If this was already posted, sorry:

And this makes sense ... how? (Note: Don't even get me started about barely .500 NC State team winning three games in three days and turning themselves into a legitimate Cinderella story before running out of gas in the ACC finals against North Carolina. Four games in four days? That's acceptable? Why not stagger the games on Wednesday-Thursday and Saturday-Sunday? I feel like NC State could have taken UNC if the Wolfpack weren't dead in the first half. More importantly, we were robbed of a chance to see Sidney Lowe unleash his gigantic red sports coat on March Madness. Did he borrow that thing from Suge Knight or Cedric the Entertainer?)

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/blog/index?entryDate=20070312&name=simmons

Funny stuff about Duke as well.

3/12/2007 11:37:44 PM

not that yours is bad, but this is better

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=jones/070312

dude gives us mad props

Quote :

"What we learned in Tampa By Bomani Jones Page 2 TAMPA, Fla. -- After four days, 11 games, a Cinderella run and very little sleep at the ACC tournament, here's what we learned. Or at least what I can remember. 1. Coaching is really important NC State's surprising run to the tournament championship game can be credited to many factors, but none more important than Sidney Lowe. Forget all that talk about the luck of the red blazer. Rotating the other stuff is more important. Sidney Lowe AP Photo/David J. Phillip NC State played inspired basketball under Sidney Lowe in the ACC tournament. "I changed everything else," Lowe said after Saturday's win over Virginia Tech. "I've got four pairs of pants, shirts, ties. And the undergarments." Everyone knows that clean knickers are the key to success. This was all about the brilliant offense he runs, a motion scheme that still allows his players to use their individual talents to make plays. No team shoots 73 percent from the field (like the Pack did in the second half against Virginia) on luck and talent alone. The Wolfpack's players were in great places at great times, and the reason for that was Lowe and his seemingly infinite reservoir of plays. NC State's wins over Virginia and Virginia Tech pointed out something important to remember when assembling a bracket -- when talent is roughly equal, the team with the better coach is likely to win. Lowe controlled State's run from the sideline, and that was the difference in the wins over Virginia and Virginia Tech. Speaking of that … 2. The nation should be glad NC State didn't make the NCAAs My goodness, that team looked good. This wasn't a charming Cinderella that got all the right breaks. This was a dangerous team. The last thing anyone wants to face in the NCAA Tournament is a squad that has good athletes, two strong big men, a few capable ball handlers and a strong half-court game. After watching this team for four days, I couldn't help but wonder how things would have been different if Engin Atsur, the player Gavin Grant referred to as their "general," hadn't missed 12 games with a bad hammy. Also, consider what Grant said their approach was before the Duke game: "Don't let anybody punk you." A team with someone bold enough to say that from the dais of a postgame media session is a team to be reckoned with. Plus, there's that red blazer. Yeah, I'm starting to believe in it, too. 3. Duke won't go too far … or will it? I sat behind the Duke bench during its loss to State, and the Blue Devils looked nervous from warm-ups 'til the final horn. Josh McRoberts looked to be whistlin' past the graveyard when he yelled "We need some stops!" in a first-half huddle. Only one team was smiling in that game, and it wasn't the one in blue. If the Blue Devils felt pressure in the first round of the ACC tournament against a team that only won five conference games, how will they respond to playing against a strong Virginia Commonwealth team? Add the fact that VCU has nothing to lose -- and the incentive of knocking off the biggest name in the game -- and there's a recipe for an upset. But should the Blue Devils get past that game, they would likely get Pittsburgh in the second round. The Panthers are perpetually pretty good, but not much more. Duke has beaten its share of pretty good teams this season, and one win might be enough to get rolling. At least until it (hypothetically) gets to UCLA. 4. Carolina is still an enigma Point guard Tywon Lawson looks as though he's made the subtle transition from being a freshman to a first-year player. Ty Lawson AP photo/John Raoux North Carolina's Tywon Lawson is elevating his game at the right time. "By this time of year, you should have been exposed to everything, and you're not nearly as freshman-like as you were at the start of the year," Roy Williams said. Williams also said Lawson's game against Boston College, when he held Tyrese Rice to five points, 27 less than he scored against Miami, was Lawson's best defensive game. But it was with the ball that he truly shined. He had 20 assists and only four turnovers in the tourney. The truest measure of his value was what happened when he didn't play. Carolina built an 18-point lead five minutes into the second half against Boston College, but that dwindled to nine while Lawson was out. More than ever, he is in control of the offense and in control of the team. Remember in the NCAA championship game against Illinois in 2005 when Raymond Felton picked up two fouls early in the first half, but there wasn't a way in the world he was going to sit for long? Lawson may reach that point by the end of the NCAA Tournament. Oh, and much to Roy Williams' chagrin, we learned at the end of the championship game, with a seven-point lead, that he can dunk. But what didn't we learn? What will this team do in the crunch against a real test? Winning down the stretch against a team playing its fourth game in four days, with a short rotation and a hobbling point guard doesn't say too much. The only team in the ACC tournament that would really show what the Tar Heels were made of was then-streaking Maryland, and they got tripped by Miami for the second time this season. Carolina looked more in sync than it had in a while, but there are still unanswered questions about this team. 5. Someone from the ACC will mess up your bracket Four lower seeds winning on Thursday was a clear indicator of this conference's parity. Small problem -- it's hard to tell if that's the good parity or bad. Wake Forest, NC State and Miami didn't look good very often this season, but pulled out clutch wins over NCAA tournament teams. Does that mean schools like Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech are overrated? Or is the bottom of the conference stronger than most people realized? What do I think? I think you better guess right. Other tidbits • Tyler Hansbrough's game is clearly bothered by the mask. "It affects my vision," he said after Friday's game against Florida State. For a player that lives on the block, peripheral vision is important. It must not be hard to draw fouls, though. Must be like driving with your eyes closed, you're bound to bump into something. Hansbrough was 11-of-11 from the free-throw line Sunday. • I see no way in the world Brandan Wright has ever had his shot blocked in his life. I wouldn't be surprised if he could touch the top of the square standing flat footed in socks. • It's a shame Florida State isn't going dancing, because the world is missing out on seeing Al Thornton on a big stage. Guarding him can't be too much fun. • After Virginia's loss to NC State, Dave Leitao said shooting guard J.R. Reynolds has a hip injury. For a team that depends on its backcourt, that's all bad. • There are problems with having a basketball tournament in a hockey arena, many of which relate to the scoreboard. Aside from having no indicator for the possession arrow or how many timeouts are left, the scoreboard at the St. Pete Times Forum wasn't capable of handling triple-digits, which came into play during the Georgia Tech-Wake Forest double-overtime thriller. • A Carolina fan behind me wore a T-shirt that said, "NC State is not our rival." Uhhh, yes it is. And it will be for a while."

[Edited on March 12, 2007 at 11:46 PM. Reason : s]

3/12/2007 11:40:48 PM

Quote :

"The NIT field should be shitting their pants at the possible sight of the red jacket"

3/12/2007 11:42:39 PM

GG!

3/12/2007 11:49:34 PM

Great stories

3/12/2007 11:58:55 PM

gg indeed

3/13/2007 1:42:52 AM

luv it. best article written about our basketball program in awhile....

3/13/2007 2:05:30 AM

you think hes gonna wear the red jacket to the NIT?

or is he gonna give it a rest?

3/13/2007 2:32:51 AM

I vote for give it a rest

3/13/2007 2:34:55 AM

he also called the big ten the most boring and most like women's ball

3/13/2007 2:36:32 AM

^^ yeah, i think that coat needs to recharge.



[Edited on March 13, 2007 at 2:48 AM. Reason : ]

3/13/2007 2:48:25 AM

I vote for give it a rest, too.

It was a perfect thing to wear for our big games, and a perfect thing to wear when we were heading into the ACCT and looking for a little magic.

For starters, you don't want to wear out the novelty. On top of that, when a big game rolls around and Sid is wearing the jacket, it needs to be a point of focus, if only momentarily, for the other team. You see that jacket, you know you're in trouble.

Plus, Sid's got two closets full of other pimp-ass shit to wear.

3/13/2007 2:50:47 AM

Quote :

"• A Carolina fan behind me wore a T-shirt that said, "NC State is not our rival." Uhhh, yes it is. And it will be for a while.""

haha that is great...

on a serious note...thank you Lowe for making the rival exciting again
GOPACK

3/13/2007 8:13:49 AM

Exactly we might have lost to UNC but atleast we were running fastbreaks and dunking the ball till the End. I also like that when Sid first got into the locker room he ripped into the players and told them that Lossing is no longer an option at this university and that the Herb Sendek era of loosing was over.

3/13/2007 8:52:06 AM

Quote :

"I also like that when Sid first got into the locker room he ripped into the players and told them that Lossing is no longer an option at this university and that the Herb Sendek era of loosing was over."

lol, where did you hear that? He told them that its ok to be dissapointed in losing, but they shouldn't be dissapointed in the way they played this weekend.

3/13/2007 8:56:20 AM

Yeah, I wanna know who said he said that. Doesn't sound like Lowe at all.

3/13/2007 9:11:00 AM

Quote :

"It must not be hard to draw fouls, though. Must be like driving with your eyes closed, you're bound to bump into something."

haha

and how about Roy saying before the Championship that Tyler Hansblow gets fouled more than any big man in the country and doesn't get the calls? (on 680)

I mean he has shot more free throws than anyone in the ACC....just exactly how does he get to the line then Roy?

3/13/2007 9:22:14 AM

^He wills himself to the line.

3/13/2007 9:35:39 AM

My favorite quote from Page 2:

Quote :

"Oh, and much to Roy Williams' chagrin, we learned at the end of the championship game, with a seven-point lead, that he can dunk."

Quote :

"A Carolina fan behind me wore a T-shirt that said, "NC State is not our rival." Uhhh, yes it is. And it will be for a while."

3/13/2007 11:05:40 AM

Quote :

" I also like that when Sid first got into the locker room he ripped into the players and told them that Lossing is no longer an option at this university and that the Herb Sendek era of loosing was over."

I highly doubt this.




Supposedly the only thing he said was he was proud of them and they had nothing to be ashamed of. He told them to remember how this feels so they don't have to feel it again

3/13/2007 11:16:28 AM

Yeah, "loosing" and "lossing" are not NCSU traditions...

3/13/2007 11:43:46 AM

I'm graduating this May, and never in my four years here have I heard these kinds of superlatives about Wolfpack basketball. It's a wonderful thing, let me tell you.

3/13/2007 12:25:13 PM

^We all heard these EXACT things when Herb took 5 players who were really barely ACC-caliber to the ACC finals against UNC in his first year.

[Edited on March 13, 2007 at 12:35 PM. Reason : Just commenting on his statement of never hearing positives before]

3/13/2007 12:27:13 PM

yeah you're right sidney will be no better than herb. i hope you're all ready for another 10 years of complete mediocrity.

3/13/2007 12:32:20 PM

Yeah, I remember being pretty excited when Herb came in and took the team to the ACC tourney finals in his first year. But over the next 9 years his biggest accomplishment was making the sweet 16 ...once.

I'm a lot more excited about Sid. Our players really respond to his coaching style, and he has caught on fast on the recruiting trail. He also understands the importance of the tobacco road rivalries, and it seems like our team finally believes they can compete with Duke and UNC.

3/13/2007 12:35:46 PM

I remember the Les Robinson era all too well. ANYONE could have come in and been an improvement over him. Seriously. And yes there was a lot of excitement when Herb went to the ACC finals his first year. That single thing probably laid the groundwork for the fact that he was given 10 years here. The fact is, over that 10 years, he was a drone playing crappy offense that never played to the strengths of the players. No emotion, no fire, no excitement. Herb Sendek made Wolfpack basketball boring.

Sid, on the other hand, has been exciting. He shows passion. I actually feel like he CARES about the outcomes of the games. I'm not saying that Herb didn't care, but you never SAW it. And that matters. It fires up the players and the fans. It gets you excited about the game. That makes a difference!

Right now I am more than willing to hop on the Sid bandwagon but if he follows the same path as Herb did, he would be (and should be) exposed to the same outrage from the fanbase. But if he keeps on the path that he is on now, I don't see that being a problem!

3/13/2007 1:01:10 PM