Backing The Pack

Wolfpack Brand Breakfast Links 5/18

2012-05-18T11:00:29Z

Happy Friday, Wolfpack. On to the links.

Baseball took game one from Florida State last night in exciting fashion despite what turned out to be Carlos Rodon's worst night of the year stat-wise. Bad for Rodon is still pretty damn good, though, and behind the offensive explosion of Matthews (yet again) and a bit of help from Florida State's fielding the Pack was able to outscore the Seminoles 10-5. Friday night's game can be seen on ESPN3.com at 6:00pm and the Saturday finale will be on ESPN3.com at 1:00pm.

In baseball feature news the N and O ran a nice little piece about SS Chris Diaz's leadership on the field. It's a soft piece full of the sort of feel-goody-ness that sports editors like when there are no hard stories to chase, but I'll take any feel-goody about the Pack I can get. Especially when it comes from the N and O.

Kellie Harper has apparently been elected to the WBCA Board of Directors for next year. I have no idea what that is - according to GoPack.com, it "develops policies, procedures and regulations for the operation of the organization," so whatever that means. Sounds feel-goody. I'll take it.

In football news, GoPack.com has a video up about hall of fame Wolfpack coach Henry Trevathan. It really is worth a watch for all fellow football/Wolfpack history junkies.

In more football news there's an FS Carolinas article about Mike Glennon. It's more of the same silly nothingness that anybody who has even remotely followed Wolfpack football will immediately find trite and vaguely inaccurate at times, but it's out there. Apparently Glennon is an attention-starved kid who just wants to grow up to get out of daddy Wilson's shadow. Since throwing 31 touchdown passes isn't enough to do that.

Swofford is still ignoring the underlying issues that ~~the other 10 schools~~ Florida State has with the ACC. As much as losing Florida State would hurt the conference, and by extension us, I am beginning to nurse a tiny dragon just to the left of my heart that really, really, really wants FSU to leave Swofford stuttering in disbelief as his fantasy world comes crumbling down around him.

Men's Golf is apparently tied for 7th in the NCAA's, in the Ann Arbor regional. So that's cool.

Olympic sport of the day goes to Track , which earned 26 entries into the NCAA East Regional preliminaries. Track is an immensely confusing sport to me, but I know the more entries the better, so this seems positive. There's a lot of numbers in the article for those of you who understand that sort of thing.

The recruitment of Savon Goodman appears to be picking up. Getting Goodman either this year or next would be great for the Pack inside, because despite his height I feel that Goodman is physical enough to get it done in a Richard Howell kind of way. It all seems to be developing rather quickly, which I hope won't be a detriment to Goodman's college decision-making process. (Then again, perhaps too much thinking time is also a bad thing... looking at you Torian Graham, Amile Jefferson).

That's it for Pack news this morning. Not much news on this late Thursday night as I write, meaning that in the morning at 7:01am when this posts all hell will probably break loose on the recruiting front. Ah well. Have a great weekend and don't forget to watch the Pack this weekend if you get a chance - it's a damn fine team we've got here.

This Week in ACC Twitterings: Crack of Dawn Edition

2012-05-18T08:13:54Z

Welcome to your super early ACC Tweets of the Week post, where we highlight the funniest stuff said in 140 characters or less, about any and everything related to ACC Sports. Remember, put your suggestions in the comments section with ACC related accounts we can follow.

I am posting early this week, because I have CPR training today. It is a requirement for one of my customers, that everyone working on their site has it. I think it's a good idea, and I am really glad that I am getting the class for free. I hope I never have to use it. I also hope that I get to practice on a really hot chick, because I am a dirty old man.

Anyhoo, lots of good stuff this week. Ralston Turner announced his transfer, and FSU is still pissing and moaning, but this week I have enough to waste your time with Amile stuff. Off we go!!!

Early in the day, we had quality snark like this:

Mediocrity RT @YieldToFrump Where's the exact middle point between State & Duke campuses?
— Adam Rowe (@DukeHoopBlog) May 15, 2012

Duke people are smart.

Our folks had some funny stuff too:

I ran game sim 100 times and it has Amile choosing NC State 58 times.@scacchoops #gamesimknowsall
— Scott Clark (@Clarksa) May 15, 2012

Hee hee, I don't know why that gets me...

Of course, AFTER the decision, the bitterness flowed...

I don't suggest Amile venture off Duke's campus and onto the streets of Durham wearing that Carlton Banks outfit he sported today
— Wilson-Blake-Stick (@thefantasybible) May 16, 2012

He'll fit right in.

"For me, it came down to not wanting to foul out of games" - Amile Jefferson
— Ben Swain (@thedevilwolf) May 15, 2012

SHIVSHFSKI would NEVER let that happen.

CBSSports.com is reporting Amile Jefferson's basketball dreams have died.
— C (@wxmoose) May 15, 2012

I don't know about his weather forecasting skills, but that dude cracks me up.

But of all the good stuff that came out of the announcement, the following wins my gold star tweet of the week. (It's a thing, look it up.)

When Amile flopped on the State coaching staff today, it was pretty obvious he is a natural for Duke.
— John Peregoy III (@JPeregoyIII) May 16, 2012

Enjoy the weekend, you guys.

#Pack9 upends top-ranked Florida State 10-5 in Tallahassee behind two homers from Ryan Mathews!...

2012-05-18T01:26:02Z

#Pack9 upends top-ranked Florida State 10-5 in Tallahassee behind two homers from Ryan Mathews! #SCtop10 #ACCBase

Also set a school record for conference wins (19).

Older MWM Seeks Young, Athletic SM for Practice Body, Potential for More

2012-05-17T20:24:34Z

If you look at the men's basketball roster on gopack.com right now, you will find that it lists-gasp-8 players. Two of those are walk-ons, including Coolest NCAA Name Contest Champion Staats Battle, who has the shooting ability and size to conceivably steal a few minutes in the rotation before his career is through. Still, seeing a roster with 6 scholarship athletes is a scary sight. Of course the Pack's 3 incoming Burger Boys are yet to be listed, and though he will not be eligible to take the floor until 2013-2014, LSU transfer Ralston Turner will be available for practice, leaving the Gottfather with 12 practice bodies and 11 game bodies for the upcoming season.

There is no reason to panic. The sky is not falling. Except that we are N. C. State, and N. C. Stateshit happens to happen to us at an alarming rate, thus the whole "N. C. Stateshit" phrase. Presumably we will be adding a walk-on or two whose warm body could occupy space, albeit hopefully just practice space, when the inevitable emergencies strike in 2012-13.

With the above in mind, I have taken to the interwebs in hopes of unearthing the next Alex Johnson, the graduate transfer who solidified our backcourt a season ago. The great thing about a graduate transfer is that, if he doesn't work out, it is only a one year commitment; conversely, taking a last-minute flyer on a high school project could be a four-year mistake.

I haven't heard anything linking the Pack to any of the players below, though there are some at least mildly intriguing possibilities on the open market. Jump below the jump to meet them.

Logan Aronhalt: 6-3, 210 pound shooting guard from the University of Albany. Kid can shoot it a little. Average 14.6 ppg and knocked down 37.2% of his 3s as a sophomore; slumped a tad as a junior, averaging 13.8 ppg. 35.5% from distance, but made a Scott Woodsian 88.9% from the charity stripe.

Aronhalt, a biology major, was a second team academic all-America last year, so he could help out the team GPA and is likely a high character guy. Had 14 in game against Georgia Tech and boasts a career high of 30 points. If he can defend, I'd love to see if he could average 5 points in 10-15 minutes off the bench for the Pack, spelling our thin backcourt and stretching a D or two in the process.

Gaby Belardo: The well-traveled Puerto Rican averaged 0.7 points and 0.5 rebounds per game in one year at South Florida, but found more playing time at Canisius, where last year he averaged 12 points and 3 rebounds per game while converting a somewhat respectable 32.6% from distance. Alas, it wasn't enough to keep the Golden Griffins from going 5-25. That, and the fact that he reminds me of Javi, who reminds me of the time I was tortured in a Soviet prison camp, makes me want the coaching staff to shy away from this gentleman.

Kauri Black: 6-7, 220 pound forward from Northeastern. Black has averaged a pedestrian 4.6 points and 3.2 rebounds per game over his three-year career. He would be a bit undersized in the paint in the ACC, and judging from his 0.0% efficiency in his career from the bonusphere, he does not have much in the way of perimeter skills. Black also saw his FT% plummet each year from 79.3% as a freshperson, 67.8% as a sophomore, to just 46.4% last year. Geh. Fire the shooting coach.

My recommendation, as if anyone were soliciting it, would be for Black to follow in the footsteps of former Husky David Akinniyi and hit TOB up about joining the football team.

Patrick Jackson: 6-6, 210 pound undersized interior player from Kent State. Rutgers thought enough of Jackson to offer him a scholarship, and he got a decent amount of playing time for the Scarlet Knights before transferring to Kent State, which has a fairly respectable program. That those programs wanted him is almost enough to make you want to rent Pat Jack for a season, but his apparent total lack of basketball skills provide better reasons not to. Pat Jack averaged under 3 points and 3 boards per game as Kent State's 8^th man, shot under 50% from the line, 12.5% from distance, and totaled 4 assists and 5 blocked shots for the whole season.

Kyle Smyth: Kyle Sm...shit. He's committed to Seton Hall since I started writing this tome. Played 21 minutes a game for an Iona team that won 25 games and went dancing. Has the reputation as a shooter and had a nice steal rate. BC also wanted him. V coached at Iona before State. Seemed like kismet.

Devon White: Not to be confused with the former Angels centerfielder, this Devo is a 6-8, 240 pound power forward from LaSalle. You just can't teach 6-8, 240, and White averaged a productive 5.8 points and 4.7 rebounds in 16 minutes a game for the Explorers. He could be useful in filling Deshawn Painter's minutes if neither MegaHorse or the big Aussie prove up to the task.

A possible wildcard in the equation is UCONN transfer Roscoe Smith, who was very highly touted out of high school and still has two years left. He is the latest to leave UCONN's sinking, postseasonless ship, but unlike former Wolfpack target Alex Oriakhi, I am unsure whether Smith has received a waiver to play right away. Either way, he could be a worthwhile gamble.

Wolfpack basketball is in better shape than it has been in recent memory, but with the exhaustion of Johnson and C. J. Williams' eligibility, the transfer of Painter, Tyler Harris and Jaqawn Raymond, and the imminent threat of N. C. Stateshit, it would be comforting to see the Gottfather pull another rabbit out of his hat for 2012-2013.

ACC releases some kickoff times.

2012-05-17T20:21:16Z

ACC releases some kickoff times.

The only bit of news here as far as NC State is concerned: the South Alabama game on Sept. 15 will kickoff at 6:00 p.m. ET.

In Which Chuck Amato Gets NC State Demoted To The Big East

2012-05-17T20:17:16Z

Over at the mothership, they've been having some fun with the idea of promotion and relegation in college football. Those of you who follow English Premier League soccer or whathaveyou already know what this is, but for those of you who don't here's a quick explanation from wikipedia:

In many sports leagues around the world, promotion and relegation is a process that takes place at the end of each season. Through it, teams are transferred between two divisions based on their performance that season. The best-ranked teams in the lower division are promoted to the division above, and at the same time, the worst-ranked teams in the higher division are relegated to the division below (in some countries play-offs are also used). This process can continue through several levels, with teams being exchanged between levels 1 and 2, levels 2 and 3, levels 3 and 4, and so on

What would those tiers/levels look like in college football? Jason Kirk laid it all out on Wednesday, with the Pac-12, Big XII, Big Ten, SEC, and ACC making up the top level.

On Thursday, Bill Connelly went through every season since 2005 to see which schools would be relegated, which would be promoted, and how the major conferences would look in 2012 as a result. Duke of course was the ACC team demoted in 2005, and with the Blue Devils out of the league in 2006, that unfortunately put Chuck Amato's 3-9 Wolfpack on the chopping block. (But don't worry! We would rise again.)

By 2012, Boston College, Wake, and Maryland are in the Big East. Duke has been sent to parts unknown (okay, the CAA). UConn, Cincinnati, West Virginia, and Pittsburgh have replaced them.

Check the whole thing out.

Pack Linkswomen Secure First Trip to NCAA Championships

2012-05-17T16:01:39Z

Pack Linkswomen Secure First Trip to NCAA Championships

Augusta James is a pretty cool name for a golfer, though being a she I don't know if she'll ever get to be a member there.

ESPN's Statement On Its New Deal With The ACC

2012-05-17T15:30:05Z

This is pretty strange, but I guess when confronted with all of the Florida State speculation, ESPN felt it necessary to release a statement on its new agreement with the ACC. As several of you mentioned in the last post on this subject, the escalators are not unique to the ACC. I still wonder how they compare to the other conferences, but I also acknowledge that I should back slowly away from the panic button.

First, a rights fee payment schedule that escalates in amount over the term is a commonplace provision in major college conference deals. This arrangement is not unique to the ACC. The pre-existing agreement between ESPN and the ACC (that carried through 2023) had an escalating rights fee schedule and the deal we announced last week contains a similar schedule. There is nothing unusual about how ESPN is paying the ACC over the life of this deal. It’s the industry standard.

I'll leave the guesses as to ESPN's true motives here to the rest of the tubes. This is pretty unusual though, there's no denying that.