Talking points: NC State in a solid stretch of basketball
Lorenzo Brown (2) dunks on a breakaway during the Stanford vs. NC State game on December 18, 2012 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Dec 19, 2012
1. NC State's hot hand in the first half belonged to Scott Wood, who hit five 3-pointers that pushed the Wolfpack in front of Stanford in an otherwise tight start. Mark Gottfried took advantage of the Cardinal's insistence on keeping Aaron Bright on Wood by running set plays. Wood got open looks, which he promptly buried.
Nice to see, considering Wood had been 2-of-10 shooting in the last two wins for the Wolfpack.
Wood also provided a defensive spark for the Wolfpack thanks to a couple blocks and outright hustle plays. Stanford eventually adjusted in the second half and the senior picked up two more points at the free throw line to finish the game with 17.
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2. While Wood cooled off, Lorenzo Brown overcame a rough start and took over after halftime. The Wolfpack eventually took control of the game when the point guard attacked the basket, dished out assists and scored 18 of his game-high 24 points in the second half.
"Everybody has rough starts," Brown said. "Michael Jordan even had a rough start."
Fair enough, Zo. The second half was a reminder of why so many believed he was the best point guard in the ACC and the main driving force behind NC State's success this season. Since the Pack's loss against Michigan, Brown has averaged 16.5 points and 5.75 assists per game.
3. Richard Howell continues to provide simple, honest work for NC State and has quietly become the team's most consistent player in the first two months of the season. He recorded his fifth double-double in the last six games with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The key going forward as the Wolfpack approach conference play is for Howell to stay on the court. While he deserves credit for staying out of foul trouble in comparison to last season, it's not a coincidence that the ugliest games of the season for NC State have come when he fouled out against Oklahoma State and Michigan.
4. NC State had fits and spurts of defense against Stanford. They made Dwight Powell work for his stats, with his 23 points coming on 10-of-21 shooting. On the flip side, Bright ended the night 6-of-9 from the field after coming into the contest hitting only six of his last 32 shot attempts. NC State also struggled on the defensive glass in the first half.
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5. The Wolfpack appear to be finding consistency after a rough stretch against Oklahoma State, UNC-Asheville and Michigan. In notching quality wins against UConn and Stanford, NC State has shown a progression from last season in its ability to quickly get itself out of lulls in the action.
It all comes down to how you want to look at this squad. If you believed NC State was truly a top-10 team at the start of the season, it'll be easy to nitpick aspects of its season thus far. If you were in "wait and see" mode with the Wolfpack, they should be playing to their expected level -- a top-25 group with decent wins and opportunity to pad their RPI before the calendar year closes.
"Our goal is to be the best we can be come February and March," Gottfried said. "That's always the goal, to get to be a good team at the end of the year."
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Posted Dec 20, 12:11 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 1519
Joined: Jun, 2011
Location: Apex, NC
RE: Talking points: NC State in a solid stretch of basketball
- Posted by packerbacker1976- Posted by heelsforever- Posted by TruthBKnown ReturnedState had a decent night. Scott Wood showed his work ethic is paying off-shooting many, many 3s before and after practice. Lorenzo took over in the 2nd half and pushed up the lead.- Posted by baldchip
UNC will be good before year end-watch. The Acc will have 3 teams get to the sweet 16-maybe elite 8-all from the Triangle. It's all up for grabs from there!!
I'm not a bit sold on Carolina this year. And I'm not saying that as "wishful thinking". They've really looked bad in the games I've watched. And I saw Karl Hess kill any momentum ECU had in their comeback attempt with a horrible call that should have been a charging call. But that's what Hess does bess.
Indiana and Butler both destroyed Carolina. And Carolina has had closer-than-expected games a few times this year, too. It almost reminds me of the Matt Doherty year where they only won 8 games. It's not that bad, obviously. But it's not good.
It wouldn't surprise me if Carolina went to the NIT this year, seriously.
Seriously, don't you guys get tired yourselfs of blaming every Carolina win on the refs? And you call us sniveling?1??!?!? I've heard this "sniveling" about refs for the better part of 30 years now coming from State fans. Figure it out. It is because Carolina has been MUCH better all these years. They could have reversed 10 calls a game in the favor of State most years and you still would have lost the games.
As intelligent as you seem, you're an id!ot if you don't think UNC and Duke get more calls. I beg u to watch the replay of the last 10 minutes of the State/Stanford game and tell me State gets no calls. I counted 4 in a three minute span of blatant pushes/pushoffs, moving screens and reaching ins, the most obvious being when Calvin lost the ball out of bounds after the Stanford guy pushed him in the back and he bobbled it out of bounds. I believe they went on to score a quick 4 points after that and draw it to a 5 point lead. U guys get calls, don't be ashamed of it. I wish we got them. But after the Hess thing last year, I think we are going to have a tough road ahead of us. Calvin is definitely going to have to mind his P's & Q's with the officials. They just don't like him. Go Pack!
You do hint at one very important point. If you turn one cop in for his bad behaviour then you can rest assured that you will be the target of all of his fellow officers.
Posted Dec 20, 11:05 a.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 4451
Joined: Aug, 2009
Location: Raleigh, NC
RE: Talking points: NC State in a solid stretch of basketball
- Posted by Hokie 94You have a hard time in replying to someone that answers your quote. That's what I call a flaw TBK. No problem.- Posted by TruthBKnown ReturnedDawkins was out coached last night. He didn't call the needed TO's when State was shooting the lights out in the 1st half, nor when Brown took off in the 2nd. His team wasn't all that athletic either. His guards looked like middle schoolers at times. Not much bigger either. State has more talented athletes. Period. State played a solid game throughout. Duke is still in front. UNC and State could be a toss-up. MD is a team to be thinking about too. Miami always plays tough too, and are well coached. It's early. FSU doesn't have the usually solid defense at this point of the season.- Posted by Hokie 94
Hokie, responding to your comments about Dawkins and Stanford... I didn't pay much attention to whether or not they neglected to call timeouts when needed. But I'm not all that impressed with Dawkins as a head coach. I saw him interviewed, and he didn't have the demeanor of a head coach in charge of things. He seemed timid, quiet, and too soft spoken. He seemed to lack confidence (I mean, in himself, not so much his team's ability to win). I didn't think he appeared to be head coaching material.
When people say he will be the next coach at Duke, I really kind of doubt that. They say he only left Duke so he could get head coaching experience. And then he'll replace coach K when he retires. But I really don't see that. I don't think he's got what it takes to be a head coach, much less at a place like Duke. I hope he does, because I think State would benefit from Duke having a not-so-good coach. But I think he'll probably fail at Duke.
What the hell are you talking about?
RE: Talking points: NC State in a solid stretch of basketball
Agree! Who would you rather play Stanford, or ECU? Stanford is also better than Texas! Lets see who is playing better Ole Calvin or McAdoo? Ole Calvin would be my guess!! GO PACK!! Oh yeah ZO, just stop it!RE: Talking points: NC State in a solid stretch of basketball
- Posted by heelsforever- Posted by TruthBKnown ReturnedState had a decent night. Scott Wood showed his work ethic is paying off-shooting many, many 3s before and after practice. Lorenzo took over in the 2nd half and pushed up the lead.- Posted by baldchip
UNC will be good before year end-watch. The Acc will have 3 teams get to the sweet 16-maybe elite 8-all from the Triangle. It's all up for grabs from there!!
I'm not a bit sold on Carolina this year. And I'm not saying that as "wishful thinking". They've really looked bad in the games I've watched. And I saw Karl Hess kill any momentum ECU had in their comeback attempt with a horrible call that should have been a charging call. But that's what Hess does bess.
Indiana and Butler both destroyed Carolina. And Carolina has had closer-than-expected games a few times this year, too. It almost reminds me of the Matt Doherty year where they only won 8 games. It's not that bad, obviously. But it's not good.
It wouldn't surprise me if Carolina went to the NIT this year, seriously.
Seriously, don't you guys get tired yourselfs of blaming every Carolina win on the refs? And you call us sniveling?1??!?!? I've heard this "sniveling" about refs for the better part of 30 years now coming from State fans. Figure it out. It is because Carolina has been MUCH better all these years. They could have reversed 10 calls a game in the favor of State most years and you still would have lost the games.
As intelligent as you seem, you're an id!ot if you don't think UNC and Duke get more calls. I beg u to watch the replay of the last 10 minutes of the State/Stanford game and tell me State gets no calls. I counted 4 in a three minute span of blatant pushes/pushoffs, moving screens and reaching ins, the most obvious being when Calvin lost the ball out of bounds after the Stanford guy pushed him in the back and he bobbled it out of bounds. I believe they went on to score a quick 4 points after that and draw it to a 5 point lead. U guys get calls, don't be ashamed of it. I wish we got them. But after the Hess thing last year, I think we are going to have a tough road ahead of us. Calvin is definitely going to have to mind his P's & Q's with the officials. They just don't like him. Go Pack!
RE: Talking points: NC State in a solid stretch of basketball
- Posted by simplysavvy- Posted by Coach CI'm good with it! As a Carolina fan I know my team is rebuilding this year and I'm fine with it. Both State and Duke are better this year.I'm good with a 20-25 win season,top four finish in the ACC,NCAA sweet sixteen birth.That's a rebuilding year for the Heels as for the Pack that's a year worthy of a parade. I will take a tall glass of Rum (Capt Morgan) & Coke.- Posted by WolfPackInDaHouseV.15Hey Joe, Stanford is not a quality win. They are the 4th or 5th best team in the god awful pac 12.- Posted by Coach C
Stanford > ecu
Deal with thy reality however you can, pastel fan.
I suggest a tall glass of water to wash down said reality...
Enjoy!
Amen Coach C! This is a rebuilding year due to the fact UNC lost 4 starters last year while State returned essentially everybody and has their best team in 20 years. Wouldn't it just be a shame if UNC still finished better this year, what we consider a "down" year on the hill, than a once in a decade team in Raleigh?
We returned everybody? We lost Johnson and Williams, two vets at guard and we play 3 frosh at times on the court. Give credit where credit is due man.
