Lowe comments on trip to Toronto

08-09 Basketball General32

Gopack.com’s Tim Peeler posted a very good interview of Sidney Lowe after the basketball team’s trip to Toronto for two exhibition games this past weekend. As you might expect, there were no questions or comments about Ben McCauley not being allowed to make the trip with the team.

GoPack.com: Is it safe to say you are pretty energized by what you saw?

Lowe: It was just fun to watch these guys. No one cared about anything. No one complained about anything. All the guys were together. It was positive, positive, positive. It wasn’t about “me.” One of the biggest compliments we had was when another coach came up to me and said “You guys really look like a disciplined team.” That’s a great compliment for a team that has been together for eight to 10 days. They are buying into what it takes to win. They are sticking together, not complaining, not worried about themselves or who is starting. Dennis Horner could start for us, but he has accepted his role of coming off the bench. He had a big game for us. We have talked about this before when people say our chemistry is good. All that means is that everyone is accepting their roles. That’s chemistry. Right now, we have a great chemistry.

Click here for game 1 story and boxscore.

Click here for game 2 story and boxscore.

08-09 Basketball General

32 Responses to Lowe comments on trip to Toronto

  1. Ismael 09/03/2008 at 9:06 AM #

    Nice to hear and about time too. I’m sure when Lowe came and some of the former coach’s recruits thought he [Lowe] was gonna be their buddy and not hold people accountable and not recruit 5*, one and done types, that it was somewhat of an “adjustment”. Hopefully this year that is understood. You don’t get to start because you’ve been here for 15 years; performance-based org.

    Anyone see the current recruiting rankings: we have a top-5 class for 09 (even if we don’t get another recruit) and 2010 and 2011 are looking very promising as well.

  2. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 09/03/2008 at 9:11 AM #

    Seems like Sid said a lot about Ben in his comments. He made it very clear that the players that went to Canada have a good chemistry and understand their roles.

  3. Ed89 09/03/2008 at 9:13 AM #

    Favors is heading to UGA this weekend, but I think we are looking very good for Favors. I think that would put us in the Top 3 for 2009 Rankings. If we don’t get Favors, we still need another big for ’09. We’ve also offered Adams, and he’s really come on the scene lately.

  4. Par Shooter 09/03/2008 at 9:22 AM #

    Damn, several of those comments seem directed at Ben, at least in some way. I’m beginning to wonder if there is any chance that he’ll be asked to leave the program. Hopefully some valuable lessons will be learned from this suspension and he will be a leader going forward. If not then maybe we’re better off cutting bait.

  5. howlie 09/03/2008 at 9:23 AM #

    What tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnctcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnctcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc said.

  6. Otis 09/03/2008 at 9:35 AM #

    Gotta like seeing Julius Mays get 5 assists in 20 min. Hopefully he will be serviceable at the point if we need him there, if not it would be awesome to have a second guy on the court that can handle the ball.

  7. Rick 09/03/2008 at 9:42 AM #

    “One of the things I noticed more than anything is that he has taken the two young guys, C.J. and Julius, under his wing. Wherever he was, they were. When he stretched, they were by him. When he ate, they were by him. I can see that he is going to teach those guys the right thing.”

    Oh Noes

  8. Dr. BadgerPack 09/03/2008 at 10:03 AM #

    “When he ate, they were by him.”

    Well, it doesn’t say he let THEM eat… 🙂

  9. Trip 09/03/2008 at 10:04 AM #

    hahahaha, I was about to comment on that exact same thing Rick.

    The other comment that struck me.

    “We will make sure they keep their weight down.”
    ^^^ Good to hear.

    Honestly though, if the Costner that was from 07 is indeed back, I don’t mind them learning everything they can from him. From what Sid says it also looks like Costner has brought his game to the defensive end of the court as well.

    Mccauley is worrying me.

    Sidenote: Saw Johnny Thomas today, he’s in GREAT physical shape, certainly couldn’t tell he’s been on crutches for most of the year, so grats to our conditioning team. Looks like the knee is giving him a slight limp though.

  10. DAMangum 09/03/2008 at 10:13 AM #

    Sid is making me feel beeter about this season! He’s taking no more bull from anyone, that’s obvious now. Benching Gavin in his last game as a Wolfpacker and telling Ben to keep his ass at home, gotta love it! Maybe Sid and Tom had some conversations about how to run a program.

  11. GAWolf 09/03/2008 at 10:35 AM #

    I saw BC recently and he’s a different guy. His belly has gone to his shoulders. He looked like an athlete. I fully expect him to not only return to his previous production level but surpass it.

  12. Ismael 09/03/2008 at 10:42 AM #

    dammit guys, don’t get me excited about basketball season. I’ll just watch some game where we got destroyed for a reality check.

  13. BJD95 09/03/2008 at 11:22 AM #

    I would not advise any remotely positive thoughts/hopes until we see Farnold operating at close to full speed.

  14. WolftownVA81 09/03/2008 at 11:31 AM #

    I like what I read. However, I am exercising extreme caution when it comes to being optimistic. Think I’ll hope for the best but wait to see how the season unfolds. Go Pack.

  15. Wolf Dog 09/03/2008 at 11:44 AM #

    Great to hear some positive news and Kudos to sf59 for some very accurate insight to this chemistry issue. Thank you sf59!

  16. Trip 09/03/2008 at 12:14 PM #

    “I’ll just watch some game where we got destroyed for a reality check.”

    So which game out of the 15 last year are you going to pick? 😉

    It’s hard to be cautiously optimistic with Sidney, he’s always so upbeat, everyone could have showed up 30 pounds overweight and he would find something positive to say and we would believe it.

  17. Classof89 09/03/2008 at 12:39 PM #

    The comment that Dennis Horner could start for them should make it clear to anyone who has followed Horner throughout his career that this means we aren’t close to being a first or second division ACC team this year, and are headed for the 9-12 zone…

  18. pakfanistan 09/03/2008 at 12:47 PM #

    Throughout his career? Both years? Including his freshman year where he looked pretty good for a freshman and his sophomore year where he fell in love with the pump fake/pass?

    Two data points doesn’t mean a whole lot, especially in light of what was going on with the team as a whole last year.

  19. sf59 09/03/2008 at 12:57 PM #

    good encouraging comments from coach

  20. wufpup76 09/03/2008 at 1:25 PM #

    Hopefully everyone – and I do mean everyone – on the team is saying “Message received loud and clear, coach.”

    We don’t need any more cancers on the team … never thought Ben would be one, but if so let’s deal w/ it and move on

    This discipline thing – I kinda like it …

  21. DAMangum 09/03/2008 at 1:30 PM #

    Why not be optimistic? Both coaches seem like they are doing things the right way, not putting up with egos and bad apples. Sidney has already got alot of top flight talent to commit years before they will play, did Herb do that? O’Brien has gotten some quality players already and will probably land a few 4 or 5 star guys. He wants guys that will play hard and listen, he can coach the 3 star guys to play like a 5 star recruit.

    Let Butch get the higher ranked guys and not coach them up to their potential. That’s fine with me! We were not supposed to beat USC, so take the positives from it (Defense) and forget the loss. Wilson will be back in a few weeks and we can get back on track. The ACC is the weakest it has been in along time, so we have a shot at a winning season. UNC is the only dominant team this year in basketball that the ACC has. Our team is loaded with talent and if they play well together we can have a winning basketball season too! There is no reason not to be optimistic where the basketball and football teams are heading. Ok, I’m ready for all the “Negative Nancy” State fans to bash my post. Go ahead, I will still be happy with what our coaches are doing. Hopefully Fowler will realize how bad of an AD he is and resign and we can hire someone better! Go Pack!

  22. PackerInRussia 09/03/2008 at 2:17 PM #

    “They both made basketball plays”

    Does that mean we may see something resembling basketball this year?

    I could listen to/read a Coach Lowe interview after an 0-20-something season and have a glimmer of hope. That’s not to say he’s unrealistic, but just to say that he is a positive, inspiring guy.

  23. Trip 09/03/2008 at 2:28 PM #

    Lowe’s positive inspiring personality is also probably a key reason as to how he’s picking up some hotly contested recruits.

  24. Ismael 09/03/2008 at 3:26 PM #

    Viva la Lowe!!!

  25. 70wolf 09/03/2008 at 4:06 PM #

    The 09 Gibbons ranking of 6 is very strange. When you look at the teams behind us they have players with a higher ranking. We have 58, 68 and not rated. ???? My prediction is that you will see us fall significantly UNLESS we get Favors and/or Wall.

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