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On Wednesday night NC State head coach Mark Gottfried told the media that despite the road loss to Boston College, he felt that his team made progress in some aspects. A reporter reminded him that most of the fan base would likely not see this loss as progress and Gottfried responded rather candidly.

“Don’t care,” Gottfried said. “Don’t care if you do. Hell, I don’t really give a shit if anybody does. We got better tonight.”

Of course, some fans had a problem with that answer. They complained to Debbie Yow, which got this email response:

“Several of you as loyal fans have written regarding the loss to BC and since each email was similar in nature, I decided to respond to you as a group.

Because you are not able to impact game outcomes directly, I understand your frustration, because you depend on others to ‘right the ship.

I also have seen the video of the post-game comments made to the (The News and Observer) and want to assure you that what our fans think does matter. A lot.

At this juncture, seeing measurable/objective improvement in play is a focus and continuing to provide day to day support for our team members and coaches.

As 18- to 22-year-old athletes, this cannot be easy for them. And I understand you are disappointed regarding early season ACC game outcomes. Playing in the friendly confines of PNC for the next week should help.

Thank you for your longtime loyalty to Wolfpack Men’s Basketball. That is never taken for granted.”

Last night Gottfried responded on his radio show to his comments, offering an apology to the NC State faithful.

“It’s important for me to say to Wolfpack Nation, all of our fans, that I want to apologize. I was in the heat of the moment, I used some language I shouldn’t use and that was out of my character. I want to apologize. No one is responsible, other than me. I’m not one of those guys that wants to blame other people. That was inappropriate.
“I called Debbie Yow this afternoon and told her the same thing. I apologized to her. I also apologized to Randy Woodson. I represent NC State University and this is a magnificent place. We have magnificent fans, and I love our fans. Wolfpack Nation is incredible.
“In the heat of the moment I made a mistake. For that, I need to apologize. I love our fans and I love our team too.

“Last night after the game I was hurting for our players. I thought our players played extremely hard. They wanted to win, and we had some things hurt us throughout the game. I thought some turnovers hurt us, we missed some shots, and had some empty possessions. Those types of things in a game.
“Our players want to win. I love my team. I love these guys. I think we’ll become a really good basketball team. Some people say I’m the eternal optimist, and my response to that is I’d rather be that than the alternative.

“I think we’re going to get better. I was disappointed last night that we didn’t win and disappointed in the outcome. We didn’t have anything to show for that, and I said that after the game.

“We’re going to move on and get ourselves ready to play this weekend.”

While the gesture was nice and appeasing to the complainers, it’s ridiculous that Gottfried was basically forced to offer an apology for giving his true, unfiltered opinion.

Look, I didn’t go to school to become a journalist. I never studied the history of media. I’m a glorified blogger who shouldered his way into press corps so I could get more insight into NC State basketball. I didn’t understand why all these reporters were huddled around players and coaches, yet we never really got any in-depth knowledge. Just generic quotes and regurgitated talking points. When I got there, you know what I found? I found that it’s not the questions that the reporters were asking, it was the answers the coaches and players were giving them. They were canned, boring, and could be put on repeat game after game. They didn’t want to speak their mind. They didn’t want to give their real feelings. Because they didn’t trust the press or the readers to see them as who they were. In my opinion, this is a fear culture that sucks for everyone.

What I mean is, we beg for juicy quotes, deep-insight, real candor, but what when we get it we blow it out of proportion. We examine that opinion, find it’s flaws, and stir up a narrative that creates division. Those that are for it and that are offended by it.

If they do end up saying something real, they end up having to back away from an honest statement they made. They’ll offer some halfway apology and say how wrong they are and how it was a mistake. But was it a mistake? Speaking you mind, telling the truth? That is a mistake? Well, whatever it is, you know what it’s going to get you? It’s going to get you empty generic quotes. It’s going to allow you less and less insight into the real thoughts of the coaches and the players, for fear that if they tell the truth they’ll be vilified or scrutinized.

Maybe it’s the sign of the times. Maybe it’s how it has to be. But I own a site with message boards and I’m constantly trying to keep a pulse on what the NC State fanbase thinks, says and is interested in. You know what I find?

I find a fanbase that constantly complains about today’s “PC culture” and how it’s leading to softer players and softer coaches. I see a fanbase that wants a hard-nosed, no-nonsense blue collar coach who cares about discipline, winning, and not much else. One who says what he thinks, and doesn’t care what you, me, the media, or anyone else has to say about it.

Isn’t that what most of you are asking for? Then why are you complaining about Mark Gottfried using some colorful language, or saying that he believes something as a coach and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks about it.

Look, no one is telling you that you have to like Gottfried. No one is telling you that you should believe him when he says his team is progressing. This is not about sticking up for the notion that the BC game was progress. What this is, is an opinion piece that is arguing that if we want to brand ourselves as the blue-collar hard-working, no-nonsense rivals to the white-collar, wine and cheese crowd down the street then we might want to stop writing to our athletic director about how much we were offended by Gottfried speaking his mind and sticking up for his players.

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wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

I guess we improved last night too. This is a complete dumpster fire at this point. 9 point favorite at home and we lose by 10 to GT. Uncalled for. I think from here on out, the only thing this team needs to do in practice is defensive sets. How many open threes did GT get last night? Until you play D, offensive sets won’t matter. Sit on bench if you can’t play defense. Simple as that.

MiamiCF
MiamiCF
7 years ago

Can we please play Defense and beat Georgia Tech? Is that asking too much? Maybe spread out the offense and give Y’sven some room to move? This High -Low post offense strategy does not fit this team’s configuration.

Chris F.

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago
Reply to  MiamiCF

Apparently we can’t. How do you lose to GT by 10 at HOME?! Guess we’ll see if he can right this ship….

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago

Here is the point. If you piss the fans off, you will have empty seats. If you have empty seat, you will have a pissed off AD. If you have a pissed off AD, you will get fired. So improve the product or find another job, Gott. I live in Knoxville, Jerry Green told finds to go to Kmart if they did like his style. Guess what happened, Jerry was fired after having about four 25+ wins a year. If

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  wolfpack74

we won’t to get rid of this useless coach, don’t go to the game and stop buying NCSU junk. That will get the attention of the AD really quick unless she doesn’t give a shit either.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  wolfpack74

After proofreading my comments, I need to replace the word “finds” with fans and the word “won’t” to want.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

I didn’t watch the game but I didn’t have to. A bad coach is a bad coach. There’s no need for anyone to get upset at each other. State needs a better coach period. It’s not about leadership or this offense or that. Gott does not instill discipline. He doesn’t sit guys who don’t play defense, he let’s a freshman do whatever he feels like on the court, and he makes excuses.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago
Reply to  Wolfer96

It’s clear to me Bob Lutz was the brains behind the operation. He was probably fed with up all the bullshit from Gott and wanted out bad. Now that Lutz isn’t doing the game prep behind the scenes and making the adjustments at halftime Gott is totally exposed for the fraud that he is. Yes Kapita should be given more minutes as well as Kirk. Those guys at minimum would play much harder out there.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago
Reply to  Wolfer96

Sorry I wasn’t going to post again until we had a new coach but I got tired of reading about all the excuses and whatnot. Gott entered a weak ACC. After adding Louisville, ND, and Pitt it has become a much tougher league. It’s forcing everyone else to get better. Look at UVA and FSU for instance. A bad coach will not make it in this league. Gott’s failures with 5 stars and poor NBA drafts results

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago
Reply to  Wolfer96

will mean that recruiting will become more challenging. If Gott were a better coach he may overcome that by recruiting and developing lesser talent but he is not that guy. He did this to himself by recruiting at a high level, allowing a high rate of attrition, and not producing results in relation to the talent level.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

If that was the best performance it was still terrible. Thats why we didnt win the game. Was it even entertaining to you? I understand you are a fan like the rest of us but you have to see that we have talent but things just arent right. Meeks and Anya came in the same year. Meeks lost weight, imporved game & Anya fat and out of shape you reward him with time and keep Kapita on the bench.

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago
Reply to  RIZ DOLLA

That irks me like no other (Anya playing while Kapita sits). Kapita is one guy on this team that plays his ass off every time he plays. Does his skill set need improvement? Yes. But at least he can rebound and hustle. I have a feeling he might transfer if he doesn’t get more playing time. He reminds me of Josh Davis.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

If he does transfer I wont be upset with Kapita. You are hindering his improvement if you doesn’t get any game time and from what I have seen he is not a bad player he caught bad breaks on foul calls.

Craig Cochrane
Craig Cochrane
7 years ago

Well said. Thank you!!

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

I don’t think, well at least not for me anyways, that the issue was Gott saying “shit”. It was the fact that he said progress was made during that shit show of a game. I think this is what most State fans had an issue with. What I saw during the game is the same shit I’ve seen during Gott’s tenure here; horrible defense, bad shot selection, terrible offensive plays, no movement, etc.)

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

It’s also one of the worst teams we faced on the road this season…. Our offense has one set play it seems, run TH3 along the baseline and hope he gets open for a 3 (a la SW). We have zero help defense, our bigs still have no idea how to move feet and not try to block every pump fake, and our back court consistently gives up open threes. I don’t see a whole lot heart in games like this one.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

OMG!!! I hate that play with my soul…. Its terrible you have one player run from side to side the guard waiting for him to get open no other movement which doesnt create a second option. They player has to be tired after running that play its like suicide drills if you are familiar with those. #GOTTCANTGETEMRIGHT..I might change my name to wornoutstatefan#2000

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago
Reply to  RIZ DOLLA

I agree with this 100%. TH3 has to be tired as hell after that play. (suicides are a great comparison) Everyone else looks like their feet are nailed to the floor. No movement at all. You HAVE to move to get open, no way around it. Where are the back door cuts? (we ran these flawlessly in VT game) DSJ needs to dribble/drive/kick more. He’s going to draw a 2nd defender every time.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

Yes mad at the comment that the performance was acceptable to him. Questions should be why to we have turnover? Is it because we dont space the floor and it makes it easy to defend us? Are we putting players in a position to where they have the best chance at a good shot selection and if not is the second option in position to receive the ball. Its like he is saying its ok that I dont have my

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago
Reply to  RIZ DOLLA

team ready. They are freshman they are young etc. You know what there are alot of freshmen and sophomores in this league that are playing well. Why arent we?

packbackr04
packbackr04
7 years ago

and the point is… in season 6. that is not good enough. end of discussion

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

If that was the best performance it was still terrible. Thats why we didnt win the game. Was it even entertaining to you? I understand you are a fan like the rest of us but you have to see that we have talent but things just arent right. Meeks and Anya came in the same year. Meeks lost weight, imporved game & Anya fat and out of shape you reward him with time and keep Kapita on the bench.

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

Don’t get us wrong. We def appreciate the commentary from this site and it’s contributors. I think that we are all frustrated that it takes Gott more than half a season (typically) to get his teams to play as a cohesive unit. Why is that? I don’t have that answer. What I do know, is that what we often seen throughout the early season and sometimes later into the season, is a team with (continued)

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

poor defensive effort, little-to-no offensive movement without the ball, the same damn offensive play ran way too many times with the same results (turnover or horrible shot selection), slow getting back on defense, no help defense, etc. I’m not sure what they are doing in practice, but they need to be learning some offensive sets that involve multiple people moving without the ball (cont)

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

dribble-drive penetration and kick to the open man, sprinting back on defense, help defense, and rebounding. All of these things are things that I consistently see Gott teams struggle with. He has arguably the best pg in the league, but it seems as though he just uses him to stand at the top of the key and pass the ball. When he does decide to drive to the basket, (cont)

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

great things usually happen. I think all that RIZ and myself were saying about Kapita is that he is one guy that seems to leave it all out on the court every time he plays. Energy can be contagious. Anya had one strong performance and he seems to now be getting way more minutes than he should. I’m going to end this one here b/c I’ve rambled to long now. Here’s to hoping this home stretch helps!

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

Correct

Jeff Tyson
Jeff Tyson
7 years ago

Honest question, PI. Since Gott has been here I’ve heard how great the UCLA offense is but how it takes time to learn. In this age of one and dones and transfers, does it really make sense to stick to this approach? Other more modern methods seem to be easier for new players to learn and therefore run effectively. To me, this is Gott’s biggest issue. (con’t)

Jeff Tyson
Jeff Tyson
7 years ago
Reply to  Jeff Tyson

He’s dying on the hill sticking to an approach that requires a lot of finesse and experience to be effective. Do you think he should explore other methods or stick to his guns?

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

Basically…

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago

Please name your writers and where and how long they played high school, college, or professional basketball. If you can’t then STFU.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago

Some of your staff that have written basketball articles have not played competitive basketball unless you count middle school. Please don’t hand up this holier than thou bull$hit. Ball boys don’t count either.

wornoutstatefan
wornoutstatefan
7 years ago

That’s due to BC being no where near as athletic as those other two teams. We’re just not very disciplined. Our athleticism alone should have allowed us to outplay BC, however, we just look lazy. I figured after getting demolished by the cheats, we’d come out with some passion to shut up the naysayers. Not the case, just lethargic. VT was by far our best effort and shows our capability.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

agreed

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
7 years ago

I second that..

NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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NC State has won 5 ACC Championships this year, which is the most of any athletic program in the conference this year.

The Wolfpack has won ACC Titles in Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics.

The last time NC State won 5 ACC Championships in one year was 1979-80.

As far as I can tell, here’s a look at the Wolfpack Conference Titles from 1979-80:

Football
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Men’s Tennis

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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NC State is 1 of 4 schools to have their Men and Women’s Basketball teams BOTH advance to the Sweet 16, along with Duke, Gonzaga and UCONN.

NC State and Duke are the only two schools in the country to send both Basketball teams to the Sweet 16, and also send the Football team to a bowl game.

This marks only the third time in school history that BOTH teams made the Sweet 16.

Years NC State’s Men & Women’s Teams Made the Sweet 16

1985
1989
2024

Despite the fact that the Men’s team has made the Elite 8 six times (1950, 1951, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986), and the Women have made it 2 times (1998 & 2022), in the three occasions they both went to the Sweet 16 in the same year, neither team advanced to the Elite 8.

In 2024, Why Not Us?

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NC State Basketball

#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.

The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.

At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.

With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.

Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.

Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.

Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.

This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.

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NC State Basketball

A Historical Breakdown of the Series Between NC State & Marquette

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#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette in the Sweet 16 on Friday night, which will mark the 6th time the two teams have played one another.

The first time the Wolfpack and the Golden Eagles played one another was also in the NCAA Tournament, and it just so happened to be the 1974 Championship game, with NC State winning the game 76-64, giving the Pack their first National Championship.

Wolfpack led the way with 21 points, and Tommy Burleson had a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards, with 7 blocks, which is tied for the 8th most in school history in a single game.

NC State also had 12 steals in the game, which is the most by a Pack team in an NCAA Tournament game.

The next time the two teams would meet was on January 21st, in Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack won 89-76, and it was a night for the history books for Point Guard Chris Corchiani. In that game, set ACC career records for assists with 861 and steals with 276.

The following year, the Golden Eagles picked up their first win against the Wolfpack, winning 66-42 in Milwaukee.

It would be over 15 years before NC State and Marquette would play one another again, and this time it would once again be a home-and-home series in back-to-back years.

On December 22nd, 2008, the Wolfpack lost a close one at home, falling 65-68. Wolfpack Forward Brandon Costner hit all five 3-Point attempts in that game, which still stands as the best 3-Point Percentage in a single game in school history.

The following year, on December 5th, 2009, the Wolfpack would claim the lead in the series again, defeating the Golden Eagles 77-73 on the road. NC State big man Tracy Smith had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Point Guard Javier Gonzalez had 15 points and 7 assists, and Wing Scott Wood knocked down 4 of his 6 three-point attempts.

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