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WRALSportsFan

Wolfpack Must Take Care of Business

By Dan Mason

Jan 18, 2008

It’s come to this: a showdown with Miami to save the season. Yes, you read that right. Save the season and it's only January. I said it Friday morning on The Fanatics radio show and I'll say it again _

Saturday's game has all the makings of the defining moment of Sidney Lowe's early tenure at State. It is still clear to me after the Clemson game that the friction on this roster is not exaggerated. Take a look at these quotes following the Clemson debacle and decide for yourself:

“We had some guys that didn't come ready to play and it's hurting us. We just need to get our heads and our focus on the game and come ready to execute” - Courtney Fells

"After the Carolina game, they should have been ready to play the same day, against anyone, just to get that loss off our backs"- Fells

"The way we play is inside-out, so they get the ball the majority of the time. So I never thought any of our [inside] players would ever go scoreless in a game."-  Fells

“We were doubling down in the post and that wasn't part of the game plan. We were doing things we weren't supposed to do."- Gavin Grant

"Coach stressed at halftime not to break the offense. We came right out and broke the offense." - Grant

If that pattern of answers continues for the Wolfpack on Saturday, my expectation is that the unrest will grow to significant volumes at the RBC Center. As I read between the lines of the answers from Fells and Grant, the finger pointing is clearly in the direction of Lowe and not buying into this year’s system which revolves around J.J. Hickson. I would have thought the emotion of another difficult defeat at the hands of the Tigers Tuesday evening would have calmed down as the week wore on. I guess I was wrong.

Look at this nugget from Brandon Costner:

"We're a different team now and run different schemes. ... We have a different identity as a team. ... Last year, it called for me to take a volume of shots and be that main guy scoring. That's not my role and I have no problem stepping back."

That's the problem here in a nutshell. Nobody on this roster has the desire to take a leadership role. Can you convince me that Brandon Costner in that quote wasn't the least bit trying to send a message that this wasn't just the players’ fault? What player in his right mind, unless they have David Thompson coming back to play, has no problem with a reduced role?

If anyone can tell me what the identity of this team is, I, along with thousands of avid Wolfpack fans here in the Triangle and beyond would like to know. If you do, let Lowe know before tip-off because clearly his team is still searching.

For Lowe's sake and that of their rabid fan base, a W is critical to silence the growing unrest surrounding the program. Ridiculous insights on scheduling quirks in the ACC are just that: Ridiculous. Having two road games to begin the conference season is not that big a deal. Clemson hasn't exactly been world beaters on the hardwood and playing Carolina early in conference play can sometimes be an advantage before the Heels hit their typical February stride. If that quirk is true and you complained, State fans are going to applaud in February when the Pack is back at home back to back against Wake and Virginia Tech.

They say home is where the heart is. There was a saying that a certain Wolfpack team had in the not too distant past. ... One Heartbeat.

Time to apply that again, Wolfpack.