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. Trip 02/01/2008 at 2:29 PM #

    Positive: I hope theres a youtube somewhere out there of Fells take away, that was the most awesome move I’ve seen in a long time. He took the ball away, palmed it, put it behind his back almost like it was a magic trick, then threw it crosscourt for a Gavin jam. First half was GREAT.

    Negative: 2nd half, fuckfuckfuck.

    Javi wins out in PG position, Johnson just cannot handle pressure as well as him. Possibly because of Although, Johnson did show that he has some good driving moves with that basket late in the first half. I say against teams that do not pressure as well Johnson should play more, but against teams that do pressure, Javi all the way until Johnson can dribble with both hands.

  2. wolfonthehill 02/01/2008 at 2:30 PM #

    And agreed also on the second Javi 5-second call. Javi CLEARLY got his separation, but the ref didn’t reset it. These things take a cumulative toll, and it’s a meaningful impact on outcomes more often than many want to admit.

  3. Trip 02/01/2008 at 2:30 PM #

    Err, accidentally posted it before I was finished… I was going to add “Possibly because of quickness, but probably because of his left hand dribbling”

  4. packgrad93 02/01/2008 at 2:36 PM #

    I hate Paulus more than any unc player now

  5. Rochester 02/01/2008 at 2:48 PM #

    I hate Paulus like I hated Hurley and Laettner. Maybe I’m just homophobic.

    Javi has grown up tremendously over the last 3 games. I do think we’ll get better because PG was our weakest spot and he’s becoming competent before our eyes. MJ, on the other hand, well, he hasn’t shown it yet. I would almost rather see Fergie out there. At least he’d guard someone.

  6. highstick 02/01/2008 at 2:59 PM #

    Homophobic??? Paulus and Hurley too????

  7. Rochester 02/01/2008 at 3:01 PM #

    They might as well be. Paulus sure likes to touch a lot.

  8. wolfonthehill 02/01/2008 at 3:02 PM #

    ^^ Marques should not see the court in another ACC game, IMHO. He’s simply outclassed in every way.

  9. burnbarn 02/01/2008 at 3:04 PM #

    Reddick predicted that Paulus would become the player most hated since him.

    He played a great game particularly in the 2nd. They hit their wide open 3s and that was the story of the game….plus our guys not running the offense.

  10. Clarksa 02/01/2008 at 3:05 PM #

    “Cameron has to be the most overrated sporting event experience in the country. It is less impressive than Reynolds from the outside and lacks the character of Reynolds inside. Exact same designs except for Reynolds extended end zones.”

    Didn’t we borrow the plans for Cameron when we decided to build Reynolds?

  11. MrPerfectionest 02/01/2008 at 3:30 PM #

    GOOD! JUMPER by Kyle Singler [PNT] 05:48 23-30 V 7
    05:35 TURNOVR by GONZALEZ, Javier
    05:27 FOUL by GRANT, Gavin (P2T6)
    05:24 SUB IN : HARRIS, Simon
    05:24 SUB OUT: GRANT, Gavin
    GOOD! FT SHOT by Greg Paulus 05:23 24-30 V 6 FOUL by HICKSON, J.J. (P1T7)
    GOOD! FT SHOT by Greg Paulus 05:23 25-30 V 5
    05:09 TURNOVR by HICKSON, J.J.
    05:09 FOUL by HICKSON, J.J. (P2T8) 05:09 SUB IN : MCCAULEY, Ben
    05:09 SUB OUT: HICKSON, J.J.
    GOOD! FT SHOT by DeMarcus Nelson 05:01 26-30 V 4 FOUL by HARRIS, Simon (P1T9)
    MISSED FT SHOT by DeMarcus Nelson 05:01 REBOUND (DEF) by GONZALEZ, Javier
    04:46 TURNOVR by GONZALEZ, Javier 04:44 FOUL by GONZALEZ, Javier (P1T10)
    REBOUND (OFF) by (DEADBALL) 04:44
    GOOD! FT SHOT by Greg Paulus 04:44 27-30 V 3

    So, in the midst of some of the best basketball we have played so far this year, we somehow managed to completely implode for 51 seconds committing 5 fouls and 3 turnovers?

    I haven’t read all the comments, just the ones where people are saying that the officials didn’t lose the game. Personally, I think Duke being on fire in the second half would have won it for them regardless…but…if you take away the terrible bias in the first half, you take away the bias in the second half which ultimately put our guys into give up mode, I think at the very least, we could have had a game for the ages, just based on how NCSU can fight when they have to, and how well Duke was shooting.

  12. bTHEredterror 02/01/2008 at 3:49 PM #

    My name is b, and I’m a State-aholic.

    The ref bashing is a simple catharsis. The refs are part of the game, and since a basketball game can be controlled by officiating, they are an easy scapegoat.

    This was a game lost by the withering pressure on our suspect guards. That wasn’t caused by officials. However, they did provide an environment where that inherhent advantage was maximized for Duke. That is my complaint. Not that the officials were calling it exclusively one way. We just weren’t able to play as effectively in that context, just like Duke wasn’t able to handle the inside dominance in the first half. They realized they were calling it touchy and started to create contact in odd areas away from the ball. It frustrated our young pups and their emotion turned against them. Credit Duke for that.

    Regardless, our guys needed to adjust instead of complain. Or better yet, show the guts to finish as strong as you can. Nobody will be disappointed with an outmanned team that fights with all it’s will, which they stopped doing when it became apparent they weren’t going to win.

    Duke squashed teams WITH proven PGs, we should take it as a learning experience. And this team is getting better. The first two games against top 5 teams on the road we were beat midway thru the first half, this time at least it took 30 minutes.

  13. BillyVest 02/01/2008 at 3:51 PM #

    I suspect Fells’ bricked dunk might have knocked him off his stride more than anything else.

    Anybody else notice Lowe benched him right after that. Guess Lowe doesn’t like the show boating, when it costs us easy points.

  14. Ismael 02/01/2008 at 4:05 PM #

    Let’s put things in perspective and I will do that at least for me…our beloved wolfpack was a damnnnn good team when one particular individual was playing: my boy from Turkey, Engin Atsur.

    We brought in an unheralded true-freshman and two transfers who had not played a meaningful minute of basketball in 1 to 2 years for them.

    We also brought in JJ Hickson and Tracy Smith.

    The media, whether its bias, laziness, conspiracies true or imagined, projected based on some very long-shot assumptions that this team was gonna contend, and in hindsight, it was without merit until the most important position on the floor became a known quantity: Point Guard.

    I prefer to think of sportswriters in particular as all those guys who got picked last or played middle school ball but just couldn’t make the high school varsity team, or they got picked on by the jocks in high school or were always jerking off about the cheerleaders that the D-1 QB or WR seemed to hang on his arm and discard with impunity. But it is precisely because they have so little actual analytical skills that they can’t predict footbal and basketball seasons with any real success.

    What do i mean by real success, what i mean is…why is UNC and Duke and UCLA and G’town usually always perenial top 10 bball teams and Tennessee and Nebraska (of old) and Michigan and Notre Dame always perennial top 10 fball teams, because of past success only. The media is NEVER able to predict with what should be obvious signs that Notre Dame is not going to do well in fball in a given year or that Duke is going to have a down year like they did last year.

    The problem for us as fans is that most of the information we receive to make those judgments are filtered, shaped, framed, positioned by this same media. We also have irrational loyalties which cause us to overlook the fact that WE DID NOT HAVE A PROVEN POINT GUARD when this year started. Costner and McCauley i don’t think can play any better than they played last year considering their statistics

    Ive played in meaningful bball games, all of us have played in meaningful something or another games i imagine, and you know what its like to walk out on the floor or the field with a wink link, it makes the good players press harder, try to do more…until the PG situation is settled and they settle themselves down and produce and stop turning the ball over (which they are making strides towards) we should not expect to win bball games. Almost every game should be EXACTLY like the Miami, FSU, and GT games. They are going to be close until we hit that stretch like we did last year. Hope all that was coherent

  15. Wulfpack 02/01/2008 at 4:12 PM #

    I have read where some think Javi is a good guard. I would like to say that I disagree. Is he a huge upgrade from Johnson? Of course. Does he have potential? Yes. But last night he was totally outplayed by a guy that has been around the block a time or two.

    My biggest criticism of Javi is his attitude. I saw him pleading ot the refs all night long. I’ve seen him put his hands up in disgust and sulk at his teammates. he is in no way shape or form a leader. Further, he’s soft. He doesn’t penetrate when the lane is there. he doesn’t take the open look. Defenses just pressure the crap out of him and he serves as no threat.

    If you think this is harsh, then fine. But so far, our gaurds have been pummeled in league play (Lawson, McClinton, Causey, Paulus). I think Singletary and Ish Smith will also have their way with us. Until this changes, we are thoroughly screwed.

  16. doug74 02/01/2008 at 4:18 PM #

    I think we should do a “FLOP GREG” chant at the home game.

  17. Astral Rain 02/01/2008 at 4:24 PM #

    The best way to deal with floppers is some 1980’s Pistons basketball. Make the refs call the game tight- on both sides. If you’re going to get called for touch fouls, don’t bother not getting your money’s worth.

  18. BJD95 02/01/2008 at 5:33 PM #

    Javi’s attitude is fine. His defense and ability to get the ball inside to Hickson are not.

  19. waxhaw 02/01/2008 at 7:16 PM #

    Javi is better than MJ and he’s still not that good. BUT he’s a freshman and had Farnold not gotten injured, he’d be coming off the bench in relief not playing a critical role in our offense.

  20. Primewolf 02/01/2008 at 7:32 PM #

    The coaching and play in the second half were poor. My observations:
    1. Our guys are always looking for the foul to be called when they have the ball. I am sick of it. Coach Lowe needs to toughen our guys up. Good teams keep playing when the calls don’t go their way.

    2. We are still out of shape. We hit the wall with 10 min to go. Duke beat the snot out of us and we had no reply. Coaching and players, mostly coaches.

    3. Why do the coaches let our guys get so disorganized and start one on one ball when the pressure builds in the second half. It was difficult to watch.

    4. …. I am tired of seeing the same stuff… Our improvement is too slow for my taste.

  21. highstick 02/02/2008 at 2:52 PM #

    What is it that our basketball officials don’t understand?? “Must” means “Must”! It’s not debatable, even if your last name is Clinton!

    Men’s Hand-Checking Officiating Guidelines
    Hand-checking by a player places an opponent at a disadvantage. It is
    a foul and must be called. In addition, hand-checking that is not curtailed
    can lead to rough play.
    To stop hand-checking, officials must address it at the beginning of the
    game, and fouls must be called consistently throughout the game.
    Some guidelines for officials to use when officiating hand-checking:
    1. When a defensive player keeps a hand or forearm on an opponent,
    it is a foul.
    2. When a defensive player puts two hands on an opponent, it is a foul.
    3. When a player continually jabs by extending his arms and placing a
    hand or forearm on an opponent, it is a foul.

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