North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: No Cooperation
2/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 23, 2005
By Tony Haynes
In so many ways, the stars seemed to be lining up for an NC State upset over No. 2 North Carolina on Tuesday night. After putting together impressive performances in back-to-back victories over Georgia Tech and Maryland, the Wolfpack had five full days to prepare for the Tar Heels. The practices leading into Tuesday's contest had been both intense and fruitful. Then on game night, the RBC was buzzing with the type of energy that rivalry games always produce. NC State then went out, played hard and, at times, played well. But there was one major problem for the Wolfpack: Carolina didn't cooperate.
The Tar Heels appear to be the best team in the ACC. They could very well be the best team in the country. When it was announced earlier on Tuesday afternoon that junior guard and leading scorer Rashad McCants would sit out the game because of an intestinal disorder, UNC's list of first round draft picks was trimmed from four to three.
What a nice problem to have.
In an age when sure-to-be NBA millionaires often skip their junior and senior years, North Carolina has bucked the trend by hanging on to talented juniors and seniors like McCants, Raymond Felton, Sean May and Jawad Williams, four players who have played an awful lot of basketball together over the last three years.
Throw in fabulous freshman Marvin Williams, and you have a stellar line-up of talent that looks more like something we once witnessed 20 years ago when most top players would stay in college for at least three years before jumping to the next level.
NC State also has some very good talent, and on just about any given night, the Wolfpack is good enough to beat just about anyone. But Tuesday didn't become one of those given nights simply because UNC - even in the absence of McCants - stayed on a level at which they and only a handful of other teams this season are capable of reaching on a consistent basis.
"We did some good things but we just weren't at a high enough level to win the basketball game," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek afterwards.
The Wolfpack's level would have been, perhaps, good enough to defeat several other ACC teams on Tuesday. But in order to beat the 2nd ranked team in the nation on a night when it was playing well, NC State would have needed 40 minutes of near flawless basketball.
The Pack's margin for error was miniscule, meaning a high percentage of open shots - particularly those from the arc - would have to go in. By games end, NC State had shot a respectable 46.7 percent from the floor and 12-of-27 from 3-point range. The Wolfpack had only 13 turnovers, also a better than respectable figure against the type of man-to-man pressure UNC employs. But the Tar Heels, who hit 49 percent from the floor and 10-of-21 from the arc, made sure that respectable statistics wouldn't be enough.
Their ability to grab huge offensive rebounds and follow them up with dagger-like 3-point shots from Felton and Jawad Williams after NC State had to closed to within three points midway through the second half ultimately took the wind out of the Wolfpack's upset-minded sails.
And of course, the Pack couldn't have possibly counted on guard Melvin Scott to come out of a deep shooting slump just in time to put 12 key points on the board. Scott, who had missed his last eight 3-point attempts and 10 of his last 12 coming in, knocked down four 3s - including three in the opening half.
Needing to provide defensive help on those occasions when May caught the ball in the post or Felton penetrated into the lane, NC State had very little choice but to leave someone open on the perimeter from time to time. On Tuesday, that someone was often Scott. To his credit, the senior rose to the occasion.
It's no secret that NC State's hopes of landing a fourth straight NCAA Tournament bid are on life support. Not even a regular season-ending three game winning streak over Virginia Tech, Virginia and Wake Forest would guarantee the Wolfpack (15-11, 5-8) a spot in the field of 65. And of course, the ACC Tournament in Washington D.C. will provide an opportunity to pick up some much needed wins as well.
"We're in a very serious position," said Julius Hodge, who led the Pack with 20 points on Tuesday. "We flat out have to win games. Virginia Tech is a team that we had to beat at their place and we just basically gave it to them. Everybody feels that and we've just got to get a win."
Virginia Tech took advantage of NC State's inability to hit key free throws and layups down the stretch to post a 72-71 victory when the teams squared off in Blacksburg on January 19.
When the Hokies visit the RBC Center this Saturday, the Wolfpack can only hope that they'll be more cooperative than North Carolina was on Tuesday night.
