Last weekend was kinda rough for the Pack faithful. For the football team, Wake didn’t just beat State they ran them off BB&T Field with a 20 point victory. I was kinda happy I didn’t have to witness such a gruesome murder (I was receiving text updates while I was at NBC 17’s Tree of Lights), and I tried to stay optimistic since it is now basketball season.
When I got home from Tree of Lights (and was still trying to shake the loss to Wake, that my Dad and brother would not let me hear the end of…) I found out that one of State’s football recruits for next year, Terrell Manning, tore his MCL and ACL in a playoff game for Scotland vs. East Burke. Manning is ranked at 13 in Rivals’ outside linebackers prospect ranking, and is one of the four star incoming freshman for 2008. But the weekend wasn’t completely ruined because our basketball team is ranked 21st in the county, and they were playing New Orleans Sunday night. This would be a great ending to a long weekend.
So I sat down to watch our game Sunday night vs. New Orleans- ready to bask in a win, and continue to talk smack to all of my Carolina friends about the games to come. But this never happened. Do I need to re-hash the pain? State couldn’t get it together on either end of the court. They missed rebounds, choked on foul shots, and couldn’t hit a 3 if their life depended on it. (Which it pretty much did at that point)
Everyone in the world has an opinion on why State couldn’t pull it together, so why shouldn’t I?
I think that JJ Hickson is a great asset to the team. He was even mentioned by ESPN to be one of the top college basketball players in this year’s freshman class. He averaged 26.5 points and 10 rebounds in the first two games of his college career, and was even named ACC Rookie of the Week on Monday (Nov. 19th). BUT, when Hickson gets shut down and is triple-teamed by the defense, the rest of the team needs to know what to do.
State’s team is still young, with the exception of Gavin Grant, but they actually have a bench this year. Just because there is so much talent on the team does mot make the games or practices any easier. Some teams just need a wake up call, and I hope this one was good as a fog horn for State. Last year Sid Lowe was doing well, and must have thought he would do better this year with his own recruiting class of players. This may be true, but they seem to still be lacking something.
State played their first game of the Old Spice Classic today in Florida. It was a win, and I’ll take it. Once again, the team didn’t play like they had any chemistry. I think that Lowe is trying to tweak the rotations to figure out how to capitalize on all the talent the team has and find out who will work best together. Hickson did not start today, the starting line up included: Grant, Costner, McCauley, Fells, and Degand. Hickson, Gonzalez, and Ferguson came off the bench for a total of 18 pts. Today it was pretty obvious that the Princeton Offense left with Coach Sendak, State was 0/7 from the 3point line in the first half, but improved slightly to end the game 5/14.
The schedule will not get any easier. State will play South Carolina tomorrow at 12:30pm on ESPN2 with little rest and their ACC/Big 10 challenge game against Michigan State will be on Wednesday in Michigan. I think the team will come together, and find their rhythm. Until then, I think Degand will make progress with each game, JJ is a baller he just needs to find his niche with the team, Trevor should stay on the bench longer, Grant should step up as the senior, Fells needs to keep playing like he did tonight against Rider, the team can focus more on rebounding and foul shots, and it could shape up to be a nice season. 
PS- For all those UNC fans who are never gonna give me a break from the New Orleans jokes….let’s remember two words: Santa Clara. This year may just end for us the same way 04-05 ended for you after that loss….
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