- 11.08.2009
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New season, same old issues for Pack
N.C. State didn't just lose to Florida State on Tuesday, the program appears to be falling apart at the seams. Again.
Sidney Lowe benched stars Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner for the bulk of the second half. Without its top two scorers, State actually took the lead. When the two were put back in the game, State fell apart.
Lowe called out McCauley and Costner after the loss and talked about "team" issues. These are the same issues that plagued last year's team, which finished with nine straight losses.
Which has to make any State fan wonder, was J.J. Hickson the problem or is it on McCauley and Costner?
When push came to shove, Lowe cast his lot with Julius Mays, C.J. Williams and Johnny Thomas in Tuesday's 78-65 loss to FSU. Lowe recruited those three players. He did not recruit McCauley or Costner.
Coaches, in any sport in the college or professional ranks, want to sink or swim with their players. Perhaps this explains the rift between Hickson (a Lowe recruit) and the '07-'08 team.
One and a half games into his third ACC season, Lowe made the decision to go with "his" players. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with McCauley, Costner, Courtney Fells or any of the other leftover players recruited by Herb Sendek.
In Lowe's first season, the versatility of those players allowed State to make a successful postseason run. Unexamined from that first team, Lowe's most successful, was that there were only six, maybe seven, ACC players on it.
In short, there were no disputes over minutes or touches. Last year's team was crippled by such dissent with the addition of Hickson, who led the team in scoring. Without Hickson, who left after one year for the NBA, McCauley and Costner assumed the leadership roles of this team.
With the offense running through McCauley and Costner, State lost close games to Davidson, Marquette and Florida, all but ending any realistic chance of the NCAA Tournament.
By the 15-minute mark of the second half, Lowe had seen enough of his senior and fourth-year junior, he turned to Mays, Thomas and Williams — three freshmen. If you're going to lose, don't let one losing season turn into two. Lowe has every right to attempt to develop the talent for next season.
"Those are the guys we're going to have count on now and down the road," Lowe said.
The problem with that is there's still 14 games left on the ACC schedule. Either Lowe is going to have stick with the trio of freshmen, plus Fells and any other combination, excluding Javi Gonzalez who predictably had one of the worst 3-minute stretches in ACC history against FSU's Toney Douglas, and make a concerted effort to develop the talent for next season.
Or Lowe has to reel McCauley and Costner back in. He couldn't do that last season when Hickson became the focal point of the offense and he failed to define the roles of McCauley and Costner in the supporting cast.
Judging by the 10-minute stretch that Mays led the offense, and Williams and Thomas supported, Lowe needs McCauley and Coster because while the freshmen trio are athletically gifted, particularly the muscular Thomas, they don't have the skill set to carry an ACC offense.
Which lineup Lowe turns to for Saturday's game with Georgia Tech — a must-win game if there ever was one for Lowe, who has dropped 11 straight ACC games — will determine the direction for not only this season but beyond.
J.P. Giglio
J.P. Giglio covers the ACC for the News & Observer, where he has worked since 1997.
Comments
the problem is the coach
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 22:33 — saltydawg1Sid proved in the NBA that e couldn't coach, and to expect him to compete with coach K, and 'ol Roy, is fool's gold!! Pack fans are practicing "the ostrich syndrom".....theyve got their heads in the sand!!!
actually...
Thu, 01/15/2009 - 21:38 — izzykareemi feel pretty good about beating UNCCH this year
I will say it again as I
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 21:09 — aideanI will say it again as I said after the clemson loss, Start Mays, he is able to create points by penetrating jump shots on an otherwise non-creation offensive team. Most of states points without mays in the game come off of highly contested shots that somehow make it in the basket, or put backs and foul situations. Mays penetration and kickouts give us good looks, and he can lead a transition game. Mays is the answer for state to pull themselves out of the cellar (Last or 11th) of the league and into maybe a 7th or 8th place finish. That looks like that is all we can hope for for now and hope that next seasons recruits will make an immediate impact (can anyone say Jon Wall)
Change you can believe in, maybe.
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 16:19 — JPDOhioThe style Sid wants his team to play requires athleticism. So let's just go with the athletes. That means Mays starts and gets the most minutes with Degand spelling him enough to keep him fresh. Williams, Thomas and Fells share most of the minutes in the 2 and 3 roles, with Ferguson helping out when he is healthy. Smith gets the most minutes while rotating with Costner and McCauley. Horner helps out in this area. At least this gives us some hope for the future, and probably makes the Pack more competitive as the season goes on.
It is time for all of us (or maybe just me) to recognize that the ACC tournament 2 years ago was a fluke and that we will never get consistent top level performance from Costner and McCauley. Neither is quick enough to handle the athletic bigs that are getting thrown at them in every ACC game and there is no upside to them. I personally am tired of watching them lose the ball when they try to make a move and, when they do get a shot off, seeing them get stuffed or miss wildly after trying to adjust their shots in mid-air.
Shorten the bench 2
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 15:24 — psoward3I agree. The right rotation doesn't need to be 13 players deep. Properly conditioned players should be able to give you maximum effort for more than 5 minutes at a time! The constant shuffling of players in and out, also hurts the chemistry and flow of the team.
Shorten the bench
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 15:09 — lanceaboilThe talent is there to have a mediocre (5-6 ACC wins) rather than a horrid (1-2 ACC wins) season. It just takes finding the right combination AND recognizing that those combinations don't necessarily include every player. Some guys are just not up to the task at this juncture. Not to say that they never will be, but they're just not there no. Javi obviously is not up to playing ACC point guard. Everyone became infatuated with Ferguson late last year when he had a couple of good games in losing efforts. However, outside of those two games, he has not shown the ability to consistently score and he's often a defensive liability. Same with Horner. And sometimes combinations just don't work. When you've got Javi and Horner on floor at the same time, it's just asking for an opponent to go on a huge run. Courtney Fells struggles when the team is in its half-court set offense, like he's got butter on his fingers. But, when the young guys were in last night and we were actually RUNNING up and down the court, he excelled, making good passes on the break and finishing breaks. Every player on the team has talent at some level, but they don't all mesh together as a unit because it's still a hybrid of the old system and the new system. I'm encouraged about the future and hope that a proper 7-8 man rotation can be found to give us the best opportunity to win.
Costner made the run in
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 14:56 — psoward3Costner made the run in question...wait for it...with Fells and McCauley in the line-up. During his cold streak, he was in the game, he just blended in with the bench! Costner is a streaky player, much like Fells. He is good win things are good, and when things fall apart, he falls apart.
One concern of mine, is the heaving of the forced 33ft air-balls, and the second, and the third. It IS easier to make a 3-pointer when you are close to the line! Another concern is that none of the "leaders" seemed to care about TEAM at the end of that game last night. They (all three) seemed pissed about their minutes. That, IMO was the problem last year, and it is the same problem this year. My solution, sit all three of them just like you did Gavin Grant, during his last game in a Wolfpack uniform! Don't get me wrong, I think Costner, Fells and even McCauley all have potential to be good ACC players. But, what is potential worth as a Senior? Yet, another team concern is that there are NO screens to free guys up. The only picks I see are soft, ineffective, moving screens that could be called (a foul) at any moment, and cost you any game. Another concern would be that Javi continues to carry the ball on EVERY trip up the floor! It has been called several times already, yet he still does it, and it will cost you, big, when they call it in big games. The fundamentals.
This team is expected to run an NBA-style offense, without NBA talent. That having been said, Lowe could bring in some very significant recruiting classes over the next year or two. That would mask some problems. Of course, problems are a lot easier to deal with when they are followed by a "W."
It's time to move on and
Wed, 01/14/2009 - 13:24 — JamesinWillowSpringsIt's time to move on and shift the focus of this team to the New Guard.
I think Costner still has plenty of value, but he needs to play with a group around him expending a high level of effort. When he's out there with Fells and McCauley, the effort level drops and he goes back to being an average power-forward-playing-strictly-on-the-perimeter.
Look at what Costner was doing at the beginning of the game in leading the team to a 12-4 lead. He's capable of high effort. He just needs to be surrounded by others on the court that will give it for 30+ minutes, not 10.