Good Luck from NC

[wolfpack7483]

I am a diehard NCSU fan and I just wanted to come over here and say good luck Friday. It will be a very good game and I am expecting a down to the final minute type of game.

Any questions about the Pack? Finished 20-9 and 2nd place in the ACC. Beat Duke, swept Wake Forest and GT, only team they didn't beat in the ACC this year was UNC (touchy subject, don't ask). Lost in semifinals of ACC Tourney against Maryland (who won the ACC Tourney over Duke).

Top player is Julius Hodge.

[Crowley Cajun]

Give us a link to your board. It would be nice to converse with other NC State fans. Thanks.

[cardiac pack]

http://mb6.theinsiders.com/fnorthcarolinastatefrm1

This is probably the most used free board. We have a good one on the rivals site but the basketball is premium.

Also of note is that our top perimeter defender (Scooter Sherrill) is still out with a torn muscle in his ankle. He and one of our big men missed the ACC tournament. We aren't sure when either will be back yet.

[NCAA or BUST]

Thanks it seems like a good matchup should be fun. What is the status on the injured wolfpack players?

[Crowley Cajun]

I'm currently trying to get membership approval from your board. I applied last night. How long does it currently take to get approved? You couldn't pull some strings? LOL!

As UL goes, we have 6 that score double figures. When they play focused, they play great team ball. We win the West Division and don't have one player on the first SBC team. Our defense feeds our offense. They like to run, are extrememly quick and play a smothering defense.

[LLcoolway]

I had a can of this stuff this morning, and it just hit me.

ULL WILL BLOW YOU OUT

[snote]

from the beginning looking at both clubs they really seem to mirror each other..

neither have rebounding as their best trait..

shoot 3's.. almost strictly man to man defenses..

questions i have for you is

how much better a team is the wolfpack since evtimov has seemed to get over his knee surgery..?

is there one guy that has to play well for your team to click on all cylinders.. (and conversely, if he doesn't your team is in some trouble)

[UL_Cajuns]

UL PLease!!!!! Who is ULL?

[cardiac pack]

Evtimov's recovery is huge. He is a great passer and I can't count the times I've heard an opposing coach comment on the matchup problems that he and Melvin present.

Our best player is Julius Hodge. He can try to do too much when he gets frustrated but can be downright impossible to stop on the drive when he is feeling it.

Melvin and/or Evtimov need to be hitting their shots for us to be a great team. As an aside, one major difference this year is Melvin's decision to start mixing it up inside and rebounding.

Atsur has been a nice surprise and has been scoring more lately.

Finally, Bennerman (starting in place of Scooter Sherrill) has been filling in nicely.

For us to go deep in the tournament we will need Bennerman to improve his defense off the dribble and we will need to have an extended stretch where at least two of the three of Melvin/Evtimov/Atsur is hitting their shots.

Lastly, it wouldn't hurt to face teams where a dominating center doesn't exsist.

As far as registering, the only thing I know to do is email the site moderator and see if there has been a problem. I don't think it generally takes more than a couple of hours. (I am Waxhaw on that board. Be sure and say hello if you stop by.)

Good luck to you. I know the 14 seed is disappointing but the game is always played on the court. It sounds like if you are hitting your 3's, you will have an excellent shot.

[flowdam]

Greetings Cajuns, Pack fan here as well. Just wanted to come over and get some info on the opponent and wish you good luck.

snote- We are definately a better team with Evtimov playing to his potential. In the last few weeks he's found his outside shot and has become even more lethal.

As far as your other question, I would say there are two people that we need to be consistent. That's Atsur and Melvin. When these two shoot the ball consistently we win.

I saw from another post that your team plays predominately man-to-man. Your coach will probably rethink that strategy after seeing the scouting report. Our Princeton style motion offense with multiple backdoor cutters has broken down the best m-t-m defenses. What gives us trouble is an active 1-3-1 zone that guards the perimeter while watching the back door. When the the 3's are falling we break this one down as well, but it has been the most effective way to stop our O.

Defensively, we lose alot without Scooter on the floor, but Cameron Bennerman has really stepped up his play on both ends. If we can get Scooter and Jordan Collins back, we may have the depth to do some damage, but without them we may run out of steam early.

Another factor will be the type game the refs decide to let the teams play. The ACC refs decided to call everything tight and we kept people in foul trouble in the ACC tourney. Our d is pretty stingy and relys on aggressive in your face tactics.

Enough about us, let's here the dirt on you guys. How's your depth, senior leadership, or any weekness' you may have?

[CajunRebel]

Ok, here are my opinions on things.

This motion offense could be a big problem with our team. I've found that this team is slow to colapse down on someone driving to the hoop.

On our guys:
Brad Boyd (#3) LOVES to shoot 3's. He takes lots of shots and when he is on he can't be stopped but when he is off he wont make anything.

Orion Greene (#5) is a transfer from Flordia. He is probably our best defensive guy. He is also a good addition to our offense. I would like to see him take more shots. Cause he can make em.

Antoine Landry (#4) is a small, quick guy who can really put up quick points for us. A guy you will really have to look out for.

Dwayne Mitchell (#23) is a transfer from Auburn. We call him "the human highlight reel." Last week he had the number 1 play in the Sportscenter Top 10 list. He's made that list a few other times this year too. He can jump, and he can dunk. He's probably our best athelete.

This team overall will be a real threat to you guys. And it is the type of team that can pull off upsets. This team will not be intimidated with yours. Our out of confrence schedule included teams like Arizona, Xavier, Ga Tech, Dayton, and Valpo.
We lost to AZ by 3 in a buzzer beater.
We had nice leads against Xavier and Dayton with 2 minutes to go, but lost it at the end.
We creamed Valpo.
We lost bad to Ga Tech, but didn't have 3 or 4 starters.

You guys are obviously a better team, but if you arent on your game expect a close battle.

[Cajun Express]

"You guys are obviously a better team, but if you arent on your game expect a close battle."

The good thing is we only have to beat them once, so that is how upsets are made. No way do I believe we could win 2 of 3, but winning the first one is a reasonable task.