North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Red Clashes With Blue Again
1/11/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
Great game, right? It’s J.J. Hickson against Tyler Hansbrough; it’s two longtime Tobacco Road rivals facing off for the first time since their epic struggle in last year’s ACC title game; it’s passion, intensity and desire; and it’s bragging rights.
The questions are obvious. How will NC State’s young point guards hold up against UNC’s relentless defensive pressure? Can the Wolfpack control the tempo against the high-scoring Heels? Will Courtney Fells and Dennis Horner be available? Will the Pack finally start knocking down some shots from the perimeter?
Yes, those are the obvious questions. But then again, maybe not.
No, the first question posed to NC State head coach Sidney Lowe at his press conference on Friday was about his wardrobe. “I will be wearing the school colors,” Lowe said, referring to the red jacket that will come out of the closet for the first time this season.
Now that we have that little morsel of information out of the way, let’s talk about things that will truly impact the game.
Lowe described Fells, NC State’s starting off guard, as “day-to-day,” after the junior guard twisted his ankle in the first half of the Wolfpack’s 54-29 victory over North Carolina Central on Wednesday. Lowe said Fells was up and walking around on Thursday but did not practice and it was unknown if he would do anything on Friday.
Lowe also noted that Horner was ahead of Fells. Horner, a 6-8 reserve forward, has missed NC State’s last two games with an ankle injury that was sustained last week in practice.
The Wolfpack will need all of its weapons and more to slow down a
It all adds up to a league-best average of 92 points per game, a plus-11 rebound margin, and the ACC’s best field goal percentage (49.2%).
“They play hard all the time,” said NC State forward Brandon Costner. “You have to come in mentally and physically ready to execute and play a tough game. You can’t have a weak heart. As soon as you step off the bus, the fans are going to be on you. In order to do anything remotely successful over there, you really have to be focused and really concentrate.”
NC State’s concentration has certainly been tested in the last two games. Both Presbyterian and North Carolina Central milked the shot clock on offense, while also slowing the pace on defense by playing a lot of zone.
While playing
The Tar Heels want a face pace and as such, will likely spend most of the game trying to speed the Pack up by applying intense, man-to-man pressure.
“They can make you concerned in different areas,” Lowe said. “They have the ability to really run the floor and they can really run 1-through-5 (positions). What makes them so tough is they just play the game. They push the ball up the floor, then they’re so smart that they just read situations; they just play where you really don’t have to call a set. They just read each other and it’s always difficult to guard a team like that because you prepare for sets. When you have guys that just know how to play and have a feel, it’s really hard to prepare.”
How Wolfpack point guards Javier Gonzalez and Marques Johnson function on Saturday will be among the key factors. Gonzalez, a freshman, and Johnson, a sophomore, have never encountered the type of road atmosphere and man-to-man pressure that will confront them on Saturday. Both will have to take care of the ball and get NC State into its offense, while also trying to control blurry-quick UNC point guard Ty Lawson on the defensive end.
It will be a tall task.
“They just have to block everything out and not pay attention to what’s going on around them because it’s going to be really loud and a lot of blue,” Costner said. “A lot of people will be yelling stuff about your mother that you may not like. They need to be really prepared to go into a hostile environment.”
In their first real test against defensive pressure on the road, Gonzalez and Johnson comported themselves very well when the Pack traveled to Seton Hall on December 27. And although NC State had 18 turnovers as a team against the Pirates’ press, Gonzalez and Johnson only had four between them.
“Up to this point, I think Javier and Marques have done a really nice job of running our team,” said Lowe. “They’re doing a nice job of taking care of the basketball; I think they may be averaging two or three turnovers between them since they’ve been together. Not that it’s surprised me, but I’m very pleased with the way they’ve handled this.”
Although many fans and members of the media have been eagerly anticipating a duel in the post between NC State’s Hickson and UNC’s Hansbrough, there’s also every chance that the two players may not be guarding each other for long stretches.
Costner and junior Ben McCauley are more experienced post defenders, and both took turns guarding Hansbrough in the three games played between the two clubs last season.
And because Hansbrough leads the ACC in free throw attempts (10 per game), the Pack would run the risk of putting Hickson in foul jeopardy by matching him up with the league’s leading scorer (21.9 ppg.).
“[Hansbrough] knows how to draw attention to himself and get fouled,” Lowe said. “Those are things [Hickson] has got to learn. Playing against a guy like that helps you because you start to pick those things up. We can’t get into early foul trouble. We have to play solid defense.”
Dealing with Hansbrough in the post, staying in front of Lawson, and limiting sharpshooting guard Wayne Ellington’s looks from the 3-point line will make for a tough defensive assignment all the way around. Ellington, who’s coming off a 36-point outburst in
“You have certain teams, even if you have them down, if you give them a chance they’re going to beat you because they’re going to make the plays,” Lowe said. “Clemson was pretty much in control, but missed some free throws. That gave
