North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Faces Pressurized Situation at ACC Tourney
3/13/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Greensboro, N.C.-When it faces Georgia Tech in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals on Friday at 2:30, NC State will be facing two levels of pressure. First, there will be the obvious: speculation about what the Wolfpack must do to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament has been running rampant this week. Secondly, the Tech team NC State will meet is capable of applying all kinds of defensive pressure from baseline to baseline. On both counts, the Pack's success or failure could hinge on its ability to handle a higher level of pressure than it encountered at any time during the regular season.
Since members of the NCAA Selection Committee will likely be keeping a close eye on Friday's contest, it would behoove NC State to win, and look good doing it. But when they take the Greensboro Coliseum floor at around 2:00 p.m., the Wolfpack's players won't have the luxury of being fixated on who might be tuning in.
"I don't really think about it that much," said NC State forward Marcus Melvin. "Personally, I just take it one day at a time and as a team, we've got to know that we've got to do the same thing. That's the only thing we can do in order to succeed and make the NCAA Tournament."
And while most observers agree that State needs at least one win-and maybe two this weekend-some of the ACC's coaches vehemently disagree. After going through the 16-game conference grind themselves, they can't imagine a league team with nine ACC wins being left out. Of course, it happened only once before when a 9-7 Virginia team was left on the outside looking in three years ago.
"I can't imagine that," said coach Skip Prosser, whose Wake Forest Demon Deacons won their first ACC regular season title since 1962. "They've (NC State) proved their mettle with nine ACC wins. The problem with a league that has only nine teams is that we all beat up on each other. There are no layups in this league. The ninth place team beat Duke. It's just a hard league and I don't know if people understand that. I don't think there's any question that NC State deserves to go."
But if the Wolfpack fails to handle Georgia Tech's fullcourt pressure on Friday, those postseason aspirations could go south in a hurry. In the second half of a lopsided 85-61 loss at Tech on January 11, NC State often had a difficult time getting out of the backcourt against the swarming pressure launched by the Jackets. Unpredictable and energetic, Georgia Tech's presses will occasionally force turnovers and transition opportunities in bunches.
"They come at you in a lot of different ways," Melvin said. "Their press is kind of unique because they do a lot of different things. Whenever they come with a trap, they come with a different guy every time. You never know who's going to come and trap. You've got to have your head up and pay attention because it could cause a lot of trouble."
Whether it's a 1-2-2 halfcourt trap, a 1-2-1-1 fullcourt zone press or just straight man-to-man, the Georgia Tech presses will have to be identified quickly so that the Pack can get into the correct alignments in its press offenses.
"As the inbounds passer, I try to make sure the guard doesn't catch the ball too close to the baseline if it's a 1-2-1-1 press because they're going to try to trap them in the corner," Melvin said. "I try to get them the ball in a position where they can be successful. That first pass really sets the tone for your press offense."
That first pass and that first game on Friday could bring about all kinds of pressure.
