50!

1/9/2009 9:08:42 PM

Up until late last summer I was convinced Wall would choose Memphis. In my mind it was a no brainer. Wall would choose the more talented team which not only was getting national attention but also could (arguably) contend for the NCAA title. No way he'd play for a rebuilding squad in the midst of a total collapse.

Then two very key things happened that turned State's prospects around:

1) News spread that his mother was sick.
2) Early returns had State in the top 10 nationally for the 2009 recruiting class (August 08).

The way ti goes down in mind is this: Wall reconsiders his options and decides to give State a second look. No sense in rushing to a decision right? Well, then he goes to State on his official visit with CJ Leslie, a 2010 commit for the Pack, and Derek Favors, the #1 recruit according to Rivals.com AND a player who also has the Pack on his short list. Then, he has a good time at Reynolds Coliseum. A real good time. Suddenly NC State looks like a solid option. Not only that, they DESPERATELY need a PG, and look like they could turn some heads if they got one.

But, the Pack are losing McCauley this year, and could potentially lose Costner too (although I don't see that happening). Although the Pack is in the mix for Favors (and now Cousins), having a reliable big man is far from a certainty. No way Wall is committing to a bad team lacking in the both the backcourt AND the frontcourt.

So Wall decides to sit on his decision and see how things pan out. Will State show some improvement? Will Lowe land another big man in Favors/Cousins? Will Memphis continue to make headlines nationally? Will he get the playing time that he wants (which is obviously not an issue w/ State)? Also, how is his mother's condition going to progress? Too many variables, not enough certainties.

So we wait. God will his Mom gets better AND he decides to come here

[Edited on January 9, 2009 at 9:32 PM. Reason : ^ ]

1/9/2009 9:32:33 PM

i'm going to be that guy and point out that wall was here on an unofficial visit.

1/9/2009 9:52:08 PM

Also, Costner and Smith could be a dangerous combo for the future.

1/9/2009 9:55:22 PM

^^^You sound about like me in my thinking for Wall. I think being in the ACC has to be appealing to Wall, but I think he needs some THING to push us over the edge for him. We either need to turn some heads this year with wins, OR, land another big player for the 09 class. Yeah we have a solid class so far, but we need a big man to come in with him to replace Big Ben. Woods can be the 3-man to break up the D and with Brown and Wall we could move the ball with ease.

I think Favors must have talked to Wall and told him he was really considering us so Wall is holding off until he finds out what Favors chooses. With Favors, we have a legit shot, our best hope is Ga Tech to struggle bad this year and potentially fire Hewitt, then we'd be the favorite to land his services.

^^And thanks simonn, haha, yes it was unofficial. We brought up Favors for an official and Wall decided to visit with him unofficially and from everything I read he had a great time, so official or unofficial, it sounded great for us. If Wall wants to visit us 10 more times unofficially, I'll be just as happy, haha.

1/9/2009 10:22:11 PM

^I don't mean to be picky but it's Wood not Woods. I also see people, although not on this site, refer to Wall as Walls. It's just a pet peave of mine. On an unrelated note, I also can't stand when people use the term Packnation or Gatornation, etc., to refer to a fanbase. I think it's dumb. thanks. Sorry, i'm on pain medication.

1/9/2009 10:50:25 PM

Quote :

"Also, Costner and Smith could be a dangerous combo for the future."

If by future you mean 1 more year, then yes.

1/9/2009 11:03:05 PM

^The conversation was about the prospect of Wall choosing NC State, so the future, in that scenario, is (probably) 1 more year.

And Smith, Howell, Leslie, & ? will be playing with Brown and Harrow....

[Edited on January 9, 2009 at 11:38 PM. Reason : ...in the more distant future]

1/9/2009 11:34:20 PM

Brand new Derrick Favors video is up on our site. We've had clips of him dunking and blocking shots, but this is one game's worth of clips that basically shows you everything he can do. It has some mid range jumpers...some nasty dunks, and what even I didnt know was how capable he is of running the floor. When I watch this video I think "Young Dwight Howard". Its the video at the top of the page.


http://wolfpackhoops.blogspot.com/search/label/Derrick%20Favors%20(recruit)

[Edited on January 10, 2009 at 9:24 AM. Reason : Location of video]

1/10/2009 9:23:19 AM

Quote :

"It's just a pet peave of mine."

as long as we're pointing out errors, it's 'peeve'.

1/10/2009 9:52:29 AM

Thank you, I was wondering about that.

1/10/2009 10:53:55 AM

Wood had 31 last night....24 in the first half, and came out of the game with 6 minutes in the game. He was 5/5 from deep and 10/14 overall.


And Harrow had 24 and 5 assists, one highlight steal/dunk, and one AND1 style assist to Glen Rice that had the crowd shitting its pants, which Rice refered to a top 3 or 4 play of the game.

[Edited on January 10, 2009 at 11:04 AM. Reason : ]

1/10/2009 11:02:57 AM

Harrow actually had 34 points.

CJ Leslie had 19 and 11 boards.

Wall had 18 and 10 assists.

WolfpackHoops.comhttp://www.wolfpackhoops.com

1/10/2009 1:20:16 PM

sweet

1/10/2009 5:30:51 PM

All of our recruits were successful last night.

Richard Howell is now healthy and helped lead a healthy looking Wheeler team last night. He had 20 points.

DeMarcus Cousins helped LeFlore improve to 17-2 last night with 19 points.

Ryan Harrow had 22 points and 12 assists as Walton crushed another team.

LaQuinton Ross played on Friday night and helped Murrah get back to .500 with 17 points, 7 rebounds, 6 blocks, and 5 steals.

WolfpackHoops.comhttp://www.wolfpackhoops.com

1/11/2009 2:22:44 PM

Ross seems to have a versatile game

1/11/2009 2:32:32 PM

tmp....any chance for you guys to get ahold of some Lorenzo Brown video? The only site with any is Rivals and most of their video is from this summer when he was playing hurt IIRC.

[Edited on January 11, 2009 at 2:36 PM. Reason : ]

1/11/2009 2:35:50 PM

if you subscribe to rivals they just put up video from his games at GSK.

1/11/2009 2:42:05 PM

just a reminder: favors vs cousins is on the 15th at 9:00 espn2

1/11/2009 2:42:55 PM

Quote :

" The next time you see Raleigh Word of God basketball standout John Wall, do yourself and him a favor and don't ask him where he is going to go to school next year. That's the advice of national basketball recruiting expert Dave Telep, the head man of scout.com's basketball recruiting. Telep is asked almost as much as Wall about where the top-ranked point guard in the country is going to college. - Dave Telep's advice to fans: Don't ask John Wall, above right, where he is going to college. He can imagine what it must be like for Wall, who is asked dozens of times a week about his college decision. "This is what you need to do," Telep said. "Go to the game and enjoy watching an extraordinary player. "He has been a treasure to the community -- filling our gymnasiums and bringing a lot of excitement to our area. "But at this point, we should allow him to enjoy his last few weeks of high school basketball." Wall's college decision will play out in a matter of weeks, not days or hours, Telep said. Telep said one of the hardest things to explain to people who follow recruiting is that making a college decision takes a lot of thought for some players. "I don't envy these guys," Telep said. "I imagine John feels like he has the weight of the world on his shoulders. He is 18 years old and is facing a big decision. He needs some room and some time. "I don't think you're going to wake up one morning and see that he made a sudden decision." Wall is a national celebrity. During the GlaxoSmithKline Invitational, television crews followed him around. He would stop to speak to a friend and the cameras would roll. An ESPN crew spent two days with him this week. "John is in a good situation, the situation most players would love to be in, but I don't envy him," Telep said. About 90 of Telep's top 100 already have committed, but three of his top six -- No. 1 6-foot-9 Derrick Favors of South Atlanta, Ga.; Wall (No. 2) and No. 6 6-9 1/2 DeMarcus Cousins of Mobile (Ala.) LeFlore -- have not announced decisions. Some high school players relish the attention they receive during the decision-making process, but Telep said that isn't the case with these three players. It is a tough decision. An important decision. And each of the player's options have positives and negatives. N.C. State is involved with the three top-flight players. Favors has narrowed his choices to Georgia Tech, Georgia and State. Wall's list may not be his finalists, but he has been most interested in State, Duke, Memphis, Baylor, Oregon and Kansas. Cousins seemed headed to UAB in the fall because Mike Davis is the coach. "It is a complicated situation, but DeMarcus wants to play for Davis," Telep said. Cousins was willing to sign with UAB, but only under the condition that Davis would be the coach next fall. The national letter doesn't work that way. The letter binds players to schools regardless of who is coaching. That three of the top six players are interested in State is a testament to the staff and its pursuit of excellence. "N.C. State has a great foundation with Favors and Wall," Telep said, "and State has worked hard to build a relationship with Cousins." State is still involved with those three players because it has worked at it."

1/12/2009 2:56:27 PM

Quote :

"Also, Costner and Smith could be a dangerous combo for the future."

but Costner will more than likely not be back next year

1/12/2009 4:18:49 PM

^but that's complete speculation right now, right?

1/12/2009 4:21:04 PM

yes, it is...but i have heard several credible insiders say that he will be gone after this year

and im not just talking about the people on PackPride Premie shooting the shit.

1/12/2009 4:27:57 PM

^ please

I won't believe that shit unless your "sources" are the same as WolfpckGrl17

1/12/2009 4:30:08 PM

whatever gunzz, everything you post on here is cut/pasted from pp

we all know it, cause we read the posts and then see your name pop up a few posts down, then its promptly posted here.

at least change your name on pp to make it less transparent

1/12/2009 4:49:18 PM

^
^^

1/12/2009 4:56:13 PM

Quote :

"but Costner will more than likely not be back next year"

Honestly that would be a huge mistake unless his motivations are unrelated to pursing a career basketball. Costner isn't even on the radar for all-ACC at his position. He's a decent player on a mediocre team (bad ACC team) and has absolutely no consistency to his game.

1/12/2009 5:17:34 PM

Costner will make $$$ overseas...

For what it's worth I've seen a few mocks with Costner and even some with Fells being 2nd round picks...

1/12/2009 5:28:29 PM

Costner was supposed to graduate in December but slowed his academics so he will be done with school in the spring.

playing on a shitty team for 3 years in a row...having a team mate bang your GF and graduating early...why not move on.

dont get me wrong..i hope he stays b/c we are really going to need him

1/12/2009 5:30:00 PM

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=derrick+favors&search_type=&aq=f

Time to put the full court press on. Everyone needs to post in the comments section of the YouTube videos of Favors. Hopefully he'll see them and see how much we want him. Remember he said he was impressed by the crowd support on his official visit. Let's do whatever we can to get these types of players to come to State. I'm tired of mediocre basketball.

1/12/2009 5:32:51 PM

Three of Derrick Favors "Top Friends" on myspace are Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, and DeMarcus Cousins.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=190345146

1/12/2009 6:58:17 PM

Lorenzo Brown had 11 points and 6 assists on Friday night in Centennial's win over Milton 72-64. Centennial is now 11-1 and was all 11 games since losing to Derrick Favor's South Atlanta in the first game.

WolfpackHoops.comhttp://www.wolfpackhoops.com[user]

1/12/2009 10:48:51 PM

nbadraft.net has costner and fells up there. They are not untalented guys.

1/13/2009 12:52:01 AM

.

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 12:52 AM. Reason : .]

1/13/2009 12:52:01 AM

Come on man, you post this:

Quote :

"I propose that this thread be locked with Brass Monkey being the only one with posting powers. All other posts are just noise, so it's very misleading when this thread is near the top."

And then you post that^?

1/13/2009 1:03:23 AM

the hymen has already been broken. might as well go with the flow

1/13/2009 2:01:07 AM

Courtney Fells = Reyshawn Terry

meaning he'll be in Europe next year too... nothing wrong with that though.. i'd much rather live in Greece or Spain than Memphis or Minnesota

1/13/2009 2:48:34 AM

this rag says favors to announce tomorrow:

Quote :

"South Atlanta center Derrick Favors, the No. 1 basketball recruit in Georgia, will announce is college decision Wednesday at 6:30 p.m., according to his high school coach, Michael Reddick. His finalists are Georgia Tech, Georgia and Memphis. “I’ve told him he should wait until he’s comfortable to make that decision, and he walked in to my office this morning and said he’s ready,” Reddick said. The 6-foot-9 Favors is rated the No. 1 center prospect nationally and the No. 1 player in Georgia by Rivals.com and Scout.com. South Atlanta (13-1) plays at Eagle’s Landing in Stockbridge tonight and against LeFlore of Alabama in Birmingham on Thursday in a 9 p.m. game televised by ESPN2. Reddick is trying to arrange to have Favors make the decision at ESPN Zone in Buckhead before ESPN’s cameras. "

http://www.ajc.com/highschool/content/sports/highschool/stories/2009/01/13/south_atlanta_basketball_favors.html
internet rumors have him to georgia tech

[Edited on January 13, 2009 at 1:58 PM. Reason : .]

1/13/2009 1:57:11 PM

I refuse to believe those are his choices unless they actually quoted him saying that.

1/13/2009 2:04:42 PM

so are we out of it now you think or is it just more ajc garbage?

1/13/2009 2:05:53 PM

i think its the ajc trying to be russia with lowes georgia pipeline.

keep our name out of the press

1/13/2009 2:07:52 PM

man, he better not go to Memphis

please to come to raleigh

1/13/2009 2:16:53 PM

Derrick Favors, the top player in the state and one of the most elite players in the nation, will end his recruitment on Wednesday evening. The 6-foot-9 center from South Atlanta High School will announce his decision live on national television.

Favors will decide between Georgia Tech, Georgia and N.C. State at 6:30 Wednesday at the ESPN Zone in Buckhead. According to his high school coach Michael Reddick, Favors already knows where he is going but won't publicly announce his decision until tomorrow.

ESPN will carry the Georgia Tech-Duke game at 7 p.m. on Wednesday. Favors and his South Atlanta teammates will play on ESPN on Thursday night at 9 p.m. EST. The Hornets will be in Birmingham, Alabama to play LeFlore (Ala.) High School. On Saturday, South Atlanta will play Oak Hill Academy in Sprignfield, Mass.

Georgia Hoops prediction on where Favors goes to school? Georgia Tech.

1/13/2009 2:21:23 PM

crossing my fingas

1/13/2009 2:23:19 PM

We aren't getting him....now we need to hope Mike Davis gets fired and lure Cousins away.

1/13/2009 2:23:28 PM

^ I really don't like the proximity to the GT game

1/13/2009 2:24:35 PM

memphis? how long have they been in the picture?

1/13/2009 2:27:33 PM

Quote :

"I really don't like the proximity to the GT game"

yeh, announcing right before their game is not looking good at all. Here is hoping for the best though.

1/13/2009 2:32:01 PM

Swing and a miss

I bet you anything with favors going to GT, wall will end up at memphis


why....cause this is NC State

1/13/2009 2:36:38 PM

cuts deep, but i think our coaches saw the writing on the wall and thus started in on cousins as soon as they got the chance.

not like we were going to get both

1/13/2009 2:42:25 PM