Friday frivolity: “GOOOOOOOOAL! ROD-NEEEEY! ROD-NEEEEY!” etc.

I found this on YouTube, and it’s too hilarious not to pass along:

Longtime State fans will remember some of the wild shots Rodney Monroe made while at NC State, one of the best shooters the ACC has ever seen, and how he looked when he got in the zone.

Well, here he is making a buzzer beater to win a game (I think in the 2001-02 season) for his Italian team, Banca Marche Fabriano. And if you think Dick Vitale goes bonkers over Duke and Carolina, even he’s got nothing over the Italian announcer here.

Here’s what happens: Rodney hits a free throw, then the opposing team (is it Chris Corchiani’s team Tau Vitoria?) set up the finale drama by going down and hitting an off-balanced 3-pointer. I don’t know Italian, but it seems the announcer is screaming about that shot being impossible — he nears the agony of defeat until Monroe answers with the thrill of victory, and that makes announcer go completely out of his gourd. It’s hilarious.

Now, I remember “being there” when Monroe led the Wolfpack to a win over Virginia his senior year when the Pack trailed by 20, then he outscored Virginia in the second half; his 48-point performance in another comeback win over Georgia Tech; his 40 points and two buzzer-beaters in the double-OT win over Iowa in the NCAA tournament; his improbable rebound and putback at the buzzer en route to a 4-OT win over Wake Forest. I don’t know how this one compares with those memories, but that announcer sure makes it sound like it was big!

Update: Noah’s friend provides a translation.

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40 Responses to Friday frivolity: “GOOOOOOOOAL! ROD-NEEEEY! ROD-NEEEEY!” etc.

  1. partialqualifier 04/13/2007 at 9:36 AM #

    Classic Stuff!

    I love Rodney Monroe…and Chris Corchiani! I was just sitting here remembering all those games you just mentioned…and it dawned on me….I wonder what State would have done if not for probation? Could you imagine V coaching that last team with Monroe, Corch, and Googs? Wow! The team they had in ’90 was damn good, but that team wore out emotionally late in the season with all the distractions. So without all that crap happening…and V at full emotional and physical strength…the “90 team and ’91 team would have been amazing to watch!

  2. beowolf 04/13/2007 at 9:41 AM #

    Could you imagine V coaching that last team with Monroe, Corch, and Googs?

    Yes, unfortunately I can!

  3. noah 04/13/2007 at 10:27 AM #

    I had sent this clip to a friend of mine in Napoli to translate what the guy is saying. Here’s his response:

    “The guy’s name is Rodney Monroe, and evidently his team, the guys in white, were ahead, and just needed to foul the opposing player,
    to win the game (they were ahead by 3). Well, as you can see, the blue guys go downcourt, and the dude lands a 3-pointer, instead of being fouled.
    So the announcer ****s himself, saying “it’s impossible- why wasn’t he fouled? we had the game won! what the hell? there’s only 2 seconds left, I can’t believe this, how can you allow him to score 3? etc….”

    then Rodney Moore takes the ball and the shot, and *BAM* the white guys win w/no time left –
    the announcer then REALLY loses it, saying “Incredible – we win, we win, we win YESSSSSS” over and over, and mostly shouting the team’s name (sounds like “Fabriano” – I don’t follow Italian b-ball) and YELLING Rodney Monroe’s name, over and over, saying “Rodney Moore, 20 pts – INCREDIBLE!” etc…

    Is this the NC State guy? Italians LOVE basketball btw, second most-followed sport after soccer. And Italy won the silver medal at the 04 Olympics, so they take their b-ball seriously.

    and oh yeah, the title of the clip means “Victory at the buzzer, and the announcer goes nuts”

  4. beowolf 04/13/2007 at 10:47 AM #

    Thanks, noah!

  5. branjawn 04/13/2007 at 10:47 AM #

    “the white guys win” lol

  6. Trout 04/13/2007 at 10:56 AM #

    Thanks to noah for the translation!

    Great clip, thanks to SFN for finding that.

  7. packbackr04 04/13/2007 at 11:28 AM #

    am i being neurotic.. or is it odd that Tracy Smith hasnt signed yet?????
    btw. nice article from packpride on javi (not premium material)

    http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/634793.html

  8. branjawn 04/13/2007 at 11:37 AM #

    Does anyone know why we are recruiting Rashad Green? Dude’s from Maine, I mean, geographically it’s a strange draw for a low-level recruit.

  9. TNCSU 04/13/2007 at 11:44 AM #

    I not really “in the know”, but I don’t think we are REALLY recruiting Green. He was on our radar early, but I doubt we really have an offer on the table for him. Thanks for the link, pb04. I’m starting to wonder a bit about Smith also. We may want to see the grades before getting the signature.

  10. BJD95 04/13/2007 at 11:54 AM #

    That was MUCH more demonstrative than typical “Ice” behavior after saving his team’s bacon. I was also shocked that his free throw touched the rim.

    What he did in the NCAAT against Iowa was simply unbelievable.

  11. noah 04/13/2007 at 1:03 PM #

    Doesn’t Green play at Maine Central Institute? That’s a powerhouse prep school/basketball factory.

  12. noah 04/13/2007 at 1:06 PM #

    Another Rodney Monroe story…first time I ever heard of Monroe was when he was in high school. I saw a clip on Sportscenter that showed him winning some big game in high school — by sinking a 70-footer.

    He had the ball right behind the other team’s free throw line and at the buzzer, just nailed it.

    I don’t even think I knew we were recruiting him at the time, but I asked him once if he was the same guy that hit that shot…yup.

  13. noah 04/13/2007 at 1:08 PM #

    I said sportscenter….it wasn’t that…ESPN used to run a 30-minute show featuring some of the top prep athletes in the country. Anyone remember that show? Prep Sports Showcase or something like that?

    They used to always show highlights from the Dapper Dan Classic and the King Cotton Classic. The King Cotton was where Jason Kidd made his bones.

  14. noah 04/13/2007 at 1:17 PM #

    “am i being neurotic.. or is it odd that Tracy Smith hasnt signed yet?????”

    He isn’t qualified academically.

  15. packbackr04 04/13/2007 at 1:18 PM #

    I THINK I AM MORE WORRIED THAT SFN HASNT SAID ANYTHING ABOUT sMITH YET…. COME ON GUYS.. INQUIRING MINDS WOULD LIKE TO KNOW…. sorry for the caps. realsized they were on at the end, and am too lazy to retype.

  16. Cosmo96 04/13/2007 at 1:48 PM #

    There was an article on PackPride Premium about Tracy Smith a few days ago that gave a little insight into his qualification, among other things. It might be a little while longer before anyone hears anything definitive about him, academically.

  17. Cosmo96 04/13/2007 at 1:50 PM #

    ^That wasn’t stated specifically in the article, it’s just me putting two and two together.

  18. RedTerror29 04/13/2007 at 1:54 PM #

    I seemed to get the gist to be…he thinks he will qualify, but either his SAT score or his grades need to be just a bit better, so he’s taking the SAT again and hitting the books.

    And from what I understand Javi is fairly borderline and is taking the SAT again in case his final semester grades are sub-par.

  19. chilly water 04/13/2007 at 2:14 PM #

    Can anybody tell me why he wasnt goog enough for the NBA, his shot was money, he was ice..????

  20. redfred2 04/13/2007 at 2:17 PM #

    My italian is a little rusty, but I could have sworn I heard him say, “Via la randaducius!!!” which loosely translated of course means “That was redunkulous!!!”

  21. Cosmo96 04/13/2007 at 2:17 PM #

    My bad…that article about Tracy Smith was free, and RedTerror pretty much sums up the qualifying part of it. There is also a free article about Gonzalez which kind of says the same thing. It doesn’t give the impression that he’s borderline at all, rather, that he’s most likely going to qualify.

    Back to the original topic, what I wouldn’t give to have someone (Fells, maybe?) become a Rodney Monroe-type for our team next season. Imagine the dimension that would add to go along with our outstanding inside game! Of course, no one will ever be able to duplicate what he did, but if we had someone who could be clutch, “ice”, like that….

  22. branjawn 04/13/2007 at 2:20 PM #

    Man I have a lot of free time… Andy Katz updated his Top 25 today, State moves IN, Texas drops out. So, I think we’re pretty much in every Top 25 poll now, seems ESPN was the only one we weren’t in. Of course, these aren’t the ones that matter. But I’m sure recruits look at this kind of stuff.

  23. noah 04/13/2007 at 2:29 PM #

    “Can anybody tell me why he wasnt goog enough for the NBA, his shot was money, he was ice..????”

    Everyone in the NBA can shoot. Well, just about everyone. He was a 6-2 guard with little to no point guard abilities. He wasn’t really fast enough to beat his man off the dribble, he was a tremendous defensive liability and he couldn’t play point guard.

    IOW, he’s a 20 year vet of the euro-leagues (where you can earn a really good living). Sorta like Lorenzo Charles…there isn’t a really big demand in the NBA for 6-7 power forwards.

  24. RickJ 04/13/2007 at 2:36 PM #

    “Can anybody tell me why he wasnt goog enough for the NBA, his shot was money, he was ice..????”

    chilly water – At an NBA combine type event, Monroe was officially measured a 6 feet, .5 inches and he weighed in a 159 lbs. It isn’t impossible to play in the NBA at that size but it doesn’t help.

    Rodney was a fantastic shooter and tremendous at moving without the ball and using screens. He was a terrible ball handler, however. This was masked during his time at State because he never had to handle the ball with Corch. When he got the ball, he either shot or gave it up.

  25. PapaJohn 04/13/2007 at 2:39 PM #

    Rodney memories …
    When we signed him I recall checking him out in some magazine and seeing Vitale saying, “He’s an absolute scoring machine baby! You’ve never seen anything like this kid! Raleigh will LOVE Rodney.” He was right.

    During his sophmore or junior year they played Duke at Reynolds and he laid 20+ on them, then when they went to play at Duke I remember them interviewing Coach K in the pre-game and him saying, “We can’t let Rodney beat us. We’ve been studying his tendencies and are going to try to deny him the spots he prefers to shoot from.” Rodney still got 11, but shot poorly and they beat us. That was my first inkling that Coach K really knew what he was doing.

    The NBA never wanted him because he was so small. Another 3-4 inches and 20-30 pounds and he could have been an extremely wealthy man from a long NBA career.

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