Pack/Bees Game Thread

11-12 Basketball311

There’s a small chance I will semi-liveblog, if the new version of WordPress is more “blackberry friendly” re post editing. But more likely I will just see you in the comments.

Bottom line – this is the kind of game than even Sidney Lowe would win, so I definitely think the Pack will end tonight 2-0 in league play. But don’t be surprised if there’s a lull or two, an inevitable letdown after the emotionally charged opening win. But an ugly win is still a win.

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.

11-12 Basketball

311 Responses to Pack/Bees Game Thread

  1. ncsu1987 01/12/2012 at 6:03 PM #

    Due to a prior commitment I was unable to watch last night’s game. Interesting to see the ebb and flow of optimism/pessimism in this thread (and its precursors).

    Those expecting 20-point wins against any ACC opponent, based purely on the comparative records to date, are in fantasy land. In fact, I would say if your expectations for this particular season have anything to do with W’s and L’s, it’s gonna be a hell of a ride for you, and I hope you’re still with us in late February. Personally, I will judge the success of this season largely by how well the team is playing as a unit during late Feb and (hopefully, somewhere) in March. Has their individual and team defense improved? Do they understand this new (and fairly complicated) offense? When they’re on the floor, do they look like they’re executing offense/defense on purpose, or do they look like a bunch of guys ad-lib’ing on the playground?

    The measure of a coach’s impact on a PROGRAM is year over year improvement. Obviously our coach hasn’t been around long enough to assess this. The measure of a coach’s in-season impact is the degree to which he maximizes success given the resources at his disposal. No coach is perfect, but the great ones find ways to do this. From my perspective, it’s waaaaay too early to write the book on Gott, but I continue to see far more upside than down. Last night was a set back. Trust me, it won’t be the last one this year.

  2. ncsu1987 01/12/2012 at 6:06 PM #

    Oh, and DAMN there’s a lot of whining about the refs. Can somebody objectively tell me is this just “well this team shouldn’t beat us, so it had to be the refs” or is there some substance to the noise?

  3. tvopack 01/12/2012 at 6:22 PM #

    @ncsu1987, the game is available for replay on ESPN3. Please watch it if you care.

  4. ancsu87 01/12/2012 at 6:47 PM #

    This was a terrible game – fire TOB!!!

    Just joking — but seriously, I remember JV having these type of WTF games too. However when they did have a game like that the next several games were some of the best basketball to watch. I am curious to see how Gott’s team bounces back against WF on the road.

  5. Whiteshoes67 01/12/2012 at 7:02 PM #

    I don’t know a soul who isn’t pleased with the improvement of this team under Gott. Personally, I thought the team played with great effort. They fought until the buzzer. Frankly, they just couldn’t throw it in the ocean and GT was hot. We’re not a great defensive team, we still lack intensity, have brain farts at time, and I’m not exactly sure where the on-the-court leadership comes from. I think that’s a work in progress. We have to stay out of foul trouble. We needs stops to get out in transition and we couldn’t stop GT. We’re mediocre in the half court but still improved. I still think Brown is the key to the team’s success. CJL is going to get his if he’s on the floor. CJW has been good all year. 3 years of Wood says he’ll knock down his share but he’s going to have games like last night periodically. Howell struggles on the offensive end against taller athletic players. Brown has the potential to become more of an impact player but there’s too much dipsy doo in him right now. He’s a big guard, would like to see him post up smaller players occasionally. Until he shows a willingness to shoot the 3 and can knock down enough to attract attention,defenses are going to sag off him. Basically, we have a lot of 1 dimensional players on the offensive end.

  6. mak4dpak 01/12/2012 at 7:52 PM #

    Not happy, but it happens and hopefully teaches the team to not take anyone lightly, or for that matter think too highly of yourselves. Louisville has been ranked in the top 20, and lost to a Providence team by 30, so it is not the end of the world and hopefully the team has learned a lesson, and will handle WF this weekend.

  7. Thinkpack17 01/12/2012 at 9:07 PM #

    “I’m not so sure that by the end of the year Lewis won’t be starting.”

    I put TJ and Purvis ahead of Lewis because of their more ACC ready bodies. Plus CJW leaving will leave a hole at either the 2 or the 3. Tyler would have to be really, really special to prompt Gott to uproot Lo Brown and move him back to the 2. Especially with Tyler’s physical shortcomings. It would be a great problem to have…but I just don’t see it happening. Purvis is a man and has been a man since he was a 10th grader killing people at the Pro Am. Plug him in at the 2 and call it a day.

  8. tuckerdorm1983 01/12/2012 at 9:46 PM #

    in my mind there are no clear standouts for 3rd and 4th spot in the ACC. These regular season rankings of 3rd and 4th assure that you go dancing. There could be more parity in the bottom 10 teams than originally thought by any of us. Therefore, it may take all the clawing and scraping a team has to get there. Don’t count us out. UVA is not that good. Maybe they have a lock on 3rd but I haven’t seen it yet. 11 wins may not be needed when 9 might do it just fine if there are lots of upsets all season. BC just beat Clemson

  9. 61Packer 01/13/2012 at 12:27 AM #

    I think a lot of those in the State camp and in the State campbase might have seen a tough game coming, but I doubt anyone saw this kind of game coming, where we got embarrassed.

    Other than Howell’s and Johnson’s efforts, and sometimes Painter’s, there was little to cheer about. We lacked the fire we had last Sunday. We were sloppy with the ball. The CJs weren’t up to stuff, and I thought a turning point in the game was the stupid elbow Leslie threw at a Tech player, knocking him flat. This is the kind of stuff he was known for last season, and apparently it’s still in him. This and a number of stupid shots by #5 did little to elevate us to our opponents’ level of play last night.

    One of the announcers remarked toward game’s end that State simply isn’t the same team without Leslie on the floor. Talent-wise that’s correct. He’s a shot blocker and an acrobat around the basket, albeit one who’s out of control too much. His talent level is way above most, but his SKILL level is about the same as that of a 1st string 10th grader. He is at best an inconsistent free throw shooter. He has jumps that won’t quit but is unable to create a move to the basket and then pull up for a quick 10-foot or less jump shot. When he goes up to shoot close-in, his body is always off balance and the ball is seldom above his head, usually in one hand. And I simply don’t like his attitude. Go ahead and blast me for saying this, but for the long-range development of this team and program, I’d rather sit Leslie and play Painter instead.

    I don’t like the criticism of Scott Wood’s defense. I think Wood does a commendable job on defense, and like Gminski said last night, his defense is very underrated. The one player whose absence is most noted on this team isn’t Leslie but rather Wood. When Scott Wood rides the bench, which hopefully won’t be often, the Wolfpack is a different kind of team. Any player who leads the league (and maybe nation) in FT shooting is a guy I want out there. I’m not blaming Leslie for last night’s loss, but had he made FTs like Wood did, that game would have been close to the end, not over at halftime.

  10. wolfpacker89-95 01/13/2012 at 12:52 AM #

    I only watched the 1st half, and my impression was that the guys were playing their guts out. Rarely did they stand around and watch. If speed and intensity could be measured on a scale of 1 to 10, I witnessed a 9.5. And as I thought about it, that was the problem. Many offensive series looked rushed. Even though the defensive effort was commendable, the intensity and speed that the team was playing out made me worry early on that they were going to tire themselves out. I missed the 2nd half to know if that was indeed the case, but I attribute the poor shooting percentage to being just plain tired. Feel free to correct me if I’m way off base. For the next game, I hope to see the offense notch it down a bit and patiently make good passes for the good shot (not Sendek ball though….don’t put me to sleep…). I don’t mind defense going balls out, but the offense needs solid tempo, not supersonic speeds.

  11. tuckerdorm1983 01/13/2012 at 7:44 AM #

    CJL came become the player the Gotts wants him to become. I have seen incremental changes. Sure he has raw talent, but I think he is highly coachable and is just relying on bad habits from high school ball where he was king. His game may be catch the ball a few feet from the basket and the rest of the team clear out. Turn and face the defender. If the defender closes the gap, then go around him. If the defender backs off then take the shot. If the double team comes then pass out of it. That was what Howell was doing at the end of the GT game and I hope he keeps it up.

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