North Carolina State University Athletics
Behind The Scenes With Tony Haynes: Thoughts On Wolfpack Basketball
12/16/2001 12:00:00 AM | Pack Athletics
Dec. 16, 2001
By Tony Haynes
There were 9,840 Wolfpack fans on hand to watch Saturday's 92-54 victory over UNC-Asheville. Actually, make that 9,841. UNC-Asheville coach Eddie Biedenbach never goes out of his way to hide his allegiance and fondness for NC State.
A former Wolfpack guard and assistant coach, Biedenbach is still a card-carrying member of the Wolfpack Club. And even on those occasions when his Bulldogs are about to play NC State on the basketball court, he'll often use the word 'we' when discussing the Pack basketball program.
A close friend of NC State head coach Herb Sendek, Biedenbach--like many of other Wolfpack fans--is starting to like what he sees of a young team that continues to get better.
"I talk with Herb often," Biedenbach said prior to Saturday's contest. "A lot of the things we discuss I take and use with our team. He's a smart man, a wonderful basketball coach and I think he's done a wonderful job here. I think this is going to be a special basketball team before the season is over. Of course, their work is cut out for them when you have Maryland and Duke in the league."
And then, in true NC State fashion, Biedenbach couldn't help but get a little zinger in: "it's great having North Carolina doing what they're doing at this particular time. All of us State fans want Carolina to have a real good year as long as we can beat them all the time."
Once a Wolfpacker, always a Wolfpacker.
***
Like many games at the Entertainment and Sports Arena this season, the attendance at Saturday's contest was modest, at best. Back in the old days, 10,000 people at Reynolds Coliseum were enough to create a fairly electric atmosphere. At the cavernous ESA, however, it's a different story.
Despite all the bells and whistles that the ESA offers, the overall ambiance is lacking unless the building is completely full. As it proved in its impressive win at Syracuse, this NC State team seems to enjoy playing in front of loud, boisterous crowds. And while the Carrier Dome was a hostile environment, the atmosphere provided by the Syracuse fans seemed to light a fire under many of the Pack's younger players. Interestingly, many of college basketball's most intimidating venues, the Carrier Dome being one of them, don't have multi-million dollar scoreboards, shimmering light shows and fancy intro videos. What they do have are proactive crowds that make plenty of noise from the starting line-ups until the final horn.
More than likely, the Wolfpack's "sixth man" will come out of hibernation when 2nd ranked Maryland visits on December 30.
***
Not only are NC State senior guards Archie Miller and Anthony Grundy providing tremendous leadership, they're also playing very well together. The chemistry that's developed between the two players is becoming more and more evident with every game. Miller's shooting range and steady play at the point compliment Grundy's aggressive, slashing offensive style.
"Archie is a great floor leader," Grundy said. "He knows what to call in certain situations and I just feed off him. I guess the thing that we have that a lot of good backcourts have is that we're on the same page. We also know basketball. From him, it comes from his father and brother. From me, it may just be playing and learning throughout my career. That is a bond that I don't know if a lot of people have, but I think we do."
The 6-3 Grundy is averaging 22 points over his last two games. Prior to Saturday's game against Asheville, Miller's 4:1 assist to turnover was No. 1 in the ACC. Of course, that was before he dished out seven assist compared to just one turnover against the Bulldogs.
One more thought: Josh Powell is going to be REAL good.
