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.
Saturday, February 5, 2011
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...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)