North Carolina State University Athletics
Needing Wins, Wolfpack Travels to Georgia Tech
2/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 12, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - To better comprehend the way an athlete's mind works, one need to look no further than a quote made famous by baseball hall of famer Yogi Berra: "It ain't over until it's over." So it is with NC State's basketball season. A once promising campaign that has lately produced one disappointment after another continues on. This Sunday (6:00 p.m.), the Wolfpack (13-10, 3-7) will be trying to shake a three-game losing streak when it goes up against Georgia Tech (14-7, 5-5) in Atlanta. A familiar scenario? You bet. The Pack was riding a four-game losing skid back in January before it downed Tech 76-68 at the RBC Center.
And while it's only natural for those on the outside to assume NC State's fate has already been sealed, those who are actually participating, preparing and playing generally have a difference perspective. Just call it the "Yogi perspective."
"There is still life in the team," forward Ilian Evtimov said after scoring 14 points in Thursday night's 86-75 loss at Wake Forest. "We're not going to give up. People may speculate and people may talk, but as far as I'm concerned, we come to work every day and work our butts off in practice. We're not going to give up until the last game, the last second of the season."
But the games and the seconds are quickly running out. With just six regular season games and the ACC Tournament left, the Wolfpack's quest for a fourth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament is flickering like a dying light bulb. Barring a near-miraculous turn of events, the Pack is staring the three dreaded letters N-I-T right in the face.
And what's the good news? Well, the fact that Georgia Tech is next up on the schedule might be a good starting point. To say that the Wolfpack has had the Yellow Jackets' number would be an understatement. In what has become a rather curious stretch of games involving two teams with fairly equal talent, NC State has run off five consecutive victories over coach Paul Hewitt's Jackets, a streak that dates back to the 2003 season. Overall, the Wolfpack has prevailed in 11 of the last 13 games played in the series.
Perhaps just as bizarre is the fact that NC State's best player - Julius Hodge - has rarely put up big numbers against Tech. In eight career games versus the Yellow Jackets, Hodge has shot just 25 percent (15-of-60) from the floor. In that game last month, he scored 12 of his 14 points from the free throw line after going just 1-of-7 from the field. Hodge's best game against Georgia Tech came in his last visit to Alexander Memorial Coliseum a year ago when he put up 22 points in an NC State victory. Hodge did not start that game, just as he did not start on Thursday against Wake Forest. The result against the Deacons was a 27-point outburst that was perhaps his best performance of the year.
Like the Wolfpack, Georgia Tech has been negatively affected by key injuries this season. Once ranked as high as 3rd in the national polls, the Jackets stumbled through the first half of the conference campaign after losing veteran guard B.J. Elder to a pulled hamstring. But after missing nine straight games, the 6-4 senior returned to score 11 points (4-8 FG) in Georgia Tech's 70-62 win at Clemson on Tuesday night.
The Yellow Jackets should also benefit from the return of Jeremis Smith. A talented 6-6 freshman from Fort Worth, Texas, Smith is back after missing 17 games with a dislocated kneecap.
Although senior forward Levi Watkins is still missing from NC State's line-up because of a knee sprain, the Wolfpack is probably as healthy as it has been since late December. Junior guard Cameron Bennerman, who had missed four games with a sprained left elbow, returned to log 22 minutes at Wake Forest on Thursday.
After falling behind by as many as 18 points in the second half, the Wolfpack played some of its best basketball in a while during a comeback that cut Wake's lead down to five points with over seven minutes to play.
"We played better than we have lately, especially in the second half," Evtimov said.
Still, it remains to be seen if the second half run against the Deacons will be enough of a confidence booster to get the Pack back on track before it's too late.
"What's going to continue to give us great confidence is a great work ethic and staying together," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "There are no moral victories and the guys want to win. We always talk about making sure that we give our best, that we're unselfish and that we give great effort. If you do those things, you still can walk out with your head held high. I thought in the second half [against Wake Forest] that we did do those things."
