Highlights: Cat Barber goes for 30 in NC State's win over Miami

Angel Rodriguez certainly tried his best to check Cat Barber on Saturday, but there wasn't a whole lot he could do. Watching some of the plays during the game, I actually laughed out loud at how badly Cat toasted his defender. Like those left-handed drives early in the second half that made Rodriguez look like he was standing in cement.

Basically, I'm glad I don't have to try to defend Cat Barber, is what I'm saying. Miami tried some different looks but what can you really do when a guy with that level of quickness is a threat to pull up and knock down a mid-range jumper on you?

We've got nine more regular season games with Cat, and at least one post-season game. If nothing else, let's enjoy the highlights he's going to give us the...

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Racist propaganda prompted McCrory's Syrian refugee stance

Drinking deeply from a poisoned well of information:

In interviews, McCrory administration officials say there were ongoing discussions that weekend about a potential response. But when Steen dashed off a message to McCrory's personal email account, it was the first written note by one of his senior advisers urging the governor to consider action, according emails provided in response to a public records request.

"I think you should consider coming out in opposition to any more Syrian refugees coming here to the US or N. Carolina because the FBI says they cannot vet the Syrian refugees," Steen wrote, linking to a story in World Net Daily critical of U.S. refugee policy. Early the next morning, McCrory forwarded that email – adding only "FYI" – from his iPhone to his chief of staff, Thomas Stith.

And it doesn't appear that any of these "leaders" questioned the value of relying on a World Net Daily article to guide their policy decisions, a source that is easily in the top five least reliable outlets for credible information. The article itself is mostly a hit-piece against Lindsay Graham, and the author relies heavily on drivel provided by an extremely questionable "professor" using a borderline fraudulent resume:

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NC State football recruiting: CB Nick McCloud, lineman Kendall Brown commit to Wolfpack

NC State continues to put the finishing touches on its 2016 recruiting class late in the cycle. Last Saturday, big in-state prospect Thaddeus Moss picked NC State. Today, the Wolfpack received verbals from defensive back Nick McCloud and OL/DL Kendall Brown.

McCloud picked NC State over UCLA, Georgia Tech, and Vanderbilt.

#Packkkkkk16 http://pic.twitter.com/5l5l0RwbI5

— Nick McCloud (@NickMcCloud4_) January 31, 2016

He is a consensus three-star prospect who is considered one of the top-20 recruits from South Carolina. He had plenty of interest from Power Five programs, especially late in the process, as he picked up offers from UCLA and Maryland in the last month. McCloud is listed at 6-1 and 175 pounds by 247Sports.

Brown was an Appalachian State commitment, but his status became uncertain after Mountaineers assistant Dwayne Ledford left to become the Wolfpack's new offensive line coach. Ledford left App and joined the Pack's staff on Jan. 14, and Brown got an offer from the Pack on Jan. 28. No coincidence there. Brown is a consensus two-star prospect, and according to 247Sports holds no other Power Five offers.

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NC State dominates Miami 85-69 in surprising victory

It feels great to finally recap an NC State conference win. That stated, I never anticipated the Wolfpack beating Miami today, let alone utterly dominating them on the path to a 85-69 win. Behind Anthony Barber going for 30 points on 10-18 shooting and 10-10 from the foul line, State held control in the first half before exploding in the second. The final 20 minutes saw State put up 48 points as we witnessed an offense working in unison.

Four Factors	NC State	Miami
eFG%	55.7	46.6
Turnover Rate	15.9	11.6
Off Reb Rate	34.5	11.4
FT Rate	58.5	27.6

	Pts	Poss	OFF_EFF	DEF_EFF
Miami	69	69	100.0	123.2
NC State	85	69	123.2	100.0

Beyond the production of Cat, the Wolfpack benefited from the continued rise of Abdul-Malik Abu. After initially struggling during his sophomore season, Abu has grown into a beastly big man who can be relied upon to perform. He scored 19 points and grabbed 7 boards as he and his squad destroyed Miami on the glass. BeeJay Anya, Maverick Rowan, and Caleb Martin all had the same rebound total as Abu.

Doesn't it feel nice to win a game? That's the primary thought running through my mind as I write this. Learned helplessness is a horrific reality to be forced to embrace as a fan. With each coming game, it's difficult to be excited during what most would consider a lost season. Beating the 15th ranked team in the country soundly is a welcomed addition to an otherwise forgettable run of Wolfpack basketball.

For Miami, this loss drops them to 16-4 overall, 5-3 in ACC play. State is now 12-10 overall and 2-7 in conference after today's result. The Hurricanes received 18 points from Sheldon McClellan and 15 from Angel Rodriguez. Even with acceptable perimeter production, Miami was doomed by what its big men failed to accomplish.

If you want the major takeaway from State's win, it's the rebounding. ESPN has State as a 41-23 winner in the rebounding category. Other box scores have the margin less favorable for State but still hugely one sided in their direction.

With Cat as our leader and the potential to dominate on the glass, it's more than a bit unsettling that we're only 2-7 in the league. But while an explosive shooting display can be a randomly enigmatic development, the product of a good day and some luck, usually a massive rebounding effort is not.

The extra subplot is the team rebounding effort - no one had more than 7. A variety of players chipped in. Cat going off and our big guys doing their jobs is a recipe for success. Issues have arose when Cat struggles and Anya and company put forth games that leave us scratching our heads.

For today, just like with the Pittsburgh win, I'm willing to largely set the difficulties of the season aside. Multiple losses make the wins easier to cherish when they come. Up next for State will be a road game at Florida State on Monday, 2/1 at 9:00 PM ET. That contest will be shown on ESPNU.

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NC Supreme Court: Sheriffs can fire employees for not "donating" to campaign

Welcome to the fifteenth Century:

The high court noted that county sheriffs hold an elected office established by the state Constitution, and they're recognized in state law as having sole authority over how their offices are run. Though they receive county funds, their offices are considered distinct from county government.

The court also rejected the deputies' arguments that their free-speech rights were violated, noting that "mutual confidence and loyalty between a sheriff and a deputy are crucial in accomplishing the sheriff's policies and duties" as an elected law enforcement official.

What the hell does money have to do with "mutual confidence and loyalty"? I don't care where you work, public or private sector, being fired for not contributing to a political campaign is just flat wrong. And for the NC Supreme Court to give this practice not just tacit approval, but supporting language as well, is off-the-charts crazy.

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What Ails the Wolfpack: Player Development or Talent?

Look at all these pretty tables!

I present to you a bunch of stats. A whole, whole, wholotta stats. A glossary at the bottom explains each metric for the uninitiated. My purpose in compiling the tables below was to attempt to track player development under NC State coach Mark Gottfried. Having done so, I'm not sure there is anything definitive in the numbers. Gott's won some and lost some. Ultimately, NC State's struggles seem to have less to do with whether or not Gott can develop the talent he has and more to do with Gott not having enough talent.

Before we get to some lukewarm takes on the data, note that if an entry in the table is bolded and italicized, it indicates improvement over the previous season. Players who did not play significant minutes in back-to-back seasons are omitted. We start with Sidney Lowe's last year as a jumping off point.

2010-11 (Lowe's last year)

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	TRB%	AST%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/40	FT%
Wood	14.4	62.1	59.2	4.5	8.3	1.6	10.1	13.7	.113	92.3
Howell	25.0	55.0	52.4	19.5	10.2	2.3	12.9	21.0	.176	64.8
Leslie	20.0	47.0	44.5	15.8	7.1	4.8	12.9	27.1	.100	54.2
Brown	14.8	48.9	44.7	6.9	24.7	1.1	19.6	20.4	.075	71.3
Williams	12.3	50.2	48.5	7.3	12.1	1.2	15.7	15.5	.065	68.2
Painter	12.7	51.2	46.7	12.4	2.8	4.0	15.8	17.5	.078	63.2
Vandy	10.6	63.8	65.2	9.7	3.9	7.0	26.2	8.5	.069	54.5

2011-12 (Gott's first year)

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	TRB%	AST%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/40	FT%
Wood	16.4	62.8	57.9	3.9	9.0	2.0	9.9	16.7	.148	90.7
Howell	20.2	51.9	48.9	19.4	8.2	1.2	15.9	22.9	.147	63.6
Leslie	23.5	54.9	53.0	14.3	8.1	5.7	14.8	27.1	.155	59.6
Brown	20.1	53.3	48.6	7.5	35.0	1.6	21.1	22.0	.139	72.9
Williams	16.7	57.5	55.4	6.9	11.0	1.3	11.9	16.8	.132	80.8
Painter	12.6	47.9	42.3	12.1	3.2	3.0	12.0	18.6	.093	71.8
Vandy*	13.9	82.6	87.5	13.0	12.6	6.3	32.1	7.5	.117	0.0

*83 minutes played

Gottfried inherited six key players and a Jordan Vandenberg in his first year in Raleigh. There is a whole lot of bold and italics in that table, though some of the improvements (e.g. Scott Wood's .4% increase in BLK%) are statistically insignificant. Still, taken as a whole, it's easy to see why the Pack improved from 15-16 in Lowe's last year to sweet 16 in Gott's first year. Most notable was Gott's ability to get C.J. Leslie to play like the best player on the floor; he had the natural gifts to be a star and, for at least this one year, Gott got it out of him. Lorenzo Brown, though this was necessitated by Ryan Harrow's transfer as much as Gott's coaching, took a shine to the point guard position and made things go. C.J. Williams became a confident and valuable contributor after being not much more than a warm body. All in all, after a season it looked like Gott was the possible savior for a Wolfpack program starving to get back to national relevance. The Pack clearly had talent at the end of the Lowe era; Gott got something out of it.

2012-13

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	TRB%	AST%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/40	FT%
Wood	16.3	66.2	61.6	4.9	5.2	1.8	9.3	15.5	.143	91.4
Howell	24.8	58.7	57.0	19.6	10.1	2.8	13.1	19.8	.196	64.8
Leslie	21.0	55.0	52.2	13.0	8.4	3.7	17.9	25.8	.122	61.2
Brown	19.9	50.9	44.9	7.2	36.7	1.6	22.2	22.8	.131	77.1
Vandy	6.4	47.5	50.0	7.4	1.3	7.0	25.1	9.7	.036	25.0
Warren	23.5	63.8	64.5	8.8	5.9	1.5	9.3	19.5	.178	54.2
Lewis	13.1	56.5	42.6	5.1	17.9	0.5	17.4	15.0	.109	85.9
Turner*	10.0	49.3	46.2	5.7	11.4	0.9	16.0	19.2	.080	75.4

*last year at LSU (listed for comparison purposes for 13-14)

With State returning the core of the sweet 16 team and adding a stellar recruiting class, Gott's group was ranked 6^th in the AP preseason poll, but despite reinforcements from T.J. Warren and a monster year from Richard Howell, the team never came remotely close to meeting preseason expectations, ultimately getting bounced from the tournament in its first game. Brown and Wood were good but failed to take a step forward. Brown's biggest issue was a high turnover rate that only got higher in his third year. But, obviously, the biggest factor was Leslie's lackluster performance. He regressed from best player on the floor most nights to the fourth best player on his team.

2013-14

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	TRB%	AST%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/40	FT%
Vandy	15.9	66.7	68.0	12.2	7.8	6.6	14.6	9.5	.129	52.2
Warren	31.3	57.4	54.8	11.8	8.6	1.8	9.9	35.5	.209	69.0
Lewis	10.4	43.8	39.3	3.7	32.9	0.0	17.5	15.9	.057	74.4
Turner	14.3	55.1	53.1	5.6	6.8	0.4	9.0	21.0	.110	70.4
Freeman	12.5	50.4	51.4	18.3	4.4	1.2	10.8	10.1	.097	44.9
Lee	12.6	50.7	43.6	7.0	12.0	0.1	17.0	21.5	.072	72.5
Barber	13.7	47.5	42.4	4.8	27.5	0.1	16.1	23.1	.069	69.6
Anya	12.4	56.8	58.7	10.3	1.8	12.6	21.9	10.6	.077	48.4
Washington	8.7	45.3	43.5	11.3	4.1	3.1	15.5	16.4	.041	56.3
Lacey*	17.3	51.7	48.3	7.5	23.4	1.5	17.1	23.1	.139	71.8

*last year at Alabama (listed for comparison purposes with 14-15)

Not much was expected from Gottfried's third team after the departure of four starters to (mostly non-NBA) pro ball, but State had Buckets, and Buckets gave 0 F's about whatever it was "they" were expecting. Though his shooting efficiency took a bit of a bump while taking on an insane level of usage, T.J. Warren clearly developed in his sophomore season, adding adequate rebounding, a higher assist rate, and decent free throwing to his already efficient barrage of floaters and other score-the-ball tactics. Gottfried deserves credit not only for game-planning to best make use of Buckets' abilities, but also for guiding a young team beset by roster turnover to yet another tournament.

Also of note are the contributions of Vandenberg and Ralston Turner. Vandy became a genuine contributor after years of being all-airport squad. Turner was more efficient under Gott's tutelage at State than he ever was at LSU, even if he was a downgrade from pervious marksman Wood.

2014-15

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	TRB%	AST%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/40	FT%
Turner	15.7	55.0	51.7	5.7	6.4	0.5	8.1	21.0	.133	83.8
Washington	17.8	50.5	48.3	12.8	5.5	6.3	12.3	22.5	.117	71.8
Barber	17.4	53.2	48.0	5.8	24.1	0.0	15.5	22.3	.127	73.3
Anya	16.5	60.5	61.0	12.3	2.2	13.4	23.0	13.0	.114	55.7
Freeman	12.3	46.1	44.7	16.0	5.1	1.1	14.4	12.3	.096	50.0
Lee	14.1	49.8	36.0	7.4	11.4	0.0	16.8	23.0	.106	80.9
Lacey	20.3	55.6	52.5	7.1	20.7	0.6	11.9	23.4	.158	73.8
Abu	16.0	49.4	47.0	13.9	6.5	2.7	13.1	20.3	.111	56.3
Caleb	13.1	48.6	44.0	9.5	8.2	2.1	11.9	17.6	.099	69.5
Cody	15.0	48.5	47.5	9.8	21.8	2.9	21.2	20.6	.094	52.9

Last season in many ways resembled Gott's first year. Look at all the bold and italics above! With Buckets off to the NBA, the collective returnees needed to take a collective step forward, and nearly everyone did. BeeJay Anya, Anthony Barber, and Kyle Washington all went from below average to above average contributors in terms of WS/40. Like Turner before him but to a greater extent, transfer Lacey improved over his SEC days. Every returning player save Freeman upped their PER and every damn one got better at the charity stripe. This Gottfried guy can coach!

2015-16

Player	PER	TS%	eFG%	TRB%	AST%	BLK%	TOV%	USG%	WS/40	FT%
Barber	23.5	54.1	45.8	6.3	26.9	0.1	10.0	29.1	.188	86.5
Anya	14.9	53.8	61.5	11.5	4.1	11.4	21.4	11.7	.089	33.3
Freeman	13.0	52.5	50.8	15.0	7.1	0.8	19.8	9.9	.098	54.8
Abu	21.3	49.9	46.5	16.7	10.4	2.0	12.1	25.6	.138	62.0
Caleb	11.6	48.1	45.4	7.4	8.4	1.8	13.8	19.5	.078	73.8
Cody	16.8	52.8	51.0	10.0	17.1	2.4	18.2	14.3	.113	57.1

And then this year happened. There's still--surprisingly--a lot of bold and italics there. Barber has taken a huge step forward and should finish with the third best season in terms of WS/40 of a Pack player in the last six years. Abu is not shooting much better, but he has become a solid rebounder and post passer while lowering his turnover rate under the pressure of much greater usage. He's a solid second option behind Barber and improving every night out according to my very sophisticated eye test. Cody Martin still turns it over too much, but he's become a solid role player. BeeJay Anya perhaps needs to get fat again; he's regressed. Caleb Martin is clearly not comfortable in the role of scoring guard; he's also no better than he was a year ago. Freeman is a little better than last year but has never matched his Howell-like boardsmanship of his first year or developed an offensive game.

I don't think we can say anything definitive about Gott's player development skills from the tables. There are lots of things to hang his hat on, like that one year of Leslie, Howell's senior season (though it wasn't that much better than his sophomore year under Lowe), Williams, Buckets, Vandy, Kyle Washington trending in the right direction (before he left), the SEC transfers, certainly the breakout of Barber, and to some extent Abu, who seems to have turned a corner. But then you have Leslie's third-year regression, Tyler Lewis losing all confidence, Anya and Caleb this year, and several guys that were pretty stagnant (though not necessarily bad players) in Wood and Freeman.

The bigger issue, I think, is when you compare the roster from 2015-16 to the one Gott inherited. The tables above don't include everyone, as I set out here to compare individual players' progression. Gott's first team had a lot of scrambling-to-get-a-recruiting-class-at-the-last-minute types like Jaqawn Raymond and Thomas de Thaey. Who can forget Tyler Harris? And of course there was the ever hustling if somewhat ineffective grad transfer Alex Johnson. This year's table lists everyone but Maverick Roawan and the dude with the cool hair who doesn't play. Bottom line: there was more depth and talent in Gott's first year than there is now. Would you take Abu over Howell? Anya over Leslie (or hell, Vandy for that matter)? Rowan over Wood? Caleb over Williams? Yes, perhaps, to Barber over Brown.

Gottfried may have been blindsided by Lacey's decision to go pro and Washington's decision to transfer. Terry Henderson may have made the above departures a moot point if healthy. Regardless of the reasons why, at the end of the day NC State is not very good at basketball because it does not have enough good basketball players (just three, in fact, with a WS/40 above average).

The million dollar questions is whether Dennis Smith, a return of Henderson, and the eligibility of Torin Dorn next year, and any other yet unknown additions (tall person, please) will be enough to close the talent gap. Hey guys, wait ‘til next year!

Glossary:

PER-Player Efficiency Rating (basically a per-minute rating of all a player's positive contributions less his negative ones)

TS%-A shooting measure that takes into account free throws, two-point, and three-point attempts

eFG%-Adjusted field goal percentage that takes into account the greater value of three-point attempts

TRB%-Percentage of available rebounds a player grabs while on the floor

AST%-Percentage of teammates' field goals a player assists while on the floor

BLK%-Percentage of opponent two-point field goal attempts blocked by a player while on the floor

TOV%-Percentage of plays resulting in a turnover per 100 possessions

USG%-Percentage of plays (including field goal attempts, free throws, and turnovers) used by a given player

WS/40-An estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player per 40 minutes (.100 is "league average")

All stats courtesy of sports-reference.com (which is the greatest thing since sliced bread)

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2016 Senior Bowl: Jacoby Brissett has opportunity to improve NFL Draft stock

Jacoby Brissett has been down in Mobile, Alabama, this week preparing for the Senior Bowl. The Senior Bowl gives players an opportunity to get coaching pointers from NFL staffs (one NFL staff coaches each team), and provides a lot of exposure to scouts. It's a big opportunity early in the process leading up to the NFL Draft.

Senior Bowl date: Saturday, Jan.  30

Game time: 2:30 p.m. ET

TV: NFL Network

Rosters

Brissett is one of four quarterbacks on the South team--Arkansas' Brandon Allen, Mississippi State's Dak Prescott, and Alabama's Jake Coker are the others competing for reps come Saturday afternoon. Each of those players should get a full quarter, it's just a matter of who fits where. (Coker is expected to start.)

Brissett this week has been focused on hanging in the pocket longer (via Sports Illustrated):

A focus for him this week has been in sticking with his receivers, rather than bailing too early.

"Just hang in there and make the throws, just trust the pocket," he said. "I know one time throwing it to Gronk [Kansas State FB Glenn Gronkowski], I was just stepping up in the pocket. Let somebody else take the hit. I took enough of those in my career."

He also caught the eye of Baylor head coach Art Briles (via NFL.com):

I was standing next to Baylor's Art Briles talking about some of the draftable Baylor prospects, and he commented a couple of times on how impressed he was by North Carolina State quarterback Jacoby Brissett. The first comment came when he discussed watching tape in preparation for a game against North Carolina where Brissett flashed on tape. The second comment came while watching the goal-line portion of the scrimmage when Brissett threw a rocket on a slant for a touchdown.

It sounds like there are plenty of interested teams, but also that they're not sure what to make of Brissett, which makes sense given his performance in college. He's probably a late day-two or day three draft pick at this point, though he can begin to start changing that on Saturday.

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A glance at Miami: Hurricanes have the talent to do damage in March

Miami still looks quite a bit the same as it did last year, thanks to the return of its core of Angel Rodriguez, Sheldon McClellan, and Tonye Jekiri. All three have improved in one way or another, which has helped the Hurricanes go from NIT finalist to legitimate threat to make a deep NCAA tourney run.

Aside from those three, a big key to Miami's success has been the emergence of sophomore guard Ja'Quan Newton, who is a former top-50 recruit. Newton wasn't a huge factor as a freshman and didn't shoot well; this year, he's taking more shots than anybody else on the Hurricanes and making almost 53% inside the arc.

Toss in Oklahoma State transfer Kamari Murphy, newly-minted three-point shooter extraordinaire Ivan Cruz Uceda, plus the always-steady Davon Reed, and the 'Canes can get scoring in a number of different ways. Bullets:

-- Perhaps in part thanks to a lighter workload, Angel Rodriguez is shooting a career-high 53.8% inside the arc. So far it's even held up against the better teams on Miami's schedule. He has never cracked 40% for a season. But he's also shooting 28.9% from three, which is a career low.

-- Cruz Uceda is 6-10 but prefers to linger along the perimeter, probably because he is 30-61 from three-point range this season. That's eight more made threes than he had all of last season, in the same number of attempts. I don't know how NC State is gonna plan to match up with him, or Jekiri, for that matter. Jekiri's two-point accuracy is a career-best 56%, and he's still a monster on the glass.

-- McClellan is once again putting up efficiency numbers that warrant him All-ACC consideration. He's at 86.6% from the free throw line, 61% from two, and 39.1% from three. He's better in all three of those categories than he was last season, and he was pretty dang good last season.

-- Miami's offense ranks 19th nationally in adjusted offensive efficiency, though the Hurricanes are struggling to put the ball through the hoop in ACC games. The Canes are just 13th out of 15 teams in eFG% during league play, which has made for below-average production. They've been ice cold from three-point range, which I'm sure will continue, right, everybody?

-- The Canes' defense, on the other hand, has been excellent in league games. Miami ranks in the top three in three of the four factors (defensive rebounding percentage being the exception). So the Hurricanes' shooting troubles haven't been much of stumbling block for them, and if/when they do start cookin' from outside, they could be scary.

The Pomeroy Predictor has Miami by five.

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Meadows harps about serving constituents, while helping predatory mortgage lenders

To seem and not to be:

"When you come up to Washington, D.C., they want you to be on the team up here and what most Americans want is someone who comes up here and doesn't forget the people who send them here," Meadows told Greta Van Susteren on Fox News Wednesday night.

He said on Fox that Cruz's approach is, "Let's make sure what we do is really what's right for America, not for him or the lobbyists here or the Washington cartel."

Makes a good sound bite, but what Tea Party Mark doesn't brag about is doing the dirty work for banksters and other well-dressed loan sharks:

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Taxpayer-funded discrimination against LGBTQ students

We reserve the right to be bigoted and exclusionary:

“Sexual relationships outside of marriage and sexual relationships between persons of the same sex are immoral and sinful. The depth of the sinfulness of homosexual practice is recognized, and yet we believe the grace of God sufficient to overcome both the practice of such activity and the perversion leading to its practice.”

Lee Christian, the document states, reserves the right to deny admission or expel a student should the “atmosphere or conduct within” the home on these issues run contrary to the private school’s beliefs.

So it's not only LGBT students who are discriminated against; if a straight child's parents are in a same sex relationship, or the single parent of the child engages in such a relationship, however short-term it may be, the student can get the boot. One might be tempted to declare, "Who would want to send their child into such a cultish educational environment?" But that's not the point. The point is, the school should *not* be eligible for taxpayer dollars, regardless of the route that money takes to get there. Parents given vouchers should not be able to "choose" a school that discriminates in such a fashion. That money has to come with some caveats, and this should be at the top of the list.

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Creating a corrupting influence

Charter schools have been making a lot of news lately. It started when Lieutenant Governor Dan Forest decided to bury a report on the schools that was less than favorable. He didn’t like the results so he was going to fish for data that validated his point of view–much like the climate change deniers have […]
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Friday fracking video

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Meadows Joins Cruz Crew

A couple days ago, Hillary Clinton earned the endorsement of U.S. Rep. David Price of the 4th district. Now, another member of the NC congressional delegation has chosen a candidate. This time the endorser is Rep. Mark Meadows, the anti-establishment congressman from the mountains, and the endorsee is Ted Cruz. Meadows made it official on […]
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Van der Vaart: Restrict Solar, incentivize nuclear

I’ll show you mine…

The finance reports are coming in. In the governor’s race, incumbent Pat McCrory released what he thought was an impressive haul of $2.6 million dollars only to be outdone by challenger Roy Cooper who raised $2.9 million. McCrory’s spokesperson, Ricky Diaz, lamely responded that Cooper must be spending too much time raising money. In the […]
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NC State lost to Georgia Tech and Mark Gottfried is very upset

Mark Gottfried is good at keeping things level, outside of the plain and very public constraints of a 40-minute basketball game. On Wednesday night, though, his irritation over NC State's loss to Georgia Tech was obvious. He was not happy with the way his team came out in the first half. (Among other things.)

Via the News and Observer, here's his post-game press conference:

For the most part, Gottfried has been able to maintain a level of detachment that's allowed him to take a constructive approach. If, Gottfried included, we were all together in denial, Wednesday was the shot of reality that finally landed home. Gott called out the team's first-half effort, and his frontcourt players' poor rebounding. Neither of those criticisms are unfair, but it is weird to see Gottfried so clearly angry.

It's also weird for basketball season to be over in January, so I guess we're setting all sorts of new records here. Maaaaaaaaan please make the hurting stop soon.

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Georgia Tech 90, NC State 83: Wolfpack battles but can't overcome big deficit

The demoralization is fully onset, at least for me. Turns out I can live in denial for a ridiculous amount of time when it comes to NC State sports. A genuinely absurd amount of time. Sure, I can jokingly acknowledge the Wolfpack's shortcomings, but if you force me to set a date to confront those shortcomings, it's gonna be like three months later or whatever and you know I might need to reschedule.

The alarms went off on first damn day of the season, when Terry Henderson got hurt and State got crushed by William & Mary. The Pack managed to keep itself together as best it could over the rest of the non-conference schedule, but league play has been a harsh douse of cold water. The kids are trying their best, but their margin is smaller than it's been in a long time, and the league is better than it's been in years. To put it another way, they are just plain not very good.

On Wednesday night, State kept level with Georgia Tech for most of the first half, crumbling late to allow the Jackets a double-digit halftime lead. We can dwell on certain micro factors costing this State team possessions and maybe some points, but there is a bottom-line starkness to the fact that the Wolfpack spent most of the game--at home--playing catch-up with Georgia Tech.

It's all a bummer. Everything is a terrible bummer, a blow to the gut that nobody needed. This team's ceiling is painfully low. All of it can be distant memory next year, but right now it burns like hell.

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3-star cornerback JJ Givens picks NC State over Maryland

Several days after landing in-state prospect Thaddeus Moss, NC State got more good news. Defensive back JJ Givens announced Wednesday afternoon that he is committed to play for the Wolfpack. Givens had planned to take an official visit this weekend, but he canceled that visit today after meeting with Dave Doeren.

PACKSZN http://pic.twitter.com/QOTzPB3W2v

— JJ Givens☘ (@RegimeJay) January 27, 2016

Givens is a consensus three-star prospect from Virginia. He was committed to South Carolina before re-opening his recruitment, and he has offers from a bunch of Power 5 schools, including Arizona State, Michigan State, UNC, Virginia Tech, Oklahoma, and Miami.

Like a lot of talented high-major prospects, Givens played both ways in high school. As a senior, he tallied 85 tackles, 22 pass breakups, and five interceptions as a defensive back. On the offensive side, he had more than 1,100 yards receiving and caught 10 touchdown passes. He also returned a kickoff for a score.

Here's a highlight reel:

If you watch only one highlight in this video, check out the interception he makes on the play that starts around the 50-second mark. Dude's got hands. (Though he only needed one in that case.)

Givens will need to hit the weight room and add some bulk--he's listed around 170 or 175 pounds--but he has a chance to compete for early playing time once he gets on campus. He is a really nice late addition to NC State's 2016 class.

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Voter ID trial update: Fraud would be "extremely irrational"

Just like the nut-jobs who worry about a manufactured crisis:

Minnite said that it's extremely irrational for a person to intentionally pose as someone else at the polls. There's a big risk of getting caught, she said. And having a photo ID requirement isn't likely to deter someone who's that intent on deceiving people, she said. More than likely, if a person is that determined to commit voter fraud, that person would get a fake photo ID, she said.

Strach, however, argued that there is simply no way for a poll worker to know if voters are telling the truth about who they are.

Of course they can't "know" for sure if somebody is telling the truth, but they can make a reasonable assumption based on how stupid it would be to risk going to jail to cast one (or even twenty) fraudulent votes. We shouldn't even be talking about this, much less having to go to court to stop it. To make changes to voting access based on "what if's" and not overwhelming evidence is, in itself, proof of the nefarious purpose behind these laws. Unfortunately, this whole legal process is flawed. We have to prove the GOP intentionally passed these laws to make exercising their Constitutional rights harder for some people, but they didn't have to prove a damn thing before passing the laws themselves. No matter how stupid/unnecessary/burdensome these laws are, in the absence of a smoking gun, the judge will end up siding with the Legislature. I hope I'm proven wrong.

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The Race to Replace Roy

State Sen. Josh Stein isn’t the Democratic nominee for Attorney General yet, but he might as well be. And at least monetarily, he’s off to a good start. His campaign raised over a half million dollars in the last quarter of 2015, giving him $1.49 million in cash-on-hand. Meanwhile, Republicans will have to go through […]
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Economic growth of a toxic nature

Nail polish manufacturer Coty to expand Sanford operation:

Cosmetics giant Coty Inc. is moving OPI nail polish manufacturing from North Hollywood to North Carolina. All production and distribution operations for OPI Products Inc. are being switched to Coty's largest U.S. manufacturing facility in Sanford, N.C., Coty said in a statement.

"Our ambitions for OPI's sustainable growth and expansion require enhanced manufacturing facilities," the company said, adding that their North Carolina plant is "best-in-class" and capable of supporting the nail brand's growth.

This won't come as a jaw-dropping surprise to anybody, but nail polish products are very nasty and should never come into contact with humans, especially not pregnant humans:

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Trust, transparency, and speaking truth to power

If this election should tell us anything, it’s that Americans have lost trust in their government and lost faith in the political establishment to fix it. Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Bernie Sanders express the frustrations of average citizens who believe the system is rigged against them and for somebody else. This election year is […]
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The #goacc Moment of the Week (1/27/2016)

The weekly in-depth look at the best (worst?) moments in ACC schadenfreude.

Lawd have mercy y'all, we had a hell of a battle here last week, where ultimately Coach K's "Amazing" press conference managed to pull away from some incredible competition. Hell, I thought Nate Irving crop dusting someone in a supermarket was a lock for the win, but it wasn't to be. Moving on to this week, we've got yet another fantastic set of entries for y'all to vote on. I think you'll all enjoy the #suregrin award, and we've got some great photoshops Crying Jordan memes as well. Lastly, we'll close with what I think might be my favorite BAH GAWD moment ever. And with that, it's time to vote. Which is your #goacc Moment of the Week? Vote below!

1. UNC's twitter account absolutely owned a student trying to get out of class (h/t @awbatchelor).

Don't try to play @UNC like that. http://pic.twitter.com/PauQNNmxHY

— Andrew (@awbatchelor) January 24, 2016

Man, that kid got demolished by the ol' Google search by image. Straight savagery.

2. Pitt fan makes his "mark" in the snow (h/t @JNadzan).

#H2P http://pic.twitter.com/TmX5JNg7x9

— Joe (@JNadzan) January 23, 2016

Um........yeah...............guess he really had to go.

3. ESPN listed Chris Corchiani Jr. as the player to watch in the game against Duke.

#goacc http://pic.twitter.com/ItqK0G3sh3

— Will Thompson (@thrillis4) January 23, 2016

Is this some sort of glitch in their system, or is someone at ESPN just trolling all of us?

4. UNC's "Blue Team" needs some work on their shooting (h/t @KelsonRand and @BarstoolBanks).

#goacc "@BarstoolBanks: UNC walk-ons making it RAIN https://t.co/vCjYjlH3ju"

— Kelson Crocker (@KelsonRand) January 22, 2016

You know, maybe they were just trying to re-enact that GIF of Philip Seymour Hoffman.

5. Good job, good effort Walmart (h/t @DennisJove).

Because @Walmart in #Virginia gave no F's today, @theACC. #wahoowa #Hokies #VaTech #UVA #ACC http://pic.twitter.com/ZUTuspSB9L

— Dennis Jove™ (@DennisJove) January 21, 2016

That's not even close!

6. Let's check in on Boston College and dear god (h/t to our own @akulawolf).

This is Boston College basketball https://t.co/KHPbr8mtr6

— Steven (@akulawolf) January 21, 2016

They really may not win a conference game.

7. NC State released their 2016 football schedule using Heads Up (h/t @PackFootball).

The 2016 schedule revealed by the #Pack players: https://t.co/lvNUKygANg #headsup #schedsup

— NC State Football (@PackFootball) January 26, 2016

This is just spectacular. Just wait till you see how he gets Boston College correct.

8. ESPN now includes players' favorite emojis in starting lineups.

#goacc when you see it http://pic.twitter.com/Ka6ry9bLRG

— Will Thompson (@thrillis4) January 26, 2016

This is the most "Welcome to 2016" moment of the year for sports. Also, the position of Jekiri's makes it look like he has a tiny arm, which is spectacular.

9. Dabo Swinney went sleddin' with his players (h/t @coach_jeffscott).

How many college head coaches go sledding with their players on a Friday night.....Coach Dabo Swinney ☃ #ALLIN http://pic.twitter.com/DRjByUewSY

— Coach Jeff Scott (@coach_jeffscott) January 23, 2016

Look at the air he gets! He's just having fun out there guys.

10. Nothing says Notre Dame football like...the Millennium Falcon? (h/t @PaulRRigney).

What. http://pic.twitter.com/37bSkyZgvh

— Paul Rigney (@PaulRRigney) January 26, 2016

I mean....sure?

the #suregrin award.

A word of advice to all of the high school students out there. If you're going to tweet at the Wake County Public School system's official twitter account, for the love of God use your spell check:

LOL @WCPSS http://pic.twitter.com/0R63sZr04k

— Josh Goodson (@joshwgoodson) January 22, 2016

Otherwise, you might get savagely owned and have to delete your twitter account.

The best photoshops of the week!

I really should rename this the Crying Jordan segment, because that's what I keep putting in here, and man do we have some good ones this week. First, for the Arizona Cardinals!

@AZCardinals http://pic.twitter.com/FKohmF7Ebq

— John (@Pederstan) January 25, 2016

Just brilliant work. Next, a late arriving submission to the #goacc desk here, but DEAR GOD WAKE:

your turn, Wake http://pic.twitter.com/vfpLxEbdod

— Jameson (@the_Jameson) January 27, 2016

You deserve every bit of of that for blowing a 7 point lead to UVA in the last twenty seconds.

And now, for your moment of wrasslin'...

THE JIM ROSS BAH GAWD MOMENT OF THE WEEK!!

Have to celebrate the NC State Wrestling's team amazing victory over UNC with the best way I know how. Let's see how the legendary voice of wrasslin' would call some of that match!

PACK WRASSLIN' DESTROYS UNC, AS CALLED BY JIM ROSS!! https://t.co/qZF6hQ73FA

— Will Thompson (@thrillis4) January 26, 2016

Have a great week everyone!

Poll

Which is your #goacc Moment of the Week?

• UNC's twitter account absolutely owned a student trying to get out of class
• Pitt fan makes his "mark" in the snow
• ESPN listed Chris Corchiani Jr. as the player to watch in the game against Duke
• UNC's "Blue Team" needs some work on their shooting
• Good job, good effort Walmart
• Let's check in on Boston College and dear god
• NC State released their 2016 football schedule using Heads Up
• ESPN now includes players' favorite emojis in starting lineups
• Dabo Swinney went sleddin' with his players
• Nothing says Notre Dame football like...the Millennium Falcon?

  0 votes | Results

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Georgia Tech is experienced, and better, and not going anywhere worth mention

How to watch or listen to the game

Tip time: 8 ET, Wednesday, Jan. 27

TV: ACC Network (Mike Gleason, Cory Alexander) -- affiliates

Online streaming: ESPN3

Radio: Wolfpack Sports Network (affiliates)

Georgia Tech vitals

Record: 11-8 (1-5)
RPI: 68
Pomeroy ranking: No. 59
Best win***: 68-64 over Virginia (KenPom No. 8)
Worst loss: 69-68 to East Tennessee State (KenPom No. 161)

(***Best win or loss based on opponent's Pomeroy Rating, not the scoring margin.)

Adjusted tempo: 68.4 poss/40 minutes (ranks 214th)
Adjusted offensive efficiency: 110.7 (ranks 47th)
Adjusted defensive efficiency: 99.7 (ranks 102nd)

GT roster
GT schedule
GT stats 2015 / 2016

The Georgia Tech offense and starters

GT Offense -- Four Factors	eFG% (National Rank)	TO%	OR%	FT Rate
2014-15	44.4 (329)	19.6 (208)	38.7 (10)	31.1 (317)
2015-16	50.1 (155)	14.9 (12)	37.5 (18)	31.5 (293)

More and more, transfers are becoming a way of life--and self-preservation--in college basketball. Graduate transfers have been crucial to Louisville's success this season. Mark Gottfried has relied heavily on transfers during his career at NC State. Transfers have also helped Georgia Tech rebound from a dreadful (and unlucky) 2015 season, perhaps saving Brian Gregory's job in the process.

The Yellow Jackets have five transfer players in their rotation, led by Adam Smith (Virginia Tech, UNCW) and Nick Jacobs (Alabama). Those two are assuming significant roles in the offense, and Smith not surprisingly has been an excellent jump shooter, if not much else. Charles Mitchell (Maryland), James White (Arkansas-Little Rock), and Josh Heath (USF) have also been important contributors for the Jackets.

With those transfers in the fold, Gregory has a rare amount of experience at his disposal. The Jackets have seven upperclassmen in their rotation, including five seniors. (This does not bode well for Gregory's future, but that's another story for another website at another time.)

Georgia Tech is better with the added support, but even so, this season is looking like a waste. Tech is good enough to be a bubble team, but the results have not been there. The early ACC schedule wasn't exactly forgiving, and Georgia Tech did itself no favors by losing to Virginia Tech at home.

With the way the roster is constructed, this year felt like a bit of an all-or-fired gambit on Gregory's part, which may prove true. It could still work out, but a deeper ACC is not a factor working in his favor. But the offense is better, at least!

Georgia Tech has been the best three-point shooting team in league play, though the Jackets don't typically attempt a lot of threes. For the season, they're shooting 37% from outside, which underscores Adam Smith's impact. That's helped them overcome some mediocre shooting inside the arc. Contributions from the frontcourt are still kind of, just, you know, okay.

Aside from an increase in overall shooting accuracy, the big change for Tech has been in the turnover category. Some of the team's primary contributors have been better about taking care of the ball this season, while the team has also benefited from the demotion of guard Travis Jorgenson, whose primary use is as halftime t-shirt gun.

Starters

Josh Heath (6-2, 179) -- Low-usage player, which is to say that he is the good ol' "pass-first" (that means he's not very good at basketball) point guard. Very nice assist rate, but it comes with a high turnover rate. He doesn't have much shooting range.

Adam Smith (6-1, 165) -- I like the idea of a kid who transfers constantly, but only from one Tech to another. He starts and Virginia Tech, he heads to Georgia Tech, he moves on to Cal Tech, then he decides he prefers hockey and goes to Michigan Tech. Adam Smith is halfway there, is all I'm saying.

Regardless of where he plays, Smith's profile doesn't change. He takes a ton of jump shots, and he is an exceptional three-point shooter. His career 3FG% (39.1) ain't that far off from his career 2FG% (41.6). As usual, he profiles as a jumper-heavy two-guard: low assist rate, low turnover rate, low free throw rate.

Marcus Georges-Hunt (6-5, 216) -- Quietly having a career year in his usual bent, slashin' to the basket and taking enough threes to keep folks honest. He is taking full advantage of the rule changes in college hoops with career highs in free throw rate and free throw shooting percentage.

Charles Mitchell (6-8, 256) -- Still an absolute monster on the glass, and a decent scorer in the paint.

Nick Jacobs (6-8, 262) -- Good rebounder at both ends, good shot blocker. Career 51.7% shooter inside the arc, and he's been a high-workload guy for most of his career. Good player, but maybe not one you really want consuming quite so many possessions.

The Georgia Tech bench and defense

Reserves: Quinton Stephens (6-9, 203), James White (6-8, 226), Travis Jorgenson (6-0, 184), Ben Lammers (6-10, 231), Tadric Jackson (6-2, 209). Stephens is a decent three-point option off the bench. White is having an outstanding year rebounding the ball at the offensive end, but shouldn't factor much into the offense otherwise. Jorgenson's cut down on the turnovers but still can't shoot. Tadric Jackson should never, ever be allowed to shoot a basketball. Ben Lammers has fouls to give, and probably some rebounds to grab.

GT Defense -- Four Factors	eFG% (National Rank)	TO%	OR%	FT Rate
2014-15	49.2 (175)	18.0 (239)	25.8 (18)	33.8 (109)
2015-16	48.3 (121)	14.6 (338)	26.2 (38)	34.4 (131)

The reason why Georgia Tech's gains this season have been relatively minor: while the offense has improved about 160 spots, the defense has dipped about 70. That's a positive net, but it ain't enough to make a significant difference for a team in this not-bad-but-not-good position. If Georgia Tech had managed another top-30 defense this year, then the Jackets would really be on to something.

Instead, the Jackets are suffering through more pronounced systemic issues. The defensive rebounding is holding up, and that's great, but Tech has been far worse at forcing turnovers, and its interior defense is an ongoing struggle. In league games, the Jackets are giving up 1.12 points per possession (13th out of 15), and they're dead last in TO% and FT Rate.

The latter number might be the biggest tell--Georgia Tech held up fine in free throw rate during the non-conference season. Granted, there are schedule considerations here, but the trends don't spew forth a lot of optimism, in any case.

The Pomeroy Predictor likes NC State by three.

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NC State's 2016 ACC Football Schedule has been Released

It's tougher than last year's

It's here. The Pack's 2016 ACC schedule has been officially released. We already knew the dates of the out of conference games and the teams that would make up the ACC portion. Now we know how it all lays out. Here is the full schedule:

September 3	William & Mary
September 10	@East Carolina
September 17	Old Dominion
September 24	Bye
October 1	Wake Forest
October 8	Notre Dame
October 15	@Clemson
October 22	@Louisville
October 29	Boston College
November 5	Florida State
November 12	@Syracuse
November 19	Miami
November 25  (Friday)	@North Carolina

The thing that immediately jumps out is the North Carolina game being played on a Friday, which I'm not sure has ever happened before. The toughest stretch looks to be from October 8th to October 22nd. All three of those teams could be ranked (two of them certainly will be) and two of those games come away from home. The bye week isn't in a very good spot as it shows up in week four before a home game against Wake Forest. Ideally it would be a little later and before a really good team.

It looks like State has a pretty decent chance to open the season 4-0 for the third straight year, although I'm not ready to make any definitive statements about what should happen in week two. Things get real after that and I only see two more games the rest of the way that you could say the Pack "should win." Those two are obviously Syracuse and Boston College.  One thing to note is that the Florida State game comes the week after Florida State plays Clemson, which would be perfect timing for another Seminole letdown in Carter-Finley.

Most preseason predictions will likely have State at 6-6 or 7-5 depending on what they think of the Miami game.

http://ift.tt/1nmclhN

The Moment of Truth!

The moment of truth! The moment of truth is upon us. Will Donald Trump actually win the first nominating caucus in Iowa, or are his poll numbers just a mirage? Is it possible that a late attack from the establishment will raise enough doubts about the businessman to sink him at the very last minute? […]
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Op-ed on offshore drilling by Duke University professor

The dangers far outweigh the benefits:

The existence or importance of climate change is questioned by many, especially those who like to drive big SUVs to the beach on weekends. About the only argument I can see holding any water will come from those well-heeled individuals who own coastal real estate or who wish to develop coastal areas for others to enjoy.

Lessons from the Deep-Water Horizon or Macondo oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico are instructive. Phytoplankton biomass in Gulf waters was 85 percent lower after the oil spill. Some of the reduction might have been caused by the massive use of oil dispersants on the 5 million barrels of oil that flowed from the seabed. Lower phytoplankton biomass translates directly into lower fish and shellfish populations, which feed on phytoplankton.

Just want to add something often overlooked: Most people work from the assumption that land-based flora (trees, plants, etc.) provide most of our planet's new oxygen creation and carbon uptake. But in reality, about 60% of that function is performed by ocean microorganisms, plankton (both types) in particular. We screw them up, and there's no coming back. Here's something else the esteemed author left out of the conversation:

http://ift.tt/1nwIrb6

Grandfather voting for victims of Jim Crow

The trial over voter ID is in full swing. Republicans say the law protects against voter fraud. Democrats say it’s designed to restrict voting. As for me, I’m not against voter ID on principle, but the law in North Carolina is clearly part of a larger strategy to rig elections in favor of Republicans and […]
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Tuesday Twitter roundup

Above the fold today, more conflicts of interest courtesy of the GOP:

IYCMI: new Environmental Management Commission chair has history of opposing clean air regulations https://t.co/AY9PtdHsr8 #ncpol

— NCLCV (@nclcv) January 26, 2016

Climate-change denying fox in the regulatory henhouse:

http://ift.tt/1nmciCD

NC State football signing day primer: Who is that guy, and why does the Wolfpack want him?

NC State has 19 commitments in its 2016 recruiting class, but has a few more spots to fill between now and National Signing Day on Feb. 3. Matt mentioned a handful of targets in his most recent recruiting update, so here's a bit more information on those kids.

Kelvin Harmon -- Harmon is a consensus three-star wide receiver recruit who stands 6'3. NC State could use a lot of help at wide receiver, and it could especially use some height. Harmon fills the latter requirement and could play early. He had 1,111 receiving yards on 66 catches as a high school senior

Nick McCloud -- Consensus three-star defensive back from Rock Hill, SC, who has offers from State, Vandy, and Georgia Tech, among others. The 6'1, 175-pound prospect visited NC State on Halloween, according to 247Sports. State is losing multiple players from its secondary and regardless could use added depth/competition there.

Carlos Becker -- Becker is a 6'2, 185-pound WR/ATH/CB prospect with blazing speed. The Florida native is a consensus four-star recruit and has offers from a lot of very good football schools. A whole lot. He would be useful somewhere, and probably immediately.

JJ Givens -- Givens is a 6-2, 174-pound athlete who could fill a number of different spots but is most likely being recruited at defensive back by NC State. His height makes him a great option at that position. The Mechanicsville, Va., native is a consensus three-star.

DeVontres Dukes -- He's listed at 6'4 and 203 pounds, and as a wide receiver, that makes him a prime target for NC State. There is a theme here, and if you've seen any of the last, oh--*checks watch*--last five seasons, you understand the problem.

http://ift.tt/1PhPMpo

Cat Barber's knee injury leaves his short-term status uncertain

NC State point guard Cat Barber suffered a knee injury in the second half of the Wolfpack's loss to Duke on Saturday afternoon, and that setback limited Barber's  effectiveness the rest of the game. His status in the near-term is unclear, and Mark Gottfried didn't have any details to offer when asked about the injury.

"It'll be a wait and see in the next probably 24-48 hours," Gottfried said during the ACC coaches' teleconference Monday. "I do not anticipate him practicing [Monday] but we'll just kinda monitor him over the next couple of days."

Gottfried added that Cody Martin would replace Barber at point guard if Barber can't play against Georgia Tech on Wednesday. (Who else could it be?)

Obviously, missed time by Barber is not something NC State can afford. Heck, most nights the Wolfpack can barely afford to get Cat a few minutes of rest. But this is just the kind of season it's been. We'll have to hope he's well enough to go against the Yellow Jackets, and regardless, continue the gritting of teeth through this year.

http://ift.tt/1Nw3i2Z

Democratic Senate Primary Close – for Now

Deborah Ross may indeed coast to a landslide victory in the Democratic primary two months from now, but at present things are looking pretty close. Both PPP and Civitas show Ross with leads of single-digits over her nearest opponent. For those not paying attention, Ross is the … left-of-center former legislator, former attorney for Triangle […]
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Keep Folwell's hands out of the Treasury

He's already done more than enough damage:

Perhaps Folwell’s most recent accomplishment is helping restore the state’s unemployment insurance reserve to more than $1 billion while leading the Division of Employment Security. The reserve was $2.5 billion in debt when Gov. Pat McCrory took office. It was even higher — $2.8 billion — at one point.

The bowling pin, he says, directly correlates with the effort required to reform a state agency. Just like reforming a state agency, Folwell says there’s never the same number of balls, employees or resources, as pins, targets or goals. “You’ve got to have clarity of thought,” Folwell said.

Yeah, I mean, no. If you hadn't tried to explain the bowling pin thing, I would have assumed it meant knocking over stuff (bureaucratic costs, whatever). But after that inventory of things hastily grabbed from various sports? I have no idea what the bowling pin means anymore. Juggling? Wrapping your hand around the neck of a little white dude? Whatever, it's not only the state's investment portfolio at stake in this election, there are home rule issues to consider as well:

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The endorsement game

The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee has jumped into the North Carolina Senate primary. They followed EMILY’s List’s endorsement of Deborah Ross, further indicating that Ross is about to show a healthy end-of-year report. The national Democratic establishment has found their candidate and they want to make sure she gets through the primary. The endorsements of […]
http://ift.tt/1WKeC2F

3rd-ranked NC State wrestling team set for match against No. 14 UNC

In case you've missed it up to this point, NC State's wrestling team is in the midst of a historic season. The Wolfpack is ranked No. 3 in the most recent Coaches Poll, and received one first-place vote, which might be the first time that's happened in program history. Probably is.

State is 17-0, with wins against a handful of ranked teams. The Pack blew out then-No. 16 Minnesota early in the season, and later edged then-No. 4 Oklahoma State in Stillwater. This team has blown out ACC foes Duke and Virginia. The Cavs are the defending ACC champs.

On Monday night at 7 p.m. ET, the Wolfpack will host North Carolina, which is ranked 14th. It's been a good year for wrestling in this state, as the News and Observer's Ron Morris details here, and there's no better evidence of the improvement than State's arrival on the national scene.

If the Pack takes care of business Monday night, it will improve to 3-0 in league play and continue on its way to potential national championship contention. This is all pretty dang rare for a school outside of the midwest.

The tests won't end with UNC, either--State still has four other matches against teams ranked in the top 20, including No. 4 Missouri and No. 10 Virginia Tech. It will be difficult for NC State to maintain its perfect record through that stretch, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Pack did manage to win all of those contests. They've proven that they can compete with anybody.

http://ift.tt/1lKbXbA

Salahuddin, Gibbs No Longer on NC State Football Roster

Both players have the opportunity to continue as students with medical hardship scholarships.

BTP recently noted that M.J. Salahuddin had suffered a second ACL tear towards the end of the 2015 season. Salahuddin, who would have been a senior this fall, sat out the entire 2014 season after his first ACL injury. The linebacker is no longer listed on the NC State roster and will finish his academic pursuits on a medical hardship scholarship.

Also missing from the roster is Kenton Gibbs, who sat out the 2013 season with a torn Achilles and ultimately never sustained regular rotation status on the defensive line. Interestingly, there was no mention of his career being over in this recent article about players receiving stipends, but Gibbs, too, is on a medical hardship scholarship and will not return to the field for the Pack. Gibbs had two years of eligibility remaining.

Salahuddin appeared in eight games for the Pack last fall, recording 14 tackles. The former Shrine bowler started five games in 2013, recording a career-best nine tackles against Clemson. He had 25 total tackles, including two for a loss, during his sophomore campaign. Salahuddin played as a true freshman on special teams in 2012.

Gibbs, a consensus top-50 interior lineman from powerful Cass Tech in Detroit, saw spot duty in 2014, recording 13 tackles and his lone career sack in 10 games off the bench. Gibbs recovered a fumble that set up a touchdown in State's season-momentum-swinging win at Syracuse.

The Pack return leading tackler Airius Moore as well as Jerod Fernandez and Riley Nicholson, both of whom appeared in all 13 games last fall, at linebacker. Ford Howell also offers some experience, and State has two commits from linebackers in the class of 2016. One of those commits, Garrett Hooker, is already on campus as an early enrollee.

In B.J. Hill, Kentavius Street, Justin Jones, Monty Nelson, and Eurndraus Bryant, State welcomes back all five from their interior rotation on the defensive linemen. All five played in every game last year and combined for 23.5 tackles for a loss.

Hopefully, in addition to finishing their degrees, Salahuddin and Gibbs will be able to stay around the team in something resembling a "student coach" role if they so desire.

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