Scott Wood’s three-pointer?

“Absolutely. It was time to sink or swim, and we knew it. We had just went to Calvin [Leslie] the play before. I like going to Calvin, but we with Calvin at the elbow and he dribbled to the basket and had a traveling violation. Those were the two things in my mind on both plays.

“We came right back to Scott. Getting Scott for a three-pointer is just like getting someone else for a two. Again, great screen and good pass by Lorenzo [Brown], good setup and I thought Scott executed it unbelievably well.”

How calm was Lorenzo Brown down the stretch?

“Our guys have done well without Lorenzo, but I think [there] is a good point, even on that play right there, he penetrated deep in and sucked everybody in, and he had a great awareness of what the clock was, and it was a great setup from Lorenzo to Scott.

“When you talk about Lorenzo throughout the day, wow. He grabbed me right off the floor and said he needed some ice on my foot. He’s going to be a little sore, but we do have a week to hopefully get him back. He played with such great heart I thought today. They all did. Great battle-back win for us.”

Do you think Brown played with adrenaline and forgot he was injured?

“A couple of times, even at the break, that is one thing you have with Lorenzo, he’s bringing the ball up the floor and has that burst of speed around the halfcourt line to the top of the key, and he can go right in and get a layup. I thought those, as he was making those plays, I was nervous a little bit as to ‘Can he get up off the floor?’ I was afraid for him a little bit. ‘Are you all the way healthy?’ When your adrenaline is going, he just took it right to the rim a couple of times and made some great plays there on the break.”

Scott Wood

What was the last play like?

“I was just going to come off some single screens, and Zo [Lorenzo Brown] and C.J. [Leslie] did a good job all night of getting me open and setting good ones. Tyler [Lewis] and Zo did a good job of finding me all night. They don’t get enough credit. I might make the shot, but they are the ones that got me wide open.

“It was a good team effort, we kept fighting, and at the end, got the result that we needed.”

How did it feel coming off your hand?

“It felt like it slipped a little bit, but once I saw it up, I thought it had a good chance. I had a couple of rattlers today, so I didn’t really know what to expect. Once it went in, it was a good feeling.”

Hale McGranahan (PackPride.com)
Gottfried: “I’m Extremely Proud”

“I’m extremely proud of our team because we didn’t play very well early in the game.”

“I thought we were in a position, again, when we could have dropped our heads and maybe lost some effort. But we didn’t do that. We kept fighting, kept battling, and we found a way to win the game. I’m extremely proud for that.”

“There are times I’ve let my team play before. If I feel like we’re in a good place and the ball is in the right guy’s hand and guys seem to be in the break running and there’s a good feel for where we are and what can happen, then certainly, I want to play. But I didn’t feel comfortable there and I felt like it was important for us to get organized.”

“I was talking with Mike Gminski before the game. He had the game on television. He said even back when he played at Duke, it’s always been one of these places. It’s hard to play here.”

Hale McGranahan (PackPride.com)
Locker Room Report: Wolfpack Players

Tyler Lewis

“Zo was just driving the lane and kicking the Scott, it was me just jumping up and down. It felt like I was on the court.”

“I just saw Scott and ran right over to him. Knowing that he hit the shot, I’m happy for him. It’s his senior year, so I’m just really happy that he hit the game winner.”

Scott Wood

“Hopefully, this can boost on a little win streak here coming up. We’ve been struggling on the road. It’s nice to get that monkey off our back.”

“It’s tough. In the ACC, it doesn’t matter who you play on the road, it’s going to be a tough matchup. I’ve always found it particularly tough to play in this building. At the end of the day, we gave us a good chance to be in it at the end. We were lucky enough to knock down a shot and win it.”