WRAL Sports Fan

RE: State needs to find a way...

Shades of Sidney the last minute.

RE: State needs to find a way...

^it really is, Sid's teams had the exact same problem, no clue how to handle end-of-game strategy(not holding for last shot, not utilizing shot clock properly, etc)& and impulsive negative plays(dumb turnovers compounded by dumb fouls, fouls in backcourt, fouls beyond top of the key with other team in bonus/doublebonus situations, etc)...the thing most maddening, to me, is that these are correctable mistakes...but, the players just keep repeating them over and over when presented with the same situations, as if they are learning nothing from their "experience"

RE: State needs to find a way...

i think calvin needs to tighten it up in crunch time...he's had some chances to put the game away with FTs or shots close to the basket but just can't seem to get that "closer" role quite right yet. i don't have any issues with the coaching. you can draw up the perfect play, but it still won't work if the players don't hold up their end of the bargain.

i still think state is at least one more recruiting class away from becoming a sure fire top 25 team. 2 more classes to compete for a spot in the top 10. if brown decides to stay one more year, state will be a very tough team to beat next season.

RE: State needs to find a way...

I agree and I also disagree with some on this one. State has the talent in the top 5 as any team in the ACC. Sidney Lowe recruited some pretty solid players. Gott has recruited well too. Lutz has his hand in this more than any other coach. State hasn't clicked in closing it down mode in some games. When they get this, they can win a bunch. The bench has already gotten stronger. Lewis played very well on Sat.

RE: State needs to find a way...

Our coaching is killing us but as seem above we keep acting like Gottfried is doing an excellent job while costantly losing of late! Wake up!

RE: State needs to find a way...

Our coaching is killing us but as seem above we keep acting like Gottfried is doing an excellent job while costantly losing of late! Wake up! 

- Posted by 86wolfAlumn

Gott is doing a great job, you fraud...its time for the players to step up...period

RE: State needs to find a way...

State has talent with 5-6 guys. Their starters as as good as any in the ACC. They run the floor and pass as well as any too. They were only a few plays away from beating Miami. Gott has great assistant coaches in game time situations. Lutz is a solid coach folks. You can bet that Gott listens to him from the bench.

RE: State needs to find a way...

State has talent with 5-6 guys. Their starters as as good as any in the ACC. They run the floor and pass as well as any too. They were only a few plays away from beating Miami. Gott has great assistant coaches in game time situations. Lutz is a solid coach folks. You can bet that Gott listens to him from the bench.  

- Posted by Hokie 94

that's exactly the thing...talent with ONLY 5-6 guys. they still need another recruiting class with quality players to shore up the bench. with such a short rotation, it will be hard for the team to overcome injuries or a bad game by one of their key guys. depth will help alleviate that. more talented players will also help on the defensive end and the 2nd half swoons we've become accustomed to seeing should go away.

wood seems to be the team barometer, if he scores at least 12-15pts then state has a good chance of being successful. if he sucks, well....we've all seen what happens then.

RE: State needs to find a way...

The problem with NCSU is with the players, not the coach. Everyone assumes that the starting five with tons of experience will get the job done. Trouble is they really haven't gotten the job throughout their 4 year careers.

Sure every year they get a little better, and the hope was that this year they finally get it done - but time and again in close games they continue to make silly mistakes that should have been coached out of them years ago.

The only veteran players that really show a marked improvement in their game are Howell and Brown - the rest pretty much play the way they did when they were freshman - totally clueless about defense.

Even the very best offensive Carolina teams - did not survive for long in the tourney without committing to playing solid defense. When a team with the offensive weapons that State has allows teams like Wake, Clemson, UVA, and MD to stay close - shows they just won't survive come tourney time. Heck, they even allowed a inexperienced UNC team to rack up 57 points in the second half - what are they thinking? Obviously, they are not!

RE: State needs to find a way...

State has talent with 5-6 guys. Their starters as as good as any in the ACC. They run the floor and pass as well as any too. They were only a few plays away from beating Miami. Gott has great assistant coaches in game time situations. Lutz is a solid coach folks. You can bet that Gott listens to him from the bench.  

- Posted by Hokie 94

that's exactly the thing...talent with ONLY 5-6 guys. they still need another recruiting class with quality players to shore up the bench. with such a short rotation, it will be hard for the team to overcome injuries or a bad game by one of their key guys. depth will help alleviate that. more talented players will also help on the defensive end and the 2nd half swoons we've become accustomed to seeing should go away.

wood seems to be the team barometer, if he scores at least 12-15pts then state has a good chance of being successful. if he sucks, well....we've all seen what happens then.  

- Posted by buckets112

Wood can win games, and he has definitely done this when he's hitting his 3's. Then again. He can hurt State too. Depth is an issue. That's why I wrote two weeks ago that giving a few from the bench more minutes. When Leslie and Wood had foul trouble against Wake, they looked like any other team in the ACC. Howell kept them close. Lewis stepped up in Brown's absence and did a solid job last time out. One play or two from beating Miami. State has done a great recruiting job.