Jay Bilas Comments During Halftime and Postgame Of The UNC Beatdown

Bilas at halftime: “A little embarrassing? That was the most embarrassing first half I’ve seen all season long. What do you do if you’re Sidney Lowe? Do you draw a play up? You’ve gotta go in (to the locker room) and draw a big heart there and say, ‘Do we have any?'”These guys are not relating to each other. Their body language is horrible. They look like a bunch of zombies whenever they get into a huddle. They didn’t come prepared to fight. When you go on the road, you have to come prepared to fight and fight together. This is a team going in five different directions on the floor. I have not seen a performance as embarrassing as that all year long.”

Bilas after the game: “There’s no way that any team in America is going to hold a good team to 13 points in a half with their defense alone. N.C. State helped them (UNC). N.C. State was a huge problem for themselves.

“There is something going on with that team — and I don’t know what it is, I’m not Dr. Phil here — but they don’t get along with each other. That was not a team that trusted each other, that valued each other. They didn’t come together when things got tough, they went in different directions. That’s the first thing that they’ve got to address, how that team relates to each other.” Jay Bilas, ESPN

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07-08 Basketball Quotes of Note

124 Responses to Jay Bilas Comments During Halftime and Postgame Of The UNC Beatdown

  1. dbo2874 01/12/2008 at 10:21 PM #

    i couldnt agree more with both sets of his comments at the time when i heard them.

  2. beowolf 01/12/2008 at 10:36 PM #

    I keep waiting for the moment they hit rock bottom — only then will they start rebuilding as a team.

    It wasn’t New Orleans. It wasn’t Michigan State. It wasn’t even EC freaking U. If it wasn’t the first half of this game, then I doubt rock bottom will be a one-game thing. My biggest concern is it will be this entire season.

  3. st8family 01/12/2008 at 10:40 PM #

    Jay Bilas:

    Head of the Lunatic Fringe.

  4. MattN 01/12/2008 at 10:50 PM #

    100% correct. For a Dookie, he sees things in a very unbiased light. We deserved everything he threw at us. And more.

    13 points. Most embarasing half of basketball in NCSU history…

  5. #44 17 24 01/12/2008 at 11:00 PM #

    He’s 100% correct.

  6. wufpup76 01/12/2008 at 11:01 PM #

    i just hope our team hears those comments at some point b/c they are absolutely correct

  7. turnoffthetv 01/12/2008 at 11:02 PM #

    I dont know what is worse — only scoring 13 points in half or down by 30 points at the half. But I witnessed both today. And Bilas is on time with his comments, if I didnt know any better I would guess he was hiding behind a screen name and posting comments here on statefansnation (HA!) His commentary would blend right in on here anyway.

    Preach on Jay! Duke boy!

  8. Cardiac95 01/12/2008 at 11:05 PM #

    Hard to believe this is the same group from last year. Last year, we were a bunch of gutty, hardnosed, “run through a wall” for each other kind of team. Not in my wildest dreams would I have imagined the general apathy I’ve witnessed in the smackdowns at Mich St. & today.

  9. vtpackfan 01/12/2008 at 11:19 PM #

    “The only rules I have (said with huge $h*t eating grin), is play hard, play together, play smart,…..and have fun.”

    Maybe things like being prepared and having the guts to play your heart out don’t fall into any of these categories. Bilas needs to check our coachs mission statement before blasting the team so hard.

    It maybe confusing though listening to all of Lowes coach speak so far this season. The four rules have changed to “Get it to our bigs, re post our bigs, run our stuff,…and absolutely, absolutely.

  10. VaWolf82 01/13/2008 at 12:03 AM #

    I keep waiting for the moment they hit rock bottom — only then will they start rebuilding as a team.

    I don’t follow your line of thinking here. Why should the team have to get worse before they can get better? On a separate note, is there any reason to think that they will make substantial improvements this year?

  11. VaWolf82 01/13/2008 at 12:06 AM #

    Hard to believe this is the same group from last year. Last year, we were a bunch of gutty, hardnosed, “run through a wall” for each other kind of team.

    Aren’t you being a little selective in which games you remember to draw this conclusion? State won 5 conference games last year during the regular season…that ain’t too good.

  12. JeremyH 01/13/2008 at 12:26 AM #

    ..is Bilas harping on the ‘group cohesion’ theme because of what was said in one post-game comment by Grant way early in the season, or is this seriously still a problem? If so, it’s infuriating. Take them on a team-building excursion, bring in a psychological expert (Calimari did, although I can’t find a clipping), I don’t know, just problem-solve it.

    I don’t think we are truly bad as we looked today, but a #1 team surely has a way of exposing your every weakness. The weaknesses will be less evident against the lower-mid and lower tier of the ACC. It’s established, public knowledge that a packed-in defense will kill ncsu because they can’t hit jumpers and JJ Hickson is their parachute.

  13. TNCSU 01/13/2008 at 1:06 AM #

    ^^^From earlier: Ask yourself what K or Roy or Knight would do in the days after a 13 point 1st half and a 30+ point rout by their biggest rival.

    I ask, has that EVER happened…Can someone please dig up the worst half of hoops for a K or Roy team – ever. I’m sure it would have to be an early K team. At this point, I tend to think Roy or K could put out Presbyterian or NCCU against the Spurs and not be down by 30 at the half.

    I agree totally with what Bilas said, he’s right — we’ve got issues…..which brings me to the ONLY top recruit that Sid has brought to State, J.J. Hickson. A great PF/C….did we NEED a great PF/C…NO, we needed a PG. That should have been the #1 priority. I feel bad for Gonzalez, I think he was thrown into the fire, and is just plain not ready.

    Coaching aside, as a “college” coach, you are also like a Pro GM — you have to decide, do you draft “best available” or “needs of the team”. It looks like we went with best available….our our “team” is suffering.

    That’s just my recruiting question marks, I would not begin to talk about the lack of motivation and leadership I see on this current team. I think I had rose-colored glasses on. I should have taken them off after Michigan State. I didn’t, but they’re off now that’s for sure. This is BY FAR my lowest point EVER as a Wolfpack fan. It was embarrasing. Do I think we can turn it around? I am optimistic — why??? because Sid makes about 20-30 times (I have trouble counting that high) what I do per year, so he should GET IT DONE

    Also, a sports psychologist (or some type of motivational speaker – hell, anything) as JeremyH suggested is NOT a bad idea. It CAN’T hurt.

  14. Archdale Pack Fan 01/13/2008 at 1:23 AM #

    Point wise it was not the lowest we’ve scored in 1 half. Remember 2005 vs St Johns? We scored only 10 points in the first half. 13 may be a record low total for an ACC game.

  15. tooyoungtoremember 01/13/2008 at 2:57 AM #

    TNCSU, “the ONLY top recruit that Sid has brought to State, J.J. Hickson. A great PF/C….did we NEED a great PF/C…NO, we needed a PG. That should have been the #1 priority. I feel bad for Gonzalez, I think he was thrown into the fire, and is just plain not ready.”

    WOW! And I thought I had a short memory! Either that or your emotions are replacing rational thought. Give Sid a little credit. He’s not to blame for our PG situation. Remember a kid named Chris Wright that LF let slither away from his SIGNED LOI to play for state? By the time Sid got here, there weren’t many PG options left in the incoming freshman class. He took the best PG of what was available and that’s exactly what we have, a couple of transfers and a freshman who all had more potential for future development than for immediate impact.

    “Coaching aside, as a “college” coach, you are also like a Pro GM — you have to decide, do you draft “best available” or “needs of the team”. It looks like we went with best available….our our “team” is suffering.”

    I think Sid did both. There’s no way you can criticize Sid as a recruiter. In his first recruiting season, one where he started late and had to make up a SIGNIFICANT amount of ground on all the other coaches while also learning the rules, he managed to assemble a nationally ranked incoming class. Yeah, he’s really a horrible recruiter. And he definitely can’t build a team. It’s not like his recruits are the only ones showing effort and playing anywhere near their potential right now. Oh wait, that’s exactly what’s going on.

    I’m so sick of everyone thinking the sky is falling IN YEAR TWO. Give Sid a chance to fill the roster with his own players. AT LEAST give him a chance to fill the starting 5 with his own players. Sheesh.

  16. Trip 01/13/2008 at 3:38 AM #

    Well.. I’m literally at a loss. I can’t comment on the 2nd half (Apparently we did better) because I was so drunk I couldn’t see straight. Watched the game with my best friend all the way since elementary, yeah, he’s a Tarheel fan. — I know I know, get better friends.

    The first 5 minutes we were sipping on beers and smack talking each other as our team scored… then for the next 15 minutes it devolved to myself sipping from a bottle of rum as I hadn’t been able to smack talk him in a long time until Fells hit a shot where I promptly jumped out of the seat and unleashed the 15 minutes of smack talk I had been building up but not able to use… only to trip and hit my head on the table. Damn irony.

    What I want to know, for those who paid more attention maybe, what good did Javi do to warrant 17 minutes? The 2 memorys I have of him in that game was blowing the defensive assignment on Lawson and letting him hit a 3– I guess he thought that all guards can’t shoot or something– and when I awoke momentarily from a drunken coma on the couch to see him comically get “pressured” (Lawson being all up in his grill 2 feet away at halfcourt) into nearly turning it over twice off his foot, grabbing it back, only to lose it again where it rolled into the back court and he barely got it back, burning about 15 seconds on the shot clock. ESPN did a replay of that in fast forward, and I nearly died laughing watching it. The only thing I can see was that he had 3 assists, which might be a record for him, but he also had 3 turnovers, and turnovers hurt way more than assists help.

    Is Marques in Sid’s doghouse or something? He’s so much stronger with the ball it’s ridiculous to not let him play more than 23 minutes in a game against a team that pressures you on the defensive end like Carolina did today. I wish I could have paid more attention to him playing–damned alcohol, but he didn’t have any “WTF ARE YOU DOING?” moments from what I can remember. Also, what GOOD teams have 2 full time point guards? We can’t get chemistry going in the first place, and then we have 2 point guards splitting 20/20 23/17 on the minutes.

    I’m not going to bust more on Javi, I still think he has potential, just this year was supposed to be the year that he learns the system, gets to watch a more experienced point guard play, and just get a better grasp of his game. Sucks that he got thrown in the fire.

    I said about a week ago that we’d go 2-14 if we showed up zombie-like to this game… looks like I’ve gotta change my 9-7 prediction to that. Total lack of passion by most of the team, and our rebounding was laughable, on one possession I literally think everyone on Carolina’s squad grabbed a offensive rebound before they sank a shot. How sad is it that Costner/Mccauley were nearly out rebounded by Javi/Marques? Rebounding is about effort, and if your guards are almost out rebounding your forwards, something is terribly amiss.

  17. MrPlywood 01/13/2008 at 4:07 AM #

    Wow, the ESPN Gameflow chart shows the perfect representation of the Pack’s heart in the game – a flatline from 11:35 to 1:20. At least State has some company. Though, insult to injury, it involves another team that waxed us. MSU scored only 18 in the first half, and 36 for the entire game as they got beat by Iowa. And that’s with Iowa shooting 27% from the floor. There goes what was left of the RPI…

  18. oljdub 01/13/2008 at 7:37 AM #

    I just think that the players hate each other. I would make them all ride to class in a civic together

  19. GoldenChain 01/13/2008 at 7:45 AM #

    I’ve never heard Jay or the G-man say a nice thing about State.
    Unfortunately we afford them plenty of opportunities.
    I too fear that this team will never reach its potential.

  20. Stoner 01/13/2008 at 8:14 AM #

    I’m so sick of everyone thinking the sky is falling IN YEAR TWO. Give Sid a chance to fill the roster with his own players. AT LEAST give him a chance to fill the starting 5 with his own players. Sheesh.

    Your argument might make some sense, but Fells was the Gatorade Player of the Year in Mississipi, and a top 50 talent. Costner was a McDonald’s High School All American. McCauley and Horner were both top 100 type talent coming out of high school.

    He inherited a team, due to the premature departure of Simmons and Brackman, and the loss of an entire recruiting class, except Horner, which was thin on depth. The players he did have, were highly regarded coming out of high school.

    Anyway, I think it’s about time fan apathy finally starts to kick in.

    20 years of a program falling apart and not really doing anything big should drain the interest on any sane fan. For example, Duke had a good football team in 1965. In 1985, Duke wasn’t regarded as a football school, anymore, and Duke fans didn’t care much.

    Same thing should happen with NCSU basketball, if we are sane, reasonable, fans.

  21. NB Wolf 01/13/2008 at 8:17 AM #

    For NCSU to be competitive in B-ball and Football we need to fire Fowler and quit scheduling these soft pre-season games that fail to prepare the teams for real competition.

  22. Wulfpack 01/13/2008 at 8:46 AM #

    Players said coach Sidney Lowe was calm in the locker room with N.C. State trailing 43-13. Lowe said that was because he didn’t see a lack of effort on the part of his players.

    “We just made some poor decisions,” Lowe said, “and there’s no reason to come in there yelling.”

    If you’re not going to yell then, then I doubt you will at any other juncture this season. That was the most despicable half of basketball I have witnessed. It has very little to do with our offensive ineffeciencies and a whole to more to do with our lack of desire to put a body on a guy. Carolina was playing volleyball out there. The Costner, Hickson, Ben Mac attack was stuck in park. UNC’s bigs had their way time and time again. Lawson was going for blood on our guards and what did they do? Put their tiny little Wolfpack tail between their legs and froze up. I can understand not having the talent to compete. But at least show a little fire as you’re going down.

    Tooyoungtoremember – Nobody, and I mean nobody, expected us to be worse than last year. Your comments do not explain why that is the case today. We are not a competitive team.

    As far as Bilas goes, I think his comments did us all a favor. It’s what the majority of us would say if we had an outlet to Sid’s ear.

  23. Astral Rain 01/13/2008 at 8:47 AM #

    The only way real change can happen, is if they see an empty arena and empty wallets.

  24. Sw0rdf1sh 01/13/2008 at 8:48 AM #

    You don’t have to have a crystal ball to get it right like Bilas did.

    They played like they are thinking about the after party. The chicks there must give a lot of pitty pooty.

  25. RAWFS 01/13/2008 at 8:56 AM #

    Regarding Fowler, IMO it’s all about money. Get the lower payout teams to come in, and soak the LTR and Season Ticket holders for full price. It doesn’t matter if the RBC is one-half full (or less) — those empty seats in the bottom two bowls are paid for, and the only thing Lee really cares about is money, money, money. How NCSU can be in the top 5 in donors in the country (per Bobby Purcell) and not have had a top 5 team in a major sport in my memory simply astounds me.

    As for Bilas, hammer, nail and head.

    I wonder what Roy Williams or Bobby Knight would do with this team? This calm demeanor approach isn’t working….maybe it’s time to kick some ass and hold some prima donnas accountable. Tell one of them not to even bother to dress out until they figure out how to play with some passion. Sit them on the bench in a suit and tie and let the public know that no, they’re not injured, but instead they aren’t playing until they care.

    Over on my blog, I recently passed along a practice tactic that Nate McMillan used with his players…a real gut checker that put some fire in their bellies. I honestly think Sid should try this tactic.

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