2014-15 Basketball – A Note of Thanks

Before I sink back into my natural state of deep wolven depression, I wanted to express my sincere thanks to the players and coaches who made the wild ride of this past season possible. It came with its bumps and bruises, fits and starts, but perhaps most importantly for a program that had staggered blindly in the wilderness for so very long – we learned how to love again. That’s the first prong of why last night hurt so much, we really loved this bunch of wolves.

So thank you, one and all. From MG to Power Kitty, Angel of Death to Almond Joy. Best wishes to Desmond Lee and Black Scott Wood (aka Ralston Turner) in your future life endeavors, and we hope you always stay connected to the wolven family.

We still have two years in this contention window. But of course, all caveats apply. The best laid plans of mice and men, yada yada. That’s the second prong the pain – tomorrow may never come. You might get drawn into the region of death. You might have Murray State 1988 happen. Somebody might break a leg in the ACCT. Anytime a wormhole opens, and the run ends…it leaves a mark. But make no mistake. We went down fighting, and have nothing to be ashamed about. We now have to trust this same group who taught us to love again, that they can fight, claw, scratch, and open more wormholes. Maybe for a change this won’t be as final as it feels today. Give them a chance to prove our Charlie Brown life experiences wrong.

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.

14-15 Basketball Mark Gottfried

Home Forums 2014-15 Basketball – A Note of Thanks

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  • #83539
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    Before I sink back into my natural state of deep wolven depression, I wanted to express my sincere thanks to the players and coaches who made the wild ride of this past season possible. It came with its bumps and bruises, fits and starts, but perhaps most importantly for a program that had staggered blindly in the wilderness for so very long – we learned how to love again. That’s the first prong of why last night hurt so much, we really loved this bunch of wolves.

    [See the full post at: 2014-15 Basketball – A Note of Thanks]

    #83543
    Royal Wulff
    Participant

    Well said, BJD. It’s been a great ride, and the future looks bright.

    #83544
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    It does look bright, but as the great poet Jim Morrison said “The future’s uncertain, and the end is always near.”

    See, depression time. 😀

    #83546
    Wulfpack
    Participant

    Thanks for the fun times this year. You made us proud. And we saw some pretty good basketball (at times), too.

    #83547
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    I went to the fair, and rode every ride. I look forward to next year when they come back to town.

    #83560
    blpack
    Participant

    Great, bumpy ride. I appreciate the players and coaches efforts. Great things ahead.

    #83563
    graywolf
    Participant

    As a state alumnus and fan your sentiments ring so true!

    #83564
    pack_man_94
    Participant

    A perfect example of why you never, ever, give up on a Wolfpack team. You don’t just risk missing the good times, you risk missing the memorable ones.

    #83567
    gtspack
    Participant

    I can’t ever remember a time when I’ve been so pleased with the current basketball and football season and so excited about the upcoming season. Thank You D. Yow.

    #83568
    PapaJohn
    Participant

    I hope someone from the Wolfpack organization reads this. I think it speaks for all of us. While we are all depressed at the loss, I think we can see movement in the right direction and feel like our program is in good hands, and there is reason for optimism.

    #83569
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    I mean this in the best way possible: that was one hell of a roller coaster.

    It was a lot of fun.

    The best part about it to me was seeing these kids come together as a team. It didn’t always work out with victories, but this was one of the more truly ‘together’ teams that I can remember. A group of really likable, unselfish guys.

    ‘They’ can say whatever they want to (and ‘they’ always do), but ‘they’ can’t change facts: this team beat Duke, WON AT THE HOUSE OF EVIL (Cheat Dome), and beat a #1 seed in a memorable NCAA tourney run. Regardless of what else happened along the way, that’s a hell of a year for a program that hasn’t had that combination of success in over 30 years.

    I truly thank this team and staff for this past season. The future begins now … Let’s get back to work.

    Go Pack

    #83570
    mak4dpak
    Participant

    Football/basketball were definitely successful, with exciting futures ahead, and now time for some baseball/softball, which I believe will continue the same pattern of success. Go Pack!

    #83572
    WolfWiz11
    Participant

    While we are all depressed at the loss, I think we can see movement in the right direction and feel like our program is in good hands, and there is reason for optimism.

    We wouldn’t be true fans if were weren’t depressed at our team losing. I’m sure Utah, Oklahoma, WVU, UNX, Xavier . . . you get the point.

    WOLF!

    #83575
    ancsu87
    Participant

    Agree with everything here. By the end this was a special team. Good year for both football and basketball. Looking toward to next year.

    Now if I could just get the Charlotte Observer to respond to my request to quit sending the emails offering me the publication “Dean: The Man the Legend” all would be great. I keep telling them when they publish something called “Dean the Truth: The Drunk the Cheat” then I will buy it.

    #83576
    Texpack
    Participant

    Well said. In the era of one and done, it’s especially nice to see guys embrace roles for the good of the team. I hope everybody returns. I had given up on the season after the Klempson debacle. These guys had more faith in themselves than I had in them at that point. I just hope the disappointment of last night is motivational.

    #83577
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Watching these kids grow up during this season with all their ups and downs has indeed been enjoyable…

    Without the ups there would have been no downs and vice versa…

    For both coaches and players…
    You can’t cross the line where failure occurs if you don’t know where that line is…

    For this reason… next season should be more ups and downs… the only difference is that the starting line and the finish line both will be higher…

    I don’t expect much more than 10% slippage between this team at the end of the season and at the beginning of next and it’s not unreasonable to expect each returning player to show personal improvement in their weak skill areas as all will be working hard in the off season.

    The kids and coaches should enjoy that as they have truly earned it…

    Proud of all of you !

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #83578
    WPIDH8
    Participant

    Hear hear!!!

    The program (football too) appears to be in quality hands with quality depth on board. Hope everyone stays and gets better and a few of the kids Gott has on his radar, commit to run with him.

    The future does indeed appear bright.

    🙂

    #83579
    bill-1956
    Participant

    I knew 28 years of Wolfpack Club dues would finally start to pay off!!

    🙂

    What a fun year.

    I am so looking forward to doing it all again next season.

    Thank you Coach Gottfried, assistant coaches and staff. And thank you to all the kids. Every one of you – starters and swat team all.

    Thank you to Bobby Purcell and the support the WPC gives to all NC State athletics.

    And last, but in no way possible least, thank you to AD Yow.

    #83580
    MrPlywood
    Participant

    Moments of consequence that I will remember:

    Beating Duke when they were ranked #2
    Beating Louisville (#9) on the road
    Beating the Holes (#15) on the road, holding them to their lowest point total in the Dome
    Picking themselves up after stumbling at BC to make a strong run and get solidly into the NCAA, the first win in that stretch was at Clemson, which IMHO was as big a win as most others
    Beating the 1 seed and #2 ranked Nova to get to the Sweet 16
    Watching the emergence of Cat 2.0, and the development of the bigs Freeman, Abu and Anya (get “bigger” boys, not “Bigger” if you know what I mean)
    Beating Pitino, Roy, JimB, and K in one season

    A lot of those accomplishments involved overcoming blocks, mental or otherwise, that had stymied the Pack in the past. Like others have mentioned, hopefully that will carry over to next season, and the next. Make those feats the rule rather than the exception.

    And maybe the ride will get a bit smoother. 🙂

    #83581
    doug
    Participant

    Thanks Pack! Looking forward to next year. Please stay Kyle.

    #83582
    WolftownVA81
    Participant

    A very frustrating season at times but I’m very proud of what the team accomplished this year. It will go down as a very successful and memorable year. Thanks players, coaches and the administration for all your efforts. Many programs didn’t come close to achieving what you did this year. I’m so excited about next year. Go Pack.

    #83587
    PapaJohn
    Participant

    PACK!

    #83593
    dallas-pack
    Participant

    Proud of the pack this year, as others have said better than me it was quite a ride. Players and coaches all did great, really pulled together and grew.

    #83600
    Alpha Wolf
    Keymaster

    I love the growth in this team…and despite the loss last night, it too served as a great lesson for it next year. You have to bring it every night, all night, when you get to that level of competition. They’ll be more ready for the ’15/’16, and all things considered, I expect good things will happen.

    #83615
    PackFamily
    Participant

    In addition to thanking our boys and coaches, i need to admit where i was wrong. I got pretty down on them during the mid-season losses. It felt like the same NC State story we’ve seen so many times. I also was complaining that Gott’s focus on defense was resulting in us having no offense (or defense). I was wrong about that.

    Anyway, Go Pack!

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