Live Blogging from the Central Game

07-08 Basketball112

The Pack takes the court at 7 tonight against a second consecutive D-1 newbie, the North Carolina Central Eagles. Lowe’s squad continues to search the corners of the earth for an opponent crappy enough to provide a comfortable win. Sagarin has 1-18 NCCU at 329, 14 slots behind the mighty Blue Hose of Prebyterian College. I will be front-row, center court (but on the upper level), and God and blackberry willing, live blogging this glorious event. Don’t expect updates more frequently than the media time-outs.

Pregame – There is NOBODY here. A guy just flipped off the fan cam. This amused me, as I am very immature. I am not so crass as to bastardize the national anthem, though. That always pisses me off.

7:12 – Pack up 3, halfcourt O still sucks. Central starts a white guy, FWIW.

7:19 – Up to 12-3 Pack. The people love Simon Harris, and I concur. He busts his ass.

7:22 – Central cuts lead to 7. We are playing great D, but still giving up loads of offensive boards.

7:29 – Another offensive board, followed by a 3. Lead down to 16-10.

7:31 – Grant has made 2 really awful passes to the low post. Each overshot Hickson by a good 3 feet.

7:35 – Simon tries for 3. Very bad idea. 18-12, Pack.

7:37 – Oh shit. Fells just collapsed in a heap holding his ankle/foot.

7:41 – Fells hobbled to locker room, with help. Putting no weight on right foot at all. Grant has 2 fouls, so Javi, Trevor, and Simon all playing together. This does not strike me as a lineup built to score. I shudder at the thought of this lineup in CH on Saturday.

7:45 – JJ is 6-6 from stripe. Has half our points.

Halftime – Javi closes the half with 3 points on 2 nice drives to the bucket. 27-18.

7:57 – Apparently Barry Manilow “Music and Passion” is coming to the ESA. I would rather be shot, I think.

8:10 – 2 Costner 3s key big spurt. 35-18, Pack. Eagles had 11 offensive boards in first half. Wow.

8:22 – Trevor keeps on shooting, and the people really want him to score. Their faith is not being rewarded. Pack leads easily if not artfully, 39-22.

8:26 – Central has a player who is 1-13 from the floor and 0-4 from the line.

8:29 – 1-14 now. 40-24, Pack. Can we hold them under 30?

8:31 – Troubling stat – Ben is scoreless.

8:41 – Ben breaks his cherry with old-fashioned 3 point play. Just under 4 to go and Pack up 45-26. Defense!

8:44 – Trevor scores! The people are pleased.

8:47 – Smith gets block and bucket. Central up to 29, damn it.

Your final score – NC State 54, NC Central 29. The defense holds!

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

07-08 Basketball

112 Responses to Live Blogging from the Central Game

  1. GAWolf 01/09/2008 at 10:17 PM #

    The last time we played this poorly on a regular basis we beat the number one in the nation Tarheels twice… right?

  2. blpack 01/09/2008 at 10:22 PM #

    Our shooting woes continued it sounds like. Let’s see what happens Saturday. Regardless, we have to go to Clemson after that and they had a tough night. There are opportunities for this team if we can come together.

  3. cowdog 01/09/2008 at 10:26 PM #

    Yep GA..with a hell of a lot more seniors. I’m remiss in my negativity and hope that I’ll receive a ton of ” told you so’s ” thru Jan, Feb ‘n March.

  4. the_phisherman 01/09/2008 at 10:37 PM #

    As for the comment about JJ’s shot blocking attempts, the really frustrating part is that several times that he went for the shot block it was totally unnecessary. The man driving to the lane was defended. He should have stayed on his man and boxed out for the easy rebound.

  5. wufpaxno1 01/09/2008 at 10:38 PM #

    Charlotte throttled Clemson by double digits, Cincy beat Syracuse, S. Carolina took #12 Vandy to the wire, and UNCA gave UNC more then they wanted tonight. This college basketball season is beginning to look a lot like this past college football season did.

    The Pack won ugly, which has become the norm of late, but don’t underestimate the fact that the recent overmatched opponents have been packing in a zone on State which has been a big factor in the “Ugly”. ACC teams are not going to change what they do and go Zone in a desperate attempt to keep the game close against State. They have way too much pride for that and most ACC teams play very little zone. This will open up the inside for us which will have the effect of relieving the pressure off of the perimeter game which will in turn improve.

    State nearly doubled up a team tonight that was doing everything it could to keep the scoring down in a vain effort to keep the score close. I don’t recall Villanova packing it in on us and we managed to win, and that one was ugly more from the poor officiating then anything Nova did. We simply are not going to blow anyone out, but beating teams like Villanova by one does a lot more to enhance State’s resume’ then beating teams like NCCU by fifty would. Double the score of each and that’s what this game would have been, 108 to 58. I my change my opinion later but for now, we I still believe we will be all right.

  6. werncstate 01/09/2008 at 10:44 PM #

    Well I predicted a blowout for tonights game.
    Was it a blowout?…Yes, any game that has Chad Williams playing the final 2 minutes is a blowout.
    Was it ugly?…Yes
    Is NCCU a putrid basketball team?…Yes, heck I saw them commiting turnovers during warm ups.
    Who gave T-ferg the green light to shoot 7 threes?…Sidney Lowe, He called Trevor over after he missed his first attempt and told him to keep shooting. With Fells injury suddenly the red head becomes very important for this team.
    Will UNC destroy State?…I don’t know. I hope not.
    Can State squeak out a win on saturday?…I don’t know. I hope so.
    Go Pack!

  7. newt 01/09/2008 at 10:48 PM #

    We sure have played a lot of pack-it-in, slow-it-down, stick-with-the-zone teams this pre-conference season. Frustrating to watch, but probably good experience for the team.

    Finally now we get a chance to see some games played in the style that this team was designed to play.

    As someone who has watched a couple of decades of Pack basketball, I don’t understand how anybody could presume to have the faintest idea how this season is going to play out.

    At least this year we don’t have a bunch of premature smack talking going on prior to the UNC game by fans on a sugar high after tearing through several weeks of cupcakes.

    Do wish we had Fells and Horner healthy.

    I’ve been complaining about our inability to create turnovers and curious about Lowe’s apparent focus on FG% defense, but after seeing this guy’s article today, maybe Lowe knows best (thanks to Section 6): http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/columns/story?id=3178261

  8. Trip 01/10/2008 at 12:13 AM #

    Jeeeez, while I know I’m typically optimistic, you guys are WAYYYyyy pessimistic. You’re making it seem like we’re a high school basketball team (And not even a good one) going to play against the Spurs or something. I saw some good plays today, but I also saw some TERRIBLE passes. Johnson showed today that he can dribble penetrate, as he did twice as the shot clock was winding down, once throwing an assist to Grant–Who missed the shot and was fouled. Javi is looking better and better, although I’m still thinking Johnson is just more solid. Johnson seems to play smarter defense than Javi, but Javi runs around more than he does and smacks at the ball more often, Javi does miss defensive assignments, but no where near as much as he was a month ago.

    Do you think Sid is taking tons of time in practice to teach these kids Zone offense? No. He’s teaching them the style of play that we’re going to see in the ACC–man to man, and going over enough zone offense so that we can rumble through the midgets in the pre-conference season. We just had a terrible shooting night tonight, if we were hitting 3’s like we’re averaging this season (33%) the score would have been 12 points higher and I’d wager that NCCU would have fallen out of their zone and we would have lit them up.

  9. JeremyH 01/10/2008 at 1:42 AM #

    Ferg pulled the 3 percentage down. I think 1-7, while Costner was 3-6 (good sign by the way). Thanks for taking the time to read b/w the stats Trip. Far as I am concerned, Javi shooting and hitting any kind of shot during a game is a good sign. Get well soon Courtney.

  10. bTHEredterror 01/10/2008 at 2:00 AM #

    If what Gary and Tony say is true about Fergie, maybe Sid is looking for some Nuke LaLoosh psychology for his confidence.

    If Fells is out anythin more than 2 weeks we could be in trouble. Hope Ferg is the anti-Wes Miller.

    Good point about style of play, wufpaxno1. If Carolina walks the ball up and uses 30 seconds of the shotclock two things will happen. Sid will jump for joy, and Ol’ Roy will bust out of his Easter Blue suitcoat. The offensive rebounding issues though…..

  11. Trip 01/10/2008 at 2:23 AM #

    Johnson attempted 1 3 that was open, looked good–but didn’t hit, and one that was a desperation shot as the shot clock winded down and didn’t have a chance. As noted before, his form isn’t the best and I’d rather have Costner fire one up, but from what I can tell, it’s better than Trevor’s as it has more arc. Johnson just doesn’t jump up that high when he’s shooting it which makes it seem like he’s releasing it too early. Nice to see him attempt some 3’s though, and I’m sure after he knocks off some rust he’ll be atleast enough of a threat to keep the defense honest.

    I really wish that I could see Johnson play against a man-to-man defense to see how he runs the show, because right now “running the show” against a zone means tossing the ball around the perimeter until someone gets open for a 3, or a lane opens up for a pass/penetration. Hell, I, in all my whiteness, could run the show against a zone defense if all I had to do was pass the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds… I’d like to see how he does with some of Sid’s play sets against a man defense.

    The team for the most part took good open 3’s, they just weren’t connecting. There were only a few–mostly from Ferguson bombing away– that probably should have been swung around another time before being launched.

    Hickson’s FT average is steadily improving, he missed 2 of his last ones, but still ended up 6/8 I believe. He could end up being a 80% FT shooter by the end of the season. I’m glad most of the guys on our team are good FT shooters since they tend to get to the line a lot. Tracy Smith also went 2/2 from the FT line, which doesn’t seem like much, but I believe he was shooting about 20% from the FT line so far this year. Hopefully that’s a sign that he just had some early game jitters.

    Harris deserves more playing time, that guy gives it his all every time he steps on the court, and I believe creates a mismatch because of his athletic bodybuilder body coupled with impressive burst speed for his weight. He’s impressive on the defensive end, and he had one REALLY nice move in the first half on the offensive end, dribbling some through traffic, picking his dribble up, slashing through some defenders, and throwing up a reverse layup hook shot that banked in. If a 240 pound 6’6 guy can defend Curry, as well as a 3/4 and do a few moves like that every once in a while, I hope he gets his minutes. I think he got some of the loudest applause from the crowd when he sat down near the end of the game. Take note, everyone else on the team, you can win fans applause by playing hard, you don’t have to score.

    Overall though, it WAS a snoozefest. I feel bad, because I keep on bringing my friend (not a NC State student) to these games, and so far he’s witnessed nothing but annoying, boring zone defenses, oh, that and losing to Nawwlins.

  12. Wulfpack 01/10/2008 at 7:38 AM #

    “Finally now we get a chance to see some games played in the style that this team was designed to play.”

    I am not so sure this is a good thing. If these tune-ups are any indication, Sid is deliberately telling our guys to slow it down. I am baffled. I do not get it. It makes no sense to me. We are not going to be able to play this style in the majority of our ACC games.

    Good luck trying to slow it down against the Heels, coach.

  13. Par Shooter 01/10/2008 at 8:40 AM #

    I have been trying to refrain from calling these guys out and hoping that they are building towards being a decent team but last night was absolutely dreadful. NCCU was without a doubt the worst college team I have ever seen play. Our guys are careless with the ball and seem to have little idea of what they are supposed to do. It’s not even worth arguing whehter it’s the coaches or the players b/c frankly there is enough stink to go around. They all should be ashamed of themselves.

    I think the guy I am most down on is Hickson. I get a good laugh every time there is some assertion that he is 1-&-done. If you closely watch him play you’ll see that he is really pretty damn soft. He draws a lot of contact but unlike legit college big men, when he gets bumped it’s like he’s holding a hand grenade or maybe playing hot potato. If a guy that is 6’6″ 210lb bumps him on a layup there is really no reason not to finish the play for and-1. Lottery picks his size do that against small Div 2 players. But he struggles mightily with this. He also tries to block every damn shot within 10 feet of him and leaves his man totally open for OR. I counted 5 times last night that he came over to try to block a shot but was so late that if he had blocked it then he would have been called for goaltending. So he’s flying around under the goal while his guy camps out in front of the rim for an easy bucket. Calling him a “beast” just b/c he is big is laughable.

    One of our biggest weaknesses under the old regime was the total lack of development of big men. My fear was always that Harris just was not very good at teaching fundamentals (even though he is clearly good at recruiting and player relations). I think when you look at the things that Costner, McCauley and Hickson do (and don’t do) then it’s pretty clear that big-man coaching remains a huge liability. When you have a team where most of the talent is concentrated in big men then you’ve got serious issues. See NC State, 07-08.

  14. packgrad2000 01/10/2008 at 8:41 AM #

    I was at the game, and Central is absolutely awful. I’d love to say that shot 20% because our D is so tenacious, but it wasn’t. They’re as bad as hitting wide open shots as we are. They got a TON of good looks, then would miss, and often get the rebound. The only time they really had to shoot over us was when they took it inside.
    For some reason I still think we have a shot against Carolina, provided Fells plays is at least at 90%. I think we’ll rise to the occasion (even if we don’t win).
    I felt bad for the Central coach. In his interview he said, “I’m sure it’s hard to get your team up to play a team that is 1-20.”

  15. Redblogger 01/10/2008 at 9:33 AM #

    Any official word on Fells?

  16. packgrad93 01/10/2008 at 9:52 AM #

    interesting quote from Sid:
    “You’re patient, you’re patient, and if that’s what’s there, that’s what you have to take. We don’t like to take that many threes, but when their defense is playing zone you have to.”

  17. highstick 01/10/2008 at 11:32 AM #

    Sid has been holding this team back all year, not wanting to show the massive amount of talent and ability that is there. He will unleash the full power and fury of the Pack against the Heels. ………………..Or at least I hope this is the case!

  18. JeremyH 01/10/2008 at 12:16 PM #

    highstick– you sound like a hollywood trailer, but I like it!

  19. wufpup76 01/10/2008 at 1:06 PM #

    make no mistake, we WILL see some zone defense thrown at us during the ACC campaign … that doesn’t mean i don’t think we are able to win if teams do play zone against us – i’m as optimistic as anyone

    but, if your weakness is pulling teams out of a zone defense then you better believe you will see it again … maybe not against all ACC opponents – but you will see it

    and just b/c we’re not hitting outside shots it doesn’t mean that’s the only way to attack a zone defense … i would like to see more dribble penetration like johnson did a couple of times as opposed to passing it around the perimeter about 25 feet from the basket vainly hoping to throw it over the top to hickson … and when that doesn’t work hoist a 3-pointer

    don’t get me wrong, i hope we see NOTHING but man-to-man defenses from here on out, but if your weakness is playing against a zone you will see it again (unfortunately)

  20. redfred2 01/10/2008 at 1:14 PM #

    highstick, That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking all year. Doesn’t look like it’s ever going to happen though. We’re pretty far into the season already and the lethargic attitudes, coupled with a very frustrating “style” of play, are now probably pretty much engrained in this group.

  21. packgrad93 01/10/2008 at 2:41 PM #

    ^ I don’t think you’ll see “lethargic attitudes” the rest of the season. I also think the “style” will be determined by our health & our opponent.

  22. Mr O 01/10/2008 at 3:03 PM #

    If you can’t shoot, then you can’t win. Herb learned that lesson in year five. Hopefully we can get some guards in the program that can hit shots. If Julius Mays and CJ Williams can’t shoot, then we are in deep trouble in the coming years.

    Not that I want him to be our coach, but Herb Sendek is now 3-0 in the Pac-10 and appears headed towards the top 25 in his second season.

  23. packgrad93 01/10/2008 at 3:11 PM #

    Mays shot 42% from 3 his jr year (last season). not sure how he’s doing this yr.

  24. packbackr04 01/10/2008 at 3:39 PM #

    his 3 pt % is high, and his free throw % is like 90%

  25. Trip 01/10/2008 at 3:52 PM #

    ^^^ Going by high school numbers, Johnson shot 42% at the 3 from statistics that I could gather on the internets. Ferguson also shot a ridiculously high % in high school… too bad it doesn’t translate into the college game all of the time.

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