By Tom Suiter
Players take their cues from their coaches. It's up to a coach to get his players to accept any situation or circumstance, favorable or not. The coach sets the tone.
Last Friday at his news conference, N.C. State basketball Coach Sidney Lowe made it clear that he didn't like the idea of taking his team to Greenville to play East Carolina. He said the schedule was made before he became coach. He left no doubt that if it had been up to him, the Wolfpack would not be going to Greenville.
Now, State has ruled this series with ECU like Rome once ruled the world. The Wolfpack had won 17 straight against the Pirates, never lost to them – but none of those games had been played in Greenville. As a matter of fact, no ACC team had ever lost a basketball game to East Carolina. A goose egg for 57 was Pirate basketball against ACC teams.
But instead of embracing this landmark trip to a rare, sold-out Minges Coliseum as good preparation for ACC play, Lowe acted like he rather spend the afternoon at the dentist. Sure ECU in Greenville might be a more of a challenge than on friendly turf, but that's how teams get better.
Lowe didn't seem to approach it that way, though – and you don't think his players noticed what the coach was feeling? You know: "If Coach doesn't want to go down there to play, man, we don't either!"
It was hostile and loud on Saturday night, just as Lowe knew it would be, and State wasn't ready for it. Frankly, it meant more to East Carolina, and that's why they were 75-69 winners. That's why that long ECU losing streak to N.C. State and the ACC is over. They played it with the intensity of a game in March.
State let a guy named Sam Hinnant, who was averaging just 8.9 points per game, go off for 30. They let a nine-point lead get away in the second half, and when it got close, the Pack got tight. They couldn't or wouldn't get it inside, instead choosing to jack up 3's, where they were just five of 16 for the game. Their best players missed crucial free throws, turned it over at the worst times and with less than a minute to play and down just three points, they let ECU out-hustle them on a missed Pirate free-throw attempt. State had to foul, and the Pirates lead would be five.
It's still early – not even mid-December – but so far State is nowhere near the team many thought they would be. Nobody believes that East Carolina has better talent than the Wolfpack, but they had a hungrier, better team on Saturday night. The Wolfpack needs to do some serious searching of the soul. Maybe it started on the bus trip back U.S. 264 West.
"No disrespect to ECU, but you don't want to lose a game like this," said Gavin Grant, who did play well with 25 points. "I just want us to play the right way. I think right now a lot of things are happening that shouldn't be happening. Some people are being selfish with the ball, and I think we just need to let it flow."
Yes, there's no question that through seven games, it's not coming together for a team that had high hopes after last season's ACC and NIT tournament runs. Could “selfish” be the key word?
Something is not right, that's for sure. Talent is there. Hickson, Costner and Grant are players, but right now it's not meshing. December is when problems are solved.
This is the time for Sidney Lowe to show what kind of coach he is. He proved last March what he could do with an underdog. It's tougher now, though. Expectations are higher. And chemistry problems, whether in the classroom or the basketball court, are hard to solve.
Meanwhile, down Greenville way, I don't think anybody expects the Pirates to make the NCAA tournament. But for one night, basketball meant something at East Carolina.
The crowd stormed the court. Maybe they'll even come back for another game.
The home team made this one night fun for its fans. They wanted it more than the guys from the ACC.
They embraced the game.
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