Technician Online

March 9th, 2007

Grant not making excuses heading into Virginia game

By tanner on March 9th, 2007

Tanner Kroeger
Sports Editor

TAMPA Fla. – Gavin Grant called his team “The Six Pack” after last night’s win over Duke. He acknowledged N.C. State’s extreme lack of depth, a vice that this tournament could be poised to exploit.
Coach Sidney Lowe played eight players in the Duke game – senior Justin Clark only saw three minutes, and freshman Dennis Horner only played 14.
The five players who played 30-plus minutes yesterday now have to turn around and face an up-tempo Virginia team, which features two of the ACC’s most athletic guards in junior Sean Singletary and senior J.R. Reynolds.
But Grant isn’t making any excuses. He knows if you’re alive in the ACC Tourney, you’re playing every day. And any talk about his team being inexperienced, well, the junior forward has an answer.
“Lack of experience you say? Experience is out the window now,” Grant said. “These guys have played an entire ACC season.”
And when it comes to the Cavaliers, he’s right. Fortunately or unfortunately, State has plenty of experience with Virginia this season – the only problem is it can’t seem to beat the conference’s second-best team. State opened its ACC schedule at Virginia and hung with the home team, until falling late 67-62.
The game in Raleigh, however, was a different story. State failed to score 60 points for the third time, at that point in the season and suffered the Virginia sweep, 71-58.
Grant knew last night that his team’s game plan would be simple.
“Everyone knows they have great guard play,” Grant said. “[Reynolds and Singletary] are averaging like 44 points. Our game plan is going to be to stop those two, and offensively we’re going to try to get it to Ben [McCauley] and Brandon [Costner].”

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March 9th, 2007

A night with ‘Coach K’

By nick on March 9th, 2007

Nick Jeffreys
Deputy Sports Editor

TAMPA, Fla. – As I took my seat for the men’s basketball game against Duke on Thursday night, I knew I was in for something special.

Sure, N.C. State got the win against Duke – but I got to sit less than 10 feet behind Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski. And that alone, was more entertaining than anything that took place on the court.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a fan of Krzyzewski. After growing up as a Duke fan, the veteran coach was always my favorite.

But I had heard the stories – bad language, commander-like orders and motivation skills like none other.

The stories couldn’t have been any more accurate.

At the 15:53 mark in the first half during the game’s first official timeout, Krzyzewski went to work.

“You’re not doing s*** David,” he told sophomore forward David McClure. “You’re not running the f****** floor…you’re not…”

It went on for a while.

The funny part is that he does a good job protecting himself. I caught wind of plenty of bad language while sitting directly behind him, but when he talks, the team forms the smallest huddle I have ever seen while the managers squeeze into every other crevice.

After a few harsh words, the message is clear. And it’s a message that fires the Blue Devils up. Sophomore forward Josh McRoberts typically then has a few words as does junior DeMarcus Nelson.

Then comes when the team breaks the huddle. While some teams show little emotion during this step, every player keeps his eyes on Krzyzewski as he gives final orders.

And as the next possession unfolds, Duke executes the following plays perfectly.

While he might not be the most charming coach to ever lead a team, he’s an absolute genius. His combination of a military background and a passion for his players has resulted in many wins and three championships.

Even though the Blue Devils didn’t win Thursday night, the game provided great insight to how “Coach K” operates – and he didn’t disappoint.

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March 8th, 2007

Opener affects NCAA hopes

By nick on March 8th, 2007

Nick Jeffreys
Deputy Sports Editor

TAMPA, Fla. – In previous ACC Tournaments, when N.C. State and the three other North Carolina ACC schools walked onto the court, each team had some form of home-court advantage with the games in Greensboro, N.C.

This year with the tournament in Tampa, Fla., that advantage belongs to Florida State.

In the first game of the men’s ACC Tournament between FSU and Clemson – a game which many considered vital to get into the NCAA Tournament – the Seminoles had a distinct advantage in terms of support.

Its fans were loud. They were all over the refs. And the loud speaker even played the “tomahawk chop” with less than four minutes remaining in the game.

But what did this home-court advantage mean for FSU? Well, it meant a lot. Not only did it help them get the win, but it probably propelled them into the NCAA Tournament.

And after the game, FSU coach Leonard Hamilton made it known that his team should get the invite. Earlier in the season, he said he disliked the selection process. This time he said each of the 10 committee members base their selection on different topics.

FSU, the No.9 seed in the tournament, could have knocked No.8 Clemson out of the NCAA Tournament. If everything goes as planned, that means eight teams would get into the tournament.

However, Clemson coach Oliver Purnell said he believes his guys aren’t out – despite going 4-10 in its last 14 games after starting the season 17-0.

“We’ve done enough to be in the NCAA Tournament,” Purnell said.

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