North Carolina State University Athletics
The Wolfpack in Syracuse
3/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 24, 2005
Syracuse, N.Y. - Today was a busy day for the Wolfpack as the team prepares for tomorrow night's game with Wisconsin. The team got to the hotel last night around 9:00 p.m. and enjoyed a late dinner that was New York's version of Southern cuisine - bar-b-que, corn on the cob, and strawberry shortcake were some of the things on the menu. After dinner the team met and watched film of Wisconsin. Sometime during that time frame, it started snowing outside and by 11:00, the ground was completely covered.
The wake-up call for the players was at 9:30 and after breakfast, they got dressed and taped and headed over to the Dome. At NCAA events, each player has to show an ID and be issued a pin (you might notice the coaches wearing them on their labels during tournament games). Will Roach forgot his ID this morning, so he had to take a little trip back to the hotel to find his.
CBS filmed quick bits with the five starters for half an hour, and then the team met in the lockerroom before heading out to stretch. There is a specific time when the basketball balls are handed to the players and the teams CANNOT touch the balls before that time. So they stretch on the court and are ready to go the minute the horns sound and the balls are distributed.
After the 50 minute practice, Coach Sendek visited with the CBS announcers and the team went back to the lockerroom to meet with the media. When the door opens for the media to come in, it's a stampede. Jordan Collins is very good at finding a hiding place from the media, no matter how tiny the lockerroom is.
Julius, Ilian and Coach Sendek went onto the dias for the formal press conferences. Julius was on a roll today - he even told the media a 'why did the chicken cross the road' joke during the press conference.
The Wisconsin players came in for interviews right after us, and everybody with their group was also in red and white. It was pretty confusing for the people at the dome who weren't sure which team was which!
The team ate sandwiches on the bus and headed over to a closed practice at a local college around 2:00 p.m. and worked out for about an hour. Andrew Brackman showed off his fastball with snowballs on the way out, and his accuracy was either a little suspect or he tried to spare his friends.
After an early dinner (Italian this time - lasagna, meatballs, canollis), several of the players had study hall and now they've got some free time before walkthroughs and more meetings tonight. And don't worry, they'll eat AGAIN before bedtime - pizza this time.
The managers are all heading to the pool for a game of water polo and the coaches are undoubtably watching film somewhere. Tomorrow is game day, so things are starting to get more serious.
