Wolfpack Week in Review

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Last week’s results are a perfect microcosm of the athletic department’s ineptitude under “Coach” Fowler:

Baseball: 1-4 (defeated Wofford, lost to ECU, swept by FSU)

Softball: 0-4 (lost to ECU, swept by FSU)

Men’s Tennis: 1-1 (ACC Championships beat GT, lost to Miami)

Women’s Tennis: 0-1 (ACC Championships lost to FSU)

Men’s Golf: 4th of 11 teams at ACC Championships – Matt Hill co-individual winner

Women’s Golf: 4th of 9 teams at ACC Championships

Men’s Track and Field: 12th of 12 teams at ACC Championships

Women’s Track and Field: 7th of 12 teams at ACC Championships

Naturally, credit for the highlight of the week goes to NC State’s success-starved FANS, who packed Carter-Finley on Saturday to watch the football team practice. We are cautiously optimistic that the passion of Wolfpack nation will soon be rewarded.

If there is a God in heaven, this will be one of the last “Fowler Follies” update that SFN will have to make.

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.

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90 Responses to Wolfpack Week in Review

  1. GAWolf 04/20/2009 at 7:13 PM #

    Baseball scouts more so than any other type of professional sport gamblers look at raw natural ability. They wager that they can teach the raw athlete the skills to be a pro baseball player. Look at the number of kids going into the farm systems straight out of high school. (Obviously the size of the draft allows this, but perhaps the size is indicative of the culture of gambling on raw talent? Which came first here?)

    I will say, though, that in the last decade or so there’s been more stock put into actually going to college to play baseball and producing there (or in the summers while there). There’s a maturing process that happens in college beyond the field that an 18 year old from Podunk, GA won’t get riding from small southern town to small southern town in some ratty bus. (Would Josh Hamilton’s route to being a super star been different had he gone to college and had more structure during his most formidable years?)

    Regardless, if you can throw a 100 mile an hour fast ball but can’t hit a cow with it… they’ll draft you and chain you to a some burnt out pitching coach in the minors. And truthfully it’s probably a worthwhile, sensible gamble more times than not.

    I guess the NBA is similar. If you can’t talk english and you haven’t played but 2 years of basketball in your native third world country but you’re seven feet and six inches tall and can touch your nose with your finger, you might get a shot to play basketball in the US for big bucks.

  2. Noah 04/20/2009 at 7:27 PM #

    Regardless, if you can throw a 100 mile an hour fast ball but can’t hit a cow with it… they’ll draft you and chain you to a some burnt out pitching coach in the minors. And truthfully it’s probably a worthwhile, sensible gamble more times than not.

    Case in point…that dude from SDSU who is going to be the #1 pick in the draft this year. He’s got the most horrible mechanics on earth. I expect his shoulder and elbow to go flying into the stand after every pitch.

  3. JeremyH 04/20/2009 at 7:58 PM #

    May I suggest a Vinny Del Negro thread?

  4. BSIE80 04/20/2009 at 9:15 PM #

    Let’s go a week or so without posting anything related to Fowler…

  5. ThomYorkepack 04/20/2009 at 9:18 PM #

    Pitchers CAN get hurt if they have GOOD mechanics (Mark Prior as an example..), but if they have bad mechanics or throw awkwardly, they WILL inevitably get hurt (Kerry Wood).

    K-Rod is a ticking time bomb for a visit to Dr. James Andrews…

  6. redfred2 04/20/2009 at 9:40 PM #

    I know I should know this, but how does one e-mail SFN?

  7. turfpack 04/20/2009 at 9:53 PM #

    Noah,Alpha-I heard today that Foulup may not be the only one gone in the near future -you heard anything?

  8. Noah 04/20/2009 at 10:03 PM #

    Prior’s mechanics sucked too.

    Turfpack – first thing’s first, ya know? 😉

  9. old13 04/20/2009 at 10:13 PM #

    He’ll be someone else’s problem soon.

    🙂 I especially like the “soon!”

  10. redfred2 04/20/2009 at 10:18 PM #

    “What part of playing professional sports prevents someone from getting a degree??”

    “SUPERB QUESTION, NOAH.”

    Wow, I’m am feeling really intimidated now.

    So here’s A REALLY STUPID QUESTION right back at you…

    How many other collegiate fan bases do you know of, and how many university blogs have you visited, where the fans seem much more interested and pushy as hell about when a kid is going leave that university, then they are about keeping him there or what he might actually accomplish if does stick around?

    People act like these kids are aliens or stupid to even consider staying for four years. That might be your opinion, of your university, but I assure you that that opinion is not as highly regarded elsewhere.

  11. VaWolf82 04/20/2009 at 10:33 PM #

    People act like these kids are aliens or stupid to even consider staying for four years

    In general, kids with an opportunity to sign pro contracts with large signing bonuses would be stupid to stay in college. That doesn’t mean that I want them to leave….it’s just that I am old enough to want what is best for the kids, even if it is not best for my school.

  12. redfred2 04/20/2009 at 10:52 PM #

    ^It’s just my humble opinion and contention that the same caliber of players at NC State in particular, those who are so readily pushed and encouraged to “sign on the dotted line, at the very first opportunity” either could not, and most likely would not be considered close to being ready for that step if they were playing their collegiate athletics elsewhere.

    People here are just not accustomed to seeing that kind of talent anymore, so when they start seeing glimmers, they jump and say “GO, GO, GO!!!, get on out of here young man. Take that money, whatever it is, and GO!!!

    That just tells me that unlike how they feel over at unc, some NC State fans honestly believe that their own university doesn’t offer any opportunities to improve on the collegiate level, and that their university is nothing more than a temporary bag drop, or something akin to a low level spring board to very questionable success at the next level.

    Myself, I believe NC State can do better than that, but don’t hate me for saying so.

  13. VaWolf82 04/20/2009 at 11:01 PM #

    some NC State fans honestly believe that their own university doesn’t offer any opportunities to improve on the collegiate level, and that their university is nothing more than a temporary bag drop, or something akin to a low level spring board to very questionable success at the next level.

    I doubt that very many fans feel that way. I’ve seen enough career threatening and ending injuries at the college level (especially with football), that the sure thing of a signing bonus should not be ignored. It has nothing to do with the training/coaching/learning at State and everything to do with taking a sure thing once it is offered.

    If a kid leaves early and doesn’t make it at the professional level, then it is unlikely that staying in school would have made a difference. However, a career ending injury in the pros is alot different that sustaining one at the college level.

    One of the best examples that i can think of is Trot Nixon. IIRC, his dad negotiated a large signing bonus with the Red Sox straight out of high school. If they hadn’t gotten what he wanted, then he would have come to State. However, they got enough so that the worst thing that could happen is that a career-ending injury would have sent Trot to school with the signing bonus in the bank.

  14. redfred2 04/20/2009 at 11:05 PM #

    Alpha, thanks for the response, and I understand what you’re saying. But you did not answer the question that I posed, I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.

  15. redfred2 04/20/2009 at 11:22 PM #

    “If a kid leaves early and doesn’t make it at the professional level, then it is unlikely that staying in school would have made a difference. However, a career ending injury in the pros is alot different that sustaining one at the college level.”

    This is a subject that I strongly disagree on. Professional sports have made people believe that your way of thinking is “the norm”. It isn’t, and up until recently, it was the EXACT OPPOSITE. Kids played all four years, they made it here on this level TO QUALIFY to move up, just like they did in middle school and just like they did on through high school. There was no skip this level, short cut, to the next level.

    If you are saying that it stops one year out of HS, that there is basically no physical, or possibly even more importantly, no substantial mental development occurring in the four years after HS, and that players most likely will not gain any worthwhile advantages in that time period that might help ease their adjustments up to THE HIGHEST LEVEL AVAILABLE, then I have to disagree, strongly.

    And, if that is the case, then why draw the line there, draft them out of the tenth and eleventh grades, they can go back and get a HS diploma later, or at least get their GED’s.

  16. VaWolf82 04/20/2009 at 11:26 PM #

    that players most likely will not gain any worthwhile advantages that might help ease their adjustments up to THE HIGHEST LEVEL AVAILABLE, then I have to disagree, strongly.

    I saw a study on kids that went to the NBA to determine if kids that stayed in college four years were more likely to stick than those that left early. Contrary to your position, the higher percentage of success came with those that left early.

  17. redfred2 04/20/2009 at 11:34 PM #

    VaWolf, and it will continue to be that way, because the quality of the level of play in today’s NBA is dropping faster than the quality of those kids now going early. Those two factors are working in parallel.

  18. redfred2 04/20/2009 at 11:39 PM #

    Uh, I have to wonder what the criteria for “success” was in that study?

    AND, if that study is correct, then like I said, why stop at that age, go lower, drag ’em away from their HS sweethearts kicking and screaming, and make ’em sign on that dotted line headed straight for “Da League”.

    As a matter of fact, to hell with HS, they don’t need all that fancy education, draft them military style, right out of middle school.

  19. tractor57 04/20/2009 at 11:51 PM #

    When it comes to those signing bonuses/leaving early stories I always think what would be the best course if I was in the position.
    A large guaranteed sum makes a strong case for leaving school early.
    I want good players to be around for my selfish pleasure (as in a strong Wolfpack team) but I can’t fault a young athlete for grabbing the guaranteed money. Life is fleeting and none of us are promised success tomorrow.

    Guys what would you do if someone offered you half a million guaranteed to change jobs?

  20. VaWolf82 04/20/2009 at 11:56 PM #

    This isn’t the article I mentioned earlier, but it will do for now:

    From 1975 to 2005, 41 high school players were drafted into the NBA…Of the 41 players drafted out of high school, only 10 of those failed to make the NBA:

    http://www.realgm.com/src_feature_article/165/20080409/a_76_percent_success_rate_not_enough/

    If a kid is ready to go pro and can get a large signing bonus, then he should probably take the money and run. However, not every kid has physically matured by 19/20. But then again, most of those that haven’t matured physically won’t have the chance at a large signing bonus anyway.

  21. redfred2 04/21/2009 at 12:22 AM #

    VaWolf, sorry, can’t read it now, but those percentages???

    You’re talking less than 2 extraordinarily gifted kids A YEAR, out of all of those kids out there who try ot get into the NBA. Those RARE talents are basically the freaks of nature, there’s nothing there to convince me differnetly with that info.

  22. VaWolf82 04/21/2009 at 12:32 AM #

    Obviously, you make up your mind with no information…so I wouldn’t expect you to change your mind when presented with conflicting info. It is only fair to point out that you presented absolutely no information to support your position…only your opinions.

    Your absurd comments about taking kids out of high school adds nothing to the conversation. We’re talking about physically mature kids who have a real chance at a pro career…and I’m stipulating a large signing bonus as well. In general, those type of kids should take the money and leave school.

  23. VaWolf82 04/21/2009 at 12:35 AM #

    The point is that the NBA teams have generally done a good job in determining which high school kids are ready for the NBA. Thus there is no reason to think that their evaluation of kids in college would be any worse (and I would expect them to even be better) than that.

  24. Alpha Wolf 04/21/2009 at 5:17 AM #

    Fred, my comment was made in general, not in direct response to you.

    I would like to see all athletes finish their four year degrees, whether or not they make millions by leaving early or never play a second professionally. A four year degree can help in many ways in life, not only in getting a job. Heck, the millionaire could benefit from having a working knowledge of economics and business when it comes to investing their money. The best place I know of in Raleigh to learn that is between Western Bvd and Hillsborough Street. 😉

    THAT is what I meant. Nothing more.

  25. Noah 04/21/2009 at 5:49 AM #

    Fred has never answered the question — How does playing professional sports prevent someone from getting an education? Or accomplishing anything? I’m going to avoid his absurd strawman about pushy fanbases.

    What Fred is pushing (and we went through this when Brackman got drafted) is that every player ought to stay at State until they exhaust their eligibility.

    That has nothing to do with education or with opportunities.

    We went through all of this when Andrew Brackman was here.

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