NC State hype train has left the station
Lorenzo Brown cheers on a teammate during the 3 point competition during Primetime with the Pack on October 12, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Oct 16, 2012
The ACC surprised most observers on Monday when it announced NC State was selected to win the conference in the league's first preseason coaches poll.
That the Wolfpack were selected to win the league wasn't the surprise, it's that the coaches were convinced to do a preseason poll in the first place. Delicious irony considering they loathe discussing expectations going into the start of the season. Although it's amusing to speculate how each coach voted and their motivations for doing so, such as Roy Williams throwing a first-place vote Mark Gottfried's way just to ratchet up the pressure that goes along with being considered the favorite.
NC State, Duke and North Carolina will likely shake out in the same order on Wednesday when the media hands out their preseason poll at Operation Basketball in Charlotte. Understandable, since the Wolfpack bring back most of what got them to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
The rational takeaway from all of this? It says a lot about the improvement of NC State's off-the-court perception under Gottfried. Their performance last March peaked the interest of national pundits and the continued transformation of C.J. Leslie into "Calvin" is the type of narrative writers lap up. But somewhere along the way, the off-season momentum of improvement somehow evolved into an expectation that NC State is in position to overtake the Tar Heels and Blue Devils.
Matt Norlander of CBSSports.com wrote last month, "things are about to get irrational in Raleigh." Except it's not the coach, the fans or the local media that covers NC State making things irrational. It's the national folks driving the hype machine for a change.
It's important to point this out because if the Wolfpack don't live up to that hype, it's highly probable the stories blaming fans for expecting to much out of NC State based on a couple weeks of great play last season have already been written and produced. Pack fans always seem to take the bait and give them what they want -- reaction and web hits.
But if you talk to most NC State fans about the upcoming season, it ranges anywhere from cautious optimism to nervousness because it's been a while since the Wolfpack received this much attention. Will the Leslie of March show up the entire season? Can Richard Howell stay out of foul trouble during crucial stretches of games? Will depth concerns rear their ugly head? Sure, the talent is there, but the wait and see attitude is justified.
...and when a fan base has dealt with more than 20 years of "NC State Stuff," it's easy to understand.
Most Recent Comments
RE: NC State hype train has left the station
The article is correct. I am primarily a UNC fan and I haven't encountered and State fans beating their chest about the upcoming season; only cautious optimism.Posted Oct 17, 2:43 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 4451
Joined: Aug, 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: NC State hype train has left the station
Is Carolina going to be perpetually good?Is Duke going to be perpetually good?
State is good RIGHT now. It has to start somewhere. Will we be good five years from now? Ten years from now? No way to say for sure. About ANY team.
Shut your yapper, Hans. If State was preseason picked in the bottom half of the ACC, you'd be going off about it. State is as good as any conference team can be in the preseason, and you're going off about it. State could win every game and two championships along the way, and you'd go off about it because we're not a "perpetual winner" yet.
What will it take, Hans? I've asked you this several times before. You're like a politician in a debate ducking a question you can't answer. Give me a threshold so I can know what it will take for you to actually SMILE about something related to NC State.
Because from what I can see, you've given yourself MANY outs to just remain a miserable State fan (as if you're a State fan). We could win a couple of national titles in five years and you wouldn't be happy because we didn't win all five.
What is it, Hans? What is your threshold to not complain?
You're being VERY unreasonable, and I think you know it.
RE: NC State hype train has left the station
- Posted by heelsforever- Posted by Deacons- Posted by TruthBKnown ReturnedI understand the excitement exhibited by State fans regarding this year's basketball team. They should be excited and hopeful about this season for multiple reasons. However, I do want to ask; if the Heels somehow manage to win out in football to go 10-2 or even slip once to go 9-3, should I assume that they've turned some corner and that 9-11 win seasons are going to be the norm for UNC football going forward?- Posted by heelsforever
How can anyone possibly estimate the norm when this is Fedora's first year with mostly Butch leftovers?
If you're trying to draw a parallel of Fedora to Gott, it fails. Gott already brought in a higher-ranked recruiting class than his predecessor. And is still getting verbals from highly-rated players for 2013 and 2014. So there's good reason to expect it to continue.
It's too early to tell about Fedora. In 3-4 years, with his own players, the team could be great, or it could stink.
Thank you!!! Well spoken!
You guys are actually going to say that one year of making it to the Sweet 16 and having a couple of good recruiting classes means the corner has turned? What if Gott can't get the chemistry right? What if kids leave early? There are still too many unknowns to crown this thing perpetual.
That's what I've been telling them, but the fringe is too loony to listen to reason. So, crown 'em right now!
Posted Oct 17, 1:30 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 4451
Joined: Aug, 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: NC State hype train has left the station
- Posted by heelsforever- Posted by Deacons- Posted by TruthBKnown ReturnedI understand the excitement exhibited by State fans regarding this year's basketball team. They should be excited and hopeful about this season for multiple reasons. However, I do want to ask; if the Heels somehow manage to win out in football to go 10-2 or even slip once to go 9-3, should I assume that they've turned some corner and that 9-11 win seasons are going to be the norm for UNC football going forward?- Posted by heelsforever
How can anyone possibly estimate the norm when this is Fedora's first year with mostly Butch leftovers?
If you're trying to draw a parallel of Fedora to Gott, it fails. Gott already brought in a higher-ranked recruiting class than his predecessor. And is still getting verbals from highly-rated players for 2013 and 2014. So there's good reason to expect it to continue.
It's too early to tell about Fedora. In 3-4 years, with his own players, the team could be great, or it could stink.
Thank you!!! Well spoken!
You guys are actually going to say that one year of making it to the Sweet 16 and having a couple of good recruiting classes means the corner has turned? What if Gott can't get the chemistry right? What if kids leave early? There are still too many unknowns to crown this thing perpetual.
Yes. The corner has turned.
Posted Oct 17, 10:36 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 1466
Joined: Jun, 2011
Location: Apex, NC
RE: NC State hype train has left the station
- Posted by DeaconsNCSU is too small minded to ever really compete nationally. All they care about is beating the Tarheels. They would trade every win they had for one win against Carolina. I mean, UNC dosen't start their season off thinking "heck, we are going to beat State this year!". Thats the difference in the two programs.- Posted by vile garbage
Interesting, they missed going to the sweet 16 by just losing to the eventual national champion by a few points and could have won that game. Get real, this team under Gottfried has their sights on bigger prizes than beating UNC. I know you are desperate to discredit them but you failed.
Who missed the Sweet 16 by losing to Kentuky? You're not talkig about State are you? If so, they lost in the Sweet 16 to KANSAS.
