well, i like it. if you want to play with the big boys, etc.

5/10/2010 4:58:21 PM

i like the wisconsin matchup, like someone said earlier, rather lose to them than northwestern

also in that article it sounds like lowe had no idea that smith was going to put his name in for the draft....i thought lowe had told him to in order to get advice on what he should work on

5/10/2010 4:58:58 PM

No where in there does it say anything to the effect that Lowe had no idea.

5/10/2010 5:10:50 PM

Quote :

" it sounds like lowe had no idea"

i didnt say it literally said that

Quote :

"I wasn't worried, but someone got in his ear and told him that it won't hurt to throw your name in. It was all of a sudden."

insinuating he had no idea smith was gonna put his name in

[Edited on May 10, 2010 at 5:26 PM. Reason : n]

5/10/2010 5:15:00 PM

I dont think anyone would read that as Lowe had no idea. Only you.

5/10/2010 5:18:26 PM

interesting, typically when things are described as "all of a sudden" its meant to convey surprise

5/10/2010 5:20:42 PM

For what its worth, I read it as Lowe being surprised as well. I don't think it's that big of a deal. At the time, it seemed kind of dumb that Lowe would advise him to enter the draft with no potential to even work out for teams. Seemed pointless.

5/10/2010 5:25:57 PM

yeah, it clearly meant to convey that lowe was surprised that he did it. what are you talking about?

5/10/2010 5:46:25 PM

Quote :

"last year i felt so left out"

We played in the "Challenge" this past year against Northwestern. The year before was the year we were left out. This is a good test for us. Wisconsin, although the more typical grind it out, slow Big Ten team, is incredibly good at home. They are often a different team at home. Lose to them and our RPI isn't hurt too bad. Win and our RPI gets a major boost. I also want revenge for the Sweet 16 game in 2005. If we hadn't choked that one away we would have faced off against UNC that year, and possibly could have defeated them, gotten to a Final Four and kept them from winning the NC (I know tall task considering Sendek was the coach). It's very hard to beat a team 3 times in a year (see Villanova/Georgetown in 1985).

5/10/2010 5:51:53 PM

Quote :

"If we hadn't choked that one away we would have faced off against UNC that year, and possibly could have defeated them"

That UNC team was one of the most talented NCAA basketball teams in recent memory. Stop smoking crack. They would have likely smoked us by about 20 in that game. They had 4 players drafted in the top 13/14 picks as well as two good role players drafted in the 2nd round the next year. I don't care if we played 100 times...they probably win 95...winning three in a row would have been cake.

5/10/2010 6:16:42 PM

Northwestern this year and Wisconsin next year test the ability of young guys to play against disciplined offenses. Nw made our guys look lost on defense (and the offense wasn't much better)

5/10/2010 6:34:50 PM

By matching us up with Wisconsin, hopefully this is an indication that ESPN actually respects us next year as a legitimate ACC power, and we'll have more games on ESPN or EPSN 2, instead of... the U

5/10/2010 6:58:53 PM

^^ And 1985 Georgetown was ridiculously talented too. That didn't stop Nova from beating them. UNC had just came out of a war with Villanova, and as the old saying goes "on any given day..." I said that we probably wouldn't have won, but there was still the possibility, and I would have liked our chances with Hodge and the rest of the team playing as strong they did at the end of the season.

5/10/2010 6:59:42 PM

Quote :

"I also want revenge for the Sweet 16 game in 2005."

Really? Let it go...

5/10/2010 7:13:32 PM

If we're playing Wisconsin, we might as well try to beat them, and get the revenge

It won't be sweet like the UConn revenge we got since we beat them in the tourney, and this is just an early season OOC matchup

But still...if you're gonna play them, might as well try to win...it will be a tough game though...great coach, great home atmosphere

5/10/2010 7:57:28 PM

im still pissed at herb for that game to this day, and i liked him as a coach, but he flat out screwed up pulling the players that got us ahead

5/10/2010 8:19:24 PM

If I recall, that was one of Herb's patented, "oh we're up by 10 at the half...let's melt the clock for 20 min" games.

5/10/2010 8:39:29 PM

^^^

Thats the dumbest logic ever. We should play hard to try and win that game regardless of what happened in a tournament game that won't involve any of the players nor one of the coaches that participated in it.

I can understand if a group of players lost to a team OOC as freshmen or soph. and can remember the game, but saying there is extra motivation for a tournament game from 5 years ago? It shouldn't take that to get them fired up, just being a big OOC game during the challenge should be enough. Just don't see Sid saying, "Hey guys remember 5 years ago when we lost in the sweet 16, lets go out there and win this one for ol' Coach Herb!"

And it is different when it comes to rivalries and conference games since there is a history. We have no history with them, and I think I'm more upset with our own Coach after that game then I was Wisconsin.

[Edited on May 10, 2010 at 8:49 PM. Reason : .]

5/10/2010 8:48:11 PM

lol no shit we should try to win regardless

i'm talking from a fan's perspective, not what i think lowe and the players will have on their mind obviously

5/10/2010 9:03:33 PM

At its most elementary level then we can define game as an exercise of voluntary control systems in which there is an opposition between forces, confined by a procedure and rules in order to produce a disequilibrial outcome -Elliot Avedon

I hope one team wants to win.

5/10/2010 9:42:48 PM

nice front page

http://espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/

5/11/2010 9:36:30 AM

anyone have espn insider?

there is an article in the rumor central part titled

Rumors: On NC State trumping Duke in '11

5/11/2010 10:19:05 AM

i'm sure it's another article where someone at espn read the intro to a local article and made up the rest.

but still, i'd like to read it as well.

5/11/2010 10:25:51 AM

It is the exact same article I posted in the CJ Leslie thread yesterday. They just slapped a new name on it and moved it to the next day...lazy asses at ESPN.

5/11/2010 10:33:35 AM

We can now officially dream of the lineup that Sidney Lowe can put on the floor next season. Blue-chipper C.J. Leslie, returning senior Tyler Smith, Ryan Harrow, Javier Gonzalez and Scott Wood.

And get this: Smith never even had an NBA workout because he had a busy class schedule. You read that right. A contemporary athlete put academics ahead of his daydreams of NBA stardom.

"'We've definitely got momentum,' Lowe said. 'We finished strong and with quality players coming back and the young talent coming in we're going in the right direction.'"

So, could Smith and C.J. Leslie end up in the same draft class in 2011? It's certainly possible. Leslie won't say whether he plans to be a one-and-done superstar for Lowe, or a long-term building block for his beloved home-state school.

"Only God can tell the future," Leslie told the Wilmington Star-News. "I'm not promising on anything. I'm looking forward to getting to college and having fun while I'm there."

Fortunately for State fans, Leslie's definition of "fun" includes gunning for an ACC championship.

"Now comes the hard part for Lowe and his staff - finding a way to mesh all that talent into a cohesive unit capable of winning games and getting back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006." reported a recent article on ACC Insider.

As fellow ACC coach Paul Hewitt can tell Lowe, a highly-anticipated recruiting class does not mean an easy stroll through Selection Sunday. Bringing back Smith on top of landing Leslie does mean that the Wolfpack should immediately be considered a contender in the ACC next season.

"NC State is a program that should be on the rise. With the return of Smith, the team's leading scorer (16.5) and rebounder (7.3) last season, the Wolfpack may finally turn the corner under Sidney Lowe after four subpar years. The Pack haven't won more than six ACC games under Lowe and won five last season. But NC State won six of its last nine games overall and the recruiting has finally reached a national level.

5/11/2010 10:33:48 AM

It's already been posted but here it is again.

Quote :

"We can now officially dream of the lineup that Sidney Lowe can put on the floor next season. Blue-chipper C.J. Leslie, returning senior Tyler Smith, Ryan Harrow, Javier Gonzalez and Scott Wood. And get this: Smith never even had an NBA workout because he had a busy class schedule. You read that right. A contemporary athlete put academics ahead of his daydreams of NBA stardom. "'We've definitely got momentum,' Lowe said. 'We finished strong and with quality players coming back and the young talent coming in we're going in the right direction.'" So, could Smith and C.J. Leslie end up in the same draft class in 2011? It's certainly possible. Leslie won't say whether he plans to be a one-and-done superstar for Lowe, or a long-term building block for his beloved home-state school. "Only God can tell the future," Leslie told the Wilmington Star-News. "I'm not promising on anything. I'm looking forward to getting to college and having fun while I'm there." Fortunately for State fans, Leslie's definition of "fun" includes gunning for an ACC championship. "Now comes the hard part for Lowe and his staff - finding a way to mesh all that talent into a cohesive unit capable of winning games and getting back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006." reported a recent article on ACC Insider. As fellow ACC coach Paul Hewitt can tell Lowe, a highly-anticipated recruiting class does not mean an easy stroll through Selection Sunday. Bringing back Smith on top of landing Leslie does mean that the Wolfpack should immediately be considered a contender in the ACC next season."

Quote :

"Andy Katz Wolfpack may live up to Lowe's promise. "NC State is a program that should be on the rise. With the return of Smith, the team's leading scorer (16.5) and rebounder (7.3) last season, the Wolfpack may finally turn the corner under Sidney Lowe after four subpar years. The Pack haven't won more than six ACC games under Lowe and won five last season. But NC State won six of its last nine games overall and the recruiting has finally reached a national level.""

5/11/2010 10:34:20 AM

They do however have an article entitled "Boilers better than Duke?" Might just be espn failing.

5/11/2010 10:38:39 AM

^^,^^^ thx

espn is just coasting nowadays

5/11/2010 10:42:34 AM

new Zo vid:

5/11/2010 11:02:01 AM

to be honest, i'm tired of watching high school/post grad highlight reels. i want to see them in red and white and making some new highlights.

5/11/2010 11:05:40 AM

Quote :

"They just slapped a new name on it and moved it to the next day...lazy asses at ESPN."

lol. it's even worse than i thought.

5/11/2010 11:10:52 AM

We won't play in a tougher place to play than the Kohl Center.....nobody wins there. That would be a huge feat for our young guys to pull that off. Playing them should help the RPI win or lose.

5/11/2010 11:19:32 AM

You can always get a year of the ESPN mag for $3 and get an Insider pass free.

5/11/2010 11:21:05 AM

that's a waste of $3, and of the paper required to print my issues of ESPN the magazine.

5/11/2010 11:22:39 AM

Quote :

"returning senior Tyler Smith"

ahahahahaa

5/11/2010 11:24:02 AM

Zo is fully qualified according to a number of sources... good news, but was fully expected

[Edited on May 11, 2010 at 1:14 PM. Reason : err]

5/11/2010 1:14:17 PM

^ i was on edge. that is EXCELLENT news.

5/11/2010 1:15:38 PM

Awesome, though I fully expected that (how many kids go to Hargrave and don't qualify?).

No offense to CJ or Harrow, but Brown is the recruit I'm most excited to see next year. He's smooth, explosive, and seems like he's got an incredible b-ball IQ ... just seems like one of those guys that makes everyone else better.

5/11/2010 1:39:07 PM

I expect to see a decent bit of tinkering with the lineup early on, with Tracy Smith obviously being the fixture (other players may move in or out of the lineup or between different positions). Good news is we have some talent and versatility that will allow us to give different looks.

PG: Javi/Harrow/ Brown
SG: Brown/CJ Williams/Javi/Wood
SF: CJ Leslie/Wood/CJ Williams/ Mabry? Thomas?
PF: Howell/CJ Leslie
C: Smith/Painter/Howell/Vandy

5/11/2010 1:54:15 PM

Quote :

"We can now officially dream of the lineup that Sidney Lowe can put on the floor next season. Blue-chipper C.J. Leslie, returning senior Tyler Smith, Ryan Harrow, Javier Gonzalez and Scott Wood. "

lolwut.

5/11/2010 1:54:22 PM

Quote :

"SPIDERS AND PACK HAVE MOMENTUM While Kentucky coach John Calipari was anticipating for the past month that he might lose his fence-sitters in the draft, he also knew he could still withstand the blow by recruiting at an elite level. North Carolina State and Richmond are two programs that couldn't afford a setback. On the surface, there is no reason to believe NC State's Tracy Smith or Richmond's Kevin Anderson would stay in the draft. Neither had much buzz about them, but this is an era where just having someone mention you might be a first-round pick, or even a second-rounder, can entice a player to say goodbye to school. NC State is a program that should be on the rise. With the return of Smith, the team's leading scorer (16.5) and rebounder (7.3) last season, the Wolfpack may finally turn the corner under Sidney Lowe after four subpar years. The Pack haven't won more than six ACC games under Lowe and won five last season. But NC State won six of its last nine games overall and the recruiting has finally reached a national level. "We've definitely got momentum," Lowe said. "We finished strong and with quality players coming back and the young talent coming in we're going in the right direction.'' The Wolfpack signed up one of the top perimeters in the fall with guards Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown. Then in late April, they snagged the highly coveted hometown forward C.J. Leslie of Raleigh. If Smith had departed early, the momentum would have been stunted. "That would have been a tremendous blow to our team,'' Lowe said. "I wasn't worried, but someone got in his ear and told him that it won't hurt to throw your name in. It was all of a sudden. He did tell me that he would come back." Lowe signed Leslie amid rumors that he was going to be fired (not true) and the athletic director who hired him was going to be out (which turned out to be correct when Lee Fowler resigned last week, effective June 30). "We got C.J. during a tough time of change," Lowe said. "Lee was good to me. A good man. It was a tough deal." Now the Wolfpack have the veteran presence in Smith and the high-level talent coming in with Harrow, Brown and Leslie. "That's what we've been waiting for," Lowe said. "When you look at the top programs that's what they do, year in and year out. This is the group that we've been able to recruit when they were young. We've got guys coming back with some five-star, high-quality players to mix it in." Programs trying to move upward can't afford to lose talent early to the draft if there isn't a backfill immediately behind them. Richmond made the NCAAs for the first time under Chris Mooney this past season. The Spiders won nine games in the A-10 in each of the previous two seasons and then last season won 13 and 26 overall before losing to Saint Mary's in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The backcourt of A-10 player of the year Anderson and David Gonzalvez wasn't going to be reunited with Gonzalvez a senior. But had the Spiders also lost Anderson, keeping up with Temple, Xavier and Dayton would have been a chore. Like Smith, Anderson just wanted to see if he could get a bite. With the short window of opportunity, he did not and returned. Gonzalvez ate up a lot of minutes last season and Darien Brothers, who played sparingly, Kevin Smith and Greg Robbins -- the latter two more wings than traditional guards -- will share minutes in place of Gonzalvez. Take Anderson out of the equation and there goes Richmond's marquee player, its go-to guy and a veteran presence to ease in these players. "That would have been difficult to overcome," Mooney said. "We've finished in the top five three straight years in the A-10 and we're on line to finish high again. That would have been a setback. We're building the program to where we want it to be.''"

love to see tracy getting recognized all over since he tested the draft and came back to us

5/11/2010 1:56:27 PM

looking like brown is qualified now


we need him badly so this is a good thing

5/11/2010 2:05:26 PM

Quote :

"PG: Javi/Harrow/ Brown SG: Brown/CJ Williams/Javi/Wood SF: CJ Leslie/Wood/CJ Williams/ Mabry? Thomas? PF: Howell/CJ Leslie C: Smith/Painter/Howell/Vandy "

That is a shitload of talent right there. Still, I'm hoping Lowe keeps things to a 9-man rotation for the most part, even if we're running more. Let CJ and JT battle to backup Brown, and Painter and Vandy to backup Tracy.

5/11/2010 2:24:32 PM

Quote :

"and Painter and Vandy to backup Tracy."

Painter and LKF are the only 5's on the team, Tracy will play the 4

5/11/2010 2:51:13 PM

IIRC, Lowe said he's going to play some PF, not exclusively at the 4 spot.

5/11/2010 3:30:06 PM

I could be remembering wrong, but I was fairly certain that Lowe said Tracy would pretty much exclusively play the 4 this year, wouldn't be the first time I was that far off though

5/11/2010 3:43:49 PM

^ Yeah, he qualified that with Tracy improving his mid-range game over the summer and Vandy and Painter showing some improvement as well.

5/11/2010 4:07:22 PM

I think Howell is more suited for the 5 than Painter, but maybe that's just me.

Vandy definitely impressed me at times last year, but he's got a long way to go before I'd want him starting. With him and Leslie on the court at the same time, we've got two great shotblockers. Can't remember the last time we had that.

5/11/2010 4:18:44 PM

i am officially amused by Andy Katz' new top 25, which has UNC at #11 and NCState not even mentioned in the liner notes.

5/11/2010 4:40:20 PM

Did Brown's thread get deleted? I thought he deserved one, since CJ has his own.

But it's official, he qualified!

http://www.wralsportsfan.com/voices/blogpost/7582267/

5/11/2010 4:42:15 PM