Ryan Craig
Ryan Craig is the sports web editor for WralSPORTSfan.com. He also hosts the Inside the ACC program on 99.9 FM The Fan that runs fom 7-9 p.m., Monday-Friday.
By Ryan Craig
Nov 17, 2008
It’s not often that you hear players admit issues with confidence or place a tremendous amount of meaning in beating a team in second to last place that just fired its head coach.
It’s even rarer that you hear these things from a team that is over .500 and just one and a half months into a more than five-month long season.
But Sunday evening at the RBC Center was one of those times, and it was clear in talking to the Hurricanes after their shootout win over Tampa Bay, that those two points meant quite a lot to a franchise that had just lost three in a row and four of five.
Just listen to what some of the players were saying in the locker room after the game.
“It’s nice to come into the dressing room and see smiles on the guys’ faces after a game,” Cam Ward said.
Now, this would have been a perfect time for Ward to talk about how the season is a marathon and not a sprint, just like we’re used to
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By Ryan Craig
Nov 12, 2008
Preseason college basketball isn’t about scores or stats, it’s about finding rhythm, tweaking rotations, and getting a feel for who will contribute for your team and who cannot. Sometimes the numbers tell the real story, while other times they mask the truth.
N.C. State didn’t exactly blow the doors off the “Old Barn” last night in its 85-61 win against Catawba College, so as you might suspect, my impressions about State were mixed.
First off, and most importantly, Farnold Degand looked as though he’s playing at close to 100% after returning from last year’s ACL tear. The Pack’s starting point guard only missed one out of eight shots last night and tallied four steals in just 22 minutes.
Again, it’s not about the numbers, but what those numbers meant. The 6-foot-3 playmaker showed range from three, the ability to get into the lane, and the lateral movement to keep his man in front of him and force turnovers. I was
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By Ryan Craig
Oct 8, 2008
Do the Tar Heels deserve to be in the Top-25?
I’ve heard the question posed a number of times since the new rankings came out this week, from fans and media people alike.
On my radio show Tuesday night opinions were mixed. Ralph Russo, a national football writer for the AP, said they were deserving. Adam Lucas, the publisher and executive editor of Tar Heel Monthly magazine and a regular contributor to TarHeelBlue.com , said thy weren't. Calls from listeners were divided evenly as well.
In my mind, the answer is simple: Yes.
There are a number of things to consider when you ask yourself whether a program should be considered one of the 25 strongest in the country at the time of the voting, including strength of schedule, how the team performed in their wins and losses, and, perhaps most importantly, whether or not there is someone that deserves to be there ahead of the team in question.
In Carolina's case, I can see the argument
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By Ryan Craig
Oct 1, 2008
The Duke Blue Devils are at a place that nobody thought they would be four games into the season - sitting in second place in the Coastal Division of the ACC with an undefeated conference record, and a 3-1 overall record to boot.
Expectations have changed in Durham, however, along with the culture within and surrounding the program. It is now no longer good enough to take your three wins and go home. Blue Devils fans and players alike are eager to see just how good this team can be. Well, they will find out this week when they visit Atlanta to take on Paul Johnson's Yellow Jacket team.
Georgia Tech represents a tough cover for any defense because of the unique offense that Johnson employs, a triple option-spread hybrid that is nearly impossible to replicate in practice. His teams at Georgia Southern, Navy, and now Georgia Tech, have baffled even the best of programs for years (his offense just took out Wake Forest this past weekend when the Midshipmen beat the Deacs in Winston-Salem),
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