I have been a State fan for nearly 40 years. I have never been as disappointed as I was last night, and that covers a lot of disappointment. It’s not any one thing, any one of which could have produced a winning result. It’s everything that would produce more consistent winning results.
Last night was all about coaching. Offensive talent is easy to come by. State can put the numbers up. Defense must be taught. Players out of position, not rotating, not sticking with their man, leaving the only person on the court hurting you wide open for 3’s. St. Louis never gave up, which is something State does regularly. If you are willing to accept less than your expectations, you will always get what you accept not what you expect.
Free throws! Enough said. State cannot even begin to blame the refs for last night. I see 5 more wins this season including last night if you just make 1 or 2 more free throws a game. Given the team’s dismal 65.7% effort for the season how many points were left on the table? An increase of 10% to what State averaged prior to the last 2 coaches would produce about 90 points per season assuming a few of the misses were the front end of a 1/1. That extra 3 points a game wins 5 games straight up. Little things add up to big things.
Intangibles. Moving without the ball. Blocking out and rebounding position. Helping your teammates handle the press. Not dribbling the ball off your own foot. HEART! NCSU has not had that for years in either of the revenue sports. When do we get a coach who understands and coaches fundamentals? It’s not like we have a bunch of 1 and done players that you don’t have time to work with. We mostly lose players because they don’t see a path to success at State. Winners win and losers go home to think about what could have been.
I am thoroughly disgusted.
