Sunday in Raleigh

It is a BEAUTIFUL Sunday in Raleigh and we are still catching our breath from the great run the Wolfpack basketball program have given us.

Our ‘unwind’ was made a little easier yesterday when NC State downed #5 UNC-CH on the baseball field. (State currently leads Sunday’s game 3-1 in the second inning).

While you are gearing up for the Kansas-Carolina basketball game, I thought I would share the following comment from another entry on SFN as I shared the exact same observations and thought them worthy of note.

There are lots of Wolfpack flags and t-shirts out and about today, 2 days after the battle with Kansas. I think it’s a fair belief, for the first time since the 80′s, that this skirmish is just the beginning. What’s clearly true is that the formerly patronizing pats from the blue neighbors are now tinged with genuine concern. Wow, that’s a fine feeling.

Wherever we go from here, I hope to remember the feeling of this unexpected run. It’s been pure and rare and something that this team and staff made it’s own this last few weeks. Yea & thanks to those guys and to Debbie Yow, who may just be as lucky as she is good.

From here, goodness, lots of variables… next year could be a monster or merely dangerous but it surely seems there’ll be more folk looking up than looking down at the Pack. Please Gott, stay hungry.

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11-12 Basketball

108 Responses to Sunday in Raleigh

  1. BAM 03/25/2012 at 2:33 PM #

    My pastor (who played at UNC) told me this morning … “I was rooting against State Friday night. Not because I wantedyall to lose, but I didn’t want to have to play you today.” So, UNC would rather play 2 seed Kansas than 11 seed NC State. That says something.

  2. BJD95 03/25/2012 at 2:33 PM #

    First, I hope the Holes play Marshall and win today. It will make me feel like Friday’s loss was a blessing, rather than a tantalizingly narrow miss to dance on to NO.

    Don’t know how many of you kids are watching today…but damn, is Kentucky ever impressive. In my view, best college team since UNLV 1990 (the won that beat Duke by like 40 in the final). Kansas, UNC, or Ohio State is going to have a very bad night a week from Monday.

  3. LRM 03/25/2012 at 2:35 PM #

    One more year Calvin.

  4. Wulfpack 03/25/2012 at 2:43 PM #

    I have several Tar Heel friends and they are all very wary of the Pack and the direction we are headed. They all wanted KU to win, not for any kind of disdain of the Pack but that they fully expected us to beat them if that were the match-up. Boy does that speak wonders.

    Kentucky is phenomenal. I don’t think they can be beaten. And it goes to show you do not necessarily need upper classmen to succeed – these are all freshmen and sophs.

  5. TOBtime 03/25/2012 at 2:48 PM #

    This renewed hope and optimism was a topic of conversation at church this morning. One guy is a friend who is from Raleigh and the other is alumni like myself. The Sweet Sixteen run, the talent coming in for basketball next year, the nasty football team we should have and the nasty baseball team we DO have were all covered. I personally haven’t had this much to hope for since my undergrad days around 1990.
    One other thing I’ve noticed is a real sense of fear from members of both the blues camps. After a classmate told an NC State joke (unx grad who is getting another degree less than 5 years after graduation) about us not beating anyone in basketball I told the group that was OK. unx people said things like that to take the sting out of 5 straight football butt-whippings. Everybody quit laughing. I’ve had similiar experiences recently when asking Duke “fans” (don’t know any graduates thankfully) what they accomplished pre-K and what will happen post-K. Things get very quiet.

  6. BJD95 03/25/2012 at 2:51 PM #

    No idea how you even attack Kentucky – they are good inside and outside, play very hard, defend without fouling, and are disciplined and well-coached. Where’s the weak spot to exploit?

    Baylor was the most athletic team left in the field, and they can’t even come close to keeping up.

  7. choppack1 03/25/2012 at 3:14 PM #

    If you’ve watched them this year it was pretty obvious this was their tournament to lose. I don’t think they even had a clue how good they could be when they beat unc earlier in the year.

    Crap Anthony Davis may have just hurt his knee.

  8. Dogbreath 03/25/2012 at 3:21 PM #

    BJD,

    You zone them and slow then make them defend you in the half court on the other end. It’s the only hope.

  9. Wufpacker 03/25/2012 at 3:50 PM #

    Can the Bears continue the run and complete the comeback or is Kentucky just toying with them? My vote is for toying with them.

  10. TLeo 03/25/2012 at 4:03 PM #

    I heard some unc fans say the same thing about them preferring to play Kansas than State again. I am convince that without acc officials again we would have beaten them today and I think deep down they know it too. At this point I don’t much care who wins it all now as long as Kansas beats the crap out of unc today. If not today, then I’ll have to hope Kentucky does it but no way in hell will I ever pull for unc to win anything.

  11. BJD95 03/25/2012 at 4:04 PM #

    KY has been on cruise control the whole half. And mostly maintaining their lead. Will be fun to watch them play Louisville on Saturday. I definitely want the winner of that one to win the whole enchilada.

  12. BJD95 03/25/2012 at 4:07 PM #

    Marshall’s out, Holes are screwed.

  13. tuckerdorm1983 03/25/2012 at 4:10 PM #

    I will pull for UNC if in some odd way it helps the Pack. You know if we are vying for conference standings with another team and that team plays UNC, then I pull for UNC or maybe just for the other team to lose. I constantly lie to my friends that are UNC fans that I don’t hate UNC, but in my heart I do. I have even gone as far as to say “I pull for UNC unless that play State” knowing all the time that that is a bunch of rubbish. ROCK CHALK JAY HAWK.

    just a note: I worry that Barnes and Henson will stay because of their rather poor performance in the tournament so far.

  14. Wufpacker 03/25/2012 at 4:12 PM #

    I’ll be pulling for Louisville in a big way to win it all. Can’t stand any of the rest that are still standing.

    As far as pulling for Kansas today….I really hate Kansas. Losing to them again Friday did nothing to lessen that hatred. But they’re still the lesser of two evils, so….Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk. I hope they not only win, but I hope they truly crush and embarrass the rudder-less Heels.

  15. 61Packer 03/25/2012 at 4:18 PM #

    I am also pulling for Loouahville over UK. John Calipari is the epitome of everything that’s bad about college sports today.

    Certainly I’m not a Buckeye fan since I love the Big Blue, and the only team left that I like is KU, so ROCK CHALK JAYHAWK!

  16. blpack 03/25/2012 at 4:20 PM #

    Great run by the Pack. Holes I know were pulling for us, but I know that would last until about … now. Time for KU to end this MW Regional mess. Anyone know if Kendall Marshall will play? So tired of it. Rock Chalk! Thanks to our Seniors and best of luck to our returning players and incoming players. Get in the gym and study hard. Watch UConn get banned from the 2013 Tourney. One less team to worry about. Let’s see how far the baseball team carry their early season mo.

  17. Wufpacker 03/25/2012 at 4:24 PM #

    Speaking of baseball….Still tied 3-3, baserunner on 2nd with one down in Pack’s half of the 9th.

  18. Wulfpack 03/25/2012 at 4:28 PM #

    Marshall is out. UNC is toast. I’m all Cardinals. Hope Pitino can beat Cal but I’m not counting on it. This thing is Kentucky’s to lose.

  19. BJD95 03/25/2012 at 4:39 PM #

    KS will exert more ball pressure.

  20. Wufpacker 03/25/2012 at 4:41 PM #

    ^ There’s a joke there somewhere.

    If Stilman White doesn’t need a transfusion by game’s end, then Taylor and Johnson haven’t done their jobs. They need to put him on the bus.

  21. Lunatic Fringe 03/25/2012 at 4:44 PM #

    Taylor has played like crap the last two games so I fully expect him to get better with White on the floor this game.

  22. Wufpacker 03/25/2012 at 4:47 PM #

    Baseball: Heels score in bottom of 9th to take game two, 4-3

  23. Wulfpack 03/25/2012 at 4:47 PM #

    Good start offensively for both teams. I would like to see KU put much more pressure on White, however.

  24. Lunatic Fringe 03/25/2012 at 4:49 PM #

    Baseball dropped the UNC game today with “walk off” single in 9th. I hate term walk off for anything, but a HR.

    We need to win game tomorrow to sweep series. I think series win vs UNC at UNC will be HUGE is seeding for NCAAs this year. Yes, I am talking about seeding already since this team has shot to be special this year.

  25. Wufpacker 03/25/2012 at 4:49 PM #

    Craig Sager playing with a skeleton hand. One of Marv’s past victims? Early dinner?

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