WolfPack BasketBall Diaries No. 1

Disclaimer:  Any “opinion” expressed by the writer of this web article does not necessarily reflect the views of New Raleigh. Please take any opinion/view with a light heart.  Enjoy.

William & Mary, 11/15

I’ll admit it, I was thinking about this one.  Lots of people will write-off a team from a conference with little reputation.  W&M played #5 Georgetown (the team that beat UNC to get to the Final Four last year) on November 10.  Five days later, they play #21 NC State.  I know they’d be ready for State, as far as skill was concerned.  But I wasn’t worried about State.  Then I got worried.  William & Mary used that treacherous 3-1-1 defense and that first half got my heart rate up.  However, the second half provided me with much more enthusiasm. Hickson’s 31 points also eased my soul;  not one shot missed.  Way to go, JJ!

NC State is (1-0).

New Orleans, 11/18

Monte Towe, State’s Associate Head Coach used to coach at New Orleans, which is probably why this match-up came to be.  Interesting note on Towe:  He was a guard on the team in 1974, when NC State defeated Marquette to win its first national title.  However I remember him most from last season’s game at Carolina.  Remember?  Coach Lowe was hospitalized for dehydration and Towe took the reigns.  He really just looked on for 15 minutes before he called a time-out in that second period.  Yeah, I remember not being too thrilled about that.  No more living in the past.

State’s upset to New Orleans should be ringing alarm bells in the Wolfpack camp.  I’m sure Grant didn’t think this was going to be one of the four games we were going to lose.  Grant punched his weight, as did Hickson.  Go read this article if you want to understand why NC State lost.  I’m over it.  I don’t think its a big deal.  Sure, you might ask yourself “Just who the hell is New Orleans?“  Well, they are a team that beat State.  It happens.  In fact, this loss to New Orleans is just what State needs to take to Orlando and use as fuel to win the Old Spice Classic.  So, let’s go for a ride.

NC State is (1-1).

Thanks, Dick.

Dear Dicky,
Ah, Dicky-V.  You were such good buddies with the late Jimmy-V.  The two of you appearing on the Cosby show was a classic, helping Sondra and Elvin move into their place.  I’m still a tad sore since I know, at heart, you’re a Dook-booster.  We know you love the ACC.  Thank you for putting us on your Sleeper list, along with Mississippi State, Notre Dame, Washington and Xavier.  Even with your love for the ACC, I really appreciate you leaving Clemson off your list.  They got 4 votes from other dudes, but your vote is true.  We hope we won’t let you down, Mr. College Basketball.
Yours truly,
Vinny-C, Pack-booster

The fact that Dick Vitale put NC State on his sleeper list makes me roll my eyes.  But after last night, a fool might say that he might know what he is talking about.  I see other sleepers from other people’s lists that make sense.  For instance, Ohio State and Florida:  The players that made those teams championship material last year are all gone.  There’s Houston: the team that lost in the tourney 25 years ago to NC State.  There are other teams repeating.  The most repeated of all the picks?  Clemson.  Last year Clemson had the best record at one point in the season, at 17-0.  But then they stumbled.  Then they fell.  Then they eventually lost to West Virginia.  To see all the ESPN guys and their sleeper picks, go here.  Sweet dreams.

FYI:  New Raleigh will bring you first hand accounts of the match-ups versus Davidson (a sleeper team that almost beat Carolina) and Cincinnati on Monday, December 24th.  These will give you the idea of how NC State’s home conference play will be interpreted in the coming months.  Thank you for reading.

Coming up Next:

The New Old Spice Classic

on Monday, November 26th