Unscripted: Praise for Nelson, and McCauley Needs to Play

WRALSportsFan

Unscripted: Praise for Nelson, and McCauley Needs to Play

Jan 29, 2008

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Take away the TelePrompters and give our Sports anchors unfettered time and what do you get?

"Unscripted," that’s what, our weekly analysis of the Triangle sports scene.

This week, WRAL's Tom Suiter and Jeff Gravley examine the Duke and N.C. State men's basketball teams snd their significant wins over the weekend.

Suiter has high praise for Duke senior DeMarcus Nelson, saying, “DeMarcus was playing like the guy we all thought he was going to be for four years.”

Nelson’s performance is a big reason for Duke’s success this season, as is the absence of former center Josh McRoberts.

“Josh McRoberts was a good player but he just wasn’t jelling,” Suiter says.

And Gravley believes N.C. State needs Ben McCauley, who has come off the bench much of the season, on the floor to continue to be successful.

Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe has tinkered with his lineups, but it was telling Saturday that McCauley was on the floor, and Brandon Costner was not, in the final minutes at Florida State.

“N.C. State, no matter who is in, needs Ben McCauley in there,” Gravley says.

Most Recent Comments

Fe I agree with you. McRoberts was good but the team this year seems to play much better without him causing tension among teammates.

mcroberts had a ton of potential. he was better than hansbrough coming out of highschool. hansbrough just had a better work ethic and quickly past mcroberts in all aspects of the game. the only thing mcroberts had on hansbrough was athleticism. mcroberts was good...could have been great...but i'm glad that he decided to move on.

To bring in the other half of this article...

You will not find anyone in Duke-land crying over the exit of Josh McRoberts. Apparently there was a lot of dissension (even among the players) with him around.

For the life of me I cannot understand how a player who showed such tremendous potential (possibly even more so in his own mind?) as a freshman could have crashed and burned so quickly.

In any case, Duke is now obviously far better without him. There is much to be said about "team" play, and this year's version of the Devils definitely has utilized it.

There is a lot of talent on the Pack team. Unfortunately, they seem to be like a jigsaw puzzle... all the pieces are there, but there is no picture to show how to put them together. Nearly every player that Coach Lowe has put on the floor has had a night that shows he belongs on the team, but no one is showing every night that they should stay. With a great point guard, the Pack has enough talent to run 4 fowards. But Gonzales hasn't blossomed yet and Fells is not a point guard. McCauley needs more time on the floor... Smith needs more time on the floor... but who do you take out? Costner being a year behind McCauley should be coming off the bench, he needs to accept it and realize that his time will come. But the root of it all is still point guard. There's 8 guys listed on the roster as guard... surely one of them can run the floor until Gonzalez matures or Degand comes back next year. The problem now is there's not enough season left to be experimenting. Time to step up.

I'll admit I had not followed the Pack in the offseason and was unaware of Costner's knee injury. I knew something was not right and wondered if there was/is something going on in his personal life (perhaps with his family) that no one is making public. I really don't think it is laziness, he was too strong last year to just quit like it appears he has this year. As close as the guys were last year, if there IS something serious going on in his private life, then the apparent lack of team chemistry makes sense as they may all be hurting with him. At this point we don't know and may never know.....but I think there is a whole lot more going on than jealousy over playing time or reluctance to accept new standout players.

WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan