unrelated: i was surprised to see that harrow is every bit as tall as nolan smith.

1/20/2011 9:09:43 AM

Yeah...he just looks shorter than he really is because he's so skinny.

And I'm sure it's been mentioned in the game thread...but the best thing Brown did all night was give Smith a nice shot to the nuts after that free throw. I've always been indifferent towards Nolan, but his bitch-ass reaction to that box-out was pretty sad. Good job Lo. Now do something with the rest of your game.

1/20/2011 9:13:16 AM

Quote :

"Is that tongue in cheek? You can't really think criticizing the officials publicly is the makings of a credible basketball coach ... do you? If so you lose 1/2 credibilities in my book."

I said 1/2 b/c he should've done it in the game. And plenty of credible coaches do it this way in the post-game. If he had, oh, I dunno, ranted about people calling into his radio show, or complained about every tic tac foul, I see your beef.

I'd rather Sid get super pissed then just give us the "oh, you, golly gosh" look every time.

1/20/2011 9:31:25 AM

I don't know how that justified a video replay btw. Many players go down and there is no call to go to a video replay.

1/20/2011 9:32:05 AM

this upcoming stretch of games is really important. 4 winnable games before duke again. gotta at least go 3-1!

1/20/2011 9:33:34 AM

really we have to go 4-0 if we want to make a season out of this.

1/20/2011 9:41:29 AM

Quote :

"And plenty of credible coaches do it this way in the post-game."

Which ones? There are plenty of them?

You do know we did not lose that game because of the refs right? It comes off sounding like an excuse.

^ No way we'll be able to win any of the next 4 games. 2 of them are road games, and either way, all of those teams have more talent or experience than us. Therefore, it is irrational to think we'll win.

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 9:51 AM. Reason : i've learned so much ITT]

1/20/2011 9:46:02 AM

oh we won't win more than 1 of them.

but then again, i don't think we'll make a season out of this.

1/20/2011 10:09:20 AM

Quote :

"You do know we did not lose that game because of the refs right?"

I do know that and that's not me trying to give an excuse and I don't think necessarily it's him giving one. Just pointing out a strange observation.

There are other things Sid failed to do and the players failed to do in that game that caused a loss.

1/20/2011 10:12:44 AM

We should be favored in our next game at home vs Miami. If we win that one, that should be our 1st "quality win" (unless we can count George Mason from the Colonial Athletic Association as one too)

Our backs are against the wall. We are going to need one a hell of a finish down the stretch.

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 10:26 AM. Reason : Hopefully Lowe will put them through a rigorous practice again]

1/20/2011 10:23:10 AM

It has taken sidney too long to figure out our best lineup I must admit.

That first half was an abomination.

Painter and vandenburg should not be getting minutes in a big game.

Benching howell and tracy in the first half with two fucking fouls? What a stupid ass strategy, we needed to try to cut the lead, not pray to get to halftime.

Looks like my idea of leslie, howell, tracy together worked out quite nicely. Why the fuck can't lowe figure that out before I do?

Cmon man, trying to defend you here but then you go out and botch last nights game.

At least we're about to turn the season around starting with a win this weekend

1/20/2011 10:43:35 AM

Quote :

"Painter and vandenburg should not be getting minutes in a big game."

Agreed with Vanderburg, but not Painter. I'm not saying he should get a lot of minutes at this point...but still.

1/20/2011 11:10:50 AM

Painter is okay to sub for a guy in foul trouble...Vandenburg was unnecessary. If Howell and Smith both have 2 fouls...you take one of them out for Painter and tell the other one to play cautious.

1/20/2011 11:20:07 AM

ACC Record
Sid 21-47 30.8%
Les 28-66 29.7%

1/20/2011 11:58:20 AM

Quote :

"ACC Record Sid 21-47 30.8% Les 28-66 29.7%"

LOL, fucking awful.

gawd.

and, remember, Les had unbelievably tight recruiting restrictions.

1/20/2011 12:16:02 PM

We look so lost on offense.

Embarrassing watching players pointing around asking for ball screens and the shot clock getting down to 4 just chucking up a shot. It is getting pretty old after all this time to watch us go through strings of offensive possessions where all the players on the court have no idea what to do and Lowe is just whistling on the side. Need to figure out a way to open it up and run the court some, because our half court game is a joke.

This team is not as bad as they are playing, it should look better. They hustle, there is depth, there is athletes, there are some good players and line-ups we put out on the court. There were times in the past I thought our team lacked a little heart or hustle, or were just simply up against better athletes, but doesn't seem the case this year. Sid did his best coaching when he had limited options and had to coach up a line-up that only went like 1-2 deep off the bench. Now that he actually has some depth doesn't look like he has a clue how to manage it.

1/20/2011 12:35:50 PM

Quote :

"ACC Record Sid 21-47 30.8% Les 28-66 29.7%"

Although it kinda shows how bad Sidney has been here...it also shows how bad Les was. Les's percentage is horrible, but his first two years weren't bad with some of V's leftover players (first team went to the tourney...second team was like 6-10...which definitely isn't great). After the first two year with Les, it was just miserable. Of course that was when I was the extremely vulnerable middle school age...surrounded by Duke and UNC fans...mostly UNC fans.

Although I'm not an extremely vocal UNC hater, my hatred for them burns deep inside due to how much shit I got from their obnoxious fans growing up during the Les and MOC years.

1/20/2011 12:45:25 PM

Quote :

"We look so lost on offense. Embarrassing watching players pointing around asking for ball screens and the shot clock getting down to 4 just chucking up a shot. It is getting pretty old after all this time to watch us go through strings of offensive possessions where all the players on the court have no idea what to do and Lowe is just whistling on the side. Need to figure out a way to open it up and run the court some, because our half court game is a joke. "

If this is what you saw last night I am pretty sure you are in the insane minority.
Last night (with few exceptions) was well run offense. We only had 9 turnovers and pretty damn good shot selection against a good defense.

1/20/2011 1:34:12 PM

28 points in the first half is my idea of a well-run offense.

1/20/2011 2:01:53 PM

Quote :

"ACC Record Sid 21-47 30.8% Les 28-66 29.7%"

in sid's defense, wasn't herb's ACC record only a few games better at this point in his NCSU career?

Quote :

"and pretty damn good shot selection against a good defense."

troll troll troll your boat.

1/20/2011 2:05:14 PM

i'd actually agree that the shot selection was, on the whole, pretty good. Certainly much better than we've seen over the other two ACC losses.

1/20/2011 2:06:10 PM

Quote :

"If this is what you saw last night I am pretty sure you are in the insane minority. Last night (with few exceptions) was well run offense. We only had 9 turnovers and pretty damn good shot selection against a good defense."

Are you serious? There are way to many times we go down the floor and look like we have no idea what we should be doing. It doesn't even matter if the end result is a good shot or not, the team looks lost on that end of the court way to often. If anything the fact that we had some open looks is more a tribute to individual effort than a system that he actually helping our players get those looks. Seems to me that after about 10 seconds or so one of the players just goes, "screw it I'll take the ball and get my own shot."

I hate to reference Herb, as boring as the offense was I could tell watching it what the system was and the players seemed to understand. I'm no basketball expert, but I can usually tell just by watching the first half of a game the general offensive philosophy(and even defensive) of a team. What happened to the up tempo offense we were suppose to have under Lowe? He is more boring than Herb in his half court.

Feel free to tell me I'm way off and that we are actually running some sort of well coached offensive system that involves letting the shot clock run down to 3 seconds and throwing up a shot, or just running around randomly pointing for a screen to another player who will sometimes do it and sometimes won't. If you saw a well run offensive just tell me what the system is, what we are trying to do each time down the court and I'll take back my statement. Again, I'm not a basketball coach or an expert in the game but the simple eyeball test tells me it is bad. Hell we can't even properly execute inbound plays.

1/20/2011 2:14:49 PM

words

1/20/2011 2:15:33 PM

^^

are you talking about last night, or overall?

because it sounds like you're talking about the entire season's tendencies and not last night, which is what everyone else is talking about.

1/20/2011 2:16:57 PM

My point is saying we were offensively inept last night is a pretty far fetched statement. Most rational people agree.

Quote :

" 28 points in the first half is my idea of a well-run offense."

And even the fucking announcers on TV were exclaiming over the amount of missed easy shots.

However if you want to define offensive efficiency solely by the amount of points scored? What team is leading the ACC in league play ppg as of right now? NCSU. I guess we have the best offense in the league

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 2:24 PM. Reason : adsfa]

1/20/2011 2:18:06 PM

Quote :

"pretty damn good shot selection"

1/20/2011 2:20:17 PM

Quote :

"because it sounds like you're talking about the entire season's tendencies and not last night, which is what everyone else is talking about."

A combination. Not saying at times it didn't look better last night, obviously the offense would have looked better if some of those shots would have fallen.

And maybe I'm just fed up and picking out more the moments we look lost and less that it looked good. But it just seems like we've been told every year things like, "just wait till Lowe gets a point guard..." or "he just doesn't have his players yet..." well after a while it has to be the dude just isn't a good offensive coach. I guess I feel like we have to work so hard to get decent looks compared to other teams I've watched. In the past I've felt sometimes it was just about the players, but this year it really seems the players are less to blame, they've shown the ability to do some great things on the floor, seems like the coaching side isn't helping out.

Again, if I'm wrong and I'm just not seeing it because of low basketball IQ I'll take it back. But just feel we are a team searching for an identity on the offensive end of the court. It could be as simple as Lowe just letting go the reigns a bit and letting the players play, I don't know. Our offense just doesn't flow, it looks awkward and the players don't appear comfortable in their roles, who should be taking shots when, and who should do what.

1/20/2011 2:26:03 PM

nm

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 2:39 PM. Reason : .]

1/20/2011 2:38:46 PM

rallydurham sponsored kenpom update: NCSU now projected to finish the year 15-15 (5-11)

1/20/2011 2:53:41 PM

Quote :

"A combination. Not saying at times it didn't look better last night, obviously the offense would have looked better if some of those shots would have fallen. And maybe I'm just fed up and picking out more the moments we look lost and less that it looked good. But it just seems like we've been told every year things like, "just wait till Lowe gets a point guard..." or "he just doesn't have his players yet..." well after a while it has to be the dude just isn't a good offensive coach. I guess I feel like we have to work so hard to get decent looks compared to other teams I've watched. In the past I've felt sometimes it was just about the players, but this year it really seems the players are less to blame, they've shown the ability to do some great things on the floor, seems like the coaching side isn't helping out. Again, if I'm wrong and I'm just not seeing it because of low basketball IQ I'll take it back. But just feel we are a team searching for an identity on the offensive end of the court. It could be as simple as Lowe just letting go the reigns a bit and letting the players play, I don't know. Our offense just doesn't flow, it looks awkward and the players don't appear comfortable in their roles, who should be taking shots when, and who should do what."

While I may not agree with everything presented in your post I am impressed with the honest assessment (not trolling). In that spirit I will try to do the same.
I can see why there is frustration offense was very stagnant without Smith but I think it has significantly improved since his return. As far as conference games are concerned we are controlling turnovers (12.8 a game) (reasonably well for a young team) getting a lot of offensive rebounds (13.6 a game) and pushing the tempo intelligently and managing to score the ball pretty well (we are tied with BC for most ppg in the league). I have more of an issue with our defense. Specifically the inability to force turnovers. We do a pretty good job not giving up open shots but we never seem to force turnovers and to me this is (and has been) the biggest indictment of Sidney Lowe's coaching ability. I was hoping that having elite athletes would lead to more steals and so far it hasn't been as drastic as I would hope (we actually did an ok job last night but it could have just been Duke being careless with the ball). Maybe as Harrow/ Leslie continue to improve on the defensive end this will change? I don't know but to me that is what will define the rest of the season.

1/20/2011 3:27:15 PM

Javi was awful yet again, he should ride the bench next to Vandenberg for the rest of the season.

Howell is slower then a box turtle and he was on Singler for far too long.

Why the hell is CJ Leslie still so bad at free throws?

AND WHY DON'T WE RUN MORE THREE-POINT PLAYS FOR WOOD?

I dunno Sid, you're slowly losing my support

1/20/2011 3:47:35 PM

the main thing sid has going for him right now is......

wake sux balls. guaranteed to not finish in last place

1/20/2011 3:52:26 PM

I agree. Cj should, realistically, be in the 90% range with his free throws already.

I can't imagine what he could be doing that's more important than getting that percentage up

1/20/2011 3:57:11 PM

Quote :

"AND WHY DON'T WE RUN MORE THREE-POINT PLAYS FOR WOOD?"

Wood attempts more threes per game than anyone in the conference

1/20/2011 4:00:17 PM

yeah but

why dont we run more?

1/20/2011 4:00:46 PM

the double screens arent enough if you ask me. Its pretty simple: 1 man to dribble/pass, 3 to set screens, Wood to shoot.

1/20/2011 4:05:01 PM

Last night only looking at the time Harrow was on the court our offense looked pretty good other than missing some easy shots. We probably missed 10-15 very very makeable shots last night.

1/20/2011 4:07:28 PM

Quote :

"As far as conference games are concerned we are 1-3 controlling turnovers (12.8 a game) (reasonably well for a young team) getting a lot of offensive rebounds (13.6 a game) and pushing the tempo intelligently and managing to score the ball pretty well (we are tied with BC for most ppg in the league)."

1/20/2011 4:07:55 PM

How many of those shots did we miss under Les

HMMM?

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 4:08 PM. Reason : ^ BLACK AND WHITE BLACK AND WHITE BLACK AND WHITE BLACK AND WHITE BLACK AND WHITE BLACK AND WHITE BL]

1/20/2011 4:07:59 PM

we should be making makable shots

1/20/2011 4:08:58 PM

^^ Um, yeah this is year #5. It's pretty BLACK and WHITE. No more coddling Lowe.

It's win or pack your bags.

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 4:11 PM. Reason : []

1/20/2011 4:11:08 PM

just wondering

are any of your 224 posts not talking shit about Lowe?

1/20/2011 4:11:54 PM

The way I see, the sooner he's gone the sooner we can start to claw our way back to relevancy. If I was AD he'd have been gone after 3 years of finishing in the bottom of the ACC. Him being a Alumnus player on a former team be damned.

But you already knew that.



[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 4:14 PM. Reason : /]

1/20/2011 4:13:39 PM

You are an idiot if you thought that firing Sidney Lowe was a good idea at any point while Lee Fowler was still AD.

1/20/2011 4:15:07 PM

All fowler needed to do was find and hire a coaching search firm, albeit he would likely have fucked that up too, so maybe you're right.

1/20/2011 4:15:59 PM

Quote :

"You are an idiot if you thought that firing Sidney Lowe was a good idea at any point while Lee Fowler was still AD."

fixed it for you.

Titan and I had an honest discussion on issues and as usual ohbeebe trolls his way in.

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 4:18 PM. Reason : asdfa]

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 4:25 PM. Reason : asdf]

1/20/2011 4:17:26 PM

Quote :

"Him being a Alumnus player on a former team be damned."

alumnus != graduate

1/20/2011 4:19:08 PM

Personally if Sendek was allowed 7 years or so to suck before making the NCAA's, I think Lowe should get one more year. I want to see what he can do with 2 seasons with this class. If things aren't improved next season, it's time to look elsewhere.

1/20/2011 4:21:53 PM

I like your style uNC SUcks

1/20/2011 4:24:00 PM

I'm not trolling, I'm discussing my stance on Sidney Lowe's credibility as a basketball coach. I'd appreciate if you'd stop with your personal attacks on me adder. I'm going to be the much bigger man and let it go though. Now you can go and cherry pick all the positive stats you want from the box score, but the fact remains we are still a putrid ACC team.

[Edited on January 20, 2011 at 4:27 PM. Reason : .]

1/20/2011 4:26:37 PM