1/23/2011 12:46:49 AM

Well, Herbie is kinda sucking it up out there in the desert at this point. He was much more successful here at NC State than he's been at ASU. I don't think he's forgotten how to coach. I think it's easier to get recruits here and we have much more resources available to our program.

What I'm saying is, winning here is certainly possible, and I think a smart coach would be able to see that. It'll be hard to do worse than Sidney Lowe, and I am confident that our new AD won't let that happen.

I just think it's crazy to argue that we need to keep him because we can't get anybody else better while he's landing us in the bottom of the ACC year after year.

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 9:49 AM. Reason : .]

1/23/2011 9:46:30 AM

Could be his greatest masterpiece yet.

1/23/2011 1:52:22 PM

Sidney Lowe is a fucking abomination

1/23/2011 1:57:32 PM

still never credible

1/23/2011 1:57:49 PM

Keys to success:

Build up a sizeable lead against the worst teams in the conference.

1/23/2011 1:57:59 PM

what is point of letting the man stay for the entire season? can we not fire him right away???

1/23/2011 2:00:52 PM

1/23/2011 2:01:02 PM

2-3 in the ACC.

Need to go at least 7-4 and likely 8-3 from here on out.

[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 2:02 PM. Reason : numbers????]

1/23/2011 2:01:18 PM

tough win, keeps the season alive. we will take it but c'mon sidney you're making this way more difficult than it needs to be.

Let me identify a good rotation for you.

Harrow/Williams/Wood/Howell/Smith

Brown and Williams switch based on whether we need offense or defense...

Leslie can be inserted as a 3rd member of the big man rotation, or we can go big and play him for Wood or bump the SG out any play Wood at the 2.

We really cant do anything more than that.

1/23/2011 2:03:11 PM

We came in prepared to destroy the zone. Bad coaching in the second half, and very bad coaching against the pick and roll. Stopping the pick and roll should be basic stuff for us since its the main component of our offense and we have plenty of practice time against it.

1/23/2011 2:03:17 PM

Why would you not start a healthy CJL



[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 2:09 PM. Reason : im sure he appreciates you identifying today'a starting lineup]

1/23/2011 2:07:01 PM

^
CJL missed a few practices with illness. Apologies if you're referring to face's post.

Quote :

"Let me identify a good rotation for you. Harrow/Williams/Wood/Howell/Smith Brown and Williams switch based on whether we need offense or defense... "

Sounds good, but Sid is persistent on massive substitutions that last long periods of time.

Javi needs to be relegated to Enrico Kuofur status.



[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 2:10 PM. Reason : f]

1/23/2011 2:08:35 PM

Howell and Smith need to get better on the defensive boards.

Quote :

"Need to go at least 7-4 and likely 8-3 from here on out."

Most likely... It all really depends on who the wins are against. We don't have any good wins and the only bad loss is BC (although Georgetown is fucking us right now if they don't right the ship).

1/23/2011 2:09:35 PM

I was talking to rally

1/23/2011 2:09:46 PM

Was editing my post to reflect that.

What's tough is 8-3 means beating everyone but Duke and UNC.



[Edited on January 23, 2011 at 2:11 PM. Reason : f]

1/23/2011 2:10:21 PM

Leslie was not a good fit when they were playing zone and when they have shooters on the court. He gets way too lost going through picks. He gave up several 3s like this. CJW played well in his stead.

1/23/2011 2:11:54 PM

have to think if Miami had hit a 3 to win that would have been the nail in Sid's coffin

1/23/2011 2:20:28 PM

Good thing they didn't!

1/23/2011 2:22:26 PM

Going to Clemson in two days on short rest will likely be that nail in the coffin you speak of.

1/23/2011 2:24:14 PM

Nah, epic 4-0 run incoming!

1/23/2011 2:27:39 PM

Epic Sid hater blue balls today

1/23/2011 2:28:37 PM

Nah. They were jerking it like crazy when we blew the 17 point lead and blew their load.

1/23/2011 2:33:03 PM

nah, I'd much rather win than lose anytime

but it's still gonna be a good day when we have a more competent coach

1/23/2011 2:34:13 PM

because ours is a fucking abomination, got it

1/23/2011 2:44:32 PM

^^just joined tww 2 days ago to bitch and moan?

1/23/2011 3:16:28 PM

tschudi

1/23/2011 3:39:40 PM

^

1/23/2011 3:41:09 PM

Quote :

"Let me identify a good rotation for you. Harrow/Williams/Wood/Howell/Smith"

How are you gonna give Lowe shit about lineups when you among others were all on Leslie's dick going into this game

Lineups need to adjust game to game based on who is hot, there is not one magical mixture of players who are always going to have great games every single game...theres just as good a chance that Williams and Wood have off games next game, and Brown and Leslie come out on fire

1/23/2011 3:42:43 PM

what the fuck are you talking about?

Ive been saying to bench Leslie for Howell all season long.

Leslie makes a few good athletic plays here and there and is a good rebounder. But he's barely a net positive player still because he misses so many shots, is turnover prone, and plays poor defense. From Day one i've said Leslie will probably be a disappointment because he wasn't college ready yet and the skills he possesses are better suited for the NBA than the college game anyway. (and if he doesn't improve in every facet of the game he'll never crack a rotation in the nba)

He's certainly getting better but we can't afford to wait anymore. We are a better team with Howell on the court, period. Tracy and Howell play great off each other, Howell is a slightly better rebounder, and very few teams can match up with us when those two are in the game.

I don't think I could be anymore clear that all season long I've bitched about Howell being benched this year. He is the reason we made our run last year, and he'll be the reason if we make one again this year. He's the best NBA prospect on our team in my opinion.

The only negative is that he is a little bit lazy and sometimes he'd rather foul than play. Probably a conditioning issue.

1/23/2011 3:49:40 PM

Quote :

"Ive been saying to bench Leslie for Howell all season long."

the other day you were saying Leslie/Howell/Smith at the 3-4-5 you fucking backpeddler

1/23/2011 3:51:49 PM

In my post i said. LESLIE CAN BE THE THIRD BIG MAN IN THE ROTATION OR YOU CAN PLAY HIM AT THE THREE WITH HOWELL AND SMITH.

I cant be anymore clear than this. Howell is better than Leslie. You can play Leslie but not at the expense of Howell.

Lowe has benched Howell all season probably because he had to promise Leslie a ton of playing time to get him to come to State.

Well fuck that. We will not win many basketball games with Howell on the bench, period. He has to be in the game. I've said that since before the fucking season started so don't even try it.

1/23/2011 4:07:23 PM

you're contradicting yourself

my simple point is that thus far, there is not a group of 5 players who have consistently been our best 5 all year long to justify some concrete lineup

play the hot hand

1/23/2011 4:08:51 PM

Im not contradicting shit what are you talking about.

Im saying dont experiment with bad lineups in important games.

When we were up 15 Sidney made a conscious decision to put in a trash lineup and said "im going to play these guys for 3-4 minutes while we have this huge lead and hopefully they wont blow the lead"

Well they did blow the lead. And then we put our starters back in and they played shitty for a stretch and what do you know he just turned an easy win into a 50/50 game.

That was fucking dumb and unacceptable.

I like Sidney, hell i e-mailed the athletic director and CC'd him that he should be our head coach.

But when he goes out ther and botches a game like that I'm going to voice displeasure as anyone should. That was stupid and I'm sure he realizes it was stupid now that he's had a chance to reflect.

We won off a fluke rebound. Thank god. We've lost a ton of games off fluky plays and for once the gods were smiling on us. That doesn't excuse our head coach from choking today. Our backs are against the wall. Part of that isn't his fault because Tracy missed half the season and isn't nearly as good as he was last year. Javi morphed into an unplayable player. Some of this is out of his control.

One thing that's not out of his control is putting our players in the best position to win. That's a coaches job. Making layups, jumpers, boxing out, that's the players job. His job is to play the right lineups and put them in position to win. He obviously didn't do a very good job of that today in the 2nd half, period. That's inarguable.

I'm the biggest Sidney defender on the fucking board and even I will say he fucked up today and it almost cost us a win.

That being said, we won the game. Great. We kept the season alive. We also just lost three straight when we needed to win one of those games. So now we need to win two of our next four games instead of going 1-3 like we are likely to do. Good luck, we need it.

1/23/2011 4:20:04 PM

Said this on PP, but I think we need a 8 man rotation. Start Harrow, Wood, Howell, and Smith. Then pick one of Leslie, Williams, and Brown. Then you play Painter to spell Smith.

1/23/2011 4:24:57 PM

^When Harrow has two fouls in the first half who covers as the primary ball handler? Javi is going to get some minutes they just need to be kept to a minimum now that Harrow is playing better defense. I had no problem with the 9 man rotation today. Javi got more minutes because he tried him out at the 2 (unsuccessfully).

1/23/2011 5:29:00 PM

i'm pretty sure I saw Zo running the point some with javi at the two. didn't i?

1/23/2011 9:04:53 PM

Yup but having Javi on the floor gave the option of two adept ball handlers. I don't like the thought of Wood/Williams and Brown bringing the ball up against a good press. Brown has also been turnover prone so far so to have him as the only true PG option on the floor might not be a great idea.

1/24/2011 8:53:57 AM

Most of Brown's turnovers are when he tries to do too much, force something, and make the highlight play. in the 5-10 minutes Harrow won't be on the court, you just have to tell Zo to keep everything in check.

I don't consider Javi to be a "adept ball handler"

1/24/2011 10:19:36 AM

wtf, face?

Quote :

"From Day one i've said Leslie will probably be a disappointment because he wasn't college ready yet and the skills he possesses are better suited for the NBA than the college game anyway."

Quote :

"[Howell] is the best NBA prospect on our team in my opinion."

1/24/2011 10:31:28 AM

I don't believe Sidney's coaching has anything to do with Miami coming back in the second half. You can't honestly sit at your computer and think that he didn't tell them they needed to stay tight on #3 and #15 because they will knock down threes. Other than 1 or 2 wide open threes in the second half (which seems reasonable considering the risky trap defense we were tying), a lot of Miami's threes came from #3 just standing at the top of the key with his defender, faking a move, and pulling up and swishing the three. He was good, and so was #15, and everyone knows in basketball the three is the great equalizer. If any team makes them consistently like that, they are going to be in the game.

It's a credit to Sidney that we came out hot at the beginning of the game, and I think he's found a great starting lineup. I think we did a great job producing throughout the game, and when we would have a couple trips down the court with no baskets, I was really impressed that Harrow broke that pattern by taking it to the hoop and putting some floaters in some baskets. It's also a credit to Sidney that we played such great defense for the most part. It's also a credit to Sidney that we stopped Miami from even getting a shot off in the last 14 seconds (including some great defense from Wood to not get pinched by that double screen). I hope we're making a run.



PS - to everyone who is bitching about the starting lineups and who they should be: You don't just put people in the starting lineup because they did well last game. The reason has already been mentioned, namely that you can't guarantee that hot players will stay hot. Starting positions are a reward for strong work ethic, execution in practice, and production. you have to be at the top in all of these areas to start, it's not just a matter of throwing whoever made the most shots last time into the game.

1/24/2011 10:33:47 AM

Howell can barely jump and is only 6'7. I don't see how that's going to transfer to the NBA.

1/24/2011 10:36:46 AM

i was also going to say...

Miami shot lights out yesterday, officially they were 8-14 from the land of 3, but in the second half i only remember one missed three. most of them were 'in your face' types.

The only thing that really bugs me, considering everthing, and its killing us at times, is how little discipline we have on D. There was one play where we must have had four guys collapse on their big guy who just threw it out to one of the wide open three point shooters. That has to get fixed.

1/24/2011 11:01:41 AM

From Jay Bilas' insider blog:

Quote :

"Same goes for Lowe: Of the complaining I have heard, some of it surrounds the offensive schemes of NC State coach Sidney Lowe. Well, after watching six game tapes of the Wolfpack against quality opponents, Lowe runs excellent sets that are well-conceived with multiple options. Some opine that there is too much standing in some of Lowe's sets. Of course, when Mike Krzyzewski runs similar sets, his players' standing is called "spacing." Lowe has freshmen in key spots, and freshmen are inherently unreliable and inconsistent for long stretches. With this group of young players, Lowe will be able to run the same offensive schemes, and as the players get better and older the execution will get markedly better. Lowe has a good young group with C.J. Leslie, Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown. "

http://insider.espn.go.com/mens-college-basketball/blog?name=bilas_jay&id=6045570

1/24/2011 11:19:18 AM

psshhh, what does Jay Bilas know? /sarcasm

I'm surprised he took time out of his day to go back and watch 6 game tapes to appease Milkboner and Packboozie

1/24/2011 11:25:59 AM

what a nice guy

1/24/2011 11:29:00 AM

nicely put AstralEngine

i thought we played great yesterday and i remember thinking at the start of the game and throughout the first half that we did a really good job of executing our game plan and came out to start the game with great energy for once. as you said, the 3 is often called the "great equalizer" and miami was hitting some extremely difficult shots. when you're defending the 3 as well as you possibly can and they keep on hitting them with a hand in their face, it can be very demoralizing and i felt like we showed great toughness to continue to fight and close out the game despite giving up our lead (especially for us being such a young team).

this doesn't have much to do with the game itself, but coach lowe did something really special with the guys in the week before this game that i don't think many people know about unless they listened to the post game interviews with tony haynes. he took the guys to the graves sites of coach valvano and coach case to leave flowers and pay their respects. that may not mean that much to some people, but it's little things like that that will go a long way with these kids. we really lost that sense of family and tradition while sendek was here and coach lowe has been working hard to get that back. right now we're witnessing a young team grow in front of our eyes and it's been a struggle starting out, but i feel like the program as a whole is still headed in the right direction. we just need to keep on working and play hard for all 40 minutes.

1/24/2011 12:09:36 PM

jay bilas just bought sidney lowe another year, in my book.

1/24/2011 12:30:16 PM

simonn you are a woman

1/24/2011 12:42:43 PM

Jay Bilas thinks his sets look like Coach K's sets.

Too bad he doesn't know when to change them the way K does.

But I guess now we can keep him until he proves he's the new K!!!11

1/24/2011 12:55:49 PM