North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Pack Gets Second Chance Against UNC
2/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
TONY HAYNES
Raleigh, N.C. A caller to NC State head coach Sidney Lowe’s radio show on Monday night said he’d miss Wednesday’s 7 p.m. game against North Carolina (24-2, 9-2) at the RBC Center because he’d be in church. The caller did, however, promise to offer up a prayer on the Pack’s behalf.
When the two longtime Tobacco Road’ rivals met back on January 12, the Wolfpack (15-10, 4-7) clearly was without the accompaniment of divine intervention, or much of anything else for that matter. UNC’s 93-62 victory at the
And even though NC State is currently in the midst of a thee-game ACC losing streak, there’s every reason to believe it will be much more competitive the second time around against the Tar Heels.
“Javier [Gonzalez] is the main difference in the experience that he’s gained,” Lowe said. “I think J.J. [Hickson] as well. That first game over there he was so hyped up and moving quick and not reading the defense. I think he’s better. I think our rotations are different than they were before. We need people to come in and produce for us. We need the people that are starting to come in and produce for us. But the big difference is the experience Javier has gained.”
Indeed, freshman point guard Javier Gonzalez looked a bit wide-eyed and overwhelmed against the Heels, tallying zero points, three assists and three turnovers in just 17 minutes. In fairness, it was not only the first ACC game for the Pack rookies, but also their first experience of playing a conference game on the road. Often rushed by
“They were physical with him,” said Lowe. “They were coming with two and sometimes three guys. I think [Danny] Green was particularly active in coming from behind or the side, blocking a shot or contesting shots. They were just very much aware of where J.J. was at all times. Initially, they hit him early and tried to get him off the block. That’s when he’s got to be patient and not try to make a quick move or an off-balance move. All of our bigs have to be willing to kick the ball out and give us a chance to make an open shot, and then repost so maybe we can get it back in for a one-on-one.”
Something NC State did not do in the first game. During one first half stretch in Chapel Hill, the Tar Heels scored 25 unanswered points while the Wolfpack was missing 18 consecutive shots, many of which came from in close, but against collapsing defensive pressure.
Since then, Hickson has gotten better at reading defenses and making the appropriate move or the simple pass back to the perimeter. Gonzalez has also become a steadier player at the point.
In Wednesday’s match-up, Gonzalez apparently won’t have to deal with UNC All-American point guard Ty Lawson, who is expected to miss his fifth straight game because of a severe ankle sprain. In the first game, Lawson had 16 points, five assists and no turnovers in 27 minutes. Since losing Lawson at
“I don’t think you can look at them any differently, I really don’t,” Lowe said. “If you do that, you set yourself up for failure. Obviously, you understand how important [Lawson] is to their team and how different they play because of what he brings to the table. The other guys are still the same. Guys are still scoring for them and guys are still rebounding. While we realize he may not be playing, we still have to prepare the same way because we’ve seen them win ballgames.”
And they can still win big. Lawson was nothing more than a cheerleader in street clothes on Saturday when
The constant force, of course, is junior big man Tyler Hansbrough, who is averaging 27 points and 13.6 rebounds over his last five games. Hansbrough, with 30 career double-doubles to lead all active ACC players, is far and away the leading candidate for the league’s player of the year award. Hickson, who has nine double-doubles this season and leads all ACC freshmen in scoring (15.3 ppg.) and rebounding (8.8), is one of the top candidates for rookie of the year.
Hansbrough and Hickson will certainly see a lot of each other in the paint on Wednesday and both will have to stay out of foul trouble in what could be a very physical game inside.
In Saturday’s tough 71-64 loss to
Lowe would like to see more of the same from his club on Wednesday, but with dramatically different results on the scoreboard. The Wolfpack certainly knows that time is running out and its postseason hopes are very much in jeopardy. At this point, it will take an unexpected turnaround that must begin with what would be an unexpected victory over
“It’s still not too late to do something good,” Lowe said. “It’s just a matter of us coming out and playing with the effort we had in the Clemson game and then finishing off the ballgame. It’s been time now where guys have to step-up. We need everybody. We can’t have J.J. Hickson being the only guy that rebounds for us. We need guys to step up. My old coach (Jim Valvano) said the job of a coach is to put his team in the position to win and the players have to take over from there. That’s what happened; we took over and made the plays. We need guys to make plays now.”
And maybe a little divine intervention wouldn’t hurt either.
