Dodger Hall Of Famer Duke Snider passed away at the age of 84 over the weekend. He was a career .295 hitter with 407 career home runs. He is the Dodgers franchise leader. He's the Dodgers franchise leader in home runs and RBIs. Duke was the most famous Brooklyn Dodger of them all, and moved with the team to Los Angeles. He hit the last ever home run at Ebbett's Field in Brooklyn, and won 2 World Series. He led all hitters in home runs and RBIs in the decade of the 1950's.
Another great one passes away. Now of the three legendary center fielders to play in New York at the same time, only Willie Mays is still alive. Mickie Mantle passed away in 1995. Years of alcoholism and liver damage took him early.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Jeremy may have moved but the sports world didn't go anywhere
Now that I'm not packing, hauling, or unpacking possessions I can get back to the recent sports that passed uncommented upon.
NC State has played twice while I had my hands full with moving. They lost to UNC and beat Georgia Tech.
State played pretty well against UNC, but UNC executed better in the second half. They're the more talented team, especially with Richard Howell missing the game with a concussion, and beat State 75-63.
CJ Leslie had 13 points and 8 rebounds for State. Tracy Smith had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Lorenzo Brown had a very nice all around game. He had 11 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Ryan Harrow had 8 points and 4 assists. Jordan Vandenberg, who had played only 16 minutes in the previous 13 games got the extra minutes with Howell out. Deshawn Painter didn't play at all. Vandenberg had a surprising 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks. Certainly not Howell, but he showed on his 2 dunks how to get involved in the flow of the offense for a change, so they weren't offensive rebounds over a much smaller man for once. That showed that some more minutes could be coming Vandenberg's way, as he was effective in the 15 minutes he got.
Once again a big downfall for State was Scott Wood being bottled up. He managed only 3 shots all game, and scored only 3 points on 1 three pointer. He's too good of a shooter for State to be able to let him get taken out of the game. Once he shoots into a rhythm he can be deadly. We'll just call that foreshadowing heading into the Georgia Tech game.
Hosting Georgia Tech Saturday State won 79-74. Scott Wood scored a season high 20 points. He had 6 in the last 2 minutes, on a steal and layup and 4 free throws as State worked to hold off a Georgia Tech rally. Tracy Smith had 18 points. Lorenzo Brown scored 13 and had 3 assists. Ryan Harrow had 10 points 4 rebounds and a couple assists. Jordan Vandenberg got 16 minutes of playing time and scored 8 points, which may be a career high, on 4-4 shooting. He also had 3 rebounds. Richard Howell returned to the lineup. While he only had 3 points, he had 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Deshawn Painter didn't play at all again. I'm not sure why.
State shot 50% from the floor for the game, even with CJ Leslie shooting only 1-10 for 3 points. As seems to have become the trend, if Leslie isn't shooting well everything else falls apart too as frustration sets in. He only added 2 rebounds. He was 1-4 from the free throw line and played only 20 minutes.
But State won. They're 5-9 in the ACC and 15-13 on the season. At this point they're just trying to finish with a .500 or better record to be NIT eligible. They travel to Virginia and close the season hosting FSU. I'd like to think 2 wins can happen. State on the road is iffy but Virginia is 14-14 on the season. FSU comes to Raleigh with its leading scorer out for the year, on Senior Day for Tracy Smith and Javier Gonzalez, so I'd like to think State can rise to the occasion and win that one.
NC State has played twice while I had my hands full with moving. They lost to UNC and beat Georgia Tech.
State played pretty well against UNC, but UNC executed better in the second half. They're the more talented team, especially with Richard Howell missing the game with a concussion, and beat State 75-63.
CJ Leslie had 13 points and 8 rebounds for State. Tracy Smith had 12 points and 7 rebounds. Lorenzo Brown had a very nice all around game. He had 11 points, 8 assists, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Ryan Harrow had 8 points and 4 assists. Jordan Vandenberg, who had played only 16 minutes in the previous 13 games got the extra minutes with Howell out. Deshawn Painter didn't play at all. Vandenberg had a surprising 4 points, 3 rebounds and 3 blocks. Certainly not Howell, but he showed on his 2 dunks how to get involved in the flow of the offense for a change, so they weren't offensive rebounds over a much smaller man for once. That showed that some more minutes could be coming Vandenberg's way, as he was effective in the 15 minutes he got.
Once again a big downfall for State was Scott Wood being bottled up. He managed only 3 shots all game, and scored only 3 points on 1 three pointer. He's too good of a shooter for State to be able to let him get taken out of the game. Once he shoots into a rhythm he can be deadly. We'll just call that foreshadowing heading into the Georgia Tech game.
Hosting Georgia Tech Saturday State won 79-74. Scott Wood scored a season high 20 points. He had 6 in the last 2 minutes, on a steal and layup and 4 free throws as State worked to hold off a Georgia Tech rally. Tracy Smith had 18 points. Lorenzo Brown scored 13 and had 3 assists. Ryan Harrow had 10 points 4 rebounds and a couple assists. Jordan Vandenberg got 16 minutes of playing time and scored 8 points, which may be a career high, on 4-4 shooting. He also had 3 rebounds. Richard Howell returned to the lineup. While he only had 3 points, he had 9 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. Deshawn Painter didn't play at all again. I'm not sure why.
State shot 50% from the floor for the game, even with CJ Leslie shooting only 1-10 for 3 points. As seems to have become the trend, if Leslie isn't shooting well everything else falls apart too as frustration sets in. He only added 2 rebounds. He was 1-4 from the free throw line and played only 20 minutes.
But State won. They're 5-9 in the ACC and 15-13 on the season. At this point they're just trying to finish with a .500 or better record to be NIT eligible. They travel to Virginia and close the season hosting FSU. I'd like to think 2 wins can happen. State on the road is iffy but Virginia is 14-14 on the season. FSU comes to Raleigh with its leading scorer out for the year, on Senior Day for Tracy Smith and Javier Gonzalez, so I'd like to think State can rise to the occasion and win that one.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
some college baseball news that pinged my attention
The "Ping" of the aluminum bat won't be quite the same this year. To me that is the most obnoxious sound in sports, rivaled only by the stupid "Get in the hole!" yell you always hear during putts on the PGA Tour. I've never heard anyone scream "Get in the basket!!" on a basketball shot. But that's a rant for a different time.
College baseball season has just started. I don't know about other games but NC State has played 3 games so far. I read that the NCAA had switched over to new aluminum bats that behave more like wood. Apparently they cut the sweet spot down to 5% of a traditional aluminum bat. That's comparable to a wooden bat, where the sweet spot is on the heart of the barrel near the trademark. Maximum contact, maximum transfer of the bat force to the ball, maximum drive. On an old aluminum bat the sweet spot is pretty much "the bat".
I read that NC State's baseball coach said he'd already seen differences in their pre-season practices. Balls that would hit the scoreboard significantly over the fence last year were barely making it to the fence, if that, this year.
I've always hated the aluminum bats. Guys didn't have to learn to hit because if you get the bat on the ball you have a chance. It's hard to get jammed. You're certainly not going to hit an inside pitch off the handle and break your bat. The transition to hitting with wood in the pros is hard for some guys.
Pitchers get to actually learn to pitch. You can totally jam a guy in college and give up a home run. In the pros you can break his bat and induce a weakly hit ball.
The new bats are alot less dangerous. I think physics studies found that a ball hit straight back to the mound off a pitch thrown in the mid to upper 90's, which would be the speed of an elite college pitcher who's going to be a major league prospect, returns at the pitcher at about 140 miles per hour. After his pitching motion and stride a pitcher is only about 55-56 feet from the plate. It was determined that at that speed a pitcher couldn't possibly move his glove fast enough to deflect a ball right back at him, if it was hit back as hard as it could be. If that hits in the head you're talking about not just the end of a career but the end of a life.
There have been several scary injuries to pitchers on comebackers in the Majors the last few years. Lucky no permanent injury resulted though I think one guy was rattled enough as a result that he's never quite had the same pitching confidence out there. It could have been worse with aluminum because the balls are hit even harder.
College baseball season has just started. I don't know about other games but NC State has played 3 games so far. I read that the NCAA had switched over to new aluminum bats that behave more like wood. Apparently they cut the sweet spot down to 5% of a traditional aluminum bat. That's comparable to a wooden bat, where the sweet spot is on the heart of the barrel near the trademark. Maximum contact, maximum transfer of the bat force to the ball, maximum drive. On an old aluminum bat the sweet spot is pretty much "the bat".
I read that NC State's baseball coach said he'd already seen differences in their pre-season practices. Balls that would hit the scoreboard significantly over the fence last year were barely making it to the fence, if that, this year.
I've always hated the aluminum bats. Guys didn't have to learn to hit because if you get the bat on the ball you have a chance. It's hard to get jammed. You're certainly not going to hit an inside pitch off the handle and break your bat. The transition to hitting with wood in the pros is hard for some guys.
Pitchers get to actually learn to pitch. You can totally jam a guy in college and give up a home run. In the pros you can break his bat and induce a weakly hit ball.
The new bats are alot less dangerous. I think physics studies found that a ball hit straight back to the mound off a pitch thrown in the mid to upper 90's, which would be the speed of an elite college pitcher who's going to be a major league prospect, returns at the pitcher at about 140 miles per hour. After his pitching motion and stride a pitcher is only about 55-56 feet from the plate. It was determined that at that speed a pitcher couldn't possibly move his glove fast enough to deflect a ball right back at him, if it was hit back as hard as it could be. If that hits in the head you're talking about not just the end of a career but the end of a life.
There have been several scary injuries to pitchers on comebackers in the Majors the last few years. Lucky no permanent injury resulted though I think one guy was rattled enough as a result that he's never quite had the same pitching confidence out there. It could have been worse with aluminum because the balls are hit even harder.
NC State's Sunday loss at Maryland broke the camel's back
The camel's back had been terminally cracked for some time. To have any NCAA hopes at all shy of winning the ACC Championship I believe State needed to win out in the regular season then make it at the very least to the ACC Tournament Championship game. Along the way that meant beating Maryland at Maryland, a place they haven't really played well at in years, and beat UNC. Plus probably having to beat UNC and/or Duke in the ACC Tournament just to get to the championship game. Tall order for all that. Near impossible.
And it ended at Maryland. State played pretty well but fell 87-80. They were tied at 71 but got sloppy and let Maryland go on a 7-0 run, from which State could never recover.
Tracy Smith had 19 points. CJ Leslie had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Scott Wood had 15 points, hitting 5 3-pointers. Lorenzo Brown added 8 assists to go along with 8 points.
But they were hurt by Richard Howell going out with an injury 2 minutes into the game. He'll also miss the UNC game tonight. Then the poor shots and turnovers late doomed them. State falls to 4-8 in the ACC, 14-12 overall. Now at best they can finish 8-8 in the ACC at best. With no marquee wins (though to get to 8-8 they'd have to beat UNC so that would be one) that's not going to get an at-large bid this year, even with the new 68 team tournament. So it's another year of "Win the ACC championship or bust). State has a knack for making some big runs. Sidney Lowe has gotten them to Sunday a couple times. But they've never won it.
And it ended at Maryland. State played pretty well but fell 87-80. They were tied at 71 but got sloppy and let Maryland go on a 7-0 run, from which State could never recover.
Tracy Smith had 19 points. CJ Leslie had 18 points and 8 rebounds. Scott Wood had 15 points, hitting 5 3-pointers. Lorenzo Brown added 8 assists to go along with 8 points.
But they were hurt by Richard Howell going out with an injury 2 minutes into the game. He'll also miss the UNC game tonight. Then the poor shots and turnovers late doomed them. State falls to 4-8 in the ACC, 14-12 overall. Now at best they can finish 8-8 in the ACC at best. With no marquee wins (though to get to 8-8 they'd have to beat UNC so that would be one) that's not going to get an at-large bid this year, even with the new 68 team tournament. So it's another year of "Win the ACC championship or bust). State has a knack for making some big runs. Sidney Lowe has gotten them to Sunday a couple times. But they've never won it.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
NC State beat Clemson tonight
For the second straight game State played two halves of pretty good basketball. They didn't look quite as good as against Wake, but then Clemson's a much better team especially on defense.
State put together a nice little run, fueled by 6 Javier Gonzalez points, to cut a 9 point deficit down to 2 at the half. They then put together another nice little run mid-way through the second half to go from down 4 to up 4, and kept Clemson at bay from then on. The final was 69-61.
The player of the game was CJ Leslie. He again had an outstanding game, where he displayed a lot of energy and solid shot selection. He had 18 points, 14 in the first half, and 10 rebounds. Leslie came into the game having hit only 3-17 3-pointers. He was 2-3 in this game. Both were good open looks within the rhythm and flow of the offense. He was able to use the fact that jumpers were falling for him to then fake the outside shot and put the ball on the floor for a closer shot.
Tracy Smith had 14 points and 8 rebounds. 12 of his points were in the second half. He carried the load in the second half, while Leslie was more of a second half force on the glass, including some huge offensive rebounds that allowed State to keep burning clock with a 4 point lead or so and less than 4 to play
Javier Gonzalez had 11 points to go along with 3 assists. I think the 11 points may well be a season high for Gonzalez.
Richard Howell added 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Overall State didn't get a lot of offense from other guys, though guys stepped up at key times. Scott Wood had only 5 points but they came on back to back possessions in the second half when State went its run to take the lead back. CJ Williams also chipped in his 4 points in the same run.
With the win State is now 4-7 in the ACC and 14-10 overall.
State put together a nice little run, fueled by 6 Javier Gonzalez points, to cut a 9 point deficit down to 2 at the half. They then put together another nice little run mid-way through the second half to go from down 4 to up 4, and kept Clemson at bay from then on. The final was 69-61.
The player of the game was CJ Leslie. He again had an outstanding game, where he displayed a lot of energy and solid shot selection. He had 18 points, 14 in the first half, and 10 rebounds. Leslie came into the game having hit only 3-17 3-pointers. He was 2-3 in this game. Both were good open looks within the rhythm and flow of the offense. He was able to use the fact that jumpers were falling for him to then fake the outside shot and put the ball on the floor for a closer shot.
Tracy Smith had 14 points and 8 rebounds. 12 of his points were in the second half. He carried the load in the second half, while Leslie was more of a second half force on the glass, including some huge offensive rebounds that allowed State to keep burning clock with a 4 point lead or so and less than 4 to play
Javier Gonzalez had 11 points to go along with 3 assists. I think the 11 points may well be a season high for Gonzalez.
Richard Howell added 9 points and 10 rebounds.
Overall State didn't get a lot of offense from other guys, though guys stepped up at key times. Scott Wood had only 5 points but they came on back to back possessions in the second half when State went its run to take the lead back. CJ Williams also chipped in his 4 points in the same run.
With the win State is now 4-7 in the ACC and 14-10 overall.
Assholery In Alabama
Auburn University learned that the 150 year old oak trees at their landmark Toomer's Corner were poisoned. The perpetrator called in to an Alabama area sports radio to brag about it.
Authorities conducted tests and confirmed that the trees were poisoned with a potent herbicide, in a larger than lethal dose.
Agriculture experts have said it's not likely the trees can be saved, but they're going to try.
Today they arrested the person who did it. I was expecting some young kid, maybe a drunk fratboy from Alabama. But no. It turned out to be a 62 year old guy. A retired state trooper. Yes he's an Alabama fan.
You'd have thought that a retired law enforcement person would have better sense than that. When you find out that he has a son named Bear and a daughter named Crimson you start to wonder though.
Pretty much because some dipshit fan is upset that his rival won a National Championship, and probably offended by the whole Cam Newton situation, a couple 150 year old trees, not to mention a university landmark, likely have to die.
Authorities conducted tests and confirmed that the trees were poisoned with a potent herbicide, in a larger than lethal dose.
Agriculture experts have said it's not likely the trees can be saved, but they're going to try.
Today they arrested the person who did it. I was expecting some young kid, maybe a drunk fratboy from Alabama. But no. It turned out to be a 62 year old guy. A retired state trooper. Yes he's an Alabama fan.
You'd have thought that a retired law enforcement person would have better sense than that. When you find out that he has a son named Bear and a daughter named Crimson you start to wonder though.
Pretty much because some dipshit fan is upset that his rival won a National Championship, and probably offended by the whole Cam Newton situation, a couple 150 year old trees, not to mention a university landmark, likely have to die.
Miguel Cabrera looks like he's in mid-season form already
Unfortunately that looks like mid-season 2009 when a drinking problem cast a shadow over the later part of that season. Cabrera was clean and sober last year and finished second in the AL MVP voting. He's the pre-season favorite as AL MVP by many publications for the upcoming season.
But last night he was found sitting in a car with the motor running on the side of the road. He was drunk and also disorderly. He allegedly kept drinking from a bottle of scotch right in front of the officer.
Cabrera was arrested for DUI and Resisting Arrest. He apparently refused a field sobriety test but still blew a .26 at the station.
This casts an early shadow over Detroit's spring training and one has to now wonder if Cabrera's substance abuse issues of the past are going to rear up again and their best and most highly paid player is not going to have his head in the game for chunks of time.
All this happened before the new acquisition that generated all the off-season buzz, Victor Martinez, had even arrived. Martinez is in camp as of today, but already there's Trouble In Tiger Town.
But last night he was found sitting in a car with the motor running on the side of the road. He was drunk and also disorderly. He allegedly kept drinking from a bottle of scotch right in front of the officer.
Cabrera was arrested for DUI and Resisting Arrest. He apparently refused a field sobriety test but still blew a .26 at the station.
This casts an early shadow over Detroit's spring training and one has to now wonder if Cabrera's substance abuse issues of the past are going to rear up again and their best and most highly paid player is not going to have his head in the game for chunks of time.
All this happened before the new acquisition that generated all the off-season buzz, Victor Martinez, had even arrived. Martinez is in camp as of today, but already there's Trouble In Tiger Town.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Daniel gets credit for The Find on this one
http://sports.espn.go.com/ncb/news/story?id=6123302
Cheating to win. YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!
Perhaps if you made payments in the form of US currency as opposed to Candy Corn or Confederate Dollars you might be able to lure in the talent to lead you to better than a 5-20 record.
I could give you that. My checking account number for Radford's future cash deposit consideration will be forthcoming.
Cheating to win. YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!
Perhaps if you made payments in the form of US currency as opposed to Candy Corn or Confederate Dollars you might be able to lure in the talent to lead you to better than a 5-20 record.
I could give you that. My checking account number for Radford's future cash deposit consideration will be forthcoming.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Pitchers and Catchers Have Reported
Spring Training has begun! The Tigers come in with a few questions. The biggest will be who will win the second base job. Carlos Guillen isn't expected to be ready for the start of the regular season, as he's still recovering from knee micro-fracture surgery, the result of Brett Gardner's take-out attempt at second base while Guillen stood in to complete a game ending doubleplay against the Yankees.
There's some talk that Scott Sizemore looks alot better this year, having fully recovered from an off-season broken ankle that limited him most of last year. Will Rhymes showed a good all-around game late last year. Danny Worth is the best glove of the three, but the weakest bat.
It remains to be determined if Ryan Raburn will win the left field job outright or perhaps Brennan Boesch or Casper Wells will play well enough to stick on the roster and earn a platoon. Boesch hit well in the first half last year. Wells hit pretty well late. Boesch is a left handed bat, maybe not quite at the massive premium as last season with the addition of Victor Martinez, but still something the team doesn't have alot of. Wells would be the second best defensive outfielder on the team behind Austin Jackson.
It seems like Don Kelly will make the team because he can play pretty much every position on the field well, including being a third catcher. That's needed for games when Alex Avila is catching and Victor Martinez is the DH. If a pinch hitter for Avila is needed that leaves Kelly with the ability to catch. Apparently Jim Leyland has said that Brandon Inge won't be asked to catch even in an emergency like that, even with his catching background.
There is possibly one bullpen spot up for grabs. The starting rotation is locked in now that Brad Penny is in and Armando Galarraga is gone. The spot of left handed relief specialist to replace Phil Coke, who's now a starter, is up in the air between a couple candidates. Daniel Schlereth pitched pretty well in late September which maybe gives him the inside track.
Getting Justin Verlander hot early is going to be important since he's been mediocre at best in April the last two seasons. Getting Rick Porcello going early will be big too. He was horrible up until August. Max Scherzer was horrible until July.
Getting some bats other than Miguel Cabrera hot early will also be big. Hopefully Austin Jackson can pick up where he left off last year, and Magglio Ordonez from where he left off when a broken ankle ended his season in late July. The offense has to give Cabrera more help than it did last year. He's probably not going to hit near .330 like he did last year. I'm sure he'll be near .300 or even higher, but .330 is alot to ask. Victor Martinez is hear to pick up some of that slack. Alex Avila will have to hit better than he did last season, and he'll need to hit better than the offensive black hole that was Gerald Laird.
So there's work to be done in spring training for sure.
There's some talk that Scott Sizemore looks alot better this year, having fully recovered from an off-season broken ankle that limited him most of last year. Will Rhymes showed a good all-around game late last year. Danny Worth is the best glove of the three, but the weakest bat.
It remains to be determined if Ryan Raburn will win the left field job outright or perhaps Brennan Boesch or Casper Wells will play well enough to stick on the roster and earn a platoon. Boesch hit well in the first half last year. Wells hit pretty well late. Boesch is a left handed bat, maybe not quite at the massive premium as last season with the addition of Victor Martinez, but still something the team doesn't have alot of. Wells would be the second best defensive outfielder on the team behind Austin Jackson.
It seems like Don Kelly will make the team because he can play pretty much every position on the field well, including being a third catcher. That's needed for games when Alex Avila is catching and Victor Martinez is the DH. If a pinch hitter for Avila is needed that leaves Kelly with the ability to catch. Apparently Jim Leyland has said that Brandon Inge won't be asked to catch even in an emergency like that, even with his catching background.
There is possibly one bullpen spot up for grabs. The starting rotation is locked in now that Brad Penny is in and Armando Galarraga is gone. The spot of left handed relief specialist to replace Phil Coke, who's now a starter, is up in the air between a couple candidates. Daniel Schlereth pitched pretty well in late September which maybe gives him the inside track.
Getting Justin Verlander hot early is going to be important since he's been mediocre at best in April the last two seasons. Getting Rick Porcello going early will be big too. He was horrible up until August. Max Scherzer was horrible until July.
Getting some bats other than Miguel Cabrera hot early will also be big. Hopefully Austin Jackson can pick up where he left off last year, and Magglio Ordonez from where he left off when a broken ankle ended his season in late July. The offense has to give Cabrera more help than it did last year. He's probably not going to hit near .330 like he did last year. I'm sure he'll be near .300 or even higher, but .330 is alot to ask. Victor Martinez is hear to pick up some of that slack. Alex Avila will have to hit better than he did last season, and he'll need to hit better than the offensive black hole that was Gerald Laird.
So there's work to be done in spring training for sure.
NC State finally earned another conference win yesterday
State traveled to Winston-Salem to take on last place Wake Forest yesterday. Wake has decidedly been the worst team in the league this season, possibly the worst ACC team of the last several years. But with the way State has been falling apart of late by no means was this an expected win, in a game that became a game for outright last place in the conference.
State finally showed up for 40 minutes though and led wire-to-wire starting with an 8-0 run to start the game, and extending the lead to as much as 25. In the end they notched their third ACC win of the season, their second 20+ point win over Wake, and their first road win of the season, though they did beat Elon at the Greensboro Colosseum on a neutral floor.
Tracy Smith scored 20 points and had 8 rebounds. CJ Leslie returned from what turned out to be a one game suspension and scored 19 points and had 8 rebounds. He had his best game against a non-cupcake I'd say.
Lorenzo Brown had 7 assists along with 7 points. Ryan Harrow added 9 points, 6 assists, and a couple steals.
State looked good, shooting over 55% from the floor. It wasn't just that they looked good against the ACC's last place team. Granted Wake's defense makes things easier than say Duke or UNC but still, State figured out exactly what their game plan was early and went to it. That was getting the ball down low to Smith and Leslie. That was picking some spots to run and beat the defense down the floor before it could get set, resulting in some easy dunks for Leslie and Smith.
Get Leslie going early and frustration doesn't take over I believe. Rather than chucking up long threes and trying to go one-on-one starting from beyond the key, he ran the floor for easy baskets. He used his athleticism to get on the offensive glass for some points. He operated more like 6-7 feet from the basket if he wanted to take someone one-on-one, denying a ton of help from coming and leading to either baskets or a trip to the line. Leslie doesn't have a sophisticated offensive game yet, but he has some very big strong points when he works to his strengths as he did yesterday.
State also shared the ball and had motion in their offense. 7 players had assists in the game. 4 players had at least 3 assists.
Scott Wood was bottled up from behind the arc but scored 9 points. 3 of his 4 baskets were of the two point variety. Coming into the game the commentators said that something like 136 of the 170 shot attempts that he'd taken on the season had been 3's. 3-point sniper or not I think he needs to show a bit more diversity. If he frees up for some mid-range jumpers or some cuts to the basket that's going to keep the defense from camping out beyond the arc just waiting to find him. Lack of predictability may free him up for some 3's. That's not all on him either. It looked like he was moving without the ball well throughout the game (though maybe better yesterday than previously), he just didn't usually receive the ball until he was behind the arc.
At this point the NCAA is out of the question unless State literally runs the table the rest of the season and at least makes it to Sunday in the ACC Tournament. They may well need to win on Championship Sunday. Maybe a run though could save Lowe's job. Would it be ideal if Lowe could figure something out with this team, keep his job, keep this young team together and add the 5-star legitimate 7-footer and the other highly ranked power forward to the class next year? Yes. But they need to show an awful lot right now or it's not happening.
State finally showed up for 40 minutes though and led wire-to-wire starting with an 8-0 run to start the game, and extending the lead to as much as 25. In the end they notched their third ACC win of the season, their second 20+ point win over Wake, and their first road win of the season, though they did beat Elon at the Greensboro Colosseum on a neutral floor.
Tracy Smith scored 20 points and had 8 rebounds. CJ Leslie returned from what turned out to be a one game suspension and scored 19 points and had 8 rebounds. He had his best game against a non-cupcake I'd say.
Lorenzo Brown had 7 assists along with 7 points. Ryan Harrow added 9 points, 6 assists, and a couple steals.
State looked good, shooting over 55% from the floor. It wasn't just that they looked good against the ACC's last place team. Granted Wake's defense makes things easier than say Duke or UNC but still, State figured out exactly what their game plan was early and went to it. That was getting the ball down low to Smith and Leslie. That was picking some spots to run and beat the defense down the floor before it could get set, resulting in some easy dunks for Leslie and Smith.
Get Leslie going early and frustration doesn't take over I believe. Rather than chucking up long threes and trying to go one-on-one starting from beyond the key, he ran the floor for easy baskets. He used his athleticism to get on the offensive glass for some points. He operated more like 6-7 feet from the basket if he wanted to take someone one-on-one, denying a ton of help from coming and leading to either baskets or a trip to the line. Leslie doesn't have a sophisticated offensive game yet, but he has some very big strong points when he works to his strengths as he did yesterday.
State also shared the ball and had motion in their offense. 7 players had assists in the game. 4 players had at least 3 assists.
Scott Wood was bottled up from behind the arc but scored 9 points. 3 of his 4 baskets were of the two point variety. Coming into the game the commentators said that something like 136 of the 170 shot attempts that he'd taken on the season had been 3's. 3-point sniper or not I think he needs to show a bit more diversity. If he frees up for some mid-range jumpers or some cuts to the basket that's going to keep the defense from camping out beyond the arc just waiting to find him. Lack of predictability may free him up for some 3's. That's not all on him either. It looked like he was moving without the ball well throughout the game (though maybe better yesterday than previously), he just didn't usually receive the ball until he was behind the arc.
At this point the NCAA is out of the question unless State literally runs the table the rest of the season and at least makes it to Sunday in the ACC Tournament. They may well need to win on Championship Sunday. Maybe a run though could save Lowe's job. Would it be ideal if Lowe could figure something out with this team, keep his job, keep this young team together and add the 5-star legitimate 7-footer and the other highly ranked power forward to the class next year? Yes. But they need to show an awful lot right now or it's not happening.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Robert Burton decided to not be an Indian Giving Douche After All
If you missed it, Robert Burton is the CEO of Greenwich, CT based Burton Capital Management. He and his family have donated $7 million to UConn over the years. He's received an honorary degree (I'm sure he has...). He recently gave a $3 million gift to the football program and his name is on the football complex.
UConn is not a poor, booster poor school by any means. But they're making the transition from the FCS level to the FBS level. That's not easy, but they've done very well with it, having already played in 2 bowls, and one BCS Bowl, in just 4 years or so of FBS play.
Burton was pissed that his "advice was ignored" when UConn hired a new coach to replace Randy Edsell, who bailed on the team to take the Maryland job. One of his sons had played for new coach Paul Pasqualon at Syracuse. Maybe that was not a plus.
So Burton made a move that will be a Jackass Of the Year nominee and wrote a bitchy, incendiary letter to the university. He demanded that his $3 million gift be returned and his name removed from the football complex. He also said he was canceling the $500,000 year lease on a football luxury box, and sending his company executives to Syracuse for their business training rather than to UConn. All ties between him, his family, his company, and UConn were severed forever.
As I recall he also ripped into the AD, saying he was "fed up" with him and would have fired him a long time ago if he had the authority, and said that both mens' and womens' basketball coaches Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma had a poor working relationship. I don't recall if Calhoun had any response but Auriemma said that Burton's statement was false, and that not only did he not know what the basketball coaches relationship was with the AD at all, that it was none of his business. Auriemma is right on that count.
My opinions are simple:
You're certainly welcome to not donate any more money. Burton doesn't owe UConn anything. If you even want to be a dick and take your name off the sports complex, or even vacate a $500,000 per year luxury box, taking significant money away from a still new FBC program, that's your douchey prerogative. If you're that much of a petty jackass to probably set the football program back a decade with facility shortcomings that hurt recruiting, and maybe even affect scholarships, that's your choice.
But if you have given a $3 million gift, that's a GIFT. There's no taking it back. That money has been spent already. Does he honestly expect the university to start taking away some kids' financial aid, scholarships, technology upgrades, etc. to find the money from elsewhere to give back $3 million. It's not like you can just tear down the sports complex and call it even.
Giving a lot of money to a university or a sports program makes you a booster. It doesn't make you a Co-Athletic Director or a Co-Head Football coach. You have no say and no input in how the university and team conducts its business. Apparently his contribution to the school wasn't meant as a gift. It was meant to buy into a Sports Team General Manager Fantasy. If you want to own a sports team go buy one, period. The Buffalo Bills are probably on clearance sale.
Burton's main beef was that he wanted UConn to hire the University of Florida's former offensive coordinator and they didn't. As it turned out UConn hadn't offered the guy the job because he had already just taken the head coaching job at Temple. Trying to hire the brand new head coach immediately away from another school is in extremely poor taste, especially given that UConn and Temple are pretty close together they probably have an institutional working relationship. UConn didn't pull the dick move, so Burton apparently did, and was planning on crushing the football program back to the Stone Age I guess.
ESPN reported today that the UConn Board of Trustees and its new university president came to pay Burton a visit. I guess he got enough ass kissing to sooth his massive ego and decided that he was backing off all of his demands. I wonder if the university powers said "Yessa Mastah, we'll sho' listen to ya nex' time!" or if they said "Your money is welcome, but you're directives are not. Go be CEO of your company and let the people qualified to run a university athletics program run theirs."
I wonder if the guy even has a clue that he overstepped himself there.
UConn is not a poor, booster poor school by any means. But they're making the transition from the FCS level to the FBS level. That's not easy, but they've done very well with it, having already played in 2 bowls, and one BCS Bowl, in just 4 years or so of FBS play.
Burton was pissed that his "advice was ignored" when UConn hired a new coach to replace Randy Edsell, who bailed on the team to take the Maryland job. One of his sons had played for new coach Paul Pasqualon at Syracuse. Maybe that was not a plus.
So Burton made a move that will be a Jackass Of the Year nominee and wrote a bitchy, incendiary letter to the university. He demanded that his $3 million gift be returned and his name removed from the football complex. He also said he was canceling the $500,000 year lease on a football luxury box, and sending his company executives to Syracuse for their business training rather than to UConn. All ties between him, his family, his company, and UConn were severed forever.
As I recall he also ripped into the AD, saying he was "fed up" with him and would have fired him a long time ago if he had the authority, and said that both mens' and womens' basketball coaches Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma had a poor working relationship. I don't recall if Calhoun had any response but Auriemma said that Burton's statement was false, and that not only did he not know what the basketball coaches relationship was with the AD at all, that it was none of his business. Auriemma is right on that count.
My opinions are simple:
You're certainly welcome to not donate any more money. Burton doesn't owe UConn anything. If you even want to be a dick and take your name off the sports complex, or even vacate a $500,000 per year luxury box, taking significant money away from a still new FBC program, that's your douchey prerogative. If you're that much of a petty jackass to probably set the football program back a decade with facility shortcomings that hurt recruiting, and maybe even affect scholarships, that's your choice.
But if you have given a $3 million gift, that's a GIFT. There's no taking it back. That money has been spent already. Does he honestly expect the university to start taking away some kids' financial aid, scholarships, technology upgrades, etc. to find the money from elsewhere to give back $3 million. It's not like you can just tear down the sports complex and call it even.
Giving a lot of money to a university or a sports program makes you a booster. It doesn't make you a Co-Athletic Director or a Co-Head Football coach. You have no say and no input in how the university and team conducts its business. Apparently his contribution to the school wasn't meant as a gift. It was meant to buy into a Sports Team General Manager Fantasy. If you want to own a sports team go buy one, period. The Buffalo Bills are probably on clearance sale.
Burton's main beef was that he wanted UConn to hire the University of Florida's former offensive coordinator and they didn't. As it turned out UConn hadn't offered the guy the job because he had already just taken the head coaching job at Temple. Trying to hire the brand new head coach immediately away from another school is in extremely poor taste, especially given that UConn and Temple are pretty close together they probably have an institutional working relationship. UConn didn't pull the dick move, so Burton apparently did, and was planning on crushing the football program back to the Stone Age I guess.
ESPN reported today that the UConn Board of Trustees and its new university president came to pay Burton a visit. I guess he got enough ass kissing to sooth his massive ego and decided that he was backing off all of his demands. I wonder if the university powers said "Yessa Mastah, we'll sho' listen to ya nex' time!" or if they said "Your money is welcome, but you're directives are not. Go be CEO of your company and let the people qualified to run a university athletics program run theirs."
I wonder if the guy even has a clue that he overstepped himself there.
Friday, February 11, 2011
finally some good news for Barry Bonds
Bonds is now charged with only 5 felony counts in his upcoming....eventually...trial. That's better than 11...I guess.
Still though, the biggest reason that this attention is coming down and this trial is taking place, other than being a career maker for the federal agents making the case, is that Barry Bonds is guilty of Being A Dick.
Still though, the biggest reason that this attention is coming down and this trial is taking place, other than being a career maker for the federal agents making the case, is that Barry Bonds is guilty of Being A Dick.
An article that I think hit's the nail on the head with regard's to NC State's basketball problems
http://packinsider.com/2011/02/damage-control-what-has-happened-to-nc-state/
I think I've muttered about all of these points at one point in time or another in the last month.
I think I've muttered about all of these points at one point in time or another in the last month.
The Super Bowl. Or Something Like That
More Americans watched the Super Bowl than any TV broadcast in history. I figure then that so did you. Everyone knows that Green Bay beat Pittsburgh 31-25. Aaron Rodgers has now won as many Super Bowls as the legendary Brett Farve. He's also lost far fewer NFC Championship Games than Favre, including none where defeat was snatched from the jaws of the Super Bowl by boneheaded, mind-boggling mistakes. Time will now tell whether Rodgers can go the rest of his career without the Interception Filled Ghost Of Favre's Career looming over his shoulder.
Other than that, the brief recap:
Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem.
Commercials for Doritos and Pepsi Max
Aaron Rodgers drew first Super Bowl blood with a TD Pass.
Somewhere in here the male libido was assaulted by commercials with Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr. The women got Thor and Captain America and collectively "ooooohed" throughout the land.
Ben Roethlesberger honored the memory of legendary Green Bay Quarterback Bret Favre in Green Bay's first post-Favre Super Bowl, by throwing a Classic Favre Pick 6. It was a lazy pop fly to left field, for a routine catch and recovery. Big Ben said his arm was hit as he threw. Maybe. Maybe not. But it sounded good, and somewhere out there Bret Favre nodded in approval. The game was officially over at that point, as no team that has ever returned an interception for a TD in a Super Bowl has ever lost the game.
At halftime the Black Eyed Peas brought us "Tron: The Musical". Background dancers wearing lit up US Postal Service mail crates on their heads showed us visions of The Mailman of the Future. Axl Rose broke another TV somewhere out in parts unknown as Slash played guitar for a Fergie cover of Sweet Child O' Mine.
In the second half Green Bay felt the pressure of a Super Bowl lead and apparently the mesmerizing aftereffects of the Halftime Hypno-Show, and went to sleep for a bit more than a quarter.
Clay Matthews forced a red zone Steelers' fumble though right when it looked like Pittsburgh was about to totally seize the momentum and never look back. They reawakened to score a lead extending TD.
The Packers then responded to a Roethlesberger TD with their defining drive, which burned clock and, while not culminating in a TD, provided a short field goal to extend the lead to 6.
The door was open for Pittsburgh but they couldn't convert on 4th down. After recent Super Bowls with the Santonio Holmes catch for Pittsburgh against Arizona, the Plaxico Burress catch against New England, as well as the Eli Manning-David Tyree miracle 4th down pass and catch, it almost came as a jolting shock to see Roethlesberger's final pass routinely knocked down by double coverage.
Aaron Rodgers was named the Super Bowl MVP. After the game, not having a cute little infant son nor having the foresight to borrow Drew Brees' son, Rodgers and the Pack celebrated by holding the WWE World Championship Title belt up high. The Big Gold Belt made an appearance and somewhere Ric Flair smiled and said "WOOOOOOOOOOOO".
Other than that, the brief recap:
Christina Aguilera botched the national anthem.
Commercials for Doritos and Pepsi Max
Aaron Rodgers drew first Super Bowl blood with a TD Pass.
Somewhere in here the male libido was assaulted by commercials with Joan Rivers and Roseanne Barr. The women got Thor and Captain America and collectively "ooooohed" throughout the land.
Ben Roethlesberger honored the memory of legendary Green Bay Quarterback Bret Favre in Green Bay's first post-Favre Super Bowl, by throwing a Classic Favre Pick 6. It was a lazy pop fly to left field, for a routine catch and recovery. Big Ben said his arm was hit as he threw. Maybe. Maybe not. But it sounded good, and somewhere out there Bret Favre nodded in approval. The game was officially over at that point, as no team that has ever returned an interception for a TD in a Super Bowl has ever lost the game.
At halftime the Black Eyed Peas brought us "Tron: The Musical". Background dancers wearing lit up US Postal Service mail crates on their heads showed us visions of The Mailman of the Future. Axl Rose broke another TV somewhere out in parts unknown as Slash played guitar for a Fergie cover of Sweet Child O' Mine.
In the second half Green Bay felt the pressure of a Super Bowl lead and apparently the mesmerizing aftereffects of the Halftime Hypno-Show, and went to sleep for a bit more than a quarter.
Clay Matthews forced a red zone Steelers' fumble though right when it looked like Pittsburgh was about to totally seize the momentum and never look back. They reawakened to score a lead extending TD.
The Packers then responded to a Roethlesberger TD with their defining drive, which burned clock and, while not culminating in a TD, provided a short field goal to extend the lead to 6.
The door was open for Pittsburgh but they couldn't convert on 4th down. After recent Super Bowls with the Santonio Holmes catch for Pittsburgh against Arizona, the Plaxico Burress catch against New England, as well as the Eli Manning-David Tyree miracle 4th down pass and catch, it almost came as a jolting shock to see Roethlesberger's final pass routinely knocked down by double coverage.
Aaron Rodgers was named the Super Bowl MVP. After the game, not having a cute little infant son nor having the foresight to borrow Drew Brees' son, Rodgers and the Pack celebrated by holding the WWE World Championship Title belt up high. The Big Gold Belt made an appearance and somewhere Ric Flair smiled and said "WOOOOOOOOOOOO".
Saturday, February 5, 2011
NC State's season officially rolled over and died tonight
State got destroyed at Duke. That's not a surprise. Before the game however CJ Leslie was suspended indefinitely for conduct detrimental to the team. Already speculation swirls that he has played his last game for the Wolfpack.
As far as the actual game goes, State was down 29 at the half. Duke let up a bit in the second half and the final was 76-52.
Richard Howell had a career high 18 points. Lorenzo Brown had 15 points 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Deshawn Painter took advantage of increased playing time due to Tracy Smith being in foul trouble, CJ Williams fouling out in only 12 minutes of play, and the lack of Leslie. He had 10 points.
So the last touted recruit, JJ Hickson was on a team that imploded due to chemistry disasters overwhelming talent. Fast forward to Leslie and more of the same. Can Sidney Lowe just got recruit character guys, or is there just something about the way the team operates, bonds, etc. that doesn't foster chemistry.
I don't know. We won't know. Because someone else will be doing the recruiting come March/April.
As far as the actual game goes, State was down 29 at the half. Duke let up a bit in the second half and the final was 76-52.
Richard Howell had a career high 18 points. Lorenzo Brown had 15 points 9 rebounds and 6 assists. Deshawn Painter took advantage of increased playing time due to Tracy Smith being in foul trouble, CJ Williams fouling out in only 12 minutes of play, and the lack of Leslie. He had 10 points.
So the last touted recruit, JJ Hickson was on a team that imploded due to chemistry disasters overwhelming talent. Fast forward to Leslie and more of the same. Can Sidney Lowe just got recruit character guys, or is there just something about the way the team operates, bonds, etc. that doesn't foster chemistry.
I don't know. We won't know. Because someone else will be doing the recruiting come March/April.
Next stop for NC State's FailTrain: Durham
I expect State's season's spiral toward oblivion to continue tonight in Durham. Ryan Harrow is unlikely to play again due to viral-like symptoms. Must be a hell of a virus. It's been going on for almost two weeks. It could be something like mono maybe. That hangs around a long time. Or maybe something else is going on behind the scenes in this lost season.
The way they're playing, and without Harrow, I expect another 20+ point beatdown at Cameron Indoor.
At the end of all this will be a coaching change. With coaching changes often come transfers and recruit de-commitments. I would not be surprised if one or all of this year's prize freshmen transferred. If Harrow, Brown, and Leslie did leave, and with Smith and Gonzalez graduating, next year could be an utter disaster. One of those 20 loss seasons. It's possible though if the freshman have decided to be two and done (and I don't think any of them are anywhere near draftable if they went 1 and done) that they would stay next year to get starting roles, rather than transferring to sit out a year just to play another year.
But hell, Larry Drew II has decided to sit out a year and a half to play one final year...I guess. So who knows what they're thinking.
The way they're playing, and without Harrow, I expect another 20+ point beatdown at Cameron Indoor.
At the end of all this will be a coaching change. With coaching changes often come transfers and recruit de-commitments. I would not be surprised if one or all of this year's prize freshmen transferred. If Harrow, Brown, and Leslie did leave, and with Smith and Gonzalez graduating, next year could be an utter disaster. One of those 20 loss seasons. It's possible though if the freshman have decided to be two and done (and I don't think any of them are anywhere near draftable if they went 1 and done) that they would stay next year to get starting roles, rather than transferring to sit out a year just to play another year.
But hell, Larry Drew II has decided to sit out a year and a half to play one final year...I guess. So who knows what they're thinking.
Friday, February 4, 2011
What the hell is up with Larry Drew II?
UNC point guard Larry Drew II abruptly quit the team earlier today and withdrew from UNC apparently. I can't wrap my mind around that decision because it doesn't seem to make any sense.
Sure, Drew had lost his starting spot a few games back and his minutes were down a bit from last year. But he was still playing a bit more than 20 minutes a game I believe, so that's pretty significant time. He'd also been drawing high praise with his 19 assists versus 2 turnovers of the last 3 games. Not coincidentally UNC played very well in all three games, winning in convincing fashion. They did have NC State to help make them look good in one of them, but nonetheless...
UNC is playing well and seemingly putting its pieces together. So Drew has decided to quit a team that's on a roll and seems pretty set to be making an NCAA Tournament appearance. Are they the favorite to win the ACC Tournament? No, but if they play like they have been they have a strong shot.
An NCAA Championship seems pretty unlikely, but they have talent and if they keep gelling....stranger things have happened. Tom Izzo gets Michigan State peaking and playing well come March every year it seems like.
That seems like a lot to walk away from into Basketball Unemployment. Whether he leaves now or after UNC concludes its season he's still got to sit out next season.
Unless he's incredibly impulsive and stupid there has to be more to the story. Unless Roy Williams and the rest of the team are very good at faking surprise for the benefit of the media and public it seems like there was nothing secretly brewing up there.
But it's certainly a big surprise and it throws an unforeseen and unwanted monkey wrench into UNC's building momentum. Not that Drew was a superstar. He's underachieved majorly most of his career. But he was playing well. The team was playing well. And having to majorly tweak the rotation and chemistry when things are going well mid-way through conference play is not ideal.
Sure, Drew had lost his starting spot a few games back and his minutes were down a bit from last year. But he was still playing a bit more than 20 minutes a game I believe, so that's pretty significant time. He'd also been drawing high praise with his 19 assists versus 2 turnovers of the last 3 games. Not coincidentally UNC played very well in all three games, winning in convincing fashion. They did have NC State to help make them look good in one of them, but nonetheless...
UNC is playing well and seemingly putting its pieces together. So Drew has decided to quit a team that's on a roll and seems pretty set to be making an NCAA Tournament appearance. Are they the favorite to win the ACC Tournament? No, but if they play like they have been they have a strong shot.
An NCAA Championship seems pretty unlikely, but they have talent and if they keep gelling....stranger things have happened. Tom Izzo gets Michigan State peaking and playing well come March every year it seems like.
That seems like a lot to walk away from into Basketball Unemployment. Whether he leaves now or after UNC concludes its season he's still got to sit out next season.
Unless he's incredibly impulsive and stupid there has to be more to the story. Unless Roy Williams and the rest of the team are very good at faking surprise for the benefit of the media and public it seems like there was nothing secretly brewing up there.
But it's certainly a big surprise and it throws an unforeseen and unwanted monkey wrench into UNC's building momentum. Not that Drew was a superstar. He's underachieved majorly most of his career. But he was playing well. The team was playing well. And having to majorly tweak the rotation and chemistry when things are going well mid-way through conference play is not ideal.
So long Andy Pettite
Andy Pettite announced his retirement today. He finished his 17 year career, with the Yankees and Houston, with a 240-138 record, with a 3.88 ERA. He won 5 World Series with the Yankees and was in 3 more, 2 with the Yankees as well as 1 with the Astros. Pettite leaves as the all-time leader in post season wins, with 19. Granted, players in this era have way more post-season opportunities than they did in earlier eras, but still that's 19 wins against teams that aren't expansion teams, or rebuilding teams, or teams saving on payroll and throwing Triple A level talent out there.
I liked the way Pettite pitched. He pitched like an ace. But he also carried himself on the field like an ace and had the demeanor of an ace. I like to watch guys like that, like Roy Halliday, and Cliff Lee, who now seems like he's found that.
I liked the way Pettite pitched. He pitched like an ace. But he also carried himself on the field like an ace and had the demeanor of an ace. I like to watch guys like that, like Roy Halliday, and Cliff Lee, who now seems like he's found that.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
bad but unsurprising news for the NC State football team
Tom O'Brien announced today that Russell Wilson will be attending Colorado Rockies training camp in the spring. He doesn't expect him back and is moving forward as if Mike Glennon will be the starting QB next season. Wilson has not said that he's NOT coming back, but they're presuming he will not be returning.
NC State loses again
They played without Ryan Harrow again, and fell at home to Virginia Tech 77-69.
State had another bad first half, scoring 26 points and falling behind by 13.
They made a bit of a run in the second half, but it was punctuated by missed opportunities and bad plays at inopportune moments.
CJ Leslie led the way with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Tracy Smith seemed to be bothered by a sore knee and was limited to 11 points and 6 rebounds as he missed a chunk of the second half. He did return though before fouling out.
Scott Wood had 11 points, though oddly he had as many blocked shots (2) as made field goals (2). 2 3-pointers and 5-6 free throws summed up his scoring.
CJ Williams had 9 points. Lorenzo Brown was 2-11 from the floor and 4-7 from the line, but scored 7 of his 8 points late as State got as close as 6.
But they allowed 17 Hokie offensive rebounds, 14 in the first half, and couldn't make one or two more defensive stops when they were right on the brink.
The end result is 12-10; 2-6 in the ACC. Let the "Who will NC State's next head coach be?" rumors start in earnest. I have the same feeling about Lowe watching State the last two games that I did about Rich Rodriguez watching Michigan getting annihilated in the Gator Bowl.
State had another bad first half, scoring 26 points and falling behind by 13.
They made a bit of a run in the second half, but it was punctuated by missed opportunities and bad plays at inopportune moments.
CJ Leslie led the way with 18 points and 6 rebounds. Tracy Smith seemed to be bothered by a sore knee and was limited to 11 points and 6 rebounds as he missed a chunk of the second half. He did return though before fouling out.
Scott Wood had 11 points, though oddly he had as many blocked shots (2) as made field goals (2). 2 3-pointers and 5-6 free throws summed up his scoring.
CJ Williams had 9 points. Lorenzo Brown was 2-11 from the floor and 4-7 from the line, but scored 7 of his 8 points late as State got as close as 6.
But they allowed 17 Hokie offensive rebounds, 14 in the first half, and couldn't make one or two more defensive stops when they were right on the brink.
The end result is 12-10; 2-6 in the ACC. Let the "Who will NC State's next head coach be?" rumors start in earnest. I have the same feeling about Lowe watching State the last two games that I did about Rich Rodriguez watching Michigan getting annihilated in the Gator Bowl.
more Rage Against the Pack
If only State had some sort of All-ACC level inside player that they could feed the ball down low to...
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