(UPDATED 10:25pm) We Don’t Think This Was One Of Grant’s Four Predicted Losses: UNO 65, NC State 63

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After watching both performances turned in by this year’s Wolfpack, it is already clear to me that we will be facing two primary challenges/hurdles that need to be overcome if we are going to have a successful 2007-2008 Basketball campaign:

(1) Effectively managing minutes, playing time, and egos.
(2) Outside shooting.

Neither of these items was unexpected heading into this season, but effects of both issues couldn’t be more obvious after two games.

The guard rotation of Farnold Degand, Dennis Horner, Javi Gonzalez, Courtney Fells and Trevor Ferguson simply MUST nail open three pointers when provided the opportunity. We aren’t suggesting that they need to be Terry Gannon out there…but, these guys will be provided anywhere between 4 and 10 WIDE OPEN jumpers per game and they simply MUST nail the attempt (for points AND to open the floor for our big men) if the Wolfpack expects to win 20+ games this season.

Tonight, this group shot 2 of 10 from behind the three point arc and Trevor Ferguson didin’t even attempt a shot in twelve minutes of playing time.

Speaking of Ferguson, after reviewing tonight’s game we (unfortunately) uncovered a phenomenon we now think is called the “Trevor Tremor” to describe the impact to the scoreboard that takes place when Ferguson is on the floor. Tonight, NC State was outscored 20-7 in the twelve minutes Ferguson was on the floor. (We only lost by two points).

(a) In the first half, Ferguson entered at the 14:44 mark with the Pack up 13-9; he exited the game with Pack down 13-16 with 9:32 remaining.

(b) In the second half, Ferguson entered the game with State ahead 41-33; he left with 8:17 remaining and State holding just 48-46 lead.

Coach Lowe needs to scrap this concept of a 10-man roster if we aren’t going to press &/or exert more effort on defense. What is the point of playing 10 men if the players don’t play hard enough to get tired when they are out there? Hell, you could play your 7 or 8 best players and have a much better opportunity of winning games if you aren’t playing a pressuring defense.

State’s bench of Gonzalez, Ferguson, McCauley, Smith and Horner scored only three points in 52 minutes of play! ‘The bench’ combined for 1 of 11 shooting from the field on offense; and whomever Ferguson was supposed to be guarding played with the confidence and offensive proficiency of Michael Jordan.

In short, the following contributed to tonight’s unexpected and unacceptable upset:

– Continued poor shooting from the outside (31.2% from the three point line)
– Lazy Defense
– Idiotic intentional foul
– No emotion
– Lack of intensity and focus
(a) just look at the free throw shooting of 52.6%
(b) we were OUT REBOUNDED by a team who fielded a significantly shorter player than us at EVERY position.


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07-08 Basketball

94 Responses to (UPDATED 10:25pm) We Don’t Think This Was One Of Grant’s Four Predicted Losses: UNO 65, NC State 63

  1. highstick 11/18/2007 at 10:11 PM #

    Holy crap, I didn’t even know this was on. Flipped the channel, saw Grant score to put us in the lead, then NO sink a 3 pointer. Whose idea was this to play them anyway, Monte????

  2. noah 11/18/2007 at 10:11 PM #

    Aside from JJ Hickson, I don’t see much.

    “Offense” seems to mean “throw it to Hickson.” “defense” means “let Hickson block it.”

    And what is up with our rotation?? Did Lowe lose a bet? What the hell is Ferguson doing out there?

  3. Stoner 11/18/2007 at 10:14 PM #

    Part of the deal for Monte to be let out of his contract to be an assistant here was to play a home and away against UNO.

    Listend to this game on the radio. The offense still seems out of sync. Costner, who was looking really really good at the end of last year, seems to not know how to co-exist with Hickson.

    Our perimeter shooting sucks.

    Right now we have all the makings of a big, big, let down this year from all the hype at the start of the season.

  4. 1.21 Jigawatts 11/18/2007 at 10:14 PM #

    I hate to watch us lose but maybe now this group will learn something from this loss. New Orleans wanted this win, I didn’t see anything from State other then they thought, no matter what, in the end they would win.

    What in the world was Fells thinking when he wrapped him up?? Not singling out one player who lost the game but that was one of the all time stupidest moves I’ve seen.

  5. Jamie 11/18/2007 at 10:14 PM #

    It was part of Montes contract buy out. Lucky shot, but it should not have been that close. Probably a good loss to get those egos in check.

  6. ncsumatman 11/18/2007 at 10:15 PM #

    The game tonight was our version of “JJ Watching.”

    I didn’t see us run one effective offensive set all night. One on one just isn’t going to cut it. Oh well, this should be a good wake up call.

  7. jamieinkorea 11/18/2007 at 10:18 PM #

    Absolutely ridiculous… Guess we’re not going to be as good as people thought.

  8. Avid109 11/18/2007 at 10:20 PM #

    That was some sloppy play from our team. They’ve got loads of talent, but they’ve got a long way to go if they want to be a really good team.

  9. PurplePeopleEaters 11/18/2007 at 10:21 PM #

    Absolutely pathetic. Words cannot describe how bad this team is right now. The best thing that came out of this game was a giant slap in the face that says WAKE UP.

  10. JeremyH 11/18/2007 at 10:22 PM #

    I have to pin this one on own coach. These guys were not mentally prepared for this game.

  11. Jamie 11/18/2007 at 10:27 PM #

    It looked to me like a team (and coaching staff) that has been drinking the preseason koolaid. This pisses me off, knowing what I will have to deal with in the weeks to come, but I think it is a good thing.

  12. cmoore 11/18/2007 at 10:28 PM #

    I don’t know if it is as bad as it seems. We obviously miss Atsur; this resembles last years team with Grant/Fells running the point. Someone needs to take charge there; i like more of what i see in Javi than Degand (i cringe everytime he shoots)…really interested to see what Johnson has to offer. Can’t blame it all on Lowe, although his matchups at times seemed way off in the second half. We shot terribly, made worse passing decisions, and wasted more rebounds on block attempts than i have ever seen. Hickson only bright spot… but better now when we can use it as a wakeup. Hopefully come March it will be irrelevant.

  13. one00_proof 11/18/2007 at 10:29 PM #

    There’s no leader on this team. Someone needs to step up and be a vocal leader because the team played absolutely flat footed.

  14. JeremyH 11/18/2007 at 10:29 PM #

    sidney lowe says “we need to be more unselfish, and now be so concerned with minutes”

  15. tooyoungtoremember 11/18/2007 at 10:29 PM #

    This team needs two things: chemistry, and a leader on the floor.

  16. Astral Rain2 11/18/2007 at 10:31 PM #

    This is why I thought success was one year away. This is the real first head-scratcher of the Sidney Lowe era- last year State took care of business.

    Hopefully Johnson can right the ship in late December if it’s needed.

  17. Packster 11/18/2007 at 10:33 PM #

    Farnold Degan reminds me of Ishua Benjamin. A lot of talent but makes really poor decisions. We should have gotten the ball to Costner or Hickson on the drive where he was rejected. Gonzalez is a more conservative point guard and that’s what we need. Someone who can get the ball inside to our best players. Ferguson gets too many minutes and we REALLY need to learn how to rebound. Give UNO credit for playing hard but we really played down to their level. A poor performance overall.

  18. JeremyH 11/18/2007 at 10:33 PM #

    gavin revealed something interesting “guys were mad cause they weren’t getting shots”

  19. Stoner 11/18/2007 at 10:33 PM #

    I’m really worried about the Old Spice Classic. I don’t like our chances of a good showing.

    Hickson’s a great talent, but I think he’s so good other players aren’t trying very hard.

    His starting has effected the chemistry of the team. I don’t think other players know exactly what their roles should be, because he’s so good the team might just want to get him the ball and watch him shoot.

    What’s disturbing is the lack of rebounding in two straight games, against smaller opponents.

    Also, we held UNO to a misereable 35% FG shooting and still found a way to lose. Our FT shooting really sucks. The one exhibition game, where we were nearly flawless seems to be a fluke.

    Hopefully this is a wake up call for the team.

    I’ve had too much disappointement being an NCSU fan to start thinking positive now.

    This year will be more of a test of Lowe’s coaching ability than last year was. Very few coaches can keep a team focused and have them be able to compete at a high level if their preseason expectations are very high.

  20. PurplePeopleEaters 11/18/2007 at 10:34 PM #

    As much as I like Hickson, he never passes. I don’t ever recall him passing once he had it in the post. Once he’s triple teamed, there should be some open guys around the perimeter. That’s where we benefit from having McCauley in there but he’s playing horrible ball when he gets in there.

    What is up with Costner? Seems like he can’t decide what do with himself when Hickson is on the floor.

    SFN: Why would you want him passing the ball when he gets the ball 2 feet from the basket and will shoot 60% from the floor?

  21. JeremyH 11/18/2007 at 10:37 PM #

    Purple, apparently the same goes for McCauley. chemistry is all out of wack. can we dump our transfers? I am not impressed with Ferg or Degand.

  22. PacknSack 11/18/2007 at 10:38 PM #

    I would be nice if Brandon Costner would show up. I know Hickson is a black hole, but BC — hello?

  23. JeremyH 11/18/2007 at 10:39 PM #

    If i was Sid, the moment I noticed the team was flat-footed, I would do a wholesale substitution, 5 new players. Yes sir. Homies need team-building. Take them to lasertag or a retreat, i don’t care which.

  24. Stoner 11/18/2007 at 10:40 PM #

    Seems like he can’t decide what do with himself when Hickson is on the floor.

    He really does seem lost. I blame the coaching staff for not being able to figure out how to get the most out of the players they have.

    Costner was pre-season All-ACC. He has a ton of talent and has been a bit disappointment so far this season.

    From what I read, I never expected Degand to shoot. I just expected him to take care of the ball. 14 turnovers against UNO isn’t really acceptable.

    Does anyone think Hickson’s just looking to make enough highlight reels to get the NBA’s interest and isn’t interested in being a team player?

  25. Packster 11/18/2007 at 10:40 PM #

    I think McCauley and Hickson are a better pair than Costner and Hickson. Hickson is a beast for sure. Grant played well tonight too. I think fitting Costner into this lineup is going to be tricky. This is all about chemistry. I don’t think we should get too worked up over this loss. Our players are going to have to find their roles and play as a team. Degand has got to learn to drive and dish instead of drive and get rejected if he is going to be the point guard. He did not impress me at all tonight…in fact he reminded me of a long line of players who thought they could make the game winner in the 90’s.

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