North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Facing Quick Turnaround
1/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 17, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-There won't be much time for the NC State men's basketball team to lament Thursday's home loss to Boston College. In fact, there will be hardly any time at all. Already reeling from its first two game losing streak of the year, the Wolfpack (8-4, 1-1) will return to ACC play when it travels to Florida State on Saturday night (8 p.m. start).
Scheduled to catch a charter to Tallahassee on Friday afternoon, the Pack will get in one full practice on Friday night before facing coach Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles, who are 9-5 overall and 0-3 in league play.
But perhaps a quick turnaround is exactly what NC State needs following its first home defeat of the season.
"In order for us to get back where we need to be, we need to play right away," guard Scooter Sherrill said following Thursday night's contest. "I wouldn't mind if we played tomorrow. We've just got to regroup and prove to everybody that we're still a good team."
For NC State to get back to being a good team, a number of things will have to happen. First, the Pack's big three-Sherrill, Marcus Melvin and Julius Hodge-need to be hitting on all cylinders at the same time. That hasn't always happened during a stretch that has seen NC State drop three of its last four games. Melvin especially has fallen on hard times offensively, going 0-7 in a scoreless performance against B.C. Over his last two games, the 6-8 junior has missed 15 of his last 18 shots.
"He's just got to keep playing hard and keep shooting open shots," said Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek. "Marcus has played a lot of great games. There are many games we wouldn't have won without his presence."
NC State's frequent shooting woes in recent weeks have also seemingly affected its play on the defensive end of the floor. In the second half of back-to-back games, Georgia Tech and Boston College have shot better than 65 percent, respectively. Unlike many of Sendek's teams of the past, this club has had a difficult time digging down deep on the defensive end of the court when the ball isn't going in the basket.
"That's kind of been part of our problem," Sendek said. "It's human nature. When you're not knocking down shots, you get frustrated and sometimes you don't have the same energy on defense. You can either make that decision or you can dig even deeper and come up with better defense on a night when you desperately need it."
NC State leads the all-time series with Florida State by a 17-14 margin. Since dropping nine straight games in Tallahassee, the Wolfpack has won three in a row at the Leon County Civic Center.
