2014-15 Post-WBS Roster Thoughts and Bold Predictions

As you all know by now, the annual transfer season has started. I hoped to not lose a PG, but if we lost someone…I expected PG is where it would happen. Our fondest best wishes to the Wee Baby Seamus, and I hope to see him lead a nice Cinderella run in the 2016 or 2017 NCAAT.

Here is how I see our playing rotation play out next year:

PG – Cat
SG – Lacey
SF – Black Scott Wood
PF – Frenchie Le Nard
C – King Hippo

Bench Contributors (from most to least minutes):

Washington (pretty even with Le Nard, in terms of role/PT)
Abu
Des (biggest question mark, as to how capably he can play PG – especially for longer stretches if Cat gets in foul trouble or distemper)
Twin A
Twin B

I think that’s workable. You have 3 guards, 3 wings, and 4 low-post players (with some overlap into other position groups as need/matchups may dictate). That’s a pretty good distribution, deep enough to handle fouls/illnesses/injuries without being a sure recipe for discontent. I most certainly DO NOT think we could easily absorb another transfer, however.

Another Alex Johnson would be a welcome addition, though. Devonte Graham, maybe?

Now, time for bold predictions. Mine relates to my personal favourite player, so feel free to dismiss my prediction as biased. It clearly is.

King Hippo is no worse than 2nd team all-ACC, and a strong contender for DPOY.

What’s yours?

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.

13-14 Basketball Mark Gottfried

Home Forums 2014-15 Post-WBS Roster Thoughts and Bold Predictions

Viewing 25 posts - 126 through 150 (of 188 total)
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  • #50347
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    1. Yeah… that’s a fair comparison… Corch as a senior v. Tyler as as freshman/soph…

    2. Yeah… ya’ll ALL GOTT my main point… which was some thing to do with the luck of draw and timing as THAT relates to WHO YOUR TEAM MATES ARE…

    Did ya’ll forget it’s a TEAM sport ??? and How the TEAM does directly affects each players stat line??

    3. If Anthony develops ONE HALF of the heart and BB-IQ that any of the three white boys mentioned had/have AND earns the title “Floor General” … he will be All ACC… All-American… All-something…

    Call ME back… when Len or Dan or Kimberly or whoever calls Anthony…. ‘GOTT’s Coach on the floor…’.

    I damn sure don’t want to miss that and will not mind one bit eating all the crow you guys want to serve….

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #50348
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    44…Gottfried stated Vandy.

    #50349
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    Started Vandy…

    We are crippled w/no edits on dumbphones.

    #50350
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    If folks believe in TL… they should follow him, and pull for him. I couldn’t care less.

    I’ve seen ’em come, and I’ve seen ’em go. Most times, they are the ones sayin’ the bye-byes.

    Lewis just said bye-bye to State.

    Sin Adios

    #50351
    Whiteshoes67
    Participant

    Last year, it was “Why isn’t Lewis playing more?” Then after Brown went down, it was “See, Lewis should’ve played more.” Then after Brown came back, back to “Why ain’t Lewis playing?” In the offseason, there was this debate about whether Lewis and Cat would play together substantial minutes. During the season, all kinds of folks hopped on the Lewis bandwagon in spite of how poorly he played early. Didn’t get it then, still don’t get it. The only reason he ever, ever, got more minutes this year was because teams were zoning the hell out of us, we couldn’t shoot it for chit, and Barber hit the Freshman wall. Barber was always going to be the guy. Always. He wasn’t anointed, he’s just better.

    I will add, he ain’t no Iverson. That area puts out some incredible athletes in all of the big 3 sports. My biggest concern about Barber is how Gott uses him. Gott is a system guy. Not sure his system is the best fit for Cat, and not sure how much Gott is interested in adapting.

    #50352
    eas
    Participant

    I don’t have a negative or positive comment to make on WBS decision to leave. I have always been a fan of his court vision and passing. He ran the offense very well. We all know his weakness’ so no need to go there.

    I think the best way to describe Gott and his role here is simple enough. He is on the edge of greatness or the edge of failure (so to speak). I say that because IF he can improve on the following weak point of his resume he will go far in Raleigh:

    Defense
    In game adjustments
    Actually designing plays

    If he masters these we are good for sure. If not…well you know the drill. I am currently neutral on Gott because he is the best we’ve had since V. The items listed above I have been critical of Gott for. I am far from a hater towards Gott but that doesn’t mean we can’t question some of his abilities. He certainly has some weak spots but that may change.

    Back to WBS for a moment. I still think if he picks the right opportunity and coach he will do exceptionally well. I never thought he liked Gott much but did like Raleigh. Something switched his excitement off this year. Either way, I hope he does well and I will pull for him. He is a a good kid.

    #50354
    RedReid
    Participant

    Next year is nothing but Gott recruits. Awesome! Also, numbers wise this is the deepest his bench has been since he arrived. The players returning all had quality time and seem to be bought into his system. We have 3 freshman coming in that appear to be good on paper. I also believe that this could finally be a Gott team that plays strong D. They are going to have to until they find the scoring to replace TJ. Honestly if this group works hard “together” in the off season, why should we not be good for 70 points a game? When was the last time we had this much talent combined in our “Big Man” positions. I don’t know if any of them are as talented Powell, Simmons, Hickson, Smith, Howell, etc. I just can’t remember the luxury of having this many down low at the same time. Should be a fun and interesting season. Until next year my friends. Plenty of time to speculate and see how recruiting goes for 16′ and 17′.

    #50355
    Tau837
    Participant

    1. Yeah… that’s a fair comparison… Corch as a senior v. Tyler as as freshman/soph…

    Bill, perhaps you are trolling, as CD suggested. If not, IMO you are way off on this, and you just keep digging. Corchiani was a better shooter, scorer, defender, and leader from day one than Tyler has been. And that isn’t an insult to Tyler; Corchiani was an elite college PG and is a State legend.

    #50356
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    I remember all four years of Corchiani, and I don’t EVER remember him being a net negative on defense. I saw two full years of Lewis, and he was horrid on defense, from moment 1 as a frosh to the final moment of the SL game. I haven’t checked all of the advanced metrics, but I’d be surprised if anyone else in the ACC (with any substantial amount of minutes) graded out worse on D.

    Now, what you COULD argue is that maybe a different coach would find a way to get something out of Tyler defensively. Perhaps we don’t teach defense effectively, and the gains are only what a particular player (like Buckets) improves defensively on their own.

    Good point above on the zone. Tyler was at his best offensively against a zone, and Cat at his worst (they had different pluses and minuses against man defense, probably netting out about equally). It was getting in Cat’s head, and he was forcing thgings. So Tyler began starting.

    Note that it was still usually Cat who FINISHED the game.

    And nobody is saying that you choose Cat just because of athleticism. We are saying that the numbers indicate that Cat was STILL better overall than Tyler THIS YEAR, with Cat having more room to improve.

    #50357
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    And yeah, Gott played Scott Wood as many minutes as humanly possible, despite less athleticism than Tyler. One can make many fair criticisms of his coaching, but I don’t think you can say with a straight face that he bases playing time on anything other than merit.

    I get it, Tyler was a lot of people’s personal favorite. And he clearly disliked MG, which I’m sure also resonated with some folks. But it’s coloring rational, objective evaluation.

    And like Cowdog says…he’s gone. He ain’t coming back by a “people’s veto” of some kind.

    #50358
    RedReid
    Participant

    On Gott: I have said this before and I will say it again. Coaches at major conference basketball programs get paid big bucks to win. If your are good enough to make me(the coach) win, you are going to play right now! That’s how it is.

    On transfers: Let’s be real, if you are good enough, you would not need to transfer. There is no NCAA basketball coach in the nation benching a legit NBA talent.

    Do we need players to buy in to win, regardless if they are NBA talent? Yes.
    I’m not sure if Lewis or Purvis were truly recruited by Gott. There may have been a lot of Lowe work there. I don’t think Gott has truly had his own recruits transfer at this point.

    this was a rebuilding year and we made the tourney. I think there is room for improvement and unfortunately 20+ years of mediocre basketball has crafted our fan base into the negative group we are when it comes to basketball. I’m 33 years old. I don’t remember the 80’s or the 70’s and Everett Case might as well be Babe Ruth. I think the future is bright with Gott. So I will choose to be positive. I’m sick of watching the old banners in the arena getting older and older. I am proud of the history. I’m also proud of all the NCAA banners from the teams I remember especially the 12′,13′ and now 14′ team. When Les coached, the NCAA was a pipe dream that seamed untouchable. I liked Less, those were sad years though.

    I’m going to stop ranting now. Go PACK!

    #50359
    triadwolf
    Participant

    I stumbled across this video on Youtube a couple weeks ago; it’s Kansas @ State in 1987 – the whole game. Anyone comparing TL to Corch only needs to watch this to end the discussion. This is Corchiani’s 2nd college game and, in my opinion, TL was never going to be close. I liked TL, but he was really overrated.

    #50360
    triadwolf
    Participant

    I don’t know why the link didn’t show up. Anyway, you copy and paste the this:

    #50361
    eas
    Participant

    Can someone “leak” this game video to Gott? Thanks for pulling that old school game back out! It is simply amazing to see the tempo and style of that game. Fun to watch and man do I miss that full court press!

    Fire sure played wide open. I will sit down and watch it all tomorrow night on the big screen. Just to watching it brings back some good feelings but most of all it shows how intense we played.

    Dang it why can’t we play that intense on defense and offense.

    #50364
    tractor57
    Participant

    Maybe that someone should also “leak” the 1989 first round ACC game against the Twerps. Only time a #1 seed lost to the last seed …

    #50367
    Texpack
    Participant

    The best the UCLA High Post Offense has looked since Gott arrived was down the stretch his first year. Lo Brown figured out how to make the reads, we had Painter shooting the jumper from the FT line, and both Howell and Calvin who could go one-on one from the low post. Brown was also very good at being able to break down his man late in the shot clock. That is a critical role in the HPO under Gott. Cat has the athletic ability to fill this role eventually. He has to figure out the mental part which he did show signs of doing late in the year.

    Gott started the year with his defensive guards (Cat & Lee) as the starters but they were so awful on offense with the 1 vs. 2/3 drives, that he eventually had to go offense and play T&T.

    Keys to 14-15 Success
    Cat being able to run the team without the TO binges.
    Frenchie and/or KW consistently knocking down the Painter shots.
    Some combination of Anya/Frenchie/Abu being able to operate on the blocks and score consistently.
    Cat/Martin/Lacey providing a second 3 pt shooter

    #50368
    44rules
    Participant

    So does anybody have the 74 ACC championship or NCAA semifinals to leak? I was a kid when I watched them.

    Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy. Mao Zedong

    #50369
    Wolfpackforlife
    Participant

    I agree with BJD, In my opinion Corch was a concern or even a threat from day one. I remember how determined and focused when he played against other teams. You never seen him give up/ There was always hustle from Corch. I was hoping that Tyler could show the same determination that Corch had, but I just feel that he doesn’t have the strength and grit to play as a starter. Now, what I do like about Tyler is his court IQ, to me he makes very good decisions and in my opinion he is a better passer, but the physical limitations are so profound when he is on the court.

    #50370
    ryebread
    Participant

    Triad: Thanks for the link. It almost makes me cry to be honest. That’s the NC State that I grew up watching, not the garbage that has been on display from Les on. I loved all the changing defenses, full court pressure, tenacity and the fact that our team had real, undeniable talent. The administration at NC State should be ashamed of what they did to V.

    On topic, I’d hoped that TL would grow into some semblance of Corch by the time he was a Senior. I didn’t think he’d be as good as Corch, but I thought he could follow that model of improvement. That video shows me that it’s probably not going to happen. Corch played with an entirely different level of tenacity — not to mention the gaps in ball handling, defense, shooting and strength.

    #50371
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    All you had to do when Lewis was in the game is run screens. It would take 5-7 seconds before multiple guys were wide f-ing open. That’s a problem, assuming most opponents look at game tape.

    The part I never understood is that it wasn’t purely physical – Cat was brilliant at reading and anticipating what his opponent would do on offense, but clearly struggled reading opposing defenses. Tyler was the exact opposite. Never could square the circle there. I am hopeful that Cat was just pressing and trying too hard to make something happen. He needs to slow things down a little and get a feel for the game’s flow (which is another reason MG liked him off the bench as a freshman).

    #50372
    VaWolf82
    Keymaster

    TL’s original offer list from Scout:
    NC State, Appalachian State, Charlotte, Drake, Miami (Fl), Mississippi, Richmond, Virginia Commonwealth, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest

    Current suitors from FayOb:
    Vanderbilt, Purdue, Missouri, Dayton, Butler, Xavier, UAB and Davidson. And the list is expected to grow…

    http://www.fayobserver.com/blogs/sports/acc_basketball/article_bba3f5a0-b907-11e3-b30a-001a4bcf6878.html

    #50373
    Wulfpack
    Participant

    That is a pretty impressive list of suitors. The kid can play.

    #50375
    Tau837
    Participant

    Triad: Thanks for the link. It almost makes me cry to be honest. That’s the NC State that I grew up watching, not the garbage that has been on display from Les on. I loved all the changing defenses, full court pressure, tenacity and the fact that our team had real, undeniable talent. The administration at NC State should be ashamed of what they did to V.

    Amen.

    I was at that game. Enjoyed watching the video again last night. LOL at comparing Lewis to Corchiani.

    #50377
    eas
    Participant

    If Lewis goes to Dayton/Archie he will do well.

    #50380
    triadwolf
    Participant

    @eas – I feel your pain; I graduated in 1989 at that was the rapid beginning of the end of a really good era of Wolfpack sports. Football did ok for a couple years with Sheridan, but he was the last link to a fun time.

    I thought about posting that video last weekend right after we lost St. Louis, but I thought it may be too a bit much to handle at the time and encourage a few more to leap off a bridge and end their misery.

    I like TL, but Corch played at a different level and was physically much stronger. I also think he was a lot quicker than opponents (and fans) thought he was. That team in the video was really talented and it’s a shame one historically bad call a season later in the NCAA’s took away an opportunity for them to possibly do something special. Of course that 87-88 season was the infamous W(who)TF is Murray St. season.It’s funny that I don’t remember Shackleford being that athletic; I recalled that he was good, but not like that – could have something to do with the amount of beer consumed at the time.

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