What’s going on here? I can’t remember a time when the Pack put together two performances as dominant as this, in a row, for a long, long time.
What’s going on is not an upgrade in talent, or a crazy coincidence; it’s teamwork and steady improvement. Mark Gottfried’s bunch is finally learning how to play basketball. Go back and look at the tape from the last two games. How much one on one play do you see? How many questionable shots are being taken? How much bickering do you see from player to player?
The answer to all of those questions is “none.” This team is officially bought in. They’re no longer playing for themselves. They’re no longer playing for the fans. They’re finally playing for each other as a team. It’s only when this happens that a team can reach it’s full potential, and you don’t see it often. Why?…
CJ Leslie is the poster child for Gottfried's team first culture
Selfless players are very rare these days, and NC State may only have one or two guys that actually came to them that way. The rest are creations of Mark Gottfried. He’s broken down players and built them up his way, the right way. Calvin Leslie is the poster child for the Gottfried movement. He’s gone from a guy that scout’s could only check the boxes ‘very athletic’ and ‘has potential’ to a player who now has an advanced skill set, plays within the offense and is fulfilling his potential night in and night out. The rest of the team is no different. Winning has become the holy grail, not statistics or highlight reels. Winning has become not something that this team hopes to do, but something they expect to do. This team feels as if they’ve put in the work to deserve to win. That sense of earned entitlement is what creates not only the confidence, but fight and hunger that only is satisfied when you walk off of the court with the victory.
I’ve argued with a lot of people in this business about coaching and chemistry trumping talent every day of the week. People who have not been a part of a team that is well coached and is 100% bought in don’t understand the power of these two factors in winning basketball games. You need comparable talent and you need sound fundamental skills, but you don’t need better talent, or more athletic players to win games. That is what NC State is starting to understand and what the fans are starting to witness. This is the same team that won a total of 5 conference games and lost 12 last season. This year they are already more than halfway to that win total with 3 wins in 4 tries. The difference isn’t talent. The difference is their focus, their mindset and their goal. Point totals don’t matter, assist totals don’t hold any weight. Winning is finally back to being the focus of NC State basketball. After over 20 years of trying to catch Carolina, trying to make up ground in recruiting, attempting to send players to the NBA….the only thing NC State is trying to do now is win.
It doesn’t take a basketball coach to see that the Wolfpack is finally hungry. The best example of this is on defense. Just watch them play off-the-ball defense this season. In basketball the only real time to be able to take a small rest is when you’re on defense and your man doesn’t have the ball. This is when you’ll see players on poor teams losing focus, coming out of their defensive stance and losing their man. This was NC State just one year ago. Today it’s different. Make this a focus when you watch the game tomorrow. State players are locked in on defense even when their man doesn’t have the ball. They’re keeping a hand in the passing lane, jumping the point to point passes and rotating quicker than ever before in help-side.
This team is playing together for the first time in a very long time and the credit can rest squarely on the shoulders of Mark Gottfried. Win or lose any game this season, it’s a true pleasure to watch good basketball being played once again in Raleigh.
Great article, and NBA scouts will find plenty to admire in talented team players. It is definitely a pleasure seeing the turnaround.
Love the write up Lou. You guys obviously have a great pulse on the Pack and have really turned out some good articles. Thorough and well thought out story. You guys rock and keep em coming!
Postive article… I definitely agree with the obvious fact that there is significant improvement on this year’s squad. However, I am not yet ready to agree with some of your statements… their D has been pretty inconsistent, esp on the perimeter. I am still seeing way too many situations where guys are sagging of too much, or losing their man after screens, and shooters are left open. Our low ranking in 3 point D supports this. And I would not say that CJL has an “advanced skill set”, He still is not a real good shooter, nor does he have advanced low post moves, nor is he an advanced passer or ball handler… he’s getting better in these areas, but not he’s hardly “advanced”. Also, we tend to lose focus at the end of games… evidenced most recently by letting BC chip away at our lead late in the game… we should have beat them by 30… The guys have to learn how to put their foot on other teams’ necks and never let off the gas… ever…
that said, I am still very happy with the overall improvement from the last 5 years, and Im excited about our future. Go PACK!!!!
Packjunky, I understand where you’re coming from, however their last two outings have been the two best in terms of defensive efficiency against quality opponents. The last two games the Pack has been more active, have been closing out on shooters with their hands up and really focusing on their weaknesses (which was guarding the 3pt line)
Big fan and enjoy the way they play. However, lets see if it continues when adversity strikes. Buy-in to the team concept is easier to do when you’re playing inferior teams.
I agree mostly with your article but one thing that needs to be clarified. The article implies that “..you don’t need talent and athleticism to win games.” I disagree here. You absolutely need these things, which we definitely have. We’ve learned, however, that individual skills can not win alone without teamwork. Our guys are exceptionally talented individually but playing hard and together as a team is what allows them to win. It also brings out the best of each player. We love this team and we love Mark Gottfried/Lutz/Early/staff! Go Wolfpack!
Actually the article doesn’t imply that you don’t need talent. It says…
“You need comparable talent and you need sound fundamental skills, but you don’t need better talent, or more athletic players to win games. ”
You do need talent, but without coaching and chemistry you end up the way State ended up last season.
“I’ve argued with a lot of people in this business about coaching and chemistry trumping talent every day of the week. People who have not been a part of a team that is well coached and is 100% bought in don’t understand the power of these two factors in winning basketball games.”
I”ve certainly harped on intangibles before, and I guess I’ve kinda lumped the aspects that Lou mentioned above in with those “intangibles” as well. It’s coaching though, bringing a group of kids together, teaching them to believe in themselves, and their teammates, and how to work together unselfishly to achieve a common goal. As we NC State fans know all too well, those aspects aren’t aren’t a given, or inherent, no matter the character or what type of kids you have assembled to work with.
I’m not saying that we have totally broken through, but there is an evolving and undeniable change occurring in the culture of the NC State BB program right now as I type this comment. The main hurdle now is to keep it chugging along, and right on through the bumpy spots.