Pack Plays Well For an ENTIRE HALF! (Duke 92, NC State 72)

And naturally, we end the game down twenty and in complete surrender mode on defense. Have some pride to wear the uniform, and at least hit somebody if you don’t want to get into defensive or rebounding position. But don’t stand there holding your junk while a guy drives for an uncontested layup.

Not that I’m surprised, mind you. But that doesn’t stop me from being pissed.

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 NCS Basketball

146 Responses to Pack Plays Well For an ENTIRE HALF! (Duke 92, NC State 72)

  1. backinpack 02/01/2008 at 12:35 AM #

    Anyone catch what the Crazies were screaming at JJ when hit was shooting FT’s?

    The time that wasn’t just timed screaming and clapping I think they were saying “Still in High School,” but I’m not positive. He drained both of them and they STFU pretty quickly.

  2. tractor57 02/01/2008 at 12:43 AM #

    This team is a work in progress. Still a lot of work to do but of late with each game I do see improvement. As noidea said this is a young team and a young to college BB coach so it is not surprising to see highs and lows.
    When Lowe took the job after that mess of a coaching search we most all said it would take 3 to 4 years to see if Lowe was the man. Now in year two many want to dump him – and some for Sendek. I guess it is the nature of the “microwave” that the web has created.
    I for one am not satisfied but I am pleased at the progress of late.

  3. BJD95 02/01/2008 at 12:48 AM #

    As play opened for the second half, I told my wife Duke would take the lead by the 15 minute mark and never trail again. That’s just life as a Wolfpack fan. You know the kick in the nuts is only a moment away, but you step right up to take it anyway. Year after year after year.

    I don’t know what it is, but NC State teams always seem to lack mental toughness. You see it across coaching regimes and in pretty much every sport. Sid cited that again tonight, and he’s correct. Not that he’s blameless by any stretch. He can diagnose the problems. He just hasn’t shown that he can fix them.

  4. Greywolf 02/01/2008 at 1:24 AM #

    Now this is the Law of the Jungle —
    as old and as true as the sky;
    And the Wolf that shall keep it may prosper,
    but the Wolf that shall break it must die.
    As the creeper that girdles the tree-trunk
    the Law runneth forward and back —
    For the strength of the Pack is the Wolf,
    and the strength of the Wolf is the Pack.

    If we can hang in and stick together, this team hasn’t seen its last moment of glory. Some say you practice to learn how to play. I say you play to learn what you need to practice. We learned tonight what it takes to beat Duke. We will, I say WILL, be a better team the next time out. I read so much about how the wolfpack teams ain’t what they used to be. Well, the some of the fans seem to be made out of 2nd growth timber, Forestry School guys will know what I mean.

  5. sf59 02/01/2008 at 1:39 AM #

    i think javie played better, but man i can only imagine what a guy like wall would do for this team now…. a PG is impertive. I am more convinced of that now than ever.

  6. Texpack 02/01/2008 at 6:14 AM #

    The key stretch of the game was when we went up 30-21 and the refs clearly decided that they had to keep Duke in the game. Had they continued to officiate the way they had up to that point we’d have been up 20 at the half.

    I thought we maintained our effort and intensity level pretty well until the last 4-5 minutes. The stare downs and woofing at least showed that we weren’t backing down.

    This was the wrong game for Courtney Fells to disappear.

    Javi is clearly developing. He can be a solid point guard in the ACC.

    This team showed why I think 8-8 is a very realistic finish in the ACC for us. The really tough road games are behind us and I think we’ll win one of the Clemson, Duke, UNC-CH games at home.

  7. Noah 02/01/2008 at 6:58 AM #

    Yeah, we got outscored by 30 in the second half. Because of the refs.

    It’s Sendek’s fault! We’re too young! We’re too old! We quit! The refs jobbed us! Waaaaaaahhhhh.

    You guys are like every drug addict I’ve ever met in my life.

  8. graywolf 02/01/2008 at 7:21 AM #

    Bring back Sendek…………No way!!!!!
    I’d rather watch paint dry then to sit through another Sendek coached game with the Sendek offense.

    By the way………..he’s not running it at ASU?!?!

    Go figure.

    Go Pack and I’ll not say anything nasty about the former coach I’ll leave it at that!

  9. LRM 02/01/2008 at 7:22 AM #

    We’ve now been outscored in two halves 98-39 by our two biggest rivals. We just narrowly avoided getting our first half against Carolina topped — Duke only outscored us by 29 in the second half, but at least we doubled our point total from 13 to 26.

    Embarrassing and depressing.

  10. Wulfpack 02/01/2008 at 7:28 AM #

    Stop the whining. Bottom line – Duke kicked our butt’s in the second half and we didn’t come close to matching their intensity. We folded, and folded quickly, plain and simple.

    Greg Paulus absolutely dominated Javi and Johnson both offensively and defensively. In my mind, he was the difference.

    I do not know what happened to Fells. A complete no show. Costner took 1/2 the night off. Only guy that played with some passion was Grant. The majority of our guys have gotten worse since last year and that is not a good sign.

    Whoever is coaching the guards is doing a horrible job. How many times are we going to pick up the dribble in the middle of the floor? This is NOT acceptable. It’s terrible basketball. Goodluck trying to win a YMCA game with those habits.

  11. wolfonthehill 02/01/2008 at 7:36 AM #

    In Section Six-speak, four factors:

    1 – Marques Johnson’s +/- (and A/TO margin) were both atrocious. After the first 3 minutes, he should not have seen the court again last night, in any situation.

    2 – 20 minutes. That’s how long we actually gave a shit last night. Note to Pack: the game actually lasts 40.

    3 – 8. The number of fouls called on the Pack for doing nothing more but bumping someone routinely, as happens 10 times each trip downcourt. They were called because the officials were too damn lazy to try to tell the difference between a foul and an embarrassing flop.

    4 – 4. As in #4. Courtney Fells. Until he drove the rack and got fouled in the second half, I forgot he was even on our team.

    We still haven’t had a single game where more than 3 guys actually play a GOOD game. As long as that’s the case, this team will pray to make the NIT.

  12. niceguy 02/01/2008 at 7:36 AM #

    I love it when these so called Wolfpack fans say things like “bring back Herb”. Are you so stupid that you don’t remeber that we were getting killed by these same teams when he was here. If Lowe can’t get it done then we TRY to find someone who can. But, we don’t go backwards. I question if these people are really Pack fans or are the here to just cause trouble. And, for these Fans who get on here and local radio shows and talk about how we are not at the games and we should be there, SHUT UP. I have lifetime seats so I’m there because I am invested. But, it is not the fans job to make the team win, its the teams job to make us want to be there. If Lowe wants a full house and the team wants a full house. WIN, and they will come!!!!!

  13. decwolfpack 02/01/2008 at 7:47 AM #

    What was up with the foul on Costner when it looked like Scheyer moved the ball and Paulus starts wobbling. Looked like a good acting job to me. It sucks to get so upset about the no calls that you flip off the television. Easy to say that you can match their physical play. The difference is Duke knows that the refs will not call every single foul or questionable play as with the Paulus kick but State gets called for fouls sometimes when there isn’t any contact. We have every right to blame the refs. I feel like we won the ball game. If the players were playing in that game in that gym without the refs like we do in pick up basketball where the players call each other for fouls, we would have won the game. Nelson and Henderson push off with their free hand every time before they step back for their mid range jump shots.

  14. Astral Rain 02/01/2008 at 7:48 AM #

    Honestly, times like this, Sid should have a goon on the bench who can get suspended- and you hurt a Duke player. Not injure, but hurt. Let the conference know you aren’t going to get punked. If other teams did that as well, eventually you’d get fairer calls.

    We need a goon.

  15. BAC79 02/01/2008 at 7:51 AM #

    Check out David Glenn’s Journal “Coach Lowe v. Coach K” for an interesting analysis of what it takes to build a winning team.

  16. decwolfpack 02/01/2008 at 7:57 AM #

    Why do people give up on a season long before it is even halfway through the conference games? Do any of you remember 1983, when we had no shot of making the NCAA’s. We always have a shot if we get so momentum going into the ACC tourney. Losing by 20 to Duke has happened before. You guys act like we have never lost by 20 or more when Valvano or Sloan were coaching. Coach V lost to Murray State in the NCAA’s. I have liked every coach that has coached at NC State. Accept the fact that ever since we forced Valvano out we have been fighting an uphill battle. Before the “Personal Fouls” book we were competitive with Duke and UNC and were considered a viable threat in college basketball. We played Kentucky, Louisville, and UNLV as non conference games. I feel that Lowe will eventually get us back to that level. We have to be patient. I didn’t say that we would win championships or the conference year in and year out like many of you want. We haven’t done that since the Case years but we can get back to being in position to be competitive year in and year out.

  17. decwolfpack 02/01/2008 at 8:08 AM #

    I am 39 and didn’t attend NC State but I did have 2 siblings and a niece graduate from State and currently have a niece attending State. My sister went to State from 75-79 and my brother went from 80-84. I began hating Carolina at age 5 and I pulled for Duke when they weren’t playing State until Hurley and Laettner came to Duke. Duke and UNC have been mirror images of each other ever since. I don’t mind winners as long as they aren’t so arrogant in the process. Anybody else pulling for the Giants this weekend? For the last 17 years it has been hard being a Wolfpack fan in basketball. You have to keep the hope but you wonder if we are ever going to turn the corner towards greatness.

  18. Wulfpack 02/01/2008 at 8:12 AM #

    “We have every right to blame the refs. I feel like we won the ball game.”

    Let’s see. We left their three point shooters wide open time after time. We turned the ball over at the sign of any pressure. We didn’t box out (surprise) when it really mattered in the second half. We didn’t attack the weakness of the Duke defense – the post – after we had established that we could have our way in the paint.

    Excuse me but the officials have zero to do with any of that. Zero.

    Blaming it all on the refs will get you, and this team, no where.

  19. BJD95 02/01/2008 at 8:14 AM #

    This team has consistently provided boneheaded play, and demonstrated a lack of mental toughness. I see no reason to expect the light switch to flip on.

    Billy Packer, instead of the same cliches about our team’s struggles, said two very insightful things last night:

    1) Brandon Costner just doesn’t look like he’s having any fun on the court anymore. He has the talent, but has to rediscover the joy in playing the game.

    2) This Wolfpack team is very fragile right now.

    I don’t think people really understand how close this team is to complete disaster. IMHO, alot closer than it is to turning the corner.

  20. BJD95 02/01/2008 at 8:18 AM #

    There were a handful of bad calls, but it was nothing out of the ordinary. If that’s enough to make you fold up your tent in Cameron, then you will NEVER win there, or even come close.

  21. LRM 02/01/2008 at 8:24 AM #

    decwolfpack,
    I applaud your optimism, but the simple fact is most of our patience was exhausted from 1996-2006. Fact is, I’m tired of being patient — this has just gotten old.

    BJD,
    I agree. We all act suprised by the officiating, but we deal with that every game (along with everyone else in the ACC). And while a few bad calls can swing the outcome of a close game, the officiating last night didn’t directly affect our effort or our execution. Lowe got outcoached and we got outmaneuvered, outhustled and outplayed in that second half. And the real shame of it is that most of us expected just that during halftime.

  22. choppack1 02/01/2008 at 8:30 AM #

    “Yeah, we got outscored by 30 in the second half. Because of the refs.”

    I don’t know whether it was because of the refs or not. I’d just like to see a game called that seemed remotely fair.

    As Texpack noted – we were up 30-21 – when Duke was rewarded w/ 6 straight foul shots on touch calls. At the end of the half, Grant, Fells had 2 fouls…both of them had one questionable call.

    Paulus is the biggest scumbag in the league I’ve seen in a long time. Still don’t get how the official misses the kickball – I really thought at that point things went terribly south. I don’t think it’s coincidental.

    This team DOES have to get mentally tough. Ben McCauley acted like he didn’t give a damn out there the last 5 minutes, while Javy and Grant were out there playing.

    I’m not giving up on this team yet. A much better effort than we give in Chapel Hill though we have little to show for it. I just wish our guys would get tough. I really think last night was a perfect time to bring in some subs and have them return the physical favor.

    In Chris Paul’s sophomore year, Coach K brought started a reserve walk on to guard Paul. He played VERY physical. It clearly upset Paul. Sometimes you’ve got to fight fire w/ fire.

    If there’s one thing I’m disappointed in in Lowe, it’s that last night he didn’t demand toughness and didn’t respond well to the bullying. After that kick ball was the perfect time to get teed up. You think Coach K would tolerate that crap?

  23. BJD95 02/01/2008 at 8:30 AM #

    I think about the two players that I really like on this team – Gavin Grant and JJ Hickson. Then I remember that the season is all but lost, and that those two guys won’t be back. Then I throw up a little.

  24. EverettBeez 02/01/2008 at 8:34 AM #

    Len Elmore also said something interesting – Coach K told him that college ball is more physical then the NBA. Go figure. I wonder what brought about that change.

    I want that slapping of the floor declared taunting. Its clearly unsportsmanlike. But what would the dookies know about being sportsman. Their idea of being a fan is seeing how rude you can be. Not even clever any more, just rude.

    Javi’s foul at the start of the second half hurt, big time. We needed things to run perfectly, and that knocked us off just enough.

    Fell’s take one handed take away was one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. too bad it will be lost in a see of disaster.
    Gosh that second half hurt.

  25. RickJ 02/01/2008 at 8:38 AM #

    “I don’t think people really understand how close this team is to complete disaster. IMHO, a lot closer than it is to turning the corner.”

    I agree and our next game may be a pivotal one in this regard. A very young Wake team is playing with a lot of moxie right now. They come to the RBC Sunday at Noon missing a starter (L. D. Williams) coming off a nice win at home over Miami on Tuesday. Naturally, we play a 9:00 PM game on Thursday (how many dumb set-ups has this schedule afforded us?). We had better show up to play or the embarrassment of last night may seem minor.

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