Pack/Canes Game Thread

11-12 Basketball234

As was the Wake contest last weekend, this will be a “treadmill game” for me. I will join you in the comments for the second half, but hopefully my first half running will provide similar good luck.

NC State is in a three game “house money” stretch. Well, sort of. Going 0-for-3 wouldn’t be good – but one win is all we really need to hold serve and be well on track for a winning record in ACC play – which is the sensible goal for the 2011-12 Wolfpack.

CJ Williams will apparently give it a go today, which is huge for us. Hard to beat anybody with just a 6-man playable rotation. I like today being a test case for him – if he can’t play much or is exceptionally sore afterwards, I expect him to be held out until next Saturday’s pivotal contest against UVA. But that is just my opinion, and I’m sure tons of people will bitch about it some more. Free country and whatnot.

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

234 Responses to Pack/Canes Game Thread

  1. tractor57 01/22/2012 at 4:27 PM #

    Maybe the best coaching move of the game was bringing Johnson in late specifically to guard Larkin. Speed on speed and that led to a TO for Miami.

    Some great plays and some WTF moments but this is what ACC ball used to be. Glad to see it once again.

    Painter was critical to the win today.

  2. Tau837 01/22/2012 at 4:35 PM #

    I was as happy with Gott’s good coaching moves as everyone, but I also noticed that he kept Lo on the bench too long during a stretch where Miami got back into the game about 2/3 of the way through the second half. Johnson had a few turnovers bunched together during that stretch that helped Miami get back into it and gain momentum. I thought Gott should have called timeout sooner to get Lo back into the game and calm the team.

    That said, that move was certainly outweighed by many other good decisions. I love our coaching staff, and it was a great win.

  3. tractor57 01/22/2012 at 4:39 PM #

    In hindsight my observations are always accurate. Tau837 it did seem AJ was in too long at that time but who knows. I do like the fact there is coaching going on during the game.

    In the end the team and the coaching staff came away with a W on the road – a really big thing if a team aspires to be a champion.

  4. Tau837 01/22/2012 at 4:55 PM #

    Wood was absolutely huge in the second half. He scored 16 of the team’s 39 second half points. More importantly, 9 of his points came at crucial points:

    Miami made a 6-0 run to cut the lead to 59-51 with 7:32 remaining. On the next possession, Wood made a 3 pointer to extend the lead back to 11.

    Then Miami scored the next 4 points to cut the lead to 62-55. Then Wood drew a foul on a three point “attempt” with 5:21 remaining and made 3 free throws to extend the lead back to 10.

    Then Miami went on a 9-4 run to cut the lead to 5 at 69-64 with 2:31 remaining. Just 9 seconds later, Wood made a 3 pointer to extend the lead back to 8. Although there were still 6 more points to come later down the stretch, including 2 free throws by Wood after Leslie and Brown had combined to make only 1 of 4 free throws, that shot pretty much sealed the win.

    I still wish we would run more plays for Wood off screens. Especially against better opponents, like in the upcoming UNC game.

  5. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 5:04 PM #

    I think he is teaching the team how to play without those guys in critical situations. That might lose a game here and there but he is trying to build confidence so if there are injuries these bench players have been there before.

  6. Gene 01/22/2012 at 5:53 PM #

    Tuffy, there are only two bench players – Painter and Johnson – and both of them get a good number of minutes. Both guys have gotten minutes late in the game.

    I’d like to see De Thaey, Raymond and Harris get a few minutes, just in case there’s an injury.

  7. turfpack 01/22/2012 at 6:02 PM #

    Steals have been one of the catalyst in our last few wins and even scoring by our players, has been more difficult for opposing defenses to key on one player.Coaching may have as much to do with our success as anything.

  8. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 6:04 PM #

    I agree with you about De Thaey and the others Gene. You can teach a team while they are on the bench at practice and of course during the game

  9. ancsu87 01/22/2012 at 10:14 PM #

    Will CJW play against UNC-BS?

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