I love the way N.C. State is playing basketball under Sidney Lowe. The Wolfpack doesn’t have a lot of players -- in fact, they have very few. But the ones they have are good and playing hard in Lowe’s system.
That was a good win for them against Michigan, and they did it without Engin Atsur who has got the bad hamstring. Atsur’s injuries are mounting, and State will have trouble down the road without him -- first his Achilles tendon injury and now the pulled hamstring. If you’ve hurt either, you know how hard it is to try to do anything physical, much less play basketball at a high level.
I always wondered why Herb Sendek never gave Gavin Grant a lot of minutes. The guy’s an athlete, and he’s getting a chance to show it. He can play anywhere, and he can score.. To be honest, I would love to be a player at State, because if you’re good, you get to play a lot -- , and with their depth -- maybe if you’re not very good.
I remember when Sidney Lowe was a player under Jim Valvano. We always went to Lowe to break the game down for us. He was much more concise than Coach V, gave us better stuff. Valvano tried to be too funny. Sidney told us what happened.
State will struggle this season. They just don’t have the players, but I think Lowe is going to do a really good job. Just give him time. And the team seems to have more joy than they have in years past.
Sidney Lowe was the leader on State’s '83 championship team. Monte Towe was the leader on the '74 championship team.
I can still hear Towe barking out orders to the great David Thompson and Tommy Burleson. He was the unquestioned leader. Lowe and Towe are State through and through.
State might run out of gas this season, but they’ll be fine down the road.
Everybody has to be impressed with Carolina’s talent level. That game with Ohio State made me love basketball again. They just played ball, scratching and clawing at each other for 40 minutes -- yes, they did -- two extremely young and talented teams just going out and playing basketball at a high skill level.
I would have loved to have seen Greg Oden play in this one. Was it just me or does he look like he’s about 30 or so? I would love to see these two in a rematch at tournament time with Oden in the lineup. Don’t bet against it.
UNC has so many talented players that it’s too bad they can’t lend State a few. Carolina will not lose many games this season. What an embarrassment of riches and Roy Williams knows what to do with it. I do wonder, though, sometimes what Reyshawn Terry is doing out there. He seems out of sync. He’s a senior who wants his minutes. Could he be a chemistry problem waiting to happen? If he does not get with the program, ol' Roy won’t play him.
Duke, I’m not so sure. Coach K is Coach K and he’s Duke’s biggest plus but the Devils just didn’t look like a good team in their squeaker with Indiana.
Carolina’s young guys, right now, appear to be a lot more ready than Duke’s.
Greg Paulus needs to be in there. He’s working his way back from the foot injury, but he’s got to get better. He’s the only true point guard, and without him on the floor, Duke flounders. They’re lucky they have someone like DeMarcus Nelson who can bail them out on occasion.
Josh McRoberts has the reputation and the potential, but he seems like he’s trying to do too much -- and none of it that well. I know people are enamored by the way he can dribble the ball down court. I’d be more enamored if he could hit some shots and get some rebounds. He needs to want the ball and then do something with it, with authority.
Mike Krzyzewski knows what he’s doing, of course, but this young team will be a challenge. I think they were picked second in the ACC in the preseason because of who they were, not who they are. Coach K will make sure they get after people, and they will improve, but right now, I think Duke has a long way to go. And lucky for them, there’s a long way to go in the season.
Speaking of Duke, I am so sorry to hear about former Duke player Shavlik Randolph who broke his ankle during practice with Philadelphia. Randolph surprised everybody by sticking with the team last year and had earned a nice contract. He’s worked really hard to make himself a pro but the injury bug has bitten him again. This seems like a bad one. He’s a nice young man and I think everybody wishes him the best.
