Trending on Thursday

General40

As we are all still catching our breath from the big Belk Bowl victory on Tuesday night we’ve got a potpourri of interesting topics developing that we didn’t want to ignore today.

First, if you want to re-live some highlights from the other night then this link is a great place for you.

Our message boards (available here) have served as a great resource to keep up with current developments in and around Wolfpack Sports. A few trending hot topics right now that are worthy of some time are:

 

=====>  A lot of football recruiting being discussed as the local programs now shift into ‘2012 mode’.   Of course the huge local news this week came a few hours before NC State’s bowl win when highly rated offensive lineman, Bryce Kennedy switched his commitment from UNC-CH to NC State. Kennedy is 6’2″, 285 lbs, and the 41st ranked OG in the country (according to ESPN) out of Southern Pines. Thread linked here.

 

=====> Donte Paige-Moss continues to be the gift that keeps giving to NC State fans. A lot of good detail, conversation and related links are available by clicking here.

 

=====> The Wolfpack basketball team takes the floor tonight against Campbell in an attempt to stay on course for completing the non-conference schedule with a respectable 11-4 record (against one of the toughest OOC schedules in the country). The Wolfpack currently ranks 60th in the RPI having played the 20th toughest schedule in the country. There is still a lot of basketball to be played, but a rudimentary projection model from RealtimeRPI.com projects the Pack to finish 21-10 for the season with a resume that would easily qualify Mark Gottfried’s first team for the NCAA Tournament.

 

=====>Speaking of basketball, Rodney Purvis is currently playing in Raleigh and was on the radio this morning. You can click here for that conversation and also click here for our tag archive of past Purvis conversations. Pack Pride has linked Purvis’ interview here.

 

 

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40 Responses to Trending on Thursday

  1. Gates County Wolf 12/29/2011 at 12:22 PM #

    Does anyone have a status update on Torian Graham?

  2. StateFans 12/29/2011 at 12:23 PM #

    Does Torian Graham know the status update on Torian Graham?

  3. coach13 12/29/2011 at 12:50 PM #

    Next years big equation: MG+TB=(many)TD’s

    I can see Palmer and Glennon hooking up frequently.

  4. Mike 12/29/2011 at 12:57 PM #

    coach, and hopefully them hooking up frequently will not affect their performance on the field.

  5. Tau837 12/29/2011 at 1:11 PM #

    Interesting RealTimeRPI projection. It projects the top 6 teams in the conference as follows (not sure what the order would be of the tied teams):

    12-4 Duke
    11-5 UNC
    10-6 State
    10-6 Virginia
    10-6 Virginia Tech
    10-6 FSU

    Unfortunately, it also projects State to go 2-5 vs. (current) top 50 RPI teams, with the only compelling win a one point victory over UNC at home. (Wouldn’t that be sweet?)

    It seems very possible that this projected outcome would not be good enough to make the tournament without at least one more win in the ACC tournament. This is similar to Virginia Tech’s season last year, and they didn’t get in. Consider Virginia Tech in 2010:

    RPI: 62
    SOS: 77
    Record: 21-11, 11-8
    vs. RPI Top 50: 2-5
    Compelling wins: 1 (Duke, at home)

    All of that looks pretty similar to what is projected for State, except the SOS. I suppose that is what would be projected to make the difference.

    But note that Virginia Tech made it to the semis in the ACC tournament, beating Georgia Tech and FSU and losing to Duke, and still didn’t make it. Most people thought the FSU win got them in at the time. Suppose State were to go 1-1 in the ACC tournament after this projected season… that would be 22-11, 11-7, with just one compelling win, very similar to Tech last year.

    I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that we are projected to be on the bubble, given that we are ranked #60 right now… with all the automatic bids, it is probably rare and certainly no given that the #60 RPI team gets a bid.

    I think this illustrates why, despite the very good OOC schedule, we still have an uphill climb to get a bid.

  6. Wufpacker 12/29/2011 at 1:20 PM #

    ^^ Now that’s funny. Made soda come out of my nose and onto my keyboard just a little bit.

    I’d be perfectly fine if they became the next Rivers to Robinson, or Rivers to Cotchery, or Rivers to….pretty much anyone. Not that I think Phil swings that way….

  7. ZZ 12/29/2011 at 1:31 PM #

    Great way to finish a season with Glennon maturing and the TOB plan coming together. One comment about next years football program:

    MOOOOOSE!!!!!!

    MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  8. Pack1997 12/29/2011 at 1:56 PM #

    Tau, we won’t be 60th at the end of the season. My guess is our RPI will jump to around 35. Mainly due to the ACC being better than some of the inferior opponents we played in the OOC. However we have to win games period. I really want us to finish 4th in the ACC. If we could get that bye on Thursday it would really help. I do not think any team that plays on Thursday will win the tourney.

  9. Texpack 12/29/2011 at 2:01 PM #

    An RPI of 60 would be a rare recipient indeed of an at large bid.

    “It’s not just who did you play. It’s who did you beat.” – Jay Bilas

    Keep that quote in mind. Pulling out either the Stanford or IU game would have been a huge resume booster. Now we really need a minimum of one win over Duke or UNC-CH AND we can’t afford to lay any eggs.

    We’ll have to shoot free throws and value the basketball better than we have so far when the game is on the line to make the big dance.

  10. BJD95 12/29/2011 at 2:31 PM #

    There’s no f-ing way that the dreaded blues will be that close to the rest of the ACC pack. Such a prediction eliminates all their credibility, in my view.

  11. StateFans 12/29/2011 at 2:41 PM #

    Tau837,

    That was a great post.

    The couple of things I would add is that:

    (1) Our RPI would be much better than it is today at the end of the year with anything close to that kind of record.

    and

    (2) We genuinely would get ‘extra credit’ for such a strong OOC schedule, which is the 180 degree difference from VPI’s situation where the selection committee has been so clear on their weak scheduling.

    Of course…all of this is speculation. But, it is fun to discuss.

  12. LRM 12/29/2011 at 3:24 PM #

    “(2) We genuinely would get ‘extra credit’ for such a strong OOC schedule, which is the 180 degree difference from VPI’s situation where the selection committee has been so clear on their weak scheduling.”

    Not sure how much the strong OOC schedule will matter when we only have one quality win (Texas). Point is, we have very little room for error in the ACC.

  13. StateFans 12/29/2011 at 3:31 PM #

    I agree there is little room for error in the ACC. No doubt.

    And, we need to have a more than one or two wins against NCAA Tournament teams.

    But, at the end of the day, if we have a resume that is very similar to other teams, our OOC schedule will be a check mark in our column.

  14. BJD95 12/29/2011 at 4:38 PM #

    Our schedule at least won’t hurt us in the (unlikely, in my view) event we are in the bubble discussion. Replace a few of our “good” losses with “bad” wins – and yes, our resume would indeed be worse even if the overall RPI stayed the same, or even got a little better.

    I think the ACC is a 3-bid league, and UVA is the likeliest third wheel.

    Be ready for lots of A-10 and MVC love come Selection Sunday. And that won’t be inequitable this year.

    Oddly enough, if we do get a bubble bid – it will likely be the St. Bonaventure win that gets us in. And it’s a game that very few coaches would have agreed to schedule (at least not on the road). Very glad Gottfried learned that lesson so well from his tenure at Alabama.

    In another odd twist, I remember watching none other than Lee Fowler explain why 21-8 Alabama got left out, while 16-14 Georgia got in.

  15. rtpack24 12/29/2011 at 4:57 PM #

    Torian Graham situation will not change anytime soon. He wants to come to State but he has to at least be in position to qualify in the spring or he will probably move into the 2013 class. He has been to so many schools. When I read about his background most people leave out that he transferred out of Word of God last year before the end of the year and finished the year at another school and then headed to school in Fl this year. Our staff knows what they are doing when it comes to recruiting.

  16. cWOhLFrPAiCKs 12/29/2011 at 7:58 PM #

    “Lotta seniors on this team, what does it mean to do this with them?”

    “Actually, we don’t have many seniors, that’s good news. Got a lot of guys back.”

    Really sideline reporter??? Neither team had a lot of seniors, that was talked about at length prior to the game.

  17. Wulfpack 12/29/2011 at 7:59 PM #

    We need a signature win against Duke or UNC in the worst way. I don’t think we get in without it, even IF we are fortunate enough to finish third, which would be a tall order. You MUST beat good teams. Right now, all that we have is Texas and St. Bonnies. I seriously doubt that will be good enough. Texas isn’t going anywhere this year. The good news, from my perspective, is that we have as good of a chance as anyone to make the move in the ACC. The bad news is this is likely no more than a 4 bid league, and you MUST post solid wins to draw the attention of the committee. Considering that the league as a whole is down, our opportunities are extremely limited. We can do it, but must avoid those ever so predictable WTF losses.

  18. lawful 12/29/2011 at 8:29 PM #

    We’re struggling to get a signature win against Campbell. Awe inspiring first half.

  19. EdMar 12/29/2011 at 9:46 PM #

    State 87 Campbell 81. They made like 9 three pointers, we were something like 26 of 28 free throws.

  20. tuckerdorm1983 12/29/2011 at 10:20 PM #

    a game that we could have lost last year we won this year by pushing our advantages. Did you see that Calvin sat down after he took that 3 towards the end?

  21. DC_wolf 12/29/2011 at 10:38 PM #

    StateFans, thanks for posting the Belk hi-lites. I was, unfortunately, @ a sportsbar again trying to catch my boys & a guy was talking my head off during TJ Graham’s 69 yard TD – did not even get to see the replays.

    Didn’t realize he had broken THREE would-be tackles… What a game full of hi-lites! From TJ’s 2 TDs to the BIG hits by the D, & of course Amerson’s magic. I think the play of the game was Tobias Palmer’s sweet reel-in of Glennon’s 49-yarder – what an adjustment. Thanks again.

  22. BJD95 12/29/2011 at 10:46 PM #

    Sounds like the players were about as interested in playing the Camels as we were in covering/talking about it! 🙂

    Eh, a win is a win. Everybody has nights against patsies when the focus and energy aren’t really there. No biggie.

  23. Packfan28 12/29/2011 at 10:48 PM #

    I wasn’t overly enamored by TOB’s answer about not having many seniors. The reporter was giving him the opportunity to publicly acknowledge and thank them for their contribution to Wolfpack football, instead he gave her a smart ass smirk and answer. I thought it was pretty low class.

    And for the record, the official roster has 21 seniors listed on it. A lot of them may not have been on the two deep, but they all contributed to the success of the team nonetheless.

  24. choppack1 12/29/2011 at 10:57 PM #

    If we go 10-6 – no matter who we beat, I’ll be interested in where our RPI is. We may fall into the proverbial Anthony Michael-Hall in 16 Candles category even without any huge wins…and that’s often enough to get your bid.

    One thing to watch – our RPI and SOS will plummet in the next few games even if we win them.

  25. 61Packer 12/29/2011 at 11:15 PM #

    Tonight I watched Georgia Tech lose at Fordham. BC lost by over 20 at home tonight to Harvard. Yes, they’re decent this year, but they’re still an Ivy League school (i.e. no athletic scholarships). We struggled with a fairly decent Campbell team, but this is the Big South, not the Big Ten.

    The new ACC isn’t at all like the ACC of old. We’re well behind the Big Ten in b-ball, and I doubt we’ll see nearly as many ACC teams in the b-ball post season as we’ve seen ACC bowl teams. I can see where only 3 or 4 ACC teams make it in March; it depends on who we beat starting next month. Duke is beatable here, but we don’t get them here this year (thanks again Swofford, for the rivalry-killing expansion). 9-7 would get us in if we beat a few who finish ahead of us, and then do well in the ACCT. But 10-6 would be much better.

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