Unfortunately Vasquez gave Fells fits all night, which was surprising considering how good of a defender Fells is. It wasn't until we put Javi on Vasquez that he was slowed down a bit.

We may be better next year, maybe not. Some of that depends on if we get Wall and/or Cousins. Some of it doesn't. Javi, Farnold, and Julius all should and need to improve. Javi will be an upperclassmen with plenty of playing experience. He is shooting the ball with a lot of confidence now. His freshman year I cringed whenever he shot a 3 ball. Now I think it's going to go in almost everytime. Farnold will finally be healthy. Julius will hopefully work on not making stupid mistakes. One thing that Julius has done this year is that he's sometimes been too aggressive which has put him in foul trouble. He has to know when to be aggressive and when not to be on both the offensive and defensive ends. Some of that may be him having to adjust to the speed of the college game.

Tracy will be a star in the league next year (provided some "NC State shit" injury doesn't happen) and will probably be an All-ACC candidate. Hopefully Horner will have learned more from Ben about working the hi-lo game as I imagine he will probalby have to play the 4 next year. Howell will probably see immediate back up minutes as a freshman. He'll probably be one of the first guys off of the bench. I'm going to enjoy seeing Johnny Thomas and CJ Williams playing on the wing. I think both will need to play the 3 next year. We will have a lot of depth at the 1-2 spots. It may not be the most talented group, but competition should be able to make the best rise to the top.

Sr
Horner
Ferguson
Degand

Jr
Gonzalez
Smith

So
Thomas
Mays
Williams

Fr
Brown
Howell
Wood
Wall
Cousins (hopefully they come. i think we have a decent shot at both.)


My depth chart for next year:

1) Wall, Gonzalez, Mays
2) Degand, Brown, Ferguson (he could also see time at the 3 against smaller teams)
3) Williams, Thomas
4) Smith, Horner
5) Cousins, Howell


I know Brown is supposed to be great and all, but I'm not going to expect him to be an immediate starter next year. I certainly think he will get plenty of minutes though. I personally think we will need to run a 3 guard system next year even if we get Cousins. It could actually help us out in terms of having plenty of ballhandlers on the floor. I remember a stretch of one game were we had both Farnold and Javi on the floor, and it was quite productive.

3/2/2009 2:35:20 PM

I like that depth chart for the most part. I'm definitely not opposed to putting Degand at the 2 (I've actually been calling for it all year). But I hope Brown quickly becomes the starter at 2G. He seems like he'll bring the play-making ability we desperately need at SG

Also, if we somehow get Wall, it'd be fun seeing a combo of Wall, Brown, and Javi on the floor at the same time. Let Javi run PG in the half-court and have Wall and Brown attacking the basket from the wings. In the open court, give it to Wall and get the hell out of the way.


[Edited on March 2, 2009 at 3:53 PM. Reason : ]

3/2/2009 3:49:41 PM

wasnt Julius Mays originally an SG coming out of high school? if he was, I would think that he would get a shot at the 2. I swear that kid looked great early in the season, still not sure what he did to go from starter to no playing time at all

3/2/2009 3:57:34 PM

Some of the passes that Horner and Fells made last night made me want to go out on the court and choke them. Fells plays so lackadaisical sometimes it makes you mad. He is so talented and plays hard but doesn't have the mindset. He really is a mystery.

3/2/2009 3:59:56 PM

if lorenzo brown isn't good enough to play over degand right away, we're in big trouble.

3/2/2009 4:10:16 PM

Well I think Brown may end up in the starting lineup at some point, perhaps mid-way to 3/4 of the way through the season. He still will be a freshman that can and will make freshman mistakes. Mays could play some at the 2, but then do you move Ferguson to the 3? The one thing that may determine if we have a decent season or not will be players learning early on what their roles will be.

3/2/2009 5:27:03 PM

as opposed to a redshirt senior that makes freshman mistakes?

i'll take the freshman.

[Edited on March 2, 2009 at 5:29 PM. Reason : and no you don't more ferguson to the 3, you just don't play ferguson.]

3/2/2009 5:28:38 PM

I'm hoping that Degand will play like a senior come next year. Him finally playing a full year of basketball should help him. Also he will get to go through the summer workouts with the rest of the team this year.

3/2/2009 5:30:19 PM

i'm hoping that john wall and demarcus cousins both come to state, but i'm not expecting it.

3/2/2009 5:33:58 PM

but i'm also not expecting Brown to come in and be instantly one of our best players as a freshman. i'm certainly hoping for it, but you know how State fans are in terms of putting undue expectations and pressure on incoming players.

3/2/2009 5:36:16 PM

I can hope Lorenzo starts by the time ACC play begins. We need the help at least at the 2.

3/2/2009 8:17:51 PM

did degand have his 5 second violation this game as he has in the past 7,000 games? if not, maybe thats an improvement

3/2/2009 9:49:08 PM

no he didn't, but he did pass the ball out of bounds on his first possession.

3/3/2009 12:22:51 AM

I would hope that Brown will be a starter at some point. Given the returning talent we have on the team for next year, he should get significant minutes. Same goes for Howell. We will be low in numbers for big men next year, especially since 6'9 Horner plays more like a shooting guard. I don't remember the last time I saw Horner post up on someone down low.

3/3/2009 12:27:15 PM

I was at the game, and the only players who were playing (despite if they were helping us score)...but played with heart and wanted the ball on EVERY single play were:

McCauley, Gonzalez, Smith, and Horner.


Yeah I know Horner's shooting was off but he was constantly gettign position for the ball, and crashing the boards everytime Smith took a shot.

Gonzalez, not always the best decision maker but 1,000 times better then Degand who was a JOKE.

There was like a 3 or 4 minutes stretch when Smith and McCauley were in the game and for whatever reason we stopped getting the ball inside, even though it was working 95% of the time in the first half??


The only senior ill miss on Senior day will be Ben McCauley. Costner stopped playing after his freshman year, and im not sure why????

3/3/2009 1:31:52 PM

What's the name of the white kid i think he's from Indiana or Illinois or OH who is suppose to be like a 60 % shooter from the three point line....so is it official that he's coming?

Anyone have any more stats on him?

3/3/2009 1:34:55 PM

scott wood

scout has tons of stuff on him

3/3/2009 1:40:35 PM

Quote :

"The only senior ill miss on Senior day will be Ben McCauley."

I agree. Fells has been too inconsistent, too turnover-prone, and too 'not-living-up-to-potential' for me to miss him. There are plays and dunks and skills that he has shown that I will certainly miss. Same for Costner.

3/3/2009 4:39:18 PM

just for some nc state shit. let's wait and see costner magically turn it on for the first two rounds of the acc tournament and give us some hope and get on some scouts' radar. and then disappear in the semis and lose us the game when we were starting to trust him again.

3/3/2009 4:43:45 PM

Quote :

"did degand have his 5 second violation this game as he has in the past 7,000 games? if not, maybe thats an improvement"

IIRC, he did this immediately after coming off the bench, maybe even first possession. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Edited on March 3, 2009 at 5:22 PM. Reason : V Alright, thanks. As with every game, I'd already had several 12oz'ers]

3/3/2009 5:05:03 PM

no, you're thinking of last game.

this game he didn't have a 5 second, but he threw the ball away on the first possession.

3/3/2009 5:07:43 PM

^ correct.

3/3/2009 5:14:21 PM

Ah crap, even though I put Scott Wood in the class breakdown in my post at the top of the page I forgot to put him in the depth chart. I would put him at the 3. I think he'll eventually put on the weight needed to play the position and might grow another inch or two.

1) Wall, Gonzalez, Mays
2) Degand, Brown, Ferguson
3) Williams, Thomas, Wood
4) Smith, Horner
5) Cousins, Howell

3/3/2009 8:14:15 PM