Where does this team go from here? (Courtesy N&O)
Following NC State’s collapse in the second half of the Georgetown game, I felt like losing the game in that fashion—while painful to watch—would give this team something to build on.
They could go back to the film, see where they went away from the gameplan and reverted to “street ball,” and use that tape to correct some of the selfish tendencies that led them to play as five individuals versus one team.
Believing that scenario would transpire is what led me to think NC State had a puncher’s chance against Wisconsin.
After watching the game last night—every last, agonizing second of it—it’s clear this team, its players and its coaches didn’t take one damn thing away from the Georgetown game. Not one.
EVERY negative tendency we saw manifest itself in the second half of the Georgetown game—the poor/quick shot selection, the insistence to take folks one-on-one, the incredibly sloppy defense and the overall lack of a sense of urgency—didn’t wait until the second half to appear against the Badgers; they were right there from the opening tip.
I can’t recall the last time a NC State game made me physically ill, but last night did. My stomach literally twisted watching that garbage, because I knew what it ultimately meant: poor, poor coaching, and the chance that the demons that plagued the 2007 season could be rearing their ugly heads again.
I want Sidney Lowe to succeed very badly. I know what he means to this University and its legacy on the hardwood, and how much State means to him personally. But while he deserves tremendous kudos for his recruiting ability and his knack for targeting talent early, I lost a LOT of confidence in his ability to coach and mold great talent into what he needs to succeed last night.
I truly thought (or drank the Kool Aid that was being passed around) that Sidney’s issues to this point were 1) a lack of talent and 2) chemistry clashes that would be solved once “his guys” were all in place. I understood why the strife between JJ Hickson and Herb’s star players; I couldn’t foresee a team of extremely talented guys whom Sidney had built relationships with since their junior high days not meshing together.
But watching the team last night, it felt like 2007 all over again, and if 2011 plays out like it did four years ago, this will be Sidney’s last year at NC State. Of that, there now is no doubt in my mind.
