The Wolfpack basketball team pictures are up over at GoPack.com and there is a lot to be seen in this shot of the new squad. Obviously the first thing that jumps out at you is the sheer height of Jordan Vandenburg (#14). He looks a legit 5 inches taller than the Pack's next tallest player. This years team is obviously built more athletically with freshmen Josh Davis, Richard Howell and Deshawn Painter already sporting bodies that appear to be ACC ready. The much discussed transformation of Dennis Horner is certainly true. He has definitely bulked up, along with Javi Gonzalez who spent a good deal of the summer home in Miami.
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20 Responses to "Introducing Your 2009-2010 Wolfpack Men's Basketball Team"Howell is a BBBIIIIIIIIIIIG boy. Over 260? I hope that is athletic weight. If so, look out.
i mentioned in the other blog, but howell's listed on the recruiting sites at 217-230. is the extra weight due to injury, or did he do some serious bulking during the off-season?
he seems to have a similar build to tracy. tracy lost 60 pounds after his junior year in hs. how heavy did he get?
Pretty sure Howell came in a little bigger than anticipated.
He was big his sr year and it caused him some problems getting over a turned ankle at times. His team, State Champion Wheeler, will get up and down the court with the best of them and Howell was right in there.
The guy who looks like he took the biggest jump from year one to now physically is CJ. The guy looks pretty well bulked up. Also Julius has put on some muscle- but that should be expected.
Javi looks like after BBall season he should rock the MMA or something.
these heights and weights aren't very reliable. they usually fudge the numbers.
what is your point????
I said it previously, but not under this thread so I will elaborate,
Painter really does look like he could be a beast down low. I have high expectations for him, and IMHO he may be the one player not many people in the ACC are aware of considering his late commitment. But just a 16 months ago he was a top 20 PF/C in the nation!!!!!
Josh Davis looks taller than i expected, and in good physical shape for a freshman. Not sure if he will see the hardwood much but I most def can see him in a Simon Harris esk roll.. with a much high ceiling.
I like Howell being a strong 260, but I dont want the extra fat if thats what it is. Hopefully he has been in the weight room and thats just bulk because at 6'8 and the soft touch he has 10' from the basket he could be a problem for other slower PF. Ive heard he has been really impressing other players in 1on1 drills and such...
Was CJ Williams always 6'6"?? Somehow I was thinking he was more 6'4 last year but maybe my old brain is failing me... If he helps run the 2 he will be a TOUGH matchup for most guards in the ACC... Especially this year w/ the lack of veteran guards around...
BIG V is BIIIGGGGGGG
Give him a Tim Duncan hook and he starts making other C look silly....
WPH any story behind the mysterious summer of Javi??? Id LOVE to know what hes been doing...
Enough with my player by player piture analysis....
Jose I love your picture you loaded!!!!!
WPH's,
with your contacts have you got a sense of how the team togetherness is going?
It's normal for guys to be at home during the off season since they sacrifice a huge part of their family and old acquittance social life once basketball rev's up.
Howell staying in GA, Degand and Javi both going home and Vandenberg relocating to another side of the planet gives one the feeling that it may take awhile to really get the chemistry side figured out.
It seems obvious to me that Jordans size, core fundamentals and athleticism will make a sizable impact. I can understand why people will want to see enough proof before getting their hopes up that he's a blue chipper in disguise.
I'm one of the few that have faith in Jordan V's game right now, atleast a lot more then the College basketball world knew about. The fact that we went put all chips down on Favors and Cousins to replace McCauley leads me to believe that their plan all along was to keep JV on the down low and go full force once we knew we were out of the Burger Boys. People should remember that Painter was icing on the cake; no one suspecting he would back out of the Florida scholly.
In Australia the very elite basketballers are usually spotted early on a play alot together through their youth. Vandenbergs story seemed more like someone who no one knew about and then all of a sudden he was getting minutes for the national team and receiving a coveted spot for AIS.
Another question for Hoops would be if any word out of early skills and conditioning practice has come out regarding Jordan. Even if he's been inconsistent so far I would have to bet that the adjustment to America and the level of competition presents a steep learning curve. Once the adjustment is made he will find his niche on the '09-10 team - count on it.
From what we hear Jordan has one of the hardest work ethics anyone has seen around these parts in quite some time.
WPH,
What, in your opinion, are the odds that either JV or Josh Davis would get redshirted? Seems to me that the payoff could be huge, but I'm not sure Sidney can wait if he thinks they could help us this year.
Don't expect Johnny Thomas to play much this year if at all. He is having some back problems that will at best limit him this year, or at worst would put him on the shelf, possibly ending his career at State.
Fantastic,
That is music to my ears boys. You put the cliche "you can't teach size" a couple it with "this guy is extremely coachable" and you got your self a golden opportunity.
And prop's to the person you gave the link of the Mabry articles. I ended up finding this picture on their site of Harrow and the rest of the Addidas world team that competed in France.
Anon although I dont question your remarks, and Ive been hearing some rumors of his health being an issue in practice too, I PRAY you are wrong. He would really help this year w/ his athleticism and leaping abillity but unfortunatly his body wont be forgiving in the least.
This is just me talking but I believe that is why Davis will not be redshirted. IF thomas cant play this would leave us just one other SF, Wood. And I dont mean to sound negative but IF Thomas cant play this year, I believe the university has given him many opportunites but its not fair to the team to have a player use a 'ship when he wont beable to play physically for going on 3 years straight. Now we all know Thomas has the grades to beable to get an academic scholarship, so lets go ahead and sign Mabry since Parker got away and no forseeable SF lined up otherwise.
Unfortunatly I see SF as being the weakness on our team next year...
IF we cant get Leslie, dont sign a mediocre big man just to fill the roster. We have Big V, Painter, & Howell... get a playmaking SF.
If Thomas really can't go, put him on a medical hardship.
Just to go ahead and squash the rumor, Johnny Thomas is fine and suppose to be practicing with the team very soon. While it is true that he had surgery on his back, it was minor and not thought to be serious.
Good look WPH, Hopefully he will be just fine and can be practicing with the team ASAP!!!
But a cronic knee and bad back doesnt sound good none-the-less...
PackLeader, you are right. Back and knee injuries are the worst. I have never heard of a 'minor' back surgery, but if that's what WPH's says, I could believe it!
Let's just hope that JT can be productive this year. That would be in our best interest.
Go Pack!
BTW, my Wolfpack brethren, I appreciate the constructive scoreboard thread yesterday. I was thinking about our need to bring in the new while continuing to recognize tradition and history. And, in that spirit, I want to thank the fellas at WPH's for providing us with a site that embodies those motivations. So, thanks a lot fellas, for all that you do to educate us about our NCSU lineage and to give us a glimpse into our future. Great job. And I'm sorry that I didn't mention it yesterday!
Go State!
Looking forward for a great year!
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