Backing The Pack: FanPosts

Anyone up for a Femi-Liveblog?

2010-03-06T20:14:06Z

I'm just gonna be sitting here watching it regardless... wondering if anyone else is...

(And it tells me I need 75 words to post this... so I'm going to write about 60 words here about random stuff.... BOOM, Macrowave, Flame Powah, Havi, Milk Dud with lint on the chin, Folwer, ham, Steven and his god-forsaken procrastinations, Chandler whatever-the-hell-his-name-is, Roy copping a squat next to the scorer's table, Roy tossing out a fan for cheering for the opponent, K dropping f-bombs, Roy dropping an f-bomb and "aw-shucks"ing it away, Jimmy Dykes and his amazing ability to speak while simultaneously blowing Psycho T...)

At least no one will be watching us tomorrow night

2010-02-09T14:27:24Z

With our tipoff at the sametime as the Duke-uncch game, it will be damn near impossible to find someone the next day who even knows we played Virgiina Tech the night before... I mean, the other game will be broadcast on more channels than Obama's State of the Union address.. so as ugly as our game may be, at least no one will see it.

So it comes back to the old adage about a tree falling in the middle of the woods & whether it made any sound. If we embarrass ourselves against Virginia Tech tomorrow night, but there's no one who sees it, did we really embarrass ourselves?

Deep thought for the day.

I'll admit it - I sure as hell wish we had John Wall

2009-12-05T18:25:52Z

Watching the uncch-UK game, and getting my first look at the kid.

DAMN! THAT KID'S GOOD!

He's the whole package - in complete control of the court on both ends - shooting 3's, dunking on fast breaks, finding the open man - he's the difference between our team and a top-25 team, all by himself.

And to all those who insist that building a program takes 3 years... or 5 years... or infinite WTNY's... I present UK as Exhibit A to the contrary. No top 5 appearances in 7 years... no tourney for a couple... and they're #5 in Year 1.

This is really just painful to watch, between Cal & Wall & Cousins. But I'm a Pack fan, so I'll watch it, just to punish myself.

When a foul isn't just a foul, but a field-leveler

2009-11-19T17:46:26Z

Thought you'd like this, from the Nov. 19 Sporting News Today:

"A study co-authored by a professor in Indiana examined 365 major conference games played during the 2004-05 men's basketball season found a clear pattern of an increased probability of a foul on the team with fewer fouls, the visiting team and the team that is leading.

"'We had suspected that, having played and watched basketball,' Kyle J. Anderson, a visiting assistant professor of business economics at Kelley-Indianapolis, said. 'But once we started to run the data, I think the magnitude of the effect was much more than we had ever anticipated. We thought that this was going to be a very small effect.'

"Their study found that if a home team is trailing in the foul count by five fouls, 69 percent of the time the next foul goes on the visitors. The effect steadily increases as the disparity grows."

Looks like Deadspin has a lengthier story on it: http://deadspin.com/5407674/study-college-basketball-refs-suck-too.

Livebloggin' The FSU Game

2009-10-30T18:43:41Z

Did the defense locate a clue during the off week? Will Russell Wilson return to the kind of form that demands an uncomfortable amount of praise and exclamation points? Join me as I tip toe the line between drinking in moderation and drinking enough to ruin Halloween night.

Is NCSU Basketball making a comeback?!?

2009-10-15T15:00:27Z

The Wolfpack men's basketball program has been down the past few years, with sprinklings of hope only to be dashed later by disappointment. The current team is predicted to struggle this upcoming season, but there is again reason for hope. More after the jump.

The current roster is young with only one real proven player, C/PF Tracy Smith. However, the recruiting class of 2009 was a quality class with players at every position. Guys like 4-star PF Richard Howell (#61 overall player in the country), 3-star PF/C DeShawn Painter (#127 overall player in the country), 3-star SG/SF Scott Wood (#133 overall player in the country) and C Jordan Vandenburg are all young guys with complementing skill sets who would need some time to develop. However the best of the bunch, 4-star PG/SG Lorenzo Brown (#37 overall player in the country), had to wait to enroll due to academic eligibility.

The 2009 loss may turn out to be a blessing in disguise as the 2010 class is turning out to be a top 10 class in the country, maybe even top 5. The previously mentioned Brown is reportedly still solid in his NCSU commitment along with 5-star PG Ryan Harrow (#24 overall player in the country) and recent commitment 4-star PF Luke Cothron (#33 overall player in the country).
Why would getting Brown in 2010 be a blessing in disguise? Well, even if he played this year, the team probably would not be too good, meaning challenging in the ACC. Plus there are already 3 PG's on the team (even though they each have their issues), Sr Farnold DeGand, Jr Javier Gonzalez, and So Julius Mays. So getting him next year, maybe in the spring, would defer a year for a very talented player giving the team more quality young players for a longer time, unless any of them leave for the NBA of course. So with the 2009 class getting time to develop and grow, then getting 3 quality players, so far, in 2010, that looks like a potential bounce-back year. Here is a look at the possible roster for 2010.

Potential Starters:
PG - Ryan Harrow (Fr) SG - Lorenzo Brown (Fr) F - Luke Cothron (Fr)
PF - Richard Howell (So) PF - Tracy Smith (Sr)

Bench: PG - Julius Mays (Jr) PG - Javier Gonzalez (Sr) SG/SF - Scott Wood (So) SF - C.J. Williams (Jr) SF - Josh Davis (So) SF - Johnny Thomas (Jr) PF - DaShawn Painter (So) C - Jordan Vandenburg (So)

Reminder: First Official Liveblog Is This Saturday

2009-10-14T23:01:35Z

While it is true that Tracy Smith will not be there to cushion our despair, there is at least a slim chance that we will not despair at all.

When: Oct 17th, 3:30 PM
Where: Here.
Attire: Optional.
Beer: Beer.

Skinner ACC's Best QB?

2009-09-02T20:44:47Z

Wake Forest QB RIley Skinner is better than N.C. State QB Russell Wilson, at least that's what these guys say. I am not sure I can go that far. Skinner is good, we can all agree on that, but did he pass for 17 TDs and just one interception a year ago? Of course not.

There are a lot of other good QBs in the ACC, but nobody, not Christian Ponder, not Thad Lewis, not Chris Turner and not Tyrod Taylor are better than RW. And definitely T.J. Yates isn't.

http://bustersports.com/podcast/acc-news/2009/09/02/skinner-is-accs-best-qb/

How Does Philip Rivers Compare to Ben and Eli?

2009-08-27T15:38:54Z

Hello, fellow Backing the Pack readers. I recently completed a post on my blog, Checking the Numbers, comparing Philip Rivers to Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning. With all of the discussion about Rivers's and Manning's new contracts, I wanted to take a look at how State's favorite QB compared with the other elite QBs from his draft class. I thought some fellow State fans would be interested in this as well, so here is an excerpt from the post:

QB Philip Rivers (Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty)

Of course, being a Steelers fan, I love Ben Roethlisberger. I am also an NC State alum, so I love Philip Rivers as well. An argument can be made that he is one of the top 5-10 college quarterbacks ever, particularly considering that unlike other QBs in that discussion, he didn’t have a team filled with top 10 recruiting classes. Considering that and the fact that his college offense was a typical pro-style offense, not the run-and-shoot or spread, his numbers in college were staggering. Just check here, and scroll down to the bottom. With that said, I wanted to take a look at how Philip Rivers compares with his more decorated Draft Classmates. I realize that Rivers is the only first round QB from the 2004 NFL draft without a super bowl ring. But, that doesn’t mean he’s vastly inferior to Ben Roethlisberger and Eli Manning.

So, as I have already done in this post and this followup post on Ben vs. Eli, I will review Philip Rivers’s accomplishments against theirs. I will also review the level of defense that he faced so far in his career. He’s been hammered for playing in the weak AFC West, but has the Chargers’ defensive schedule overall been significantly weaker than the Steelers’ and Giants’ schedules? We’ll find out. (Note: All data taken from www.pro-football-reference.com)

If you're interested in reading the rest, please click here.

Something nice from Andrew Jones

2009-08-26T20:20:59Z

For a change. This is actually a week or two old but it is pretty good and favorable to TOB. And we all know how much AJ loved CTC.

Here are the first two sentences of the article, and it actually is positive:

Don’t shock the self-loathing N.C. State fan down the street, but there is optimism in Raleigh these days.

No, it’s not about challenging for another Bass fishing title – hold the laughter, please – it’s about football.

http://bustersports.com/blog/acc-news/2009/08/03/tob-surpasses-chuckie-the-chest-at-nc-state/

Lorenzo Brown headed to prep school

2009-07-12T16:20:46Z

Just... well... dammit all to hell.

We still have a stout class coming in, but we just can't afford to lose top-notch guard prospects, especially those that have already signed their name on the line.

Between this and reading how marvelously Big Ben is playing for the Lakers on their summer league team, this Sunday has started off quite depressingly when it comes to Wolfpack sports.

Strangely, I can find no link for Lo Brown... but there are references to it on multiple sites.