Earlier this week during Senate confirmation hearings, prospective U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder declared that “Waterboarding is torture.” Pretty much every major news source picked up on this statement. Less reported were his follow up comments that drew gasps of shock from the gallery: “And NC State and Georgia Tech play each other this Saturday…on TV. Words cannot describe the horror.”
Yes, NC State has already suffered a hope-killing home loss to a pedestrian Florida State squad. The Bees can top it – a home loss to f-ing Virginia. The Flames of Illinois-Chicago were also too much for Paul Hewitt’s bunch. Hewitt is still riding the fumes of one great run to the NCAA title game, and signing Derrick Favors probably saved his job for one more year. You can read other stuff about Georgia Tech here.
What do the Yellow Jackets have going for them? Well, they probably have the coolest names in the league, sporting a Gani, Alade, Iman, and a Bassirou on their roster. And Courtney Fells will likely dribble at some point in the game. That’s pretty much it.
Want more? Section Six has a nice preview, with lots of fun Hewitt pics and captions. There’s also a great line at the end that sums up the matchup quite well:
I’m curious to see what happens when two teams that “don’t know how to win” play each other. I hope the universe doesn’t implode.
That said, the rules of basketball insist that one of these shitty teams must win tomorrow. What does the loser have to look forward to? Perhaps an ACC season of the likes not seen since Bob Wade left Maryland. But chin up, eventual loser – the coach brought in to replace Wade won the school’s first national championship! Of course, he’s now on the hot seat too. Many ACC heads could roll in the very near future.
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January 16th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Damn. Just damn.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
Wouldn’t miss it for the world. Might be our only win of the year.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
ya know, one has to wonder what an “elite” coach could have done in their first 3 years at NC State, given what we have going for us at the moment.
I also wonder, how many coaches come into the ACC, and succeed instantly? In their first 4 years more specifically. Everyone is “fed-up” w/ Sid, and I can’t help but wonder if we’re jumping the gun a bit. Yea we’ve had some tough losses, and 0-2 in the ACC sucks, but UNC was just there, and they can bounce back!
I realize we don’t have UNC talent, but is that all Sid’s fault? I just can’t help but wonder. Here’s to our first ACC win tomorrow. GO PACK!
January 16th, 2009 at 10:31 pm
I hope to be there.
I hope we all get to see all of our young men working together and wanting the win.
I hope Mays starts.
January 16th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
tdawg,
I have to disagree, beyond our talent, the success in the first four years comment, etc…
Sid hasn’t showed me he knows how to coach. he doesn’t put us in the best situation to win games. His players don’t play hard or smart. That is coaching my friend.
he continually slows the game down to call in plays, it is terrible to watch
but after saying all that….if i’m wrong and he turns it around then i’ll be there right behind saying yehp i was wrong…and i hope he does and that we start playing better ball
GO PACK
January 16th, 2009 at 11:09 pm
Having been a top tier point guard, when Sid was hired I figured his teams would be scrappy, disciplined and very fundamentally sound. At this point, I can say that at times they are scrappy and play hard (though not always smart) defense.
I realize that Sid can’t play but can only coach the players he has, and that success is dependent upon the players executing. However, it is Sid’s responsibility to make sure the players play like he wants them to. IF they don’t, they should sit.
Of course, this does assume that Sid is actually teaching basketball fundamentals to the players.
I’m not ready to give up on Sid just yet, but the more I watch this team continue make silly mistakes, simple mental errors mostly (the same ones over and over quite often), and fail to see significant adjustments during the game, the closer I get to giving up on Sid’s tenure.
I finally lost faith in HWSNBN because his in game coaching/adjustments were nearly non-existant. Its all well and good to have a “system”, but when your system is taking it up the
ass then its time to try something new and give yourself a chance to win.
And thats exactly what I haven’t seen much of in the past 17-18 yrs.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:51 pm
it’s just a mixture of Herbsian players and Sidney being green. these kids need the structure of a system and Sid doesn’t exactly have one.
January 16th, 2009 at 11:52 pm
Dear All Wolfpack Fans,
I know it has been a very very tough week for all of us. Also it has been a week were we have all questioned the athletic department from Lee Fowler to Sidney Lowe’s decisions so far in his tenure and especially this year…. I know we all have expressions and we are very vocal because it is our money that is paying these guys however let’s all try to stay positive and see if we can get this turned around together. I am not happy with the situation at all and I have been very vocal this year and in my posts up here in the past 72 hours. I was thinking a few minutes ago though that we all bleed N.C. State Red so let’s put all the negative BS aside and come together as 1 and let’s root on our NC State Wolfpack tommorow !!! If we can get some kind of chemistry going and play hard for 40 minutes and be smart with the basketball and know our limits offensively then we should grind out this win in the ACC. We have a pretty young team and a good acc win may be what we need to give us some kind of confidence and maybe a little swagger. I know it has to be hard on the guys as well as us to struggle and we all know that Sidney loves NC State !!! The world is in a recession as we speak and there are alot more important thing’s going on in the world right now but to us NC State athletics is the world and that is 100 percent correct because our hard earned money go to the university to help out. But maybe we can start something special tommorow and get a win and let’s see if maybe we can try to turn this thing around and play some quality basketball!!! Here below is who I feel should be the starting 5 tommorow.
Point Guard- Julius Mays
Shooting Guard- Courtney Fells
Small Forward- C.J. Williams
Power Forward- Brandon Costner
Center- Tracy Smith
Bring in Mccauley,Degand,Harris, Ferguson off the bench if he is healthy enough to play. If his hand is still bothering him do not play him let him get 100% healthy before coming back. If he can’t go then Javy is going to have to step up and play a little….. Dennis Horner needs to sit right beside of Justin Gainey at the end of the bench because he has showed me absolutely nothing… maybe we can see if we could ship him to Arizona State to finish the year with Herb. If we utilize this roster I feel we will be feeling alot better about ourselves around 2:30 tommorow afternoon…. I would love to hear feed back.. GO PACK!!
January 17th, 2009 at 12:35 am
I will try not to gouge my eyes out at the game later today …
“NO MORE!!! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP!!!!”
January 17th, 2009 at 1:28 am
You guys who think we are going to win this game and turn this season around are so cute! Your candycane wishes and fairydust dreams are what keeps me smiling through this whole mess. You remind me of a young Cosmo96, who came up during the Les era, whose freshman year was during the ‘92-’93 nightmare season. Nevertheless, I was there at every game, hoping against hope, always looking for something to be positive about and just knowing that we were just another season or two away… Of course, that was before year after year of bitter disappointment that eventually crushed my soul.
But you guys, with your unbridled enthusiasm…You keep me young, guys. You really do.
January 17th, 2009 at 1:35 am
I’m (trying to be) full of unbridled enthusiasm until the last game of this season is played. It ain’t over till the F.A.T. lady sings…at the ACC Tournament award presentation. After that, I’ll be a critical fan. After 3 season, we should see some progress… otherwise, Lee, we’d better see some progress from you.
January 17th, 2009 at 3:11 am
This is very off topic, but I just got back from camping out for the Chapel Hill game. It was absolutely freezing! Literally. Down into the single digits. It didn’t seem well organized, but it was also waaay too cold to do anything besides stay inside a tent and stay warm. Stafford got Fountain Dining hall to open up for the night and give out hot chocolate, coffee, grilled cheese and soup. That was very appreciated.
January 17th, 2009 at 8:09 am
If we lose this game, the risk of running our streak of not winning a televised game to more than a year becomes a real possibility. Our last televised win was Feb. 5, 2008, against Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, I wasn’t home to watch it. I haven’t seen this team win a game since Feb. 3, 2008, over Wake Forest, a team which we have seemingly no chance to beat this year.
Wish I lived closer so I could watch the Lipscomb and Winston-Salem State games in person and remember what it feels like to see the team win.
January 17th, 2009 at 8:33 am
mikeD,
Good stuff to hear. You’ll look back on that freezing night with fond memories. I know I look back on mine like that.
For other good news, looks like our backcourt future looks pretty bright.
http://northcarolinastate.scout.com/2/830983.html
I, for one, think we’ll get things turned around. And, IF, we LOSE today, I still don’t think the sky is falling. You can’t play basketball thinking “what if” the entire time. I think once we get a few wins, we’ll be okay, and I think the future of the program looks bright. I know I’m in the minority, but I think things will get turned around.
January 17th, 2009 at 8:39 am
So does the drinking start now?
January 17th, 2009 at 9:01 am
I think I might actually go to this game as long as my buddies don’t convince me to go to a bar to watch it instead. Hard to believe I actually skip basketball games, live locally and have a season ticket.
January 17th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Aha State B-Ball. You thought you could get me. You thought you could get me to watch you b/c you are playing on a Sat. at noon. My usual downtime when I have little to do. Hahaha. But not this time State B-Ball. Not this time. I have plans. I have big plans to go into the office and work! Such a less painful way to spend a Sat. afternoon. I win!
January 17th, 2009 at 9:16 am
I’m feel confident that we’ll put our best performance/effort into todays game. The basketball program made a huge leap forward when the three freshman loged segments of the game together.
The failure of earning an ACC win came because the sub pattern were based on our experienced players logging minutes and finishing the game together. I expect this not to be the case this afternoon. For you NASCAR freaks think of it as pit strategy that the staff came into the game with that will planned differently at the out set.
Starters- Mays, Williams, Thomas, Costner, McAuley.
First TV T/O- Insert Fells, Smith (Thomas-Costner)
2nd T/O- Degand-Fergueson-Horner.
All the starter have been cycled through so you bring the starter in again between around 11-12 minute mark. Open up a lead and feed off the crowd.
Now put the foot down on Hewitts throat by figuring out who of the five bench guys had IT (toughness, energy, concentration). Have them spell the guys as they fatigue in subsequent order. Don’t reinsert a guy who didn’t have it the first time-instead leave the starters in longer then maybe you should or bring them out for a minute and put them straight back out.
Do Again in second half.
Prediction: NCSU 75- GT 68. Smith makes FT’s finishing with 18. 3 others (Costner-Mays-Thomas) finish with double figures and our bench outscores them by 8- the magin of victory.
January 17th, 2009 at 9:47 am
Cosmo, I was right there with you, coming in in 93-94. It was a soul/dream crushing process watching the team that you have always loved get ripped each time out. I started drinking heavily before each game, and that helped for a while. The downside was the anger after each game. But, thinking of the days where your hopes hung on how Oshua Benjamin and CC Harrison played, I am a bit greatful for our ability to make the simple pass, or our ability to dribble more than once without a turnover. Granted, we still turn the ball over, but those days were laughable. We looked like a High School team against everybody. We struggle today to win against the likes of FSU and UF, but I was there, as a student when we would have given our right leg to be competitive in ANY match up. Does anyone remember the Les Robinson Invitational? I know that the heated fan is going to say that we are in the same boat now, but I don’t believe that. I know how bad it can be. I know how bad it got. I don’t feel like we can get back there from here. We may not be winning every game, but if you jump ship now, you are cutting off your nose despite your face. Grab a beer, and drink every time there’s a turn over. Try to have a little fun. I know it’s hard. But someone has to do it. Cheers.
January 17th, 2009 at 10:01 am
I don’t know who will win but I do predict that the Pack will have about 19 turnovers – many of them unforced.
And Georgia Tech won’t do us any “Favors”
January 17th, 2009 at 10:05 am
^^^ Ah ha ha .. ha aaaa… oh … “favors” hah..
It hurts.
The turnover prediction is close, I’m going to go with 15 turnovers… GT doesn’t force a ton of TO’s, and there are only so many times (hopefully) that we can bounce the ball off our feet.
January 17th, 2009 at 10:16 am
After watching the Ga. Tech Duke game on Wed, I’m worried about Ga. Tech. They are very athletic upfront and have athletic, though maybe not the most skilled, guards.
Duke won because their defense tries to force turnovers and jump passing lanes, when lazy passes are made.
I don’t see us putting the kind of pressure on Ga. Tech Duke did. Ga. Tech has enough athleticism to challenge us and pressure us. I think we’ll be at our usual 18 TO’s for the game. I also think, like FSU, Ga. Tech is going to dominate us on the boards.
I think we can win, but we need to take a proactive approach against Ga. Tech and force them to shoot FT’s for the entire game, instead of FG’s. The biggest advantage we have is our FT shooting doesn’t suck.
To the basketball gods, I’m not trying to jinx this for our team, but I am just trying to give an honest opinion. I hope we win by 30 pts, have no turnovers and out rebound Ga. Tech. GO PACK!
January 17th, 2009 at 10:21 am
^I agree ppack, I was there for a lot of those games as well …
I don’t think this team is nearly as bad as some of those Les teams, but if we lose today that would make it 12 consecutive league games …
I am going to have fun throughout the rest of these games though … During the 2000 campaign when we went 3-13, one of my favorite things to do was to count how many layups we missed and how often we actually shot over 30% for the game … I love college basketball way too much to let crappy play from State to ruin it for me, so I’ll just have fun hoping for victories and making fun of everything else
Anyway, I hope we run our STUFF enough today to get a VICTORY … We’ve got to run our STUFF
January 17th, 2009 at 10:58 am
I was a few rows behind the State bench when we lost to the Florida Atlantic team that was 1-23 and DEAD LAST in the ACC. It’s hard to top that kind of humiliation, but I would note that we still do have a winless, dead last in the Sgarin ratings opponent still on the schedule. I’m sure Sid and the boys will do their level best to give the alumni of tomorrow their own “special” memory!
January 17th, 2009 at 11:11 am
I was on press row when State lost to Campbell…when Campbell’s tallest player was a 6′6 small forward. Campbell had a 6′4 center who dominated Todd Fuller all night.
That was worse.
The Tennessee game wasn’t too much better. Mark Lewis scored 30 points to “save us.” Alan Houston for Tennessee looked like he was embarrassed to even be on the floor that night. Someone should have told him, “Don’t worry. Eventually, you’ll be a member of the Knicks.”