Dennis Horner has been around a long time it seems like. Is he the guy you're going to look to for leadership and to take the reigns of this team?Coach Lowe: I am, but Dennis is more of a leader by example. He's not very vocal so he's not going to be the one to pull guys together and talk to them. He does it by example. We'll need someone else to step up and take on that role. That leadership is such a fine line, because most of the time leaders are born, they're not made. You've got to just have it within you, and we'll see if one of our guys have that.
Do you feel like you have a guy now that can step up and run your offense the way you'd like to see it run?
Coach Lowe: Well, I still think it's going to be by committee. I think both of my point guards, Julius Mays and Javi Gonzalez both played well this summer, and have started camp playing well. Farnold Degand obviously is back as well. We're playing him more at the two position just to get another ball handler in the game, but I'm comfortable with Julius and Javi.
With the way outsiders are perceiving your ballclub, do you think it will be a sense of motivation for your team?
Coach Lowe: I think it could be. I think it should be, but I think the more important thing is that we expect more from ourselves and not so much how other people feel. You like the fact that they don't put much expectations on you, but at the same time it should be a motivating factor, and I think our guys just want to go out there and play as hard as we can, and as smart as we can, and then we'll see what happens.
Do you feel like there is a young guy that will come along quickly and be a big surprise for your team this year?
Coach Lowe: Well, we have a couple and that's what's exciting about it. You know, Scott Wood is definitely going to help us with his ability to shoot the basketball. So, if we go inside to Tracy and teams are double teaming him in the post, we have a pretty good shooter out there on the perimeter. Josh Davis, is a young man that really hasn't been talked about a lot. His talent is that he plays hard. That's his talent, and you know, he makes things happen. He's played extremely well for us. Our big man, our big 7 footer, Jordan Vandenberg. He's surprised me with the way he's come along. He still has a long way to go, but I didn't think he'd be as far as he is right now. He did a nice job. Seven feet tall, you can't teach that. As coaches you can take credit for a lot, but you can't take credit for that.
Have you seen a lot of improvement in Tracy Smith this offseason?
Coach Lowe: Absolutely, absolutely. Now, Tracy has been the one that has been more of the verbal leader. He's done a nice job, and Tracy is not a loud guy, he doesn't talk a lot, but he's certainly changed somewhat this summer in the way he communicates with the guys, especially the young guys. For himself, he's worked extremely hard this summer. I'm not going to say what his body fat was at the beginning of summer, but now he's down to single digits. So, I'm very proud of that and he's worked extremely hard and we're hoping he's going to have a great year for us.
In the commissioners meeting today they talked about how in the NBA they have the 'charge' line under the basket, but for the NCAA, instead of the line they will allow the officials to make judgement calls. How do you feel as a coach, knowing that?
Coach Lowe: It's going to be difficult because it's going to be hard to question an official since he's the one having to make judgement himself. There's no line there to say 'you're inside' or 'you're outside.' They have to make their judgement and there is not question that there could be some inconsistencies in the calls from the different officials. I wouldn't want to be in their shoes, because that's a tough thing. If there's a big play at the end of a game and you get a charge call or a block call , it's really just up to that official to call. I think it's a difficult thing, but as a coach you just have to be patient with it because that's a lot on that official. It's a lot.
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33 Responses to "ACC Media Day Press Conference: Coach Lowe"Wow, exhibition game next week, first real game in 2 weeks. Its coming!
I read some of the Lowe interview articles, 2 things I heard that I like. 1) Finally some talk about tougher Defense. With the inexperience we will have this year on the floor, D will be our salvation. 2) Older players teaching newbies. The new guys should progress much faster with the older leaders reinforcing the coach. I am not sure we had enough of this in the last 3 years.
Good to hear we settled with Farnold at SG. I think he's more natural there.
Can't wait to watch this team evolve during the course of the season. It will be a rocky start, no doubt.
Hear we got rocked by richmond?
It shouldn't be that difficult to exceed expectations when you're picked (dead) last in the league. Personally, I don't think that we will finish THAT badly. I don't know if we will secure a post season birth (of any kind) or not, but dead last? Behind Virginia? Really?
Well Sid finally comes out with it...Farnold at the '2.' I guess Degand is the new Fells? The old 'Senior switch.'
The Richmond Scrimmage: Don't read too much into this game. The reviews are hearsay, the in-game timing was not normal, the team is young, etc., etc. There's not a lot that you can tell from a scrimmage, as far as the score goes. If you could see how the individuals played, you could evaluate that, but not the team as a whole.
Trust me, it is going to be an up and (mostly) down season. There will be a learning curve for our FIVE Freshmen. There are new line-up adjustments to be made. Defense is going to dictate how well we can hang with the league teams. My advise to Pack fans: Enjoy the ride, even if it doesn't lead to Championships this year. Get to know these kids. They are going to be the foundation of this team for several more years. Support them. And, you never know...we may exceed expectations. Pre-season rankings (especially by the coaches) mean nothing.
Go State!
I posted on the last link but since it was closed practice I'll repeat...
Richmond 63, NCSU 55
I know its a Scrimage but we are talking about RICHMOND!!! I pray Sid was just playing w/ lineups and not actually having our team attack because if so this is a sad start, scrimage or no scrimage.
As one Richmond Spider Fan posted on their blog," Nice to have an 8 point win against an ACC squad. State not expected to do a lot in the ACC, but always nice to match our top 300 type of recruits against a squad with top 75 type of recruits."
Im not throwing in the towel yet until I see them play a team w/ my own eyes and can make an educated assesment... But work is OBVIOUSLY needed if we could only put up 55pts. Even if the other team uses all 35 sec, the uptempo offense should be pushing to be at the other basket in 3-6sec. so I dont accept the excuse of the other team ran a slow offense. Many teams try to slow down the pase against former UNX teams and they get blown out of the water. More Practice is needed...
Richmond runs a five-out princeton style offense. If you don't know how to sit down in a defensive stance and stay disciplined then you're going to get burnt up all night long. A lot goes into defending against that type of offense. It' really a pick your poison type situation. There's so much you have to look out for. Do you go over top of the screen and get beat on the curl? Do you go under the screen and all your man to pop and get an open look. While you're busy trying to decide, you just got beat backdoor.
Truth is, if you're not prepared for this then you're going to get beat and thats that. This is a young team and we were told that they did not go over scouting before hand. There were a lot of back door cuts... especially at the beginning. As the game went on, the team got stronger. Nobody shot the ball well and that was the story of the game.
The team will improve and it was probably a good wake up call to the younger guys who aren't quite sure what to expect. The bright spot was Josh Davis. Coach Lowe loves Davis and I don't think it'd be a stretch to say you could see Davis start at some point this season if he keeps this up.
so much for the "secret" game. :P i was disappointed at the richmond "loss" but I am not going to worry too much about it. the team has only been practicing for one week. and richmond has the best back court in the atl 10, according to this site:
http://collegebasketball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1006761
UR is a decent squad, but I also wouldn't read too much into the game. There isn't the same flow in these games as there is in a real game. In addition, it sounds like UR shot the lights out...which is key to the princeton offense.
On a different note, I was excited to hear about Josh Davis as I have thought he was going to surprise some folks this season. However, I was disappointed NOT to hear about Howell. What are the reports about how he is coming along? Is he still hurt?
As far as I know, Howell is supposed to be progressing on a good pace. The hope is for him to possibly be cleared by the start of the season.
i'm not worried about the richmond loss at all. i imagine it was used more as a practice, trying to figure out what comibinations work, what are their strongnesses and weaknesses, etc. i'm sure all that was more important in this scrimmage than who won.
Richmond score is irrelevant. Some coaches use a scrimmage to fine-tune their starting 5, others to test combos or try the newbies out. You'd have to be there derive any useful insight.
if scrimage means nothing don't put that garbage in bout my man LOBrown it does mean something and Richmond will only beat out Derricks Forham in the A-10
^"strongnesses"...I am usually not a grammar nerd, but that one was funny.
UR is a decent squad...don't discount them for being in the A10. ppack called it correctly in saying that this team will need some work. From what I understand, it was UR's backcourt that smoked us...who thought we weren't going to have work to do there?
WPH, thank you for the Howell info. I didn't realize he had an injury that would keep him out of the lineup until the start of the season. What was the injury?
Hate to say this but if we cant hang w/ a decent team from a below average confrence (Atlantic-10) then we cant hang with ANY of the ACC Teams. I would laugh out loud if I heard another team in the ACC lost to UR, talented guards or not. Last year they had 16 losses so they can only be SO good. I can understand the backdoor passes and getting burned off screens (I guess since we have gotten use to lackluster Defense) but w/ a faster offense points should be easier to come by ESPECIALLY when the jumpers arnt falling. Fast break points MUST be a key this year if we are to hang with anyteam in the ACC.
Im glad to hear good things about Davis, but this concerns be since we will be NEEDING points from that position and thats not Josh's strong point. One would think Wood & Thomas would be a better pick but if neither of the two can score I guess Davis' hustle wins him minuates. Ive seen him play several times and it just scares me that he could be our best wing....
I caught some heat for assuming '10 Commits would get starting jobs (in particular Harrow & Brown) but from the way it sounds, exisiting players may not want to give it up but based on pure talent they may not have a choice. Lets say hypotheticly Senior Javi is an 85 overall and Harrow is a 85 overall, wouldnt it be logical to play the younger and get experience and continuity. We need speed, talent, excitiment, passion...
Im looking for just 1 or 2 suprise players this year. No particular record. No particular goals. Just a couple players who can build on something going into next year. My lineup for next year has some holes that must be filled by players growing THIS year..
Harrow
Brown
______
______
Smith
Word Verification : Javiness
Maybe a new adjective for a good Gonzalaz play.....
Eric...it was a knee injury.
CALM DOWN. It was a closed door scrimmage. Lowe was probably trying different combinations of line-ups and different offensive & defensive sets. I really would not worry about it. Step back from the ledge.
News Flash - we are picked dead last this year....so everyone needs to brace themselves for a pretty long season. Let's get through this year and hope that the young players get some good experience and learn how to play as a team. Next year...the calvary arrives and we take a huge step forward.
you're probably right pack leader. might as well give up on the season right now. i don't even see a point in playing any games. especially since we're picked ot finish last.
sarcasm. it was closed-door scrimmage for goodness sakes.
PackLeader,
I hope we have some Javiness or some Juliusness, because this year more than ever do we need solid PG leadership.
We may be ugly early, but I just want to see steady improvement in the new players and our team defense.
Pack leader.. wanted to correct one thing in you comments.. Wood can score. I hear he had 8 at red rally and 10 in the scrimmage. No reason to be scared... you will see points from this position.
If you thought that it took a while for Sid to decide on a line-up the past two years, you may be in for much of the same this year. With so many new faces to go with several 'open' positions, finding the right combo could take a while.
Defense is heart and hustle. Defense is the only cause for concern, IMO, with Sid's teams so far. I can only hope that the new crew can put a better defensive product on the floor. Getting out on shooters has been a problem in the past. Transition defense has lagged. We haven't had a premier shot blocker/alterer (sp?). Getting help from the weak side, when necessary, has been a problem. rebounding has been a problem.
We should have the bigs to be a better rebounding, shot altering/blocking team. Getting out on shooters and transition defense usually comes down to the PG, SG and the SF. All of these things have to come together to be a competitive team. Will it happen this year, there's no telling. That's why they play the games.
Javiness = having scrappy tendencies!
Go State!
I don't see this team finishing last. I really like Scott Wood, Tracy Smith, and CJ Williams. We are going to get good PG play this year. I expect an 8th place finish but I would not be surprised if State finishes anywhere from 6-10.
ppack3,
Great points, but I am hoping that the substitution patterns this year can be limited to each position, and not switching players between positions. It should be easier this year assuming all remain healthy and assuming JV can step in behind Smith. Wood is the only wild-card guy in my opinion.
Defense Defense Defense (I'll say it again)
Wood and Davis were the two recruits I was most excited about in this class. Wood is a great shooter, gets to the basket, and hustles on both ends of the court.
Davis was an underdog recruit, who from all accounts, seems like he was unfairly passed over on the recruiting world. Nobody has questioned his heart. It is great to hear that the skills he showed in high school are translating to early practice at State.
Now we hear that JV is also much better than we heard. And as Lowe suggested, "you can't teach 7 feet."
Give the team a chance to mesh...We will not finish last. We will surprise some folks. And most importantly, I believe that win/lose this season, we will have an overall improved product on the floor.
Dof87 I couldnt agree more about the situational subsitutions between players of the same position not from switching players from position to position. Keeping these young players comfortable is going to be crutial.
DEFENSE DEFENSE DEFENSE
Eric Im also excited about Wood to me, He has the most upside with him only being a 3star and having the opportunity to play heavy mins at the 3.
A "controlled" scrimmage.
1. Coaches from both teams out on the floor during the scrimmage. 2. Stoppages that don't usually occur in normal games.
3. Lots of teachable moments.
4. Getting everyone playing time. 5. Experimentation.
6. Good preparation for Northwestern.
7. Situational planning (out of bounds plays, etc.).
It was practice for Pete's sake and people are already throwing in the towel on the season! C'mon Man!
I know a lot of you have had a lot of questions surrounding the "secret" scrimmage against Richmond. Someone asked about the starting lineup. Here are the five that started:
Javi Gonzales
CJ Williams
Scott Wood
Dennis Horner
Tracy Smith
Jordan Vandenberg was the first guy off the bench.
Jilius Mays started at the point in the second half.
Its really upsetting to see people like PackLeader out there ragging the team and freaking out after a scrimmage against a decent basketball team who IIRC gave wake all they could handle last year and beat them the year before. We know we're young, we know we're inexperienced, and we lack a go to player. We'd all be better off if people like you would calm down and not get people worked up at all, let alone before the season starts.
I'm just excited to see our guys get out there and play hard with no expectations this season. It should be refreshing...although I'd be happier knowing others could take it in stride this season too...which I know won't happen.
pack leader it seems you may need to find some of your own javiness. Its a scrimmage man give the guys a chance they are young and learning a system.
OT --> Nice frontpage spread on Ryan Harrow: http://www.streetball.com/
Wolfpack Fans,
I am a bit upset at the way we are talking out our own team after 1 scrimmage. Let the UNC fans be the low life's that talk about us, we need to support these young kids and it was just a scrimmage and WITHOUT Howell ! We will get better as the season goes along, also Painter,Howell,Smith will bang with anyone in ACC play and WOOD will surprise ALOT of people as the season goes this year. We need to be in support of this team because they are the future with Harrow,Brown,Cothron,Leslie coming in next year. Yes im saying Leslie he will be in NC State red next year. Go Pack ! 1 question WP Hoops what jersey number is Howell...... j.w. thanks
Richard Howell is wearing #1.
great post TJ! So if Javi started the game & Mays the "2nd half" it was obviously a game with "experimentation". Some of our fans just don't get how the game is played. A much greater problem is UNREALISTIC expectations that some have every year and inferring that STATS like from a Spring Scrimmage Football game actually translate into wins in the regular season. I would be much more concerned IF this team was full of juniors & seniors.
WP Hoops, I have a question. How did Painter play, if at all? I haven't heard/seen much about him. Is he going to see legitimate minutes or will he have a different role this year? Just curious, any insight would be appreciated.
How can any of us complain about a scrimmage that none of us even SAW? It is very possible that NOBODY for State even CARED about the score. Maybe we just concentrated on rotating different combinations of players to see what worked and what didn't. It was a PRACTICE. Period. It was not real game situation. If this game counted, our coaches would surely have approached it differently (and I suspect we would have won).
Someone said both coaches were on the floor the entire time. The scrimmage didn't flow like an actual game. They probably had all kinds of extra stoppages of the clock that don't normally happen. Who knows.
When I heard we lost 63-55, it bothered me at first. Let's wait until we see an actual game played before we pass judgment. This was ONE game, no scratch that. This was one PRACTICE. It wasn't even a game.
When you think about it, it makes sense that Sidney wouldn't even care about the SCORE in something like this. He's more interested in finding what rotation works best, and seeing what the freshmen are capable of.
Let's relax and wait for something REAL to complain about. Our record is still 0-0 at this point.
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