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| A 1984 graduate of NC State, Tony will be starting his sixth year on the Wolfpack Radio Network this fall. |
Wolfpack Radio Network Color Analyst Tony Haynes' Chat Transcript
Tony Haynes, a color analyst on the Wolfpack Radio Network and Managing
Editor of GoPack.com, stopped by for an online chat Thursday. A 1984 graduate of NC State, Tony will be starting his sixth
year on the Wolfpack Radio Network this fall when the Pack kicks off its
2003 football season against Western Carolina on August 30. When he's not
spinning a basketball on his finger or looking for a wayward tee shot in
someone's backyard, Tony enjoys hooking up with NC State fans to discuss
Wolfpack sports.
After getting his start at the NC State campus station, WKNC 88.1 fm, Tony
worked as a DJ/morning sidekick and sports anchor at WKIX 850 a.m. from
1984-89. In 1987, he joined the Duke Radio Network as a sideline reporter
for football before being added to the basketball crew in 1993. From 1989 to
2000, he also anchored sportscasts on the statewide North Carolina News
Network.
The subject of a 'furious'-- make that uneventful recruiting battle in 1998,
Tony "transferred" from Duke to NC State and somehow circumvented the ACC
rule that stipulates that transfers from one league school to the other must
sit out two years. An investigation later concluded that the two-year rule only applies to
transfers that actually have athletic talent and ability.
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| Moderator: Hello everyone! We're ready to get started with Tony, who is all set to take your questions. |
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| Tom (Jacksonville, NC): With the recent departure of Josh Powell, do you believe a major challenge for the upcoming basketball season will be inside rebounding and scoring? Does Herb have enough talent on hand to overcome such a departure?
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Tony: Actually, the first thing that comes to mind is post defense. If Coach Sendek chooses to go with a small line-up, which would have Melvin and Evtimov occupying the four and five positions, then guarding some of the league's better big men in the post will be a challenge. It will be incumbent upon Collins and Simons to help out in that area. On the rebounding question, I don't think it will be a huge factor because Josh had not proven to be a productive rebounder in two years (third on the team this past season), anyway. Offensively, I think this team will be pretty good. If you remember, teams really had a tough time matching up with Melvin and Evtimov when they were on the floor together a few years ago. |
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| Josh (Columbus, Ohio): Greetings from THE Ohio State University. Defending our college football National Championship will require an early season test against NCSU. My question: How does TA McLendon stack up and compare to our own Maurice Clarett? |
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Tony: I thought Otterbine was the THE Ohio State University. McLendon and Clarett have a lot of similarities; both are strong inside runners who break arm tackles and both have great lower body strength and balance. At 6'0, 230 Clarett is a little bigger and might have a little more breakaway speed. T.A. really has a great feel for the position and seems to have an extra sense for where the daylight is. For being so young, both of those guys have incredible charisma, which makes them fun to watch. |
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| New York, NY: Why do you think Josh Powell decided to jump to the pros this year? Was there some bad blood with him and Coach Sendek? |
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Tony: Of all of the players that have come through coach Sendek's program since I've been here, I don't know that there have been many guys who embraced and welcomed the coaching they received more than Josh. He was always incredibly excited about learning, which is why he ultimately became the most improved player in the league last season. Throughout this process, coach Sendek assisted Josh in soliciting opinions from NBA experts on his draft status and was there to offer support at the Chicago camp. This whole thing came down to Josh wanting to pursue a dream that he's had for a long time. Once he made his mind up, there was really no turning back. |
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| Kinston: I know the men's basketball team plays at the RBC Centre, but is that a plus for the program and recruiting, or is that a disadvantage because they don't have their own court? |
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Tony: From a recruiting and revenue standpoint, the RBC Center has certainly been a plus, and I also think it feels like home, although it's not on campus. Does it provide the same kind of homecourt advantage that Reynolds did? Of course not. Buildings like Reynolds, Cameron and Cole are impossible to duplicate in terms of the excitement and noise they generate. |
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| Steve (Sanford):
What is going on with Josh Powell?
He is a smart kid. What he is doing does not make sense. |
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Tony: What Josh is doing may not make sense to you and me, but if we took a moment to stand in his shoes we might feel differently. Certainly, we don't have a complete understanding of his and his family's economic needs at this point, nor can we fully grasp just how much he wants to play in the NBA. Would he be better off staying another year? Probably. But since that's not going to happen, we have to wish him the best of luck. |
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| Steve Humphrey (Johnson City, TN): What is your prediction for the Ohio State game? Final score? |
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Tony: Steve, I don't like making predictions because we don't know what the injury situation will be going into that game, nor do we know what the weather will be like and other factors that could affect the outcome. From an analytical standpoint, I'll say that the biggest key will be NC State's ability to handle Ohio State's running game. Knowing that the Pack has a young defensive line, the Buckeyes will try to do what they do best: play power football, a strategy that would also allow them to keep Philip Rivers and the high-powered NC State offense on the sidelines. If the Pack isn't dominated up front, it will have a shot. If not, it could turn into a long day in Columbus. |
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| Roger Townley (Rocky Mount): What is your favorite memory of Garry Dornburg? |
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Tony: Wow Roger, what a wonderful question. I'll tell you a story. At the ACC Tournament in 1991, Gary Hahn ran into some throat problems that ultimately prevented him from calling the play-by-play the next week at the NCAA Tournament in College Park. The management at Capitol Networks asked me if I would fill in. Initially, I was reluctant because I figured Garry Dornburg would probably want to do it. Well, whether Garry felt that way or not, I'll never know. But I do remember how he went out of his way to make me feel comfortable that weekend. It is truly an honor for me to fill the job he once occupied on the network because he truly is a legend. Not only was he a great sporstcaster, but an incredibly intelligent man who was capable of discussing all kinds of subjects with tremendous expertise. He is really missed by all of us. |
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| Rodney (Spruce Pine): Tony, how strong do you feel that the football and basketball teams will be this year (ie where will we finish in the ACC this year?) |
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Tony: Rodney, this has got to be a great time to be an NC State fan. Not since the mid-70s have things looked so promising for football and basketball. I believe the football team will make a strong run at the ACC title and in spite of Josh Powell's departure, I believe the basketball team will be a contender as well. |
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| Nathan (Kure Beach,NC): I was wondering if you were going to be doing any daily Football practice "diaries" on Gopack.com this year. I really enjoyed reading those last year and hope you do them this year. |
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Tony: We will soon enter into "negotiations" with Annabelle Vaughan about that. Annabelle's diaries have been a big hit and we fully expect to have more for you this year. I'll also try to churn out as many stories as possible once fall practice begins. |
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| Mike (Cary, NC): Hi Tony. What is your take on the recent ACC expansion efforts? Is this really the big debacle it is being made out to be in the media? Or, in 5 years are we going to be wondering why everyone made such a fuss about this? |
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Tony: Mike, 'debacle' may be putting it mildy. ACC Commissioner John Swofford understands the college athletics landscape better than anyone else who was involved in this process, as a result, I think his lead should have been followed. Unfortunately, too many outside forces entered into the fray. It's unfortunate that the politicians in Virginia had so much influence in the process. It just shouldn't be that way. And when UNC-Chapel Hill faculty spokesperson Susan Estroff, whose comments were often mind-boggling, frequently criticized the capitalistic, business aspects of expansion, this whole thing took a frightening turn into the world of ideology. So, we ended up with a compromise that probably won't allow the league to get where Swofford thought it should go. |
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| Jeff (Raleigh): Playing Md, Va, and FSU back to back in November again is a disadvantage given preseason predictions of those teams. How is the ACC conference schedule arrived at, and what's the chance that lineup will change in future years? |
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Tony: As to the line-up in future years, that's up to the ACC. I'm not terribly worried about that stretch of games because at least NC State will get Maryland and Virginia at home. Actually, I think the difficult challenge will be playing at Ohio State after playing against Wake Forest. While legal, the Deacons' low blocking schemes often leave defensive linemen and linebackers with aching knees and ankles. It's the same concern you face when going up against an option team that employs similar techniques. The last thing NC State needs is to have a banged up front seven going into the Ohio State game. Gang, that's all the time I have today. Thanks for some great questions and I hope to see you soon. |
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| Moderator: Thanks for stopping in Tony. That's it for today's chat. |
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