two straight terrible calls on clemson, refs trying to get UNC back in the game.

UNC turning it over a whole lot

2/10/2008 7:05:27 PM

thats what I was wondering, I havent heard what the injury actually is, except for it being an ankle injury

Carolina is a very different team with him on the bench

Clemson is shooting lights out and UNC has something like 10 turnovers already...it'll level off at some point, its in Carolina

[Edited on February 10, 2008 at 7:06 PM. Reason : dsaf]

2/10/2008 7:05:36 PM

carolina looks lost out there.

and that was another bad call going against clemson.

2/10/2008 7:08:40 PM

Clemson's only hope is to build a lead so huge that they can't choke it away no matter how hard they try

2/10/2008 7:08:48 PM

god, I hope they beat them

2/10/2008 7:09:59 PM

That was a Lance Thomas special... no way he was set. (ellington that is)

[Edited on February 10, 2008 at 7:11 PM. Reason : why the hell isnt this on FSNHD out here... must be a f'n Sharks game or something on tonight]

2/10/2008 7:11:19 PM

current ACC standings for reference:

Quote :

" Team Conference Overall Duke-----9-0-----21-1 UNC------6-2-----21-2 Maryland- 6-3-----16-8 Clemson--5-3-----17-5 VT-------5-5-----14-10 GT-------4-4-----11-11 NCSU-----4-5-----15-8 WF-------4-5-----14-8 Miami-----3-6-----16-7 FSU-------3-6-----14-10 BC--------3-6-----12-10 Virginia----1-8-----11-11 "

[Edited on February 10, 2008 at 7:15 PM. Reason : -]

2/10/2008 7:13:26 PM

I see us finishing 5th. Would be a shame if the best conference only got 4 bids.

2/10/2008 7:24:38 PM

Clemson's defense is crazy tonight.

2/10/2008 8:20:39 PM

I thought that was a 2

2/10/2008 8:22:19 PM

I wanna congratulate the refs for their performance in this very exciting Clemson-Chapel Hill match-up.

Not counting the second OT where Clemson was fouling on purpose, the refs sent Clemson to the line a total of four times. Naturally, Carolina went to the line 14 times.

Bravo, refs.

Bra

Vo

2/10/2008 9:38:35 PM

the forearm is part of the ball

2/10/2008 9:41:22 PM

http://www.wral.com/sports/999thefan/blogpost/2485425/

Is the Future Bright for Wolfpack Basketball?

By Dan Mason

Posted: Feb. 25, 2008

Wolfpack basketball 2008-2009. Season starts in nine months. Bet you can't wait Wolfpack fan, or can you?

In a season that went south from the very beginning, Sidney Lowe and the rest of the brass around N.C. State basketball probably can't wait until the basketballs are tossed onto the court for practice later this year in October. The good news is that this season is about to come to a close and it can't come quick enough. In a season marred by injuries, chemistry issues, inconsistent play on both ends of the court and a failure to play for forty minutes in the best conference of all, it has been a slow death since October.

Let's start with the positives for next year and build from there. Once again, Lowe will have 4 of 5 starters return. Starting with J.J. Hickson, the Pack will also return veterans Courtney Fells and Brandon Costner, sometime starter Ben McCauley and more experienced point guard Javi Gonzalez. Sounds like a pretty good place to start. Adding incoming recruits Julius Mayes and C.J. Williams should add much needed depth to a bench that struggled with production in Lowe's first two years on the job. Mayes certainly has a chance to unseat the incumbent point guard Gonzalez. Adding the injured Farnold Degand and the Pack should make the Pack at least adequate in the backcourt. Still young but all told better.

Another positive is that Lowe and his staff should have a better handle on exactly what roles his bigs can handle. Let's face it, Costner is never going to be a back-to-the-basket type of player. McCauley gives you more effort than any other player but must develop into a more dependable rebounder. Fells must continue to provide more on and off court leadership and continue to develop his open court ability. The biggest wild card is Hickson. That's the literal multi-million dollar question. The big fella has NBA written all over for him. You can stop the he's not ready card right now.

If the certainty of millions is staring him in the face based on his "upside," what's he to do? Stay and hope the Pack gets better or risk injury and a lucrative guaranteed deal? Personally, I think he'd be better off staying and refining his game at the collegiate level, learning more of the inside-outside game that Coach Lowe favors. In the end and as much as we don't like it, if he's a top 20 pick, he's gone.

That leads us to the premise of this piece: is the future bright for Wolfpack basketball? It all depends on the patience that the administration and its own fan base can show. Lowe has demonstrated he can sell the program to a top recruit such as Hickson. The question now is, Can Lowe surround him with players of similar ilk and build a championship foundation within a reasonable amount of time?

Lowe himself must also learn. To begin with, the NBA way of doing things with 18-21 year olds doesn't work if you don't have a capable cast to support that structure and timing such a system demands. You must think more collegiately if you can't attract that type of kid and in doing so you can still build a winner.

In talking with several longtime Wolfpack supporters, the theme I most often hear is that they need to see improvement both from players and staff on a consistent basis. Clearly the sentiment is that while the NCAA appearances during the Sendek era were nice, the mood was that the program was not going to advance much beyond that. With the program clearly back in a full-fledged rebuilding mode, the patience once again will be tested. Lowe will need at least three recruiting classes to show proof that improvement is being made.

The blessing of last years postseason stunning run to the ACC final and into the NIT really was a curse in many ways. The expectations across the board, including my own, were clearly overblown. The disappointing results of this year are just that. Disappointing. Only if Lowe and his staff make the proper adjustments on the court and off the court can things begin to be fixed. The chemistry on this team has been non-existent for most if not all of this season. The kumbaya that must take place is the day after this season is over. The first message for next seasons team must be delivered in a quick and very clear manner.

Either wear the Red and White with pride or don't let the door hit you on the way out.

2/26/2008 8:20:48 PM

go vandy

2/26/2008 9:06:12 PM

23-9 Vandy with 10 min left if 1st

2/26/2008 9:30:08 PM

hmmm tenn #1 for a week? Vandys court is awesome tho with the students at eye level with the court it seems and the coaches in teh corners

2/26/2008 11:07:23 PM

damnit. They're not supposed to lose to Vandy. They're supposed to lose to kentucky at home on saturday.

2/26/2008 11:14:14 PM

69-64 Vandy 1:20 left

2/26/2008 11:19:25 PM

i really dislike everything about that court

2/26/2008 11:20:18 PM

Sid's red coat >>>>> that orange shit Pearl has on.

2/26/2008 11:21:34 PM

lmfao at the cops with camcorders

jesus christ what's so bad about a court rush

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:22 PM. Reason : i mean i know they get fined and stuff.. err i think they do?]

2/26/2008 11:22:33 PM

I know they would for football. Don't know about bball

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:23 PM. Reason : .]

2/26/2008 11:23:11 PM

the only thing bad about this is that UNC will probably be number 1 again now.. fuck that

2/26/2008 11:25:15 PM

^indeed they will

2/26/2008 11:28:06 PM

Game Commies

2/26/2008 11:28:26 PM

just run over the fucking cops.

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:29 PM. Reason : ]

2/26/2008 11:28:29 PM

#1...for a day....Was this a Make a Wish thing???

2/26/2008 11:28:32 PM

nahhh i think they will lose this week

at least i hope they do

2/26/2008 11:28:37 PM

2/26/2008 11:28:39 PM

it just feels wrong without the crowd rush

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:29 PM. Reason : ^3 lol]

2/26/2008 11:29:21 PM

where's jaybee at? crying and rubbing a bruce pearl bobblehead?

2/26/2008 11:30:43 PM

ABORT THE FETAL POSITION

2/26/2008 11:31:40 PM

nice #1 ranking Vols........was it a full 48 hours??

2/26/2008 11:31:43 PM

gaybee said they'd probably lose to Vandy. And how the fuck can a #1 team shoot like shit at the free throw line.

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:36 PM. Reason : ]

2/26/2008 11:35:24 PM

gaybee

2/26/2008 11:36:19 PM

I'm not cryin', but I do feel pretty bad. Won't be getting a bragging phone call from my grandparents tonight though. Still this is the best season UT has had in a long while and I'm still proud of 'em. Get 'em in the SEC Tournament!

2/26/2008 11:36:20 PM

^^^see Memphis all year

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:36 PM. Reason : ^s]

2/26/2008 11:36:33 PM

Yes the SEC will fine schools if they rush the field or the court. It happened to Vanderbilt last year when they upset #1 Florida. I think it's stupid though. I mean you can have a couple of police there, but sometimes those 10 or so cops aren't going to be able to stop a couple thousand amped up, crazy college kids. I'm glad that the ACC still allows schools to rush the field/court.

I hope that they don't punish Tennessee too much for this loss. They just came off a very tough and tiring game on the road against an in-state rival who also happens to be very good. Then they have to go to on the road and face another very good in-state rival. Throw in the fact that it is one of the oddest buildings in college basketball and you have a very tough feat to pull off. I mean those baskets are weird. The court and the way it's set-up is weird, especially with the benches situated on the baselines, which definitely had an impact on Pearl being able to communicate with his players early on. And everyone saw how knocking off a #1 team in that building isn't new. Vandy has done it six times. I bet you if North Carolina loses @ Duke they won't drop too far.

2/26/2008 11:48:39 PM

All credit to Vandy. That gym is hard as hell to win at and Vandy was all jacked up to play Tennessee. Got out by 14 early and it was just too much to overcome.

Playing at #1 Memphis on Saturday and #14 Vandy on Tuesday was too much to handle.

Disappointing but expected.

Anyways, Go vols!

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:54 PM. Reason : ,]

2/26/2008 11:53:44 PM

well that was shortlived.

2/26/2008 11:55:24 PM

Quote :

"nahhh i think they will lose this week at least i hope they do "

Unfortunately they only have one game and it's against a TERRIBLE BCU team.

[Edited on February 26, 2008 at 11:59 PM. Reason : i think most people had the feeling vandy would win tonight...]

2/26/2008 11:58:28 PM

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! I DRINK IT UP!

2/27/2008 12:03:06 AM

2/27/2008 1:09:32 PM

Maybe we should start discussing next year's team. We will again be returning 4 of 5 starters, with Grant being lost to graduation. We also lose walk-on Chad Williams fwiw. One somewhat possible loss maybe Hickson to the NBA, but I kind of doubt it. Also a very unlikely, but still possible loss will be Costner. Just saw today that he will be graduating I think in the summer, which means he might opt out of his eligibility to go play overseas. Hopefully he comes back for some graduate studies and finishes out his final two years of eligibility. I mean he could go and get a master's degree for free which would be great for him down the line in terms of landing a good job and making plenty of money.

Returning players:
Sr - PF/C - McCauley
Sr - SG - Fells
Sr - SF - Harris
Jr - PF - Costner
Jr - SG - Ferguson
Jr - SF/PF - Horner
Jr - PG - Degand
Jr - PG/SG - Johnson
So - PF/C - Hickson
So - PG - Gonzalez
So - PF - Smith
So - SG - Beard
Fr - SG/SF - Thomas
Fr - SG/SF - Williams
Fr - PG/SG - Mays


So who takes Grants spot in the starting lineup? Horner, Thomas, or Williams? Perhaps if Costner loses some weight and gets faster he could take over the 3. The one thing though that everyone will be talking about again is who will be the starting PG? Degand's injury cost him experience. Javi has been getting better as shown by getting 9 assists in the recent UNC game. Johnson has a play or two every game where you think "why can't he do that more often?" For example in the FSU game his baseline drive for an easy layup was pretty nice. I wish I could see more of that out of him. Also how does Julius Mays figure into the backcourt lineup.

2/27/2008 11:03:55 PM

^ Costner is listed as the class of '09 on facebook. He's not going anywhere.

2/28/2008 9:15:11 AM

Well, if we don't win our last game we are officially out of the ACC/Big 10 challenge next year... is that a positive?

3/1/2008 2:26:33 PM

double

[Edited on March 1, 2008 at 2:28 PM. Reason : X]

3/1/2008 2:28:05 PM

big east basketball sucks

3/1/2008 2:41:25 PM

blake griffin gets lost in all the beasley hype...but okla is putting a HURTING on a&m

3/1/2008 3:18:44 PM

lol, i watched like 5-8 minutes of the first half, A&M never scored while I was watching, I come back after halftime and there is ~17 minutes to go in the 2nd half and they are still stuck on 10 points. THAT is some NC State shit

3/1/2008 3:33:26 PM