Pack Must Use Height Against Seminoles

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Pack Must Use Height Against Seminoles

By J. Mike Blake

Jan 25, 2008

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Raleigh, N.C. — Saturday’s contest in Tallahassee will provide a stark contrast in team strengths between N.C. State and Florida State. Due to injuries, the Seminoles (13-7, 2-3 ACC) use one of the league’s smallest lineups when starting forward Ryan Reid is subbed out.

At any point during the game, Florida State could have four guards all 6-foot-3 and under on the court, going up against the tall Wolfpack (12-6, 1-3 ACC).

Pack coach Sidney Lowe said his main concern with the Seminoles was the perimeter game and how it would affect his team’s defense and rebounding as far as drawing his post men away from the basket.

Lowe said what State gives up on one end, it must make Florida State pay for it on the other.

“In order to do that you have to make outside shots. You have to make perimeter shots. Our bigs have to be aware enough to kick back out to the open man. Just like a team that’s pressing you, if you don’t attack and burn them a few times, trying to get them out of it, then they’re going to stay in it,” Lowe said.

“So teams that are playing us for our inside play, doubling down and things of that nature – we have to make some outside shots … If we can do that then you force them to go back into a normal lineup.”

State’s previous two outings on the road ended with lopsided losses. Since that time, his players have responded to the early difficulty, forcing two close home contests.

Unfortunatley for Lowe and his Pack, they were only able to split those home games, meaning the importance with Florida State is now magnified.

“You think about making that game up. You want to get as many as you can on the road, but you definitely want to make up for that home loss,” Lowe said.

The Pack have been unpredictable, to say the least, on the road this year. After losing at East Carolina, the team defeated a team that utilizes the press a lot in Seton Hall.
And it started ACC play with two embarrassing losses, but Lowe said he was confident his team has grown up _ namely point guard Javi Gonzalez _ since the daunting task of going to North Carolina and Clemson.

“That’s not the easiest thing for a young freshman point guard to see,” Lowe said. “I think [Ty] Lawson had a comment on Javi at that time saying he looked young and ‘I could see it in his eyes that he was a little nervous.’ And you look for every advantage you can. I know Javi’s better now, I know he is.”

One of the big reasons State played better at home outside of improved play from Gonzalez was the emergence of Courtney Fells as a scoring force.

Lowe said Fells was becoming a leader vocally in addition to taking charge on the court with his play. In four ACC games, Fells is shooting an outstanding 52 percent from 3-point range.

“He’s looking to do it, he’s being more aggressive, more assertive, and he’s taking those looks. A couple of times, he’s just going right up and shooting over people,” Lowe said. “I think he knows we need him to score points for us. He’s taking the good shots and they’re going in.”

As Fells and Gonzalez improve, so has the effort of his team. Lowe said he hoped that his team had answered the questions critics had on whether or not his team had heart.

“Hopefully we’ve made that turn and now we understand how we have to play and how we have to come out of the gates,” Lowe said. “We didn’t come out as fast last ballgame but then our guys picked it up and got right back into it. I’ve been pleased in the effort the past two games.”

Lowe said extending the toughness and effort that his team had displayed in the previous two games on the road is something he’s looking for on Saturday. Winning on the road is rarely easy in the ACC, and with one home loss already in conference at 1-3, the game could be critical in the long run for the Pack.

Lowe said his team will be looking to finally muster enough composure in a road ACC game to come away with a win that will even things up after a home loss to Georgia Tech.

“That’s our mindset. To go down to Florida State, we know what happened down there last year and we have to go down there and stick to our plan and not allow the environment to take control of us.”