Results 1 to 19 of 19

Thread: Ncsu

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC

    Ncsu

    Had a chance to watch State up close and personal last night v. Cincinnati. I get the feeling they are beginning to round into form. Solid eight-man roation, used rationally and effectively. Two PGs, 3 bigs, 3 wings.

    If you watched the game on Fox, you know that it was a weird game, with absolutely no flow. Cincy used 12 players in the first half. It was like a hockey game. Every dead ball, 2 or 3 players in, 2 or 3 out. Then, in the second half, Cincinnati evidently thought every State player was Shaq and there were two minutes left in the game. Call it Hack-a-Pack. 24 fouls in just the second half. And they got their money's worth, including one that sent Degand out with a sprained knee. Game took forever.

    Degand is the key, IMO. I'm assuming he's not out long. He seems to be figuring it out. He's a long way from being an elite PG but if he's solid, then State's solid. He was solid last night.

    Cincy pressed most of the game, with platoons of strong, athletic defenders, and State kept the turnovers at a manageable number. State's ball movement and spacing were better than they were earlier in the season. Costner got off to a great start, slowed down but made some plays down the stretch. He's beginning to look like an All-ACC player. Grant is a tough matchup for anyone at the 3. Hickson was in foul trouble much of the game and only got a few rebounds. But I can see what the fuss is about. He's tough down low, real tough. If I were an NBA GM, I'd take him before I'd take Blair. And note that State made 74% from the line. Anyone take 74% last Thursday?

    There are some chinks. After all, Cincy came into the game 4-6 and trailed by 3 late. State didn't rebound well at all. Down the stretch their defense developed some real holes. Good, quick ball movement gave them trouble.
    Of course, good, quick ball movement gives most team's trouble. Still, Cincy had an awful lot of good looks down the stretch.

    I'm still not convinced State is good enough to give the other two Triangle schools a run for the top spot. But I do think the post-ECU obits are premature. Remember Virginia Tech lost to Western Michigan and Marshall early last season, Virginia lost to App State, and Boston College lost to Vermont. All endedd up ahead of Duke in the ACC standings and all ended up in the NCAAs.

    And of course, Duke plays State twice this year in the regular season for the first time in awhile.

  2. #2
    I agree that it's too early to write off NC State as dead. However, I don't know what you've seen to make you think they are rounding into form. They beat a bad Cincy team at home while going to the free throw line more than triple the time than Cincy did.

    Also, I don't know about your assertion that "If Degand's solid, then State's solid." That's what I thought headed into the season, but he played decently against New Orleans and Michigan State, and NC State did not look solid in those games. In fact, Michigan State might have been Degand's best game, and State looked awful.

    My guess is they'll get better but the returning players have been disappointing overall and they're going to need to develop chemistry with Hickson and show some leadership.

  3. #3
    Not sure how it will affect things "chemistry-wise", but keep in mind Marques Johnson will be eligible soon, if he isn't already.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    The Michigan State game was so boo-hiss-awful that I'm not sure we can draw any conclusions from it. Earlier in the season Degand was having some games that looked good statistically. But he wasn't running the team as effectively, he wasn't involving his teammates, he wasn't doing point-guard-things as well as I saw him last night.

    They did shoot three times as many foul shots as Cincinnati because Cincinnati fouled them virtually every possession in the second half. These were hard fouls, legitmately called, and they stepped up and made the foul shots. I see no reason to discount State's win on that account.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    I moved. Now 12 miles from Heaven, 13 from Hell

    Degand Out for Year


  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    Out for the season! Ouch. That's a shame.

    In the immortal words of Emily Litello, Never Mind.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Norfolk, VA
    I watched the game on TV and the play where Degand was hurt was replayed several times. His left knee collapsed slightly before or simultaneous to the Cincy players contact. It looked similar to the injury Cook received in the Duke game, but not as bad.
    Bob Green

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Close to the Gothic Playground!
    State has been such a surprise this year.

    Clearly, this is a coaching issue because with the talent that Lowe has on that team, they should be winning more than they have been. Hickson is a superb player and can almost score at will; toss him in with the remaining core of players and they are potentially a very competitive team, also very dangerous.

    I wonder if their PG is going to have problems with his knee; I saw him get injured at it looked like an ACL, very similar to Cook's injury from Pittsburgh.

    dth.

  9. #9
    Why hasn't Degand's injury been covered by DBR? It seems like a pretty big deal for obvious reasons, and all I can find on it in the ACC recaps is the following misleading sentence:

    Also, it’ll be Gonzalez vs. Gonzalez, as State is turning to freshman Javi Gonzalez to run the show against the Pirates.

  10. #10

    Degand Will Hurt, Johnson Will Help

    Losing Farnold Degand will hurt a lot more than people think.
    He was averaging nearly 7 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists.

    But, Marques Johnson, a 4 star recruit will help the PG position.

    The wolfpack will be challenged against Seton Hall later tonight but then they have 3 very easy games heading into there first conference game (Jan 12th, at UNC)

    I like that Sidney Lowe has scheduled so many games over the holdiays. After saturday when they play Western Carolina they will have played 4 games in just 8 days.

    I think the team is forming and will be a huge challenge in the ACC this season.

  11. #11

    M Johnson

    While Johnson will be a useful player for State, IMHO he's no more a point guard than Gavin Grant ...

    I've been wrong before, but I don't think I am this time. I've seen Johnson play more than a dozen AAU games at a the point and his efforts at both protecting the ball and distributing it are painful to watch -- and he was playing an a team with four NBA big man prospects.

    Johnson is a nice mid-sized athlete, who doesn't shoot very well and doesn't handle well enough to play the point.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Washington, DC area
    Quote Originally Posted by Slackerb View Post
    Why hasn't Degand's injury been covered by DBR? It seems like a pretty big deal for obvious reasons...
    Well, I can't speak for him, but I'll submit that during the holidays - and other family occasions - Julio would rather just spend some time with his family.

    Me, too, for that matter. (I'm way behind on the board!).

    And I hope everyone else is enjoying a bit of family time or just some down-time this week, too.

    -jk

  13. #13
    Now they have it covered. It seems they submitted an article but it didn't post or something.

    Good win by the Pack last night...seems they are getting things together a bit.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by jimsumner View Post
    They did shoot three times as many foul shots as Cincinnati because Cincinnati fouled them virtually every possession in the second half. These were hard fouls, legitmately called, and they stepped up and made the foul shots. I see no reason to discount State's win on that account.
    Cincy played physical, but not THAT physical. Also, my main point is that Cincy's a bad team. You're arguing that State is rounding into form based on their performance against a bad team at home. That's what I'm saying.

  15. #15
    Saw the NC St game was on ESPN-U but chose to spend some time with grandkids while they are in town.

    Even before the NC St PG got injured, Ken Pomeroy had NC State 12th and MD 11th.

    http://www.kenpom.com/sked.php?team=Duke&t=p

    Duke 14-2; 27-3
    UNC 11-5; 28-5
    Clemson 9-7; 22-8
    FSU 9-7;20-11
    Miami 8-8; 20-8
    UVA 8-8;18-11
    BC 7-9; 17-12
    VA T 7-9; 16-13
    GA T 7-9; 14-16
    WF 6-10;15-14
    MD 5-11; 14-17
    NC St 4-12; 5-15

  16. #16
    True, but if you believe that load of crap, you'll believe anything.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    I'll take the over on State getting four ACC wins. Line forms at the left.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Location
    Raleigh, NC
    In case you're wondering, State came back and beat WCU 74-62. J.J. Hickson had 33 points and 13 rebounds. State fans are already fearing that he might be one-and-done. He's definitely going to challenge Singler for ACC ROY.

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by -jk View Post
    Well, I can't speak for him, but I'll submit that during the holidays - and other family occasions - Julio would rather just spend some time with his family.

    Me, too, for that matter. (I'm way behind on the board!).

    -jk
    I too would rather spend time with Julio's family during the holidays.

Similar Threads

  1. NCSU v UNC- Game Thread
    By BlueintheFace in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 13
    Last Post: 02-22-2008, 12:01 PM
  2. Good for you, NCSU!
    By dukemomLA in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: 02-06-2008, 06:42 PM
  3. NCSU vs. UNC
    By OZZIE4DUKE in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 54
    Last Post: 01-15-2008, 10:24 PM
  4. NCSU-Nova in a tight one
    By pfrduke in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 11-27-2007, 10:48 AM
  5. Kudos to NCSU Coach Yow
    By Bluedawg in forum Elizabeth King Forum
    Replies: 2
    Last Post: 08-10-2007, 09:38 AM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •