a big basketball recruiting score for NC State

Rodney Purvis, the #1 high school recruit in North Carolina, and #16 nationally (the 5th rated shooting guard) committed to NC State yesterday.  He's a 6'4" 185 pound  shooting guard.  Scouts say he'll be ready to contribute immediately, both in terms of his skill set and his physical development.

Purvis is going to work on getting a couple other big time recruits to choose State.  Still some big time reinforcements coming in 2012, to add to some strength already in place.  I expect CJ Leslie will likely be gone after this season, so State needs some front line recruits. 

Hopefully a new coaching voice and style will get all this talent to gel and blossom rather than underachieving.

NC State makes another roster move for next season's basketball team

5'10" shooting guard Alex Johnson is transferring from Cal State - Bakersfield to NC State. He'll be eligible to play next year because he's graduating with a year of eligibility left to attend a graduate program that is not offered at his school. That's the same way that UNC was able to bring in Justin Knox from Alabama for last season.

So Johnston will be able to play next year. State sees him as having the ability to back up Lorenzo Brown at the point. Johnson was 3rd on the team in scoring, a tough of 13 points per game, and led the team with 79 3's. He hit 6 against Colorado last year and scored 26 in a loss, so he point some numbers up on big conference opposition.

Johnson is also an experienced player so hopefully he can help lend some stability.

Some good news for Mark Gottfried and NC State

http://packinsider.com/2011/05/torian-graham-commits-to-nc-state/

It'll be interesting to watch recruiting develop to see if this was just good luck or indication that Gottfried is able to recruit effectively in the state and for high profile recruits.

I think Sidney Lowe had 2 5-star recruits in his 6 years, JJ Hickson and CJ Leslie. Gottfried has been on the job 6 weeks or so and has already landed one.

We'll see if this turns into another wishy-washy commitment then de-commit. This commit came squarely on Gottfried's watch though, so the coaching change should be a non-factor here.

The kid also thinks this could bring in another big time recruit or two in the class.

If this was actually Gottfried's recruiting mojo at work he seems to be ahead of Lowe's pace. It took Lowe 2 or 3 seasons to get a major recruit to come on board.

In a best case of what this could mean for the team itself, if Lorenzo Brown comes back for his junior year he'd stay at the point and State could again have a big time scorer who can get his own shot, rather than being a catch and shoot guy, at the 2-guard.

Well well well...guess who's already had Ryan Harrow on campus?

Kentucky media outlets are saying that Ryan Harrow was on campus there. John Calipari is such a sleazy douchebag. I'm sure he was calling up Harrow doing whatever he could to get him to transfer before the office chair in Sidney Lowe's desk was even cold.

About that potentially good basketball news...

It was announced today that Ryan Harrow is transferring from NC State. That one stings. Certainly it's a loss of talent. It's also a loss of depth.

So about that 2011-2012 starting lineup and bench:

PG-Ryan Harrow Lorenzo Brown
SG - Scott Wood
SF/G - CJ Williams
PF-Richard Howell
F/C - CJ Leslie

More minutes off the bench - DeShawn Painter
Way More minutes off the bench - Jordan Vandenberg

incoming freshman Tyler Harris will also likely see time as he's a pretty highly touted recruit.

Unless there's a last minute recruit addition from Coach Gottfried and his staff that's pretty much it.

I have no idea who the backup point guard will be. Brown is more a combo guard though it can be said he was more stable running the point than Harrow last year. Harrow was flashy and ran up-tempo well but didn't organize the half-court offense very well. There's no other point guard on the roster right now. We may well see a walk on from last year stepping in to play some significant minutes. I have no idea.

CJ Williams can slide to shooting guard but he's not a point guard. Neither is Scott Wood. As it stands now the starting lineup is still talented. The bench depth is thin though, especially in the backcourt.

some potentially good news for NC State basketball

The deadline for submitting NBA draft paperwork was 11:59 PM ET on Sunday. None of NC State's rising sophomores, most notably CJ Leslie, did so. A transfer to another program is a possibility but nobody is going pro. All the media chat regarding the new coaching staff has been hopeful. A transfer would require sitting out for one year unless the move was made to Division II or lower. Sitting on the sidelines for a season doesn't improve one's draft stock so I'd find that less likely since it pushes an NBA jump to 2 years away, one for sitting out for the transfer and one more for playing a season to get back on the radar.

So it looks like next season's starting lineup should be

PG-Ryan Harrow
SG - Lorenzo Brown
SF/G - Scott Wood
PF-Richard Howell
F/C - CJ Leslie

more minutes off the bench: CJ Williams
More minutes off the bench - DeShawn Painter
Way More minutes off the bench - Jordan Vandenberg

incoming freshman Tyler Harris will also likely see time as he's a pretty highly touted recruit.

It'll be interesting to see how the guard rotation especially works out since it seems like Harrow, Brown, Wood, and Williams are it. As far as I know the other roster spots would be walk-on level players.

Brown I guess would be the backup point guard if Harrow is on the bench. Wood, Brown, and Williams are the shooting guard options, though Williams is more a small forward.

That's just a bit thin, especially for ballhandler options, unless Mark Gottfried has a rabbit in his hat for coming up with another point guard option in the rotation.

There's talent there, but State definitely won't have the depth of last season. Still though, it could be far worse.

Joseph Uchebo has been granted his release from NC State

Uchebo was one of the prime members of State's incoming basketball recruiting classes. I can't say I blame him for wanting his release. You commit to a coach and a system and when that coach and system changes it's reasonable to re-evaluate what you want to do.

There are also coaches that are going to start calling to try to change your mind about staying with your commitment when that happens. While that shouldn't happen, and isn't supposed to, it does. And rumors say that happened here. While this makes it unlikely he'll play for State it's not a totally done deal. CJ Leslie de-committed at one point last year, then re-committed. It'll still be a bigger deal to get all the returning players to stay on board, though hopefully Gottfried can save the rest of the recruiting class, or maybe add too it, though it's very late in that process.

my impersonation of the idiot portion of the NCSU sports community *clears throat*

MARK GOTTFRIED?!?!??!?! BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Way to judge the guy before he's even so much as set foot on campus in an official capacity. Let alone signed a recruit. Or run a practice. Or coached a game.

Some idiots you just can't make happy no matter who you hire.

COACH K?!?!?! BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!! HE COACHED AT DUKE, AND OF THE 31 YEARS HE'S COACHED AT DUKE HE HASN'T WON A NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP IN 27 OF THEM!!!!

PHIL JACKSON????? BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! MICHAEL JORDAN PLAYED FOR HIM AND ENDED UP RETIRING FROM BASKETBALL! HOW GOOD CAN HE BE?????

BOBBY KNIGHT???? BRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! HE'S OLD!!! AND HE MAKES STUPID TV COMMERCIALS!!

Seriously, you start slaughtering a guy the moment he gets hired. No wonder nobody wants to come coach at State.

Also not going to be NC State's next basketball coach...

That Creepy Old Bastard from the Six Flags Commercials

(this will not be an NCSU basketball pep rally in 2011-2012)


Any of these tools from Jersey Shore:

Ronald McDonald, even though you could turn the M on his pocket to an N:

Gregg Marshall apparently won't be NC State's head coach either

Marshall announced this evening that he's staying at Wichita State. That now eliminates State's supposed top two wants.

Shaka Smart will not be NC State's next head coach

VCU announced this afternoon that NC State did make him an offer. VCU made a counter-offer and Smart accepted. He'll be remaining at VCU.

The days of a hot mid-major coach automatically snapping up an offer from a power conference team are over. Mid-majors have more opportunities than ever before to make deep post-season runs. Big schools reel in the big talent, which then heads off to the NBA Draft in a year or two. Rinse. Lather. Repeat. Mid-majors get fewer of those ESPN Top 100 and McDonald's All-American players, but those guys aren't lured early to the NBA. So there is time for player development, continuity of system, etc. As those teams' success increases that makes it more likely that they might be able to sneak in an elite level of player or two. Strong veteran team plus perhaps 1 NBA level talent can make for extreme success. See Gonzaga the last 10 years. And Butler now.

Those teams have every bit the chance of going to the NCAA Tournament and making a decent run that NC State has. Maybe even more given the presence of Duke, UNC, and the meatgrinder nature of the ACC.

We may have some more serious action on the NC State coaching front very soon

State definitely needs to get the new head coach and staff in place ASAP to get back on the recruiting trail, in contact with the commitments for next year, and to talk to the returning team to prevent departures.

But now Wichita State won the NIT tonight, meaning Gregg Marshall's season is now done. Shaka Smart's season will be done no later than Monday night. If in fact those two are the top two coaches of interest for State they're freeing up to speak with around this time. So State will soon find out if Marhall or Smart actually have interest in the job.

Why I figure NC State will hire Shaka Smart to be their next head coach

It seems like State has a knack more than any school I know to manage to do things to make itself the butt of jokes. Even to me, an alumni.

So I figure they'll hire Shaka Smart as head basketball coach just because that immediately and inevitably sets them up for "Shaka Zulu" and "Shaka Khan" jokes.

"Billy Donovan Knocked on my Front Door and said "Jeremy I'm gonna coach NC State!"

Or not. But the Billy Donovan hype has kind of gone crazy the last few days. It's not like the last coaching search cycle when there were rumors that John Calipari was on a plane to Raleigh." "Caripari was negotiating". "Calipari said Yes!" "Calipari said No!" "Now Steve Lavin is in talks!" Debbie Yow has kept things more business like and kept the stories of what is actually happening well under wraps.

But still rumors had it that Donovan was in Raleigh yesterday or today and seen around campus. Other sources, including friends of his say he was still in Florida that day. So there has been some Donovan Mania. If that happens it would shock me.

Other rumors, which sound more reasonable, are that State is interested in Wichita State's Gregg Marshall and/or that they plan to make a big pitch at Shaka Smart when VCU concludes its season either Saturday or Monday. I'd definitely believe the latter. I'm sure State will make a big pitch. Other than Butler's Brad Stevens, Smart is the hottest name in coaching right now. Stevens quickly shot down any interest in leaving Butler after the made the Championship Game last year. I'd expect that to happen again though. So that leaves Smart on State's radar. And anyone else's who may be trying to fill a coaching vacancy. So do I think State will make a serious overture to Shaka Smart? Yes. So too will probably a dozen other schools. And who knows if Smart is even interested in leaving VCU.

Billy Donovan interviewing for the NC State head coaching job?

There's a rumor saying that Billy Donovan, Florida's 2-time NCAA Champion winning coach, will be interviewing for the State job within the next couple days.

I have a hard time believing that. He's got a good thing going in Florida. Despite a couple down years after the second NCAA Championship they've rebounded and almost made it to the Final Four this year.

I will grant that SEC basketball is not ACC basketball. Some of these rumors say that Donovan is frustrated that Florida is heavily a football school. Maybe so. But keep putting banners in the rafters of the basketball arena and you'll get your share of attention. I don't think Florida basketball suffers a lack of attention.

Some of these rumors say that Donovan and Debbie Yow have developed a relationship of mutual respect since she has become State AD. That seems like a legit fact. Some rumors say Donovan's relationship with his AD has started to sour badly. Maybe. And some say that he feels like he's done everything he can at Florida and he's interested in the next challenge. That being coming to Tobacco Road to slug it out with Duke and UNC 3-4 times a year. Some high achieving coaches may walk away from an established and decorated program to do that.

Personally I just don't see it happening. Some "anonymous sources" have been saying for a week that State intents on making a blockbuster coaching move. Donovan would be it. But unless the situation with his AD and his belief in the future of the program have deteriorated way beyond anything that's gone public, I just can't see this happening. Donovan turned down Kentucky a couple years ago, though having to coach against Florida every year could have factored in to that.

I do think it behooves State to come up with a slam dunk coach. Someone either with big track record or someone who's currently a hot commodity (Shaka Smart of VCU). They need their best possible chance to keep the rising sophomores in the program and to keep the incoming recruits, especially that 7'0" center who seems to get more and more positive buzz every day for the last couple weeks, coming. Nailing the coaching search could keep anyone from jumping ship. If everyone were to stay intact, State would have a core talented enough to be an NCAA Tournament team. Sure they have to replace Tracy Smith but if the sophomores grow, along with Richard Howell and a freshman contribution, and the new coach can get them to not underachieve, then could win 20 games in the regular season.

Or they totally blow the search, there are mass transfers and de-commitments and they win 8 games next year like Wake Forest. If they "settle" like they did when they got Lowe last time that could be what happens. I didn't mind the Lowe hire, bringing someone in from the Wolfpack Family with some passion. Something like that again would make the program take 2 steps back. Lowe brought a connection to the 1983 National Championship game, a reconnection to NC State legacy, passion for the program, and a knowledge of NBA sets. It didn't work out, because he didn't bring focus on defense, team chemistry building skills, an ability to transmit emphasis on the fundamentals, etc. Somewhere the communication or the ability to teach just wasn't there.

Billy Donovan may even be able to keep CJ Leslie in Raleigh and get him to maximize that considerable potential. I just can't imagine why he would leave Gainesville for Raleigh.

Tuesday evening came the inevitable

Athletic Director Debbie Yow announced the resignation of Sidney Lowe Tuesday night. I expect it was a "resign so we don't have to fire you, but you're not coaching here next season" type deal.

A search committee has been put together. We'll see what happens there, as well as with transfers or NBA jumps from Leslie, Harrow, and Brown. I expect Leslie is gone. Most likely he'll make an NBA jump, ill-advised though it may be. A transfer is also possible. I'd not be surprised if either Brown or Harrow left as well, but I personally think it's more likely that the two of them stay than Leslie. Still though, 50/50. We'll also see what happens with this incoming recruiting class and that 5 star center.

Best case scenerio, next season could be a season of player growth and some spark and improvement over this season if there's little to no attrition. Or all three freshmen leave, the recruiting class decommits, and it's Richard Howell, CJ Williams and a bunch of walk-ons and State is next year's Wake Forest.

NC State moves into the Rampant Head Coach Speculation Portion of Its Season

Otherwise known as "The Off-season". State bowed out of the ACC Tournament against Maryland, in a game where they played without passion or direction for large chunks of the game.

The end result was a 75-67 loss. Tracy Smith ends his career with 14 points. He didn't start the game due to nagging knee soreness. Javier Gonzalez ended his career with 10 points. I wonder if CJ Leslie ended his State career with 5 points, crappy shot selection, and 11 rebounds.

Ryan Harrow had 10 points. Richard Howell had 8 points and 9 rebounds.

State finished up 15-16 on the season. Allegedly sub-.500 teams are NIT eligible now, with the NCAA having expanded to 68 teams and taken the talent pool a bit further away from the NIT. But I don't see that happening.

Already the speculation about Sidney Lowe begins. Apparently an anonymous source close to NC State is saying that Sidney Lowe is almost certain to be fired and that an informal coaching search is already underway.

NC State again refuses to sustain non-mediocrity

I'd be interested to know what the all-time basketball winning percentage is for teams that fall behind 16-0 in a game. NC State didn't improve on that tonight at Virginia. They did battle back from that huge hole to be down only 4 at the half. But they never could get over that hump and fell 69-58.

Javier Gonzalez had a season high 16 points to go along with 4 assists. Tracy Smith had 10, but they were the only two Pack players in double figures. Scott Wood had 9 points. Lorenzo Brown also had 9 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists. Richard Howell chipped in 10 rebounds but was held to 4 points.

State fell to 15-13 on the season, 5-10 in the ACC.

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'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.