my point is, neither of them are scoring or playing stout defense (imo), so it doesn't matter. until they both step up we're going to lose.

1/24/2008 5:11:10 PM

So my point is, play the guy that appears to be playing harder, making fewer mistakes, and helping us out more.

1/24/2008 5:50:08 PM

my point is, neither are helping us out.

you want to see more mccauley b/c he looks to be trying harder, fine. but it's not going to change anything.

1/24/2008 5:53:02 PM

He "looks better" because he has been playing better. Don't be an idiot. Even if he hasn't been playing better than Costner, its refreshing to see someone give 100 percent while they're on the floor.


I don't know about you, but I notice that we're losing basketball games...I'd rather lose with our players out there giving 100 percent than lose because our players dont give a fuck.

Thats the thing though, if everyone on the floor gives 40 minutes of intensity, we're not going to lose that many games. I'm tired of easy baskets off lazy D and piss-poor-stand around-do nothing-offense. If we lose because we suck, so be it, but I'll be damned if I watch a team much longer that plays like they don't give a fuck.

I was actually encouraged by the intensity the other night, even though we lost. If it werent for a few boneheaded, lazy plays (not just costner) we may have pulled one out.

1/24/2008 10:47:07 PM

season of inches

1/25/2008 12:36:21 AM

^^ exactly.

McCauley looks like he's trying harder because he is. I'd rather go down swinging than just get walked on because we're lazy.

1/25/2008 7:31:30 AM

I say like McCauley run the show from the high post, bench Costner, and let Fells/Hickson/Grant do their thing from the wings. Ben's probably the best passer on the team and plays his balls off on defense. Javi showed a little something last game (I know, I know), so build on that as well.

1/25/2008 8:10:58 AM

i like the idea there, but i don't think hickson on the wing would be the best spot for him. i think we should run 2 bigs on the high post. let hickson do some screening for fells/grant and let mccauley pass it to them.

and i agree, mccauley is easily the best passer on the team.

1/25/2008 8:17:19 AM

I'd be down with that as well. Hickson needs some work on slashing to the basket from 10-12' without fouling. Once he gets that together, he's going to be NASTY.

1/25/2008 8:22:07 AM

true. he's usually good for an offensive foul or two. he seems like a smart kid though, he'll figure it out.

1/25/2008 8:33:28 AM

Quote :

"I was actually encouraged by the intensity the other night, even though we lost."

same here... if they can keep it up for the rest of the season, i'll be a happy alum. Like you said, i can't stand to see us lose with guys standing around with their thumbs attached to their rectums.

1/25/2008 9:08:03 AM

For you idiots saying that McCauley isn't actually playing any better than Costner:

Quote :

"One of the more approripate discussions in which fans are engaging is the impact of Ben McCauley on the Wolfpack. Big Ben was an obvious shot in the arm for the Pack on Wednesday night; the Pack’s offense was much more efficient and defense was much more energetic with Ben on the floor than without. The numbers support that observation ans the Wolfpack outscored Georgia Tech 22-11 when McCauley was on the floor and was outscored by a similar margin when Brandon Costner was playing. "

http://www.statefansnation.com/index.php/archives/2008/01/25/anyone-want-to-discuss-florida-state/

And:

Quote :

"Costner had the ball passed to him 31 times, he caught the ball cleanly 23 of those times, struggled catching and bobbled 6 times and two in a row went through his hands leading to 4 points (making the game GT-59 NCST-55). He also totally bricked 5 of 6 3-pt shots, one slammed back in by Fells at the end. He turned over the ball on the dribble 4 times. So out of 31 touches over 1/3 were negative for the Pack. Add that to lackadaisical defense, limited effort on the boards, Javi was carrying him… and he aint light."

1/25/2008 3:46:15 PM

ok, we can talk numbers if you want

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pIQtnAqKqucQPnFLjjJqtVg&gid=1

1/25/2008 3:54:11 PM

a) That's over the course of the year. If you do that analysis over last game or the last 2-3 games, I'll be it changes quite a bit.

b) With our squad substitution pattern, of course the numbers for McCauley, Horner, Smith will be down.

All the bench players are thrust in there together to hold the game together for a few spare minutes at a time.

Next game, watch Costner's play all the way through. It's lazy, selfish, and slow for the most part.

Everyone who watches all the games, and especially last game, agree that Costner is a big problem and McCauley was a problem. Things have changed a bit and Big Ben is playing more and more like his former self. Costner? Not so much.

1/25/2008 4:05:38 PM

Quote :

"With our squad substitution pattern, of course the numbers for McCauley, Horner, Smith will be down."

did you bother looking at the numbers/40 minutes?

Quote :

"Things have changed a bit and Big Ben is playing more and more like his former self. Costner? Not so much."

last game was hardly an improvement for mccauley. this is all wishful thinking b/c he's trying hard. you and i both know that neither of them are doing anything. if you would rather see mccauley busting his ass when we lose than costner bobbling passes, that's fine, but it's not changing any outcomes.

1/25/2008 4:11:30 PM

he's saying mccauley's numbers are worse because he plays with worse players

1/25/2008 6:32:43 PM

Hey Costner! How's it going?

1/25/2008 6:50:42 PM

Right...reading comprehension. I'm not saying they'll be down b/c of minutes...it's because of his team when he's out there most of the time.

Anyone who watched the last few games noticed that McCauley injects energy and good defense when he's put in. I'd contend that his passing ability makes up for Costner's range (especially this year).

1/25/2008 8:37:14 PM

Well Costner sure had a good game today .


McCauley had a few bad shots but overall he was solid on D, decent on the boards, and didnt have many negative plays. I think every time Costner touched the ball something bad happened. I hope like hell he gets it back in gear but until he does he needs to ride the pine.

1/26/2008 4:05:02 PM

mccauley is much better at talking on defense = team plays better

1/26/2008 4:07:00 PM

there is not a font size big enough online to scream the YOU SUCK that i want to at costner.



GARBAGE>>> COSTNER

1/26/2008 4:07:39 PM

I mean I don't want to be too hard on the guy because when he's on we've seen what he's capable of. I think sidney did the right thing to day by sitting him for most of the game and letting horner get some minutes. If Cosnter can maybe lose some weight in the offseason and play a 3 more often then he could be dangerous. The problem is that he's neither quick enough or motivated enough to play that position right now.

1/26/2008 4:11:35 PM

rumor has it, costner caught a plane after the krispy kreme challenge today

1/26/2008 5:15:41 PM

Did he bobble the box?

1/26/2008 5:26:50 PM

Costner is being hated now and he really isn't playing well, BUT he is going to get it going I hope. I bet that it doesn't even happen until the very end of the season.

1/26/2008 6:06:26 PM

I hope he does, but for right now, McCauley clearly is better than Costner. Our team just plays better.

OH, simonn.....what do you have to say after this game?

We finally started Big Ben and look at the results. Costner wasn't in the game for that entire 17-0 run.

1/26/2008 11:38:21 PM

Quote :

"I'd rather lose with our players out there giving 100 percent than lose because our players dont give a fuck. "

would you really? seems to me like some people, in their own twisted way, would rather see a loss via lollygagging so they can wistfully say "now when we start playing focused, blah blah blah," instead of having to swallow that the team maxed itself out and still lost. JMO for a select few

1/26/2008 11:55:19 PM

Maybe for some people, but I'm not one of those. I'm of the opinion that we won't lose many games if we hustle for 40 minutes. There is a direct correlation between this team playing hard and winning games.

Everyone knows that this team has enough talent to win ball games, but we're not getting beaten by better teams for the most part. We're getting beat because we "came out lazy" or "lost focus for that stretch". Bad calls, bad bounces, and better teams cause losses. I can handle that. I can't handle watching my team stand around with their thumb up their ass.

1/27/2008 12:01:14 AM

Quote :

"OH, simonn.....what do you have to say after this game? We finally started Big Ben and look at the results."

we start costner, we barely beat a bad team and barely lose to a bad team. we start mccauley and we barely beat a bad team.

was the product on the floor any better, aside from improving PG play? nope, sure wasn't.

1/27/2008 12:30:22 AM

costner doesn't need to be starting. i've seen enough of what happens when he's on the court. if he wants to pick it up and earn the spot, fantastic... i approve of anybody that deserves the spot and i'd cheer him on. right now, i think ben should have the spot given the effort, and ability, that i see on the court

Quote :

"McCauley looks like he's trying harder because he is. I'd rather go down swinging than just get walked on because we're lazy."

absolutely, not to mention he's playing better too

[Edited on January 27, 2008 at 3:41 AM. Reason : ]

1/27/2008 3:40:34 AM

Quote :

"I'm of the opinion that we won't lose many games if we hustle for 40 minutes."

Bingo. If everyone on our team hustles and plays to their ability, there are only two teams in the conference that should beat us, especially at the RBC, Duke and UNC. Let's just say, that teams like UNO and G. Tech have no business beating us at home if we hustle and play good D. So if you're happy in a loss, even if we play hard, then we'd better be playing Duke or UNC. There's no way we can play hard and to our ability and lose to Georgia Tech, UNO, ECU, and get spanked at Clemson. I feel like the Cincinnati game was the only game where we played a quality opponent and played decently

[Edited on January 27, 2008 at 10:35 AM. Reason : .]

1/27/2008 10:33:39 AM

Don't need to play costner for the rest of the year. Just start his offseason conditioning program right now.

2/3/2008 2:15:19 PM

Fact:

Number of 2pt field goals made by Brandon Costner this season since the beginning of conference play:






































11.

2/3/2008 3:13:27 PM

^Where was he at as far as points up to this point last year??

2/3/2008 3:15:43 PM

Does Simonn still think McCauley deserves no more time than Costner?

Lowe is starting McCauley now with regularity. Everyone else agrees. You are wrong.

Not only should McCauley play over Costner, I'd like to see Tracy Smith start taking some of his minutes as well. 21 minutes is way too many for Costner in this game.

[Edited on February 4, 2008 at 10:52 AM. Reason : ]

2/4/2008 10:32:58 AM

if we had a dollar everytime we saw this...



we'd all be filthy rich

2/4/2008 1:53:06 PM

ok so let's get this straight.

w/ costner starting we barely beat a handful of mediocre teams and get blown out by three good teams.
w/ mccauley starting we barely beat two mediocre teams and get blown out by one good team.

yes, worlds of difference. this team is still grossly underperforming.

you're right about tracy smith though, that kid can ball.

2/4/2008 1:58:56 PM

it's a matter of effort. I would much rather see a player give it everything and produce the same results than someone walking down the court and playing at half pace.

2/4/2008 2:04:45 PM

^ ok i won't get angry that you haven't read the thread, but that post agrees w/ what i'm saying, whether you meant to or not.

2/4/2008 2:07:21 PM

^^^^Haha. Thats the Tim Duncan face.



[Edited on February 4, 2008 at 2:26 PM. Reason : 1]

2/4/2008 2:24:05 PM

costner was making that face the entire game tonight. and he wasn't on the court

2/5/2008 11:16:37 PM

seriously, where the hell was he tonight? I went to the game and didn't remember him being in at all...

2/5/2008 11:17:43 PM

his ribs... they be hurtin'.

2/5/2008 11:18:14 PM

he was wearing a suit and on the bench

2/5/2008 11:29:53 PM

^^ Not as bad as the McRib he ate earlier though.

[Edited on February 5, 2008 at 11:30 PM. Reason : .]

2/5/2008 11:30:00 PM

OIC

2/5/2008 11:32:25 PM

Take this with a grain of salt...

A UNC fan told me that Costner was looking to transfer at the end of the season. Has anyone else heard this?

Notice that this was just a UNC fan who told me this, and that is why I say to take this with a grain of salt, but I was curious if anyone else had heard this.

Ohh yeah, what was up with Costner wearing a suit on a sideline, a Carolina blue shirt and tie at that? Purely coincidence I'm sure, but still...Costner could have sported a white shirt and red striped tie...matching Sidney.

[Edited on February 6, 2008 at 8:31 AM. Reason : Ohh yeah]

2/6/2008 8:29:09 AM

So if he transfers, he has to sit one year, and have only one year left? I doubt it.

2/6/2008 8:35:41 AM

why would he want to transfer? Until the last few games, Sidney stubbornly stuck with him even though he was playing like a lazy ass...

2/6/2008 8:37:17 AM

^^^yeah, i think your source carries about as much weight as lara flynn boyle.

2/6/2008 8:41:20 AM