Roy’s Gamble

It is becoming increasingly obvious that Governor Roy Cooper will not entertain any compromise on HB 2. The latest compromise bill, HB 186, is currently making its way through the legislature. Truth be told, even if it managed to pass both chambers of the General Assembly with bipartisan support, Cooper would probably veto it. The […]
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BTP The Podcast Vol. 25: Talkin’ football movies, NC State hoops, and senior day

It’s been another eventful week in NC State athletics so we mostly ignored it.

Since the Oscars were on Sunday and basketball is mostly a depressing topic these days, Will and I shifted gears a bit with this week’s podcast and spent a while talking about football movies. The list of good football movies is a lot shorter than I thought it was, that’s for sure.

There’s also some words in there about NC State basketball, both on the men’s and women’s sides, which are going in completely opposite directions.

As always, BTP The Podcast can be streamed below or found on iTunes, if that’s your preference.

(“Party’s over, Biff,” Paerish, Semi Finalists)

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Tuesday News: I want my dollar back

Tuesday Twitter roundup

I give you the new House Minority Leader, Darren Jackson:

Still no answer. If HB2 was about privacy and safety, both of which are addressed in HB186, why do we need a referendum on people's rights? https://t.co/sXm32G56zi

— Darren Jackson (@DarrenJNC) February 27, 2017

Because it's not about what we need, it's about Republicans' continuous bullying tactics.

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The Hastert Rule and HB2

Right now, there are probably enough votes in the legislature to pass a clean bill to repeal House Bill 2. There are certainly enough to pass a version based on the framework offered by former Republican Governor Jim Martin back in May 2016. However, House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate Majority Leader Phil Berger won’t […]
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It’s difficult to replace Jack Tocho, but Bradley Chubb is giving it a shot

Did you think that title was about the play on the field? Haha, silly goose, Bradley Chubb and Jack Tocho don’t even play the same position. That’s funny, though, you got me. You’re always cracking me up.

No, what I meant was that NC State needed a replacement for “You Don’t Know Jack” in Tocho’s absence, and to fill his shoes they’ve elected Chubb, who is the host of the new webseries “Chillin’ With Chubb.”

Based on the debut (“bro, why are we in the cold tub?”) this has a promising future. I would embed the video of said debut, but whatever video service the school uses doesn’t make that possible, so you’ll have to click right here.

Just had an idea: maybe we call each sack victim a member of Chubb’s “chill count” this season? For example, Chubb recorded a sack in six different games last season, putting at least six guys in the chill count. (Sadly this does not include Mitch Trubisky.)

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Fear of Democracy

The latest HB 2 compromise bill – probably the most promising one ever in its potential to win Republican votes – is going nowhere. The sticking point? Democrats are opposed to the referendum portion of the bill, where non-discrimination ordinances have to be ratified by the voters before becoming effective. This provision was added to […]
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Congratulations, Tom Perez. Now, think local.

Tom Perez was elected Chair of the Democratic National Committee. It’s now time for Democrats to put that election behind them and move on. The DNC Chair is not nearly as important as activists seem to believe. The real action needs to happen in the states and state chairs and committees need to put pressure […]
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Filed under "Be careful what you ask for"

You're upset because I'm an independent thinker as a Democrat and that scares you! I don't mind competing for my seat or any other. #ncpol https://t.co/OTrLXGkkPr

— Joel Ford (@joeldford) February 27, 2017

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The darkest side of religion: Word of Faith "Fellowship"

This nightmare needs to be closed down, and quickly:

Congregants of the Word of Faith Fellowship were regularly punched, smacked, choked, slammed to the floor or thrown through walls in a violent form of deliverance meant to "purify" sinners by beating out devils, 43 former members told The Associated Press in separate, exclusive interviews.

Victims of the violence included pre-teens and toddlers — even crying babies, who were vigorously shaken, screamed at and sometimes smacked to banish demons. "I saw so many people beaten over the years. Little kids punched in the face, called Satanists," said Katherine Fetachu, 27, who spent nearly 17 years in the church.

When stories like this emerge you can't help but ask questions like, "Why would people stay in such an environment?" and especially, "How could you allow your children to suffer this way?" But the truth is not so simple. Religion can be twisted in such a way that you get caught between Hell and the high water of abuse, and sociopaths like the lady who runs this cult know just how to trap people there. That's why the rest of us (through our government) need to be willing to poke our noses in and save these families, even if they don't necessarily want to be saved. No doubt Social Services and other local authorities were (and are) well aware of what's been going on there, but they've let it continue, probably for fear of legal ramifications:

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Monday News: HB2 Repeal saga continues

COOPER: 'I'M READY TO COMPROMISE TO ERASE' HB2 (WRAL-TV) -- Gov. Roy Cooper called on Republican legislators Sunday to drop a provision in a proposed HB2 repeal compromise that would allow for a referendum vote on local nondiscrimination ordinances. Cooper issued a news release and posted a video Sunday afternoon calling on House Speaker Tim Moore to “return to the negotiating table.” Cooper, a Democrat, took issue with the provision that would allow opponents of nondiscrimination ordinances to collect signatures to put the ordinances up for a vote in a referendum election. "It subjects the rights of the minority to a vote of the majority. It would be like putting the Civil Rights Act to a popular vote in cities in the South during the 1960s. Except today, it would come with the perils of modern campaigns," Cooper said in the Medium post.
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Highlights! Wolfpack Women exact revenge, crush UNC in Reynolds

NC State’s women’s team went out with style on senior night.

NC State’s women’s basketball team finished the regular season with a 12-4 ACC record after beating Virginia on Sunday afternoon. Prior to that, they beat UNC by a lot of points, avenging a fluke defeat in Chapel Hill.

Funny thing about this basketball season for the Pack—they’ve beaten all of the teams above them in the league standings and endured losses at UNC (UNC is real bad now) and at home to Wake Forest (Wake is also not real good). State handed ACC regular season champion Notre Dame its only league loss and will be the No. 4 seed in the ACC tourney this week.

But State also balanced out the universe last week by clubbing the hell out of the Tar Heels in Raleigh. NC State probably has some work to do in order to host for the first weekend of the NCAA tournament (that is, earn a four-seed or better in the NCAAs), but they are not far off.

So that’s the thing to watch as the ACC tournament progresses this week. NC State is in the NCAAs without a doubt; the question is how much they need to do in order to secure a spot in the top 16 and therefore play at home the first weekend. By earning the No. 4 seed in the conference tourney, State has already earned a double bye in the conference tournament.

That’ll create good opportunity, and I’m guessing the Pack needs at least one win in the league tournament to get back onto that four-line. Anyway, here’s the Pack beating Carolina by a lot:

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After dark

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State can’t complete sweep against Austin Peay

The wheels came off for Johnny Piedmonte and the Pack in the eighth.

NC State battled back to tie Austin Peay twice but ultimately couldn’t muster a third rally to sweep the series against the Governors, who got a three-run homer in the eighth from Landon Kelly in their 7-3 win. The Pack have won both of their weekend series this season and stand at 4-2.

Evan Mendoza broke out of an early-season slump with a two-out, two-run single to tie the score at 2-2 in the bottom of the third. Will Wilson doubled to put runners at second and third with two outs. After falling behind Brett Kinneman in the count, Austin Peay starter Colin Powell ultimately put him on with an intentional free pass to face Mendoza, who came through with a sharp single to right field. It was the only hit for Mendoza; State managed just six as a team.

One of those hits left the yard, a solo shot from Joe Dunand in the bottom of the seventh to again knot the score, this time at 3-3. The home run was Dunand’s second in as many games.

The Pack had a chance to get out of the eighth unscathed, but Johnny Piedmonte and Shane Shepard miscommunicated on a comebacker off the bat of Alex Robles that drilled the lanky right-hander and caromed towards the bag. Piedmonte had time to recover and make the play at first for the inning’s final out, but he never called off Shepard, who came off the bag at the last minute to grab it, allowing Robles to beat everyone to first.

Robles finished with three hits, including a pair of doubles.

Piedmonte, possibly shaken after taking the line drive off the upper part of his pitching arm, walked the next batter, uncorked a wild pitch to score the go-ahead run, and then delivered a lifeless high fastball that Kelly deposited over the leftfield wall.

Chase Hamilton also homered for the Governors, his fourth of the season.

Kinneman had a hit, two walks, and a stolen base for State. Brock Deatherage had his second straight 0-for-4 after opening the series with a 4-for-4 afternoon that included a home run.

Until Piedmonte’s implosion, the Pack pen did fairly solid work in relief of Tommy DeJuneas, who was hooked after allowing two runs in two innings. Joe O’Donnell allowed a run in 2.2 innings, and Austin Staley was dominant over 2.1 scoreless innings. Michael Bienlien issued a free pass to start the 8^th before getting one out. He was charged with the loss after Piedmonte allowed the inherited runner to score. Between Bienlien and Piedmonte, LOOGY Kent Klyman came in and got the only man he faced.

Piedmonte can be cut some slack, perhaps, since his struggles came after getting drilled by a line drive, but I have to think the notion of him being the team’s closer will not last long, especially given Staley’s great start to the season and comparative success in a relief role a year ago.

John Sparks yielded Dunand’s home run but struck out five in 2.2 innings of relief to get credit for the win.

The Pack won Saturday’s game 6-3. After a shaky first inning, Cory Wilder settled down to throw four scoreless innings. He walked just one and hit a batter, both in the first. Mathieu Gauthier got credit for the win after allowing a run in three innings. Combined, Wilder and Gauthier struck out eight Governors. Back-to-back-to-back doubles from DeJuneas, Shepard, and Jack Conley sparked a four-run fourth that helped the Pack to a 5-0 lead.

The Pack have a pair of midweek games, first at UNCG Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. Apparently this one can be streamed live on YouTube. State returns to the Doak at Dail to face Charlotte Wednesday at 3 p.m. That contest will stream via the ACC Network.

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JFK was a Massachusetts liberal. Deal with it.

Lacking any role models but Reagan, conservatives have sought to appropriate John F Kennedy. Bob Rucho notoriously blustered that “JFK could have been the founder and leader of the Tea Party.” One of my Facebook trolls recently echoed him. This is an incredibly annoying meme, and having read more Kennedy biographies than I can count […]
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The lynching of Wyatt Outlaw and the "Kirk-Holden War"

Sunday News: Comrade Burr gets chastised

LAWMAKER WARNS BURR OVER REPORTS HE TRIED TO HELP QUASH RUSSIA STORIES Bloomberg News) -- The Senate Intelligence Committee's top Democrat warned the panel's chairman over reports that the Republican worked with the White House to try to squash negative stories about Russian interference in last year's U.S. elections, calling it a threat to the integrity of the top congressional probe into the issue. "If Chairman Burr is discussing classified matters with the press and pre-judging the committee's investigation, all at the behest of the White House, it's hard to imagine how he could convince me or the public of his impartiality," Wyden said in a email statement. "If that is the case, I intend to co-sponsor legislation creating an independent commission to investigate Russia's interference in our democracy."
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It was an emotional senior day for BeeJay Anya

And a little bit awkward, too.

BeeJay Anya played his last few minutes at PNC Arena on Saturday afternoon. Before the game started, he was escorted out by the entire team during the senior day festivities, and the tears were flowing.

BeeJay Anya (@BAnya_Allday) is escorted by... well, nearly the whole #NCState team for Senior Day
Leonnard Freeman... filled w emotion #wral http://pic.twitter.com/BqNz4OqrEP

— Marilyn Payne (@marilyn_payne) February 25, 2017

The moment is actually hitting Lennard Freeman harder than it’s hitting Anya, which tells you the kind of relationship they have. Those guys came in to State together and have been good friends for a long time. It is definitely going to be strange not seeing both of them together in the red and white next year.

The ceremony itself was a bit strange, since Anya and Mark Gottfried obviously have been at odds for a lot of the year—you could see it all in the cold handshake between the two as Gottfried handed Anya his framed jersey.

Regardless of the relationship between those two, it hasn’t changed Anya’s constant support for his teammates. Down the stretch he was there on the bench smiling and clapping as State mounted a rally, and that’s been BeeJay all year—supportive of the guys on the floor, never openly sulking about not getting much playing time.

But Anya did get the start today, at least, though he didn’t play again much more after being subbed out about three minutes in. I’d have liked to see him get more time, especially late with the game out of hand, especially since he wanted to get back in and try a three-pointer.

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NC State falls to Virginia on senior day, 70-55

A late first-half run by UVA buried the Wolfpack

Both NC State and Virginia were dreadful during the first 10 minutes of the game Saturday afternoon, but Virginia eventually found its footing, ending the half on a 24-6 spurt, and that was all she wrote. The Wolfpack cut a 19-point deficit to single digits in the second half but never seriously challenged, losing 70-55.

The Cavs played their typical stingy defense, but the Pack also made it a lot easier on them than it needed to be, taking bad shot after bad shot in the first half while allowing UVA to wake up. NC State hasn’t really been running an offense these last few weeks, mostly it’s just been dudes kinda freelancing however they want, and against a team like Virginia, that makes it exceptionally tough to win.

Dennis Smith and Terry Henderson tried to spark the offense with a lot of guarded pull-up jumpers, the vast majority of which missed. Those two were a combined 6-25 from the floor. Making matters worse, Maverick Rowan had an off day, the kind of day where he wasn’t even close on wide open shots.

Malik Abu had a decent afternoon and Markell Johnson had a nice day from the field, but that was far too little offense, even against a Cavs team that has been struggling to find offense of its own.

NC State’s interior defense was good today—UVA made only 12 of 31 two-point attempts. But it was once again State’s lackadaisical perimeter defense that sunk the ship; Virginia hit 11 of 16 from three, often off of wide open looks as their run snowballed in the first half.

State played some solid defense in the first 10 minutes but once UVA saw a few threes go through, the Pack slumped and lost focus—typical behavior for this season. Suddenly there was Kyle Guy wide open, and then there was Kyle Guy wide open, and then hey look it’s Kyle Guy wide open. Oh well. That’s this year.

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5 is the magic number: Precinct meetings today in NC

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Saturday News: HB2 "Light" bill loses a D

AS HB2 REPEAL CO-SPONSOR ABANDONS BILL, BACKERS, OPPONENTS TRADE JABS (WRAL-TV) -- Rep. Rodney Moore, D-Mecklenburg, said that he had hoped to help reshape the effort to repeal HB2. However, he said, GOP House leaders have indicated they're not flexible on certain points. What initially appeared to be a compromise, in fact, isn’t. The referendum in question would allow a voter-initiated process to override local governments that decide to extend discrimination protections to LGBT people, a point that many advocates find unacceptable. While he wouldn't say which colleagues gave him those assurances, Moore said that he has since been told of comments from House Speaker Tim Moore that parts of the bill, including the referendum provision, were non-negotiable.
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Profile of a possible savior: Eric Musselman

From Wolf Pack to Wolfpack?

Oh, Nevada. I’m shaking my fist at you, Nevada. Plagiarizer of nicknames. Taker of twins. Perhaps it is time for us to take from you. Alas, what could you possibly have that we would want? Well, would you look at that? The two-word Wolf Pack have themselves an intriguing basketball coach. We need a basketball coach. Could Eric Musselman be the savior for the one-word Wolfpack?

Important Questions, In Rough Order Of Importance:

1. Has he coached teams that have won a national title, made multiple deep NCAA tournament runs, and/or consistently been highly ranked?

Musselman’s coaching experience is mostly from the professional ranks, but he did win a national title of sorts last year in his first season with Nevada. The Wolf Pack beat Morehead State in overtime to win the CBI championship.

Admittedly, this isn’t the sort of banner we’re looking to hang in the rafters, but it’s not Musselman’s lone championship. Remember the USBL? Musselman won USBL championships in both his seasons there and holds the defunct league’s highest career winning percentage, a ridiculous .946. He also holds impressive marks in the CBA (270-122) and the D-League (77-30), where he was once coach of the year, as well.

2. Has he built a program from the ground up?

This would appear to be the case at Nevada, where the Martin twins will play for him starting next year (assuming Musselman is still in Reno). The Wolf Pack had a lot of success under Mark Fox a decade ago but were a raging dumpster fire when Musselman took over, having had three losing seasons in a row.

3. Has he substantially improved the program from when he took over?

Oh yes. Nevada won 15 more games in his first season at the helm than it had the previous season. The KenPom rank jumped from 271^st to 124^th in one season. That’s stunning. The Wolf Pack have taken another huge step this year, rising to 70^th.

4. Has he succeeded at more than one head coaching job?

The Nevada gig is Musselman’s first as a head man at the NCAA level. He was wildly successful at numerous minor league jobs as a professional coach. And, of course, he was an NBA head coach, though that didn’t turn out quite so well. Musselman was 108-138 in three seasons in the NBA, two with Golden State and one with Sacramento. The Warriors did have a 17-game improvement in his first year on the sidelines, their most wins (38) in almost a decade, and Musselman was runner-up to Greg Popovich for NBA COY. His star was extraordinarily bright, but it flamed out quickly.

5. Does he have significant high-major experience as either a head coach or an assistant?

On the college level, Musselman was an assistant coach for HWSNBN at Arizona State. He also looked on in horror as Big Beefy dropped that sweet lefty hook to jettison LSU from the Big Dance. He left his assistant gig at LSU for Nevada, and LSU immediately started sucking despite having ESPN-anointed GOAT Ben Simmons.

Musselman has also piloted both the Dominican and Venezuelan national teams.

He was an assistant for five different NBA franchises, and worked under some pretty impressive names in the world of basketball, such as Chuck Daly, Mike Fratello, and Lon Kruger.

Musselman’s father, Bill, built Minnesota into a college power in the 70s. Attendance at Golden Gopher games rose over 400% during the elder Musselman’s term. Years later, Bill also guided South Alabama to the tournament after an impressively quick turnaround of a terrible team. Arizona narrowly avoided a first-round loss to the Jags on its way to a national championship. Dad won over 65% of his games as a D-I college coach but did not enjoy success after his move to the NBA, where Eric was for a time his assistant.

6. Is his team one of the best in its conference right now?

Nevada is tied with Colorado State at 11-4 atop the Mountain West standings and 22-6 overall. The Wolf Pack are 16 spots ahead of San Diego State for tops in the league in KenPom’s rankings. The MWC is not a bad league, ranking 10^th in conference RPI out of 32. Nevada is 40^th in RPI this morning and may well not need to win the MWC to get in the tournament.

7. Do his teams actually play, what is this thing called, "defense"?

Musselman’s reputation is more “offensive guru” than “defensive-minded,” but his first Nevada team went from 211^th the year prior to 57^th in AdjD. I don’t have enough superlatives to even try to quantify that. Alas, though the other Pack have continued to rise overall as a program in year two, their defense has slipped to outside the top 100. Still, Mark Gottfried’s Pack are 226^th at this moment in AdjD, so it’s nice to imagine Musselman pulling off that kind of instant turnaround here.

For what it’s worth, his first Golden State team had the worst defensive rating in the NBA but did improved 11 spots in year two under Musselman. The Kings (22^nd/30) were pretty bad defensively as well.

8. So how about offense?

You see the same rise in offensive performance at Nevada, though the big leap was in year two. The KenPom AdjO ranks: 291^st (pre-Musselman), 210^th, 46^th. That there is 245 spots in two seasons. It’s as if he focused chiefly on defense the first year to be competitive while he put the pieces in place to run a more aesthetically pleasing brand of basketball. That has meant pumping the brakes a bit this year. Nevada was actually 31^st in pace of play in his first season but have dialed it back to 130^th this season. Still, you are not going to get any sort of Virginia molasses business with this dude. In his opening press conference in Reno, he said he told his new team that they won’t need to worry about the shot clock since he doesn’t have any sets that take 30 seconds to run.

His offenses in the NBA were above average, including taking the Warriors from 21^st to 3^rd in team offensive rating in his first season. They were the second highest scoring team in the league. He doesn’t necessarily have a system or style he prefers but rather molds his offenses to his player’s strengths, though he would always aim to be a fast-breaking operation if possible.

9. Any indication that he can recruit McDonald’s All-American-type players?

Musselman was instrumental in landing Simmons at LSU, and his vast NBA experience would certainly be useful on the recruiting path. His two-man freshman class this year was solid by MWC standards, as both pledges were just outside the top 100 overall. Devearl Ramsey had numerous high major offers (including one from NC State), and Josh Hall held a couple of ACC offers. Both Ramsey and Hall, who is a Texan, also spurned Shaka Smart to play for Musselman.

He doesn’t have a single class of 2017 signee at this moment, but that is somewhat mitigated by the impending arrival of the Martin twins, who of course were both four-star recruits. He has 21 offers out for 2018 recruits, including a number of top 100 players. He will bring in talent.

10. Does he have any connection to NC State, North Carolina, or the ACC?

No, not really, though I don’t think this is an overwhelming concern. If he did put on a red tie, I would love to see him bring in an assistant with more local ties. Levi Watkins would seem like a potentially great fit.

11. Any other random red flags or positives?

Other than the lack of ACC connection, if that bothers you, there are some potential red flags. His dad left Minnesota with about a million NCAA violations. But, that was his dad, and that was a long, long time ago. Still, does the apple fall far from the tree?

Musselman is no whippersnapper. The preference of POAPS readers seems to be for a coach in his late 30s to early 40s; he’ll be 52 at the start of next season.

He hired Yann Hufnagel at Nevada after the former Cal assistant had to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment.

The final concern is whether State could keep him. A self-described “basketball gypsy,” if he enjoys success at the collegiate level, will Musselman parlay that into another shot in the NBA?

All of the above are legitimate concerns, but I don’t think they outweigh the positives. His former players rave about how he helped them develop their games, about how intense and competitive he is, but how he teaches and coaches in a positive way. His list of former D-League players to make it in the NBA is long, and player development has been, at best, uneven of late at NC State. Musselman can legitimately sell “I can get you ready for the NBA” in the recruiting realm.

The guy has been coaching since age 23, has the best winning percentage in USBL history, the second best winning percentage in CBA history, won a record 100 games as a pro coach before age 28, and his college team, San Diego, posted its best record in program history when he was a player there. He’s a winner who has certainly absorbed a vast amount of X’s and O’s knowledge during his life on the court and on the sidelines.

Summary:

Would he be better than Gottfried?

Like I wrote regarding Tim Jankovich, I think Musselman could beat Gott’s players with his players, or his players with Gott’s players. His diverse experience should allow him to tailor a plan to fit his players rather than trying to shoehorn them into an archaic system. And, even if he’s not a sure bet to develop an elite defense, Musselman would do more than pay lip service to it. He’s a better and more proven coach in terms of X’s and O’s, and recruiting shouldn’t be an issue at NC State. I feel like his floor would be Gottfried’s ceiling: a very good offense with a defense just good enough to pull off an occasional sweet 16 run.

OK, so what is his ceiling?

Due to his age and the possibility of wanting to return to the NBA, I don’t think you can dream on Musselman establishing a 20-year run of being a top 25 team, or some such thing, as you might with a Miller or Wade. But, in the short term, I think he would have the ability to keep the team together and lead an immediate turnaround.

He would make Wolfpack-east a tournament team again, and we’re not talking CBI. Even if it was just the CBI, his success in a tournament environment is promising. As a long-time NBA guy, he certainly has experience quickly imparting scouting reports and motivating teams to play on a quick turnaround. The window might be limited due to age and possible higher ambitions, but the ceiling would be unlimited when he returned the real Pack to the real tournament.

Would he take the job if offered?

If money talks. He’s on a five-year, two-million dollar deal at Nevada. He would likely surpass the total value of that deal in one year in Raleigh. It’s hard to imagine that a guy with his competitiveness and drive wouldn’t want to coach at college basketball’s highest level.

How would I feel if he were hired?

He’s not my first choice, but I would be pretty geeked. Musselman strikes me as a grownup. After the last decade, that’s what this program needs.

How would the fan base as a whole feel if he were hired?

If this was 2003, Musselman would be one of those guys that the talking heads would scoff at us for even considering. The guy was coming off being runner-up in the NBA for coach of the year and seemed poised for a long, successful run in The League. His star has dimmed since then, but his quick success at Nevada shows that he can be an effective college coach. Of course some might equate him with Sidney Lowe, a failed NBA coach who didn’t pan out for the Pack, but there are clear differences, chiefly that Musselman wouldn’t be coming in with no college coaching and recruiting experience, and that Musselman’s pro résumé, be it from the minor leagues or the NBA, is more impressive.

Our thinking is so wired for “young, up-and-coming mid-major coach or Gregg Marshall” that it might come as an initial shock, but, with some time to digest it, I believe most would be pleased with the hire. Ultimately, the next coach will win or lose the fans on the court.

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Pack 9 handle Governors in series opener

NC State improves to 3-1 on the young season

Three NC State pitchers combined to strike out 15 Governors, and Brock Deatherage went 4-for-4 with a home run as the Pack got off on the good foot in their weekend series against Austin Peay with a 9-3 win.

Sean Adler fanned a career-high 10 to earn his second win in as many starts, going 5.1 innings and allowing just a run on a solo shot from Alex Robles. For a second straight start, Adler surrendered just one free pass; however, unlike his one-K performance against Hawai’i, the senior lefty had his strikeout stuff working. He’s yielded just one run in 10.1 innings on the season for a surprising 0.87 ERA after he struggled mightily last season out of the pen.

Austin Staley fanned a pair in 1.2 innings. Evan Braband got three of his six outs via strikeout but surrendered a two-run bomb in the ninth.

Deatherage finished a triple shy of the cycle. After doubling, he scored the game’s first run in the bottom of the first on an RBI groundout by Brett Kinneman. Deatherage’s two-run homer made it 3-0 in the bottom of the second. Kinneman blasted a three-run bomb in the sixth to make the score 7-1 and effectively put the game away.

Josh McLain had three hits and scored four times for the Pack; freshman Will Wilson continued his hot start with a pair of hits to get to an even .400 on the season.

The two clubs square off again tomorrow at the Doak at 2 p.m. The game can be streamed through the ACC Network Extra (which is more or less WatchESPN).

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NC State hosts struggling Virginia Cavaliers on senior day

It’s been a while since Tony Bennett’s team has looked this vulnerable.

Virginia has had a brilliant run over the last three seasons, earning a No. 1 or No. 2 seed in the NCAAs in each year. The Cavaliers lost a total of nine league games over those three seasons; this year, they’ve already lost seven. So it’s a down year by recent standards, but no doubt this is still a good team.

And also the most boring, basketball-hating, gross, disgusting basketball team ever invented. Ugh Curse you, Tony Bennett, curse your hideous grandma-on-the-highway pace of play. At least NC State only has to endure it once this year.

The Cavaliers rank 350th out of 351 teams in adjusted tempo, at 59.4 possessions per 40 minutes. That is nine possessions/40 below the national average. In league play, they are suppressing teams to a ghastly 61 possessions per 40. That is disgusting and should not be encouraged.

As usual, Virginia’s defense is elite—the Cavs rank 2nd nationally in defensive efficiency. But their offense has taken a significant slide, which is especially marked given that ACC offenses in general have trended up this season. Turns out it’s pretty tough to replace Malcolm Brogdon and Anthony Gill, both of whom were highly efficient, high-volume scorers.

Last season the Cavs averaged 1.11 points per possession in ACC games, which ranked fourth in the league. This year, they’re a shade under 1.04 PPP, which ranks 12th. They’ve gone from the best shooting team in the league to one of the worst.

The burden of replacing possessions lost to graduation has largely fallen on London Perrantes, Marial Shayok, and Kyle Guy. Perrantes thrived last season as a secondary option, finishing with a 57.9 eFG% while hitting nearly 49% of his three-pointers. With his usage way up out of necessity in 2017, his shooting stats have dipped significantly—not to the point where he is a liability, but still it’s a big drop.

Shayok is taking nearly 30% of UVA’s shots while he is on the floor, which is similar to Brogdon’s workload last season. But Shayok was never going to be a solid proxy for Brogdon, never mind the fact that their styles of play are different. Shayok isn’t nearly the same perimeter threat, nor as good at the free throw line. He doesn’t help UVA’s offense flow in the same way Brogdon did. Basically, Malcolm Brogdon was exceptionally good, while Shayok is merely solid.

And Guy looks like a difference-maker down the road but right now doesn’t have a ton of value beyond his three-point shooting. The depth of reliable scoring on this UVA club is just not what it has been in recent years.

Still, there’s that defense. Virginia’s pack line is incredible at stifling paint production and has been for years now. The Cavs block shots and otherwise force plenty of missed twos, and they also shut down the defensive boards better than any other team in the ACC. NC State has had no answers for this challenge over the last few years.

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Former NC State OL Merci Falaise joins Wolfpack coaching staff

Falaise had been a graduate assistant at Tennessee.

Dave Doeren made an addition to his staff on the administrative side last week, hiring NC State alum Merci Falaise away from Tennessee. At NCSU, Falaise will serve as assistant director of player personnel and recruit communications. Falaise had been a graduate assistant/quality control coach at Tennessee since 2014. It was his first FBS job.

http://pic.twitter.com/MRZZepD3Z4

— Coach Merci Falaise (@Coach_Merci) February 16, 2017

Falaise coached at a high school and junior colleges before getting the opportunity at Tennessee, where he thrived as a contributor to Tennessee’s social media accounts. I’d imagine he’ll continue to work in part on that aspect at NC State. Twitter and Instagram are important these days, folks.

Here’s a good read on his role in Knoxville from VolQuest.com:

So Falaise now tells the stories of Tennessee Football through the lenses of its top two social media accounts, Instagram and Twitter. His impact with a more recruiting-based theme is undeniable: followers are up approximately 12,000 on each account, to 162k and 273k, respectively.

Maybe it’s not a coincidence that State’s Twitter account dropped this reference to Future’s new album today:

Your #Future #1PACK1GOAL http://pic.twitter.com/ZWL6GLAhKn

— NC State Football (@PackFootball) February 24, 2017

Falaise came to NC State in 2004 from Georgia Military College, where he would later coach. He earned his undergraduate degree from NCSU in 2007.

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Filed under "Desperately defending the Patriarchy"

'Real men provide' billboard in Forsyth County sparks controversy https://t.co/1hFOpScFod http://pic.twitter.com/YF1OYR0cBR

— FOX8 WGHP (@myfox8) February 23, 2017

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Democrats shouldn’t fall for the referendum trap

North Carolina has its own version of repeal and replace going on. It’s not about health care reform, though; it’s about House Bill 2. A bill floating around the General Assembly would repeal certain bad parts of House Bill 2 and replace them other bad options. Democrats shouldn’t fall for the trap. The version unveiled this […]
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Henderson County Sheriff goes on a rant about protesters

Might want to focus on the meth labs there, pal:

McDonald calls protests taking place across the country “vile and disgusting” and wrote that they “are not a result of the differences between America’s traditional political parties. Rather, they appear to be the result of an anti-American social progressive movement with the goal of subverting our great Republic and replacing it with something akin to the social economic governance that continues to decimate Western Europe to this day.”

“What entitles them to scream vulgarities and to physically attack and ridicule those who dare question their myth-based, passion-inflamed, anarchist ideology?” McDonald wrote. “Well, they don’t like what they don’t like, regardless of how or why it happened.” McDonald likened protesters to “a child playing a board game. Gleeful at the prospect of winning but impetuously overturning the table and throwing a tantrum when faced with the prospect of losing.”

No, that's not your crazy uncle who has had one too many shots of white liquor, that's the dang Sheriff. You know, if Haldol is too strong, making your hands shake when you're trying to qualify with your sidearm, there are other anti-psychotics available. Don't just stop cold turkey, and then scootch up to your out-dated PC and type out a redneck manifesto. Also, don't contradict yourself so blatantly:

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Friday News: Drunk with their own power

Friday fracking video

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POAPS: Gregg Marshall

The People’s Champion?

Today’s POAPS can be abbreviated. I doubt anyone reading this blog lacks familiarity with Gregg Marshall, the soon-to-be 54 year old coach at Wichita State, or of his stellar accomplishments at that school and before it at Winthrop.

Marshall got the POAPS treatment in 2011. Last summer, JEOHankins2 provided a 5 year retrospective on Marshall’s copious butt-kicking since that last search.

Two quick comments on my POAPS from 2011:

1) My main worry with Marshall was his lack of high-major experience and how that might hurt his recruiting. Marshall is so much more well-known nationally now, and he can point to a Final Four appearance along with NBA players. As such, recruiting seems like less of a concern.

2) I wrote in 2011 that there was no question Marshall would take the job if offered. Indeed, I viewed him as our “floor” candidate. We all know what happened – as in 2006, NC State said “hold my beer” and smashed through the floorboards, pulling a coach out from somewhere near the water table.

Note that I wrote my POAPS on Marshall in January, months before whatever happened with him and our job. Stories conflict; no one who was not involved directly can know for sure if Marshall in fact was offered our job in 2011 and if so, under what conditions. My educated guess is that Marshall was miffed at being a clear back-up choice after Smart turned down the job, and decided to pull his name from the search.

We know Marshall is a great coach. We know that he marries his skill with just the type of hardscrabble, **** you attitude that would work perfectly here. We know the fans would be over the moon with him. We know that Marshall to NCSU would give us all the satisfaction of telling Jeff Goodman et al. to suck it. Only one question really matters here:

Would he take the job if offered?

No, of course not. He’s making an obscene amount of money now – north of $3 million per year, well north of that per some reports. He’s got easily the best job in his conference, one of the best mid-major jobs period, and as close to lifetime job security as a coach can have, I’d wager. He’s turned down numerous Power 5 openings – most recently, spurning a reported $4 million plus offer from Alabama. He’s spoken more than once about how the grass isn’t always greener with the big Power 5 jobs. Ain’t happening, folks. He’s nah gah dahit. Move on.

And yet...

1) Pete Thamel’s otherwise detestable and banal column on the NC State job (“Unrealistic expectations! Shadow of UNC and Duke! HURRR DURRRRR!!!”) had one interesting nugget: “There is an increasing feeling in the industry that this could be the year that Marshall finally leaves Wichita.”

2) Wichita State is 15-1 in conference this year, 25-4 overall…and squarely on the bubble. Jerry Palm has them last 4 out, for example. Likewise, last year the Shockers went 16-2 in conference, but were relegated to a First Four game in Dayton after being bounced from their conference tournament.

Wichita State has a lot going for it. But the MVC has weakened considerably in recent years to the point where it’s barely even a mid-major conference.

Maybe Marshall is content to be the king of Wichita for his career – and there would be nothing wrong with that. I’m skeptical though. A guy with a supreme ego/competitive drive, who (as Thamel notes) views himself as a peer coach to the best of the best, at some point will want to put that to the test, no? At some point, won’t he chafe at dominating the MVC year in and year out only to end up as an 11 seed?

And if Marshall wants to make the move to a major conference job, the window will not stay open forever. 54 isn’t old, but it’s not young, either.

3) In a 2014 interview, Marshall revealed that State in 2011 was the closest he’d come to leaving Wichita. So the interest was there, and in many ways State is a better spot in 2017 than it was in 2011.

Assume that Marshall does want to go to a high-major conference. What are his options? He’s in Big 12 country. Kansas and Texas look like the best two jobs in that conference, neither is opening up anytime soon. Oklahoma State just hired someone else. I doubt he’s going to the SEC after turning down the big Bama bucks, unless it’s for Kentucky, and Cal ain’t leaving in the near future. He has no ties to the Pac-12 or the Big East. Among the better B1G jobs, Ohio State and Indiana could open soon. Maybe he’s considered for those gigs…or maybe they hire Chris Mack and Chris Holtmann instead. In the ACC, it’s hard to see him in the mix for UNC or Duke down the road. Bottom line: outside of NC State in 2017, I don’t see many obvious landing spots in the bigger leagues.

…

I still don’t think it will happen. I’m not even sure we can come up with the kind of $ needed to land Marshall (we may not need to offer a huge raise, but he sure as hell ain’t taking a pay cut). But impossible? No, not impossible.

One final point: BJD95 at statefansnation (I know, I know) observed, and I agree with this, that we can’t have two “A” candidates. We can quietly see if Marshall and Archie have interest, but we can’t pursue both in earnest. We damn sure cannot pursue Marshall as a backup plan – we know his ego will not take that.

This is the high stakes game that Yow has to play. What if she hears both coaches would be interested, but obviously neither is a sure thing. What does she do? What would you do?

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Chapter 27 in the book of GOP hypocrisies, energy inequality

So, a North Carolina municipality can ban #solar but not #fracking...is that correct #NCGA? https://t.co/mOzWbMvRCU #ncpol http://pic.twitter.com/DT0KXOqjIJ

— NCLCV (@nclcv) February 23, 2017

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The Humpty Dumpty state

There’s a new bill in the legislature to repeal House Bill 2, or repeal parts of it. Once again, the only people happy with it are the sponsors. Liberals say it leaves in place discrimination against the LGBT community. Conservatives like Dan Forest aren’t going to support anything that might lift discrimination. The legislature likes […]
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Bill Rabon plays the privatization game, and wins big-time

Pay-to-play politics at its absolute worst:

State Senator Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) said it was a pretty easy decision to start outsourcing some services at NCDOT when he and other Republicans took the majority in the state legislature in 2011. “One of the things that I think all of the Republicans wanted to do when they came here was downsize government, become more efficient,” Rabon said.

Campaign finance records show Rabon has collected campaign money from employees of private engineering firms and other companies involved in building roads and bridges, their political action committees and industry-related special interest groups. Records show Rabon’s campaign has taken more than $124,000 since 2012, the first year in which NCDOT was required to hit a specific outsourcing target.

If this was a fictional narrative, these revelations would trigger an inquiry, there would be scenes of Rabon running away from questioning reporters, and soon he would be announcing his early retirement, citing the need to "spend more time with family" or something similar. But as we've learned (the hard way) with GOP domination of the Legislature, the truth is stranger than fiction, and outcomes are simply not predictable. As far as that "more efficient" claim, it appears Rabon and his colleagues really don't care if it's true:

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Thursday News: First in city-bashing

NC State’s depth and quality was always an illusion

Look, we were all excited at the time, okay.

There are a bunch of different ways you can place this season into context, especially now that we know that head coach Mark Gottfried won’t be back. One thing that’s been gnawing at me is how the results ended up becoming what they are versus what we all hoped/expected would happen before the season started.

Hype was inevitable with the addition of Dennis Smith, a healthy Terry Henderson, Torin Dorn, and highly-regarded big man Omer Yurtseven. Those guys, along with Malik Abu and Maverick Rowan, were expected to establish a deep rotation that could play with just about anybody and attack in any number of ways. Heck, I thought this would be Gottfried’s best offense—better than the 2013 team, which finished 10th in offensive efficiency.

Nothing worked out this year like we wanted or optimistically expected, and maybe it boils down to this: the depth we imagined this team having was never really there. This is partly the problem that comes with relying on freshmen, but the fact is, certain guys who were expected to be major difference-makers found high-major college hoops a huge barrier.

State ranks 221st in bench minutes. In comparison to last season, State’s lineup is significantly more flexible, but it’s still been a pretty bench, which is not we anticipated during our possibly probably completely unfair offseason jubilation period.

Omer Yurtseven has been dreadful in ACC games, hitting only 44.6% of his twos while turning the ball over way too much. Torin Dorn has completely disappeared after a solid start to the season; instead of becoming the effective wing slasher his numbers at Charlotte suggested he could be, he’s been completely shut down by ACC defenses.

Malik Abu hasn’t leveled up. BeeJay Anya faded into the background, losing the tenuous grip he had on his physical state. You have to find positive margins somewhere coming off a 5-13 season, which is where you expect your veterans to fill gaps. They haven’t.

What does that leave? There were potential problems we were happy to ignore or avoid during the offseason, but they’ve all been made plain now.

Dennis Smith has been Dennis Smith, but he’s still a freshman and prone to the frustrations that go with moving from high school to college. Nonetheless he’s been tremendous, do not misinterpret me here.

And there is Maverick Rowan, who has had a breakout year, out of sheer necessity. Rowan shot 40% inside the arc and 33.6% from three as a freshman. This season, he’s at 53.8% and 36.6%. That’s been critical, but not enough to save a supposedly deep team that turned out to be perilously thin.

Markell Johnson wasn’t supposed to be a significant contributor this season—he was supposed to handle a few minutes every night, give Dennis a break when needed, and basically use this year as preparation for the next. Instead, he’s become a significant part of the rotation, even though his shooting has been bad.

The depth was never there. When I watch NC State play against the best teams in the ACC, it becomes clear that the depth on this roster we imagined was a figment of offseason hype-ism. I mean, you couldn’t blame any of us for being excited about the potential with this roster. We were wrong, though, and this whole season ended up going a sour direction.

Playing in the ACC ends up a coming-to-Jesus situation for a lot of guys, and that ended up the case for an untenable number of guys on the NC State roster. It doesn’t excuse poor fundamentals or bad effort or flat-out quitting, but bottom line is there are a bunch of dudes on this NC State roster who were not ready for what they were going to face, and they didn’t get the support from elsewhere that might possibly maybe have staved off the crisis in confidence that killed this season.

We overestimated, though, no doubt about it; didn’t figure in that a team being run by a freshman could be mentally fragile. Hey, we do this type of thing most years, to some degree—this year the bet managed to seem more likely than it has in a long time. There’s always next year. And the next coach.

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Tom Crean landing at NC State highly unlikely, per report

[breathes heavy sigh of relief]

With a tip of the cap to SB Nation Indiana blog Crimson Quarry, here’s a report from Yahoo’s Pat Forde indicating that a possible ejector-seat situation with Tom Crean landing in Raleigh is not a realistic scenario. Some folks, maybe on both the NC State and Indiana sides, had floated Crean as a potential possibility for the Wolfpack’s job given Crean’s current struggles.

I’ve never seen it, personally, and never understood why anyone on the State end of things would want this to happen. Guys, don’t give administrators and coaches ideas, they might end up listening! So hush up on this bad one from here on, okay?

Crean has been wildly inconsistent at perhaps the best job in the Big Ten—the Hoosiers have won league titles, and earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAAs ... and they’ve also missed the NCAAs four times in his nine years there. No thanks.

And as Crimson Quarry outlined, Indiana has a bit of an awkward/unusual situation on its hands with Crean’s status, as well. I guess you could say it’s a little complicated at both Indiana and NC State right now. Certainly nothing indicates there was ever any foundation to speculation that Crean might end up as the Pack’s next head coach.

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Republican snowflakes hide from their constituents

When you have no answers, questions are to be avoided at all costs:

It’s not that there isn’t time for such meetings, it’s just that many in North Carolina’s congressional delegation, like many others around the nation, simply don’t want to face angry and confused constituents. They’ve seen and read the reports of the raucous confrontations and are doing all they can to avoid those difficult scenes.

“As of late, it has become apparent that some individuals who are not really interested in meaningful dialogue attend town halls just to create disruptions and media spectacles,” Tillis recently wrote to a constituent who was seeking a public forum with the senator.

When the Tea Party was yelling at Democratic Representatives during their Town Halls, people like Tillis were rubbing their hands together in glee. But the Dems (for the most part) kept showing up, and the yelling dropped off. It doesn't always work out like that, and the people protesting GOP Senators and Representatives need to understand there are limits to what they should do, lines they should not cross, in their zest for accountability. But completely ignoring them will only make things worse:

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Trump uses "states' rights" excuse in attack on transgender students

Abdicating the Federal government's responsibility for basic civil rights:

White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer said Tuesday that the Trump administration will issue new guidance on Title IX protections for transgender students. The comments came in response to a question during a White House press briefing about reports the White House would rescind the Obama administration's guidance that sought to bar discrimination against transgender students and ensure they had access to bathrooms of their choice.

"The president has maintained for a long time that this is a states' rights issue and not one for the federal government," Spicer said.

What's next, allowing the states to decide if they want blacks and whites to attend the same schools? Yes, that is a relevant comparison. At various times in our country's history, certain groups of people were denied the rights others enjoyed, and they had to fight for equal treatment. And inevitably, the only real cure for that unfairness had to be orchestrated by the Federal government. Because if a person who lives in Connecticut moves to another state, say North Carolina for instance, and they lose one (or more) of the basic civil rights they enjoyed in their previous state, our nation has a problem. It really is that simple.

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Breaking the board

With all the bad ideas floated by Republicans in their attempt to strip power from the executive branch, the restructuring of the State Board of Elections and Ethics Commission has gotten less attention. The new law, which is being contested in court, would combine the SBOE and Ethics Commission and replace the current five-member board of […]
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Wednesday News: Putting VoterID to rest

COOPER AND AG SEEK TO END US SUPREME COURT REVIEW OF VOTER ID LAW (Raleigh News & Observer) -- Gov. Roy Cooper and state Attorney General Josh Stein have taken steps to end a U.S. Supreme Court review of North Carolina’s voter ID law, reversing a request made by former Gov. Pat McCrory in the final days of his administration. But it was not immediately clear whether the request by the two newly elected Democrats to withdraw the appeal would fully end attempts to reinstate voter ID and other limitations on voting.
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Highlights! NC State holds on at Georgia Tech, 71-69

wheeeeeeeeee

I feel like Grandpa Joe in Willie Wonka, getting out of bed and stretching his legs for the first time in a couple decades. We won? We won! A basketball game and everything! I got a golden ticket to have a weird acid trip. Or steal fizzy lifting drink, as Dennis Smith has so clearly done.

NC State closed out the first half strongly and appeared to be doing the same in the second before a series of unfortunate events allowed Georgia Tech, which had shown almost no life from the perimeter, to creep back into the game with outside shooting. But I am not here to quibble about anything when it comes to this one; it’s been forever since State won a game, and State broke that losing skid with a win on the road.

I’ll take that, I’ll take these highlights, and I’ll enjoy this game for what it is.

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NC State Wins at Georgia Tech 71-69

WE DID IT

State got back in the win column y’all. The Pack ended a seven game losing streak Tuesday night with a 71-69 win at Georgia Tech. There was defense that was played and rebounding as well. Things were good, especially when you choose to ignore the last two minutes, which I highly recommend as something that you should do.

State outrebound the Jackets by a 40-28 margin and the 69 points given up was the Pack’s best defensive effort against an ACC team all year. Terry Henderson was on fire for a large portion of the game, and ended up leading the team in scoring with 21. Dennis Smith hit multiple clutch shots at the end of the shot clock to keep the Jackets at an arm’s length until its final run ultimately fell short.

State’s offense was ugly in this game, but Georgia Tech’s was arguably uglier. The Jackets missed several shots right around the rim and made only 13 of 22 free throw attempts. The Pack saw the shot clock run down on countless possessions, but strong offensive rebounding and a few miracle shots allowed State to score on possessions it probably didn’t deserve to score on.

The Pack built a 14 point lead in the waning minutes off strong enough defense (that is not a typo), which was a large enough margin to survive State’s attempt at an epic collapse. Tech got the game all the way back to one point after numerous turnovers and predictable nonsense, then got a good look at a buzzer beating three after one Dennis Smith free throw. Markell Johnson’s contest of the shot as the final second wound off may have saved the game for the Pack.

Pretty much all of the systematic problems that State has were still evident in this game, but the effort and energy was better and in the end State had done enough to hang on for its fourth conference win of the season. The Gott Man being able to get at least one more win before his time here officially ends was definitely nice. Virginia comes to town on Saturday to play a game that I previously would have considered unwinnable. Virginia has recently forgotten how to play basketball though, so maybe there is a glimmer of hope.

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Mike Speciale: Progressive Hero

Rep. Mike Speciale (R-New Bern) is known as a very conservative bombthrower in the General Assembly, but recent events suggest that he is rapidly transitioning into a progressive hero, fighting steadfastly to defend the rights of his countrymen against the ravages of the Trump administration. Take the three bills he filed today, for instance, all […]
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A changed GOP

We need to stop being shocked by Republicans. It’s true that the NCGOP disrupts norms frequently, abruptly, and in unprecedented ways. But this has gone on long enough for the rest of us to respond differently. The GA’s radicalism surprises political observers because they haven’t updated their expectations. Normal political parties respect rules and operate at a deliberate pace. But the new GOP simply does not fit […]
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Profile of a possible savior: Tim Jankovich

This guy’s been coaching for longer than Will Wade’s been alive.

Southern Methodist University hasn’t made it past the second round of the NCAA tournament since the 1960s, but that could change this spring under Tim Jankovich, who is in his first full year as head man on the Mustangs’ sidelines. Despite a gaudy 24-4 record, SMU is ranked just 17^th in the AP poll thanks to the subpar competition in the American Athletic Conference (sorry, PirateWolf), but Jank’s ‘stangs have a championship résumé in KenPom’s rankings with both a top 25 offense and defense.

Jankovich’s squad has won 20 of its last 21 games, with the only defeat coming on the road by two points against fellow POAPSter Mick Cronin’s Cincinnati Bearcats. Though he’s primarily patrolled the sidelines in flyover country, could Jankovich make the leap east and replicate his AAC success for NC State in the ACC?

Important Questions, In Rough Order Of Importance:

1. Has he coached teams that have won a national title, made multiple deep NCAA tournament runs, and/or consistently been highly ranked?

Jankovich, serving in an interim capacity while Larry Brown was golfing due to an NCAA suspension, piloted the Mustangs to a 9-0 start and top 10 ranking a year ago, and, as mentioned above, what is now his team—Brown abruptly resigned over the summer—is in the top 20 now. He’s a ridiculous 33-4 at SMU, but this will be his first NCAA tournament as a head coach.

Previously, he piloted Illinois State to four 21-or-more-win seasons in five years but never made the big dance, falling in the MVC championship game three times (twice in overtime). Jankovich was also unable to make postseason play at North Texas, his first gig as a head coach. Additionally, he had a stint as the head coach at Hutchinson Community College.

The well-traveled Jankovich has had 10 different stops as an assistant, most notably a four-year stint at Kansas. He was part of Bill Self’s original staff that replaced Ol’ Roy after Ol’ Roy changed his mind and decided that he did, in fact, give a shit about Carolina.

2. Has he built a program from the ground up?

The Mean Green have a brutal basketball history. They have been ranked once in the AP poll, back in 75-76, and they have never won an NCAA tournament game (in their three whole trips) during an existence that dates to the 20s. Jankovich inherited a 5-21 North Texas team and promptly won 14 games in his first year. He went from the ground to basically .500. Unfortunately, he never did much better and decided to jettison that basketball desert after four years for Hutchison. The dude that followed him for the Mean Green managed a high of seven wins during his four-year stint.

I think of ISU as one of those sneaky mid-majors that springs Big Dance upsets, but the Redbirds actually haven’t been to the tournament since ’98 (under Kevin Stallings, whose name seems to keep coming up in my POAPSmears in some sort of Kevin Bacon degrees of separation sort of way). The Redbirds, in fact, were coming off a couple of losing seasons when Jankovich arrived, including one where it managed a brutal 55 points per game. Jank’s first team improved by 10 wins over his predecessor, Porter Moser, but he could never break through and win the MVC tournament in his time in Normal. While Dan Muller is thought of as a hot name in the “up-and-coming” ranks, ISU declined significantly in the couple years subsequent to his taking over for Jank.

3. Has he substantially improved the program from when he took over?

That’s more or less alluded to above, but heck yes. North Texas’s 9-win improvement was the second most in the NCAA that year. And he did it with…(wait for it)…defense! The Mean Green went from 298^th to 99^th in points allowed from pre-Jank to Jank. (Sorry, no fancy KenPom numbers from way back then.) Same story at ISU; his first team climbed from 67^th before him to 26^th in KenPom’s defensive metrics. That rise led to the aforementioned 10-win improvement. Last year he was undefeated at SMU; when Larry Brown came back, the ‘stangs were a still respectable but less impressive 16-5. Now, SMU is arguably the best it’s ever been.

4. Has he succeeded at more than one head coaching job?

The answer here depends on how you define success. Until now, he’s never been a head coach at a school with a genuine opportunity to make a sustained run in the tournament, but he’s been much better than the status quo wherever he’s coached. In short, I’d say yes.

5. Does he have significant high-major experience as either a head coach or an assistant?

His head coaching exploits are already well chronicled above. In chronological order, Jankovich has been an assistant at the following high-major (and high-majorish) programs: Kansas State, Texas, Baylor, Oklahoma State, Vanderbilt (under Stallings!), Illinois, and Kansas. He’s got a total of 34 years under his belt as a college coach; I’d say that’s pretty significant.

6. Is his team one of the best in its conference right now?

SMU is the best in just about every measure, leading Cincinnati in KenPom, the AAC standings (by half a game), but trailing the Bearcats by a hair in RPI.

7. Do his teams actually play, what is this thing called, "defense"?

I give you this delicious quote: “If they…play their tail off on defense and rebound at a high level. If they do that, they earn more freedom on the offensive end.” Defense is first in Jankovich’s philosophy, and the numbers bear it out. The Mustangs are 20^th in AdjD. If he had just said fannies, a la Chuck Amato, we’d know he’d be a perfect fit at State.

8. So how about offense?

Jankovich, unlike his predecessor, is a proponent of the three-point shot. The Mustangs are 122^nd in percentage of points from the bonusphere this season, up from 275^th a year ago. His teams seem to understand shot selection, taking over 70% of their total shots from either the arc or at the rim. His teams are, however, deliberate, like Virginia deliberate. It might not be fun and gun, but SMU’s offense is resulting in 1.12 points per possession this year and a KenPom AdjO ranking of 21^st.

9. Any indication that he can recruit McDonald’s All-American-type players?

Jankovich’s first pledge as head coach at SMU was Elijah Landrum, a three-star point guard who also held offers from Houston, Texas Tech, and VCU. There are a couple of other three-star pledges in the class of 2017, both top 300 type guys. The top recruit is William Douglas, who is ranked 115^th by 247sports. Shake Milton is the only SMU-recruited consensus four-star on the roster, though Duke transfer (and former top 30 prospect) Semi Ojeleye has blossomed into a stud after not getting much floor time for Coach K.

This is not ACC level recruiting, but it’s good enough for a 24-4 record with an experienced and competent coach. Jankovich, who was well regarded as a recruiter when an assistant at high-major programs, would likely lure better talent to Raleigh. He’s also been handcuffed a bit by scholarship reductions due to an NCAA violation that occurred under Brown’s watch. He has a slew of top 100 recruits listing SMU from the class of 2018, when scholarship levels will return to normal.

10. Does he have any connection to NC State, North Carolina, or the ACC?

He was “coach in waiting” under Brown, but his footprint is basically Texas and the Midwest.

11. Any other random red flags or positives?

The major red flag for Jankovich is his association with some pretty shady dudes, Brown chief among them. The Dean Smith protégé had numerous run-ins with the NCAA, most recently an academic fraud scandal (gasp!) that cost him nine games. It was more costly for SMU, which was given a postseason ban a year ago and a loss of scholarships. (Aside: note that this bit of justice was meted out for exactly ONE case of academic fraud that occurred before a recruit was even enrolled at SMU. Meanwhile, a decades-long, institutionalized system of academic fraud designed to keep players eligible at UNC is yet unpunished).

Eddie Sutton, who Jankovich also coached under, nearly killed Kentucky, getting the school a two-year postseason ban and one-year TV ban for a laundry list of violations that included bribing recruits, though Jank joined Sutton much later when he was at Oklahoma State.

Some of us who are getting long in the tooth might consider this a positive, but Jank has coached for longer than some POAPS candidates have been on the planet. He’ll be 58 when next season gets underway. That still gives him 7-10 years of coaching life in all likelihood, but can he relate to the kids these days? Do you want to bring in a guy that, even if he’s wildly successful, will in all likelihood have a short tenure? In just a few years, opposing whippersnapper coaches will be whispering in players ears: “You sure you want to play for a guy that might not be around to see you graduate?”

On the positive spectrum, the dude shot 91.7% from the line in his college career and over 50% from the floor from the guard position. Maybe he can teach some free throwing around here?

Another bit of intrigue is that Semi Ojeleye should be a grad transfer possibility. Could Jank bring him along?

Summary:

Would he be better than Gottfried?

I don’t think there’s any question that Jankovich could beat Gott’s players with his players, or his players with Gott’s players, and his history of immediately improving programs from year one is intriguing.

OK, so what is his ceiling?

Let’s see how far he takes the Mustangs. If he makes a run with the talent gap he’ll face perhaps as soon as the second round, then there is no ceiling on what he could accomplish with ACC talent, provided he can lure said talent to Raleigh. If he doesn’t recruit at a high level by ACC standards, he’s probably Jim Larrañaga. Hey, if that’s your floor, that’s pretty good.

Would he take the job if offered?

Probably not. Damn, I spent all this time on this for nothing. Despite the fact that he’s not a 40 or even 30-something, Jankovich should be a hot commodity for high-major schools coach shopping this offseason. An Indiana native who has spent nearly his entire career in flyover country probably has his sights sets on a Big 10 or Big 12 job. Maybe he returns to K-State, his alma mater, after we hire Bruce Weber! (I kid, I kid.)

Indiana, Ohio State, Oklahoma…those would probably be Jank’s dream jobs if he is even job hunting, and he may well have a shot at all of the above.

How would I feel if he were hired?

I can get past the age thing. I love the experience and the results he’s had as a head coach, especially this year at SMU. As the weight of losing buries my moral compass, I find the association with a who’s who in crooked coaches to be less untenable, but Larry Brown? Larry Brown??? I question the man’s judgment there.

How would the fan base as a whole feel if he were hired?

The answer here is also dependent on how SMU does in the tournament. If the Mustangs were to make the Final Four, I think the average State fan would be pretty excited to get the guy that led little old SMU to college basketball’s biggest stage for the first time since it fell to the San Francisco Dons in the 1956 Final Four. If Jank gets jerked from the tourney early, I think the response would largely be, “Who? We totally screwed this up again!”

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Give ’em a raise

Legislators are talking about raising their pay. It’s long past time to do it. They haven’t had a raise in about 20 years and they need fair compensation. Pay for a state legislator is about $14,000 a year. They get $104 per diem when the legislature is in session and they get compensated for their […]
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Tuesday Twitter roundup

Reports of the death of the Patriarchy were premature:

#UNC Board of Gov looks "like a 1950s men's club," says former board chair Hannah Gage in op-ed. https://t.co/tJmRBg4wjt #ncpol #ncgov

— John Drescher (@john_drescher) February 21, 2017

And it's about to get worse, since the NCGA is trying to shrink the Board. More from Hannah:

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Tuesday News: This is how you do it

COOPER ANNOUNCES A PLAN TO BOOST TEACHER SALARIES (Greensboro News & Record) -- Gov. Roy Cooper and state Republican leaders circled each other warily Monday after the governor unveiled the outlines of his plan to boost average teacher pay to $55,000 in two years. The Democratic governor described his proposal as a multi-year investment in North Carolina teachers that would raise their salaries to the highest in the Southeast in three years and to at least the national average in five. “These aren’t just investments in our teachers, they are investments in our children’s future,” Cooper said.
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Profile of a Possible Savior: VCU head coach Will Wade

Wade is a little bit basketball nuts, and I don’t mean that in a bad way.

Important Questions, In Rough Order Of Importance:

1. Has he coached teams that have won a national title, made multiple deep NCAA tournament runs, and/or consistently been highly ranked?

No. Will Wade is only 34-years-old and is in his fourth season as a head coach. He was a member of the VCU coaching staff when the Rams made their Final Four run in 2011 but hasn’t been around long enough to build his own program to that sort of level. VCU made the NCAA tournament in his first season as the Rams’ head coach and went 1-1.

2. Has he built a program from the ground up?

The VCU gig has been anything but a rebuilding job since he took over for Shaka Smart when the Rams were already established as one of the top programs in the Atlantic 10. His tenure at Chattanooga was so short, he hadn’t even gotten to putting up the drywall yet.

3. Has he substantially improved the program from when he took over?

At Virginia Commonwealth, no—more like he maintained the level of quality that he inherited. In Smart’s final season with VCU, the Rams finished 30th in the Pomeroy Ratings; in Wade’s first, the Rams finished 31st. This season they are 41st. Wade did win the A-10 regular season title his first year, something Smart never did at VCU, surprisingly enough. (Smart did win two A-10 tourney titles there.)

At Chattanooga, he inherited a program that was coming off two straight losing seasons. In Wade’s second and final year there, the Mocs were 22-10 (15-3).

4. Has he succeeded at more than one head coaching job?

As alluded to above, absolutely, albeit in short stints so far. He clearly had Chattanooga in an upward trajectory before heading back to VCU and he’s kept the Rams near the top of the A-10 standings.

5. Does he have significant high-major experience as either a head coach or an assistant?

None. Wade’s extremely young career started at Clemson, where he was a student assistant and then became a graduate assistant. There he met Shaka Smart, who was an assistant for Oliver Purnell at the time. Wade never played college or pro ball.

He got his first real assistant gig at Harvard thanks to another connection he’d made at Clemson, and he spent a couple years under Tommy Amaker before going to VCU as an assistant for Smart. That takes us up to his two years at Chattanooga and his subsequent move back to Richmond.

6. Is his team one of the best in its conference right now?

The Rams are currently tied with Dayton with a 12-2 record in the A-10. They finished 14-4 in the league last season.

7. Do his teams actually play, what is this thing called, "defense"?

Inconclusive, with some positive indicators. After all, how conclusive could this analysis be with only 3+ years of data? The Chattanooga team he inherited was terrible defensively, ranking 322nd in defensive efficiency the year before he got there. The Mocs had improved to 186th by Wade’s second season, which is a significant step forward, though that still ain’t good defense.

At VCU, again, he’s been able to establish what Smart established. VCU was 24th in DE last year and ranks 37th this season. Good defense to be sure, and consistent with the last handful of years for VCU under Smart. Wade has continued the “havoc” culture and style they established under Smart.

8. So how about offense?

Above average at VCU—certainly good enough that when paired with a good defense makes for a pretty damn solid overall team. Strange note: VCU is 58th in offensive efficiency this season. It finished each of the last two seasons at No. 58. (Illuminati!)

Wade’s teams haven’t been heavy on the three-ball. His VCU teams haven’t among the fastest in the country, but they’re hardly in UVA territory, either. That’s not an issue.

9. Any indication that he can recruit McDonald’s All-American-type players?

Wade has a reputation as a strong recruiter, and in two years at VCU has signed a couple of consensus four-star prospects. Not McDonald’s All-Americans, but definitely top-100 kids. His current 2017 class ranks 32nd nationally and first in the A-10, and it includes big man Mayan Kiir, whom you may remember NC State also wanted. This is probably the area I’d worry least about when it comes to Wade’s profile.

10. Does he have any connection to NC State, North Carolina, or the ACC?

He is a Clemson alum and has spent a lot of time coaching in the southeast, but that’s about it. Oh, his wife is a UNC alum. Hey, nobody’s perfect.

11. Any other random red flags or positives?

Remember where I said at the top that Wade is a bit of a basketball nut, in a good way? Wade loves data of all kinds—at VCU they track players’ movements in practice using GPS and also track heart rates to see who might not be working hard enough. Oh, also this, via a tremendous profile on Wade from Richmond’s Style Weekly:

Other items tracked include player sleep patterns, what they eat, their caloric burn and resting heart rates. When the team is on the road, room temperatures are always set to 68 degrees, the best for sleeping. Hypoallergenic pillows must be used and shades are always drawn. Wade wants things down to a science.

I prefer 66 personally, but I trust the science here.

Wade is also a workaholic, getting up at 5 a.m. for a jog and some meditation time, and usually doesn’t leave the office until late, according to that profile.

Summary:

Would he be better than Gottfried?

Uncertain. Is Wade’s approach to coaching and maintaining a program superior? I think so, but then again I am a sucker for anybody who is big on analytics and science. The Gott Man was pretty much the opposite.

Would he take the job if offered?

Also unclear. Wade is currently under contract through 2024, and while there is no doubt that NC State can offer a significant pay raise to bring him to Raleigh, there’s always a lot more to it than that.

How would I feel if he were hired?

Pretty darn good. Is there risk here? Sure. The track record on him is short. Still, he’s won everywhere he’s coached, and he seems to have absorbed a lot from the guys he worked for, and all of those guys (Smart, Amaker, Purnell) have been successful head coaches. You could definitely talk me into Wade over Archie Miller or Gregg Marshall.

How would the fan base as a whole feel if he were hired?

Overall, happy and excited for the future, I think. As I’ve said before, there’s going to be disappointment from some if NC State hires anyone other than Miller. I think in this case, though, everybody would get over that quickly.

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Anti-abortion nuttery shifts into overdrive at NC General Assembly

Embracing quackery is now acceptable in GOP circles:

He claims the reversal process makes logical, scientific sense and said that animal studies in Japan showed that rats that were given Mifepristone had its effects reversed when given progesterone. He also pointed to a study published in 2012 in the Annals of Pharmacotherapy that described six case studies where four women had successful reversals and two lost their babies.

The Abortion Pill Reversal network Harrison is part of has attempted over 900 reversals, he said, and delivered 243 babies with no major birth defects. There are currently 120 women going through the protocol.

There's just so much wrong with that I can't even...

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Profile of a Possible Savior: Chris Holtmann

The student section name writes itself: Holtmann’s Heroes. I’M SOLD!

Today’s Possible Savior: Chris Holtmann, the 45 year-old native of the Bluegrass State is in his third year at the helm of the Butler Bulldogs. Holtmann has amassed a 110-82 record over 6 years as a head coach. Fun fact: he was a teammate of John Groce (current Illinois Head Coach and former Herb protégé) at Taylor University (a NAIA powerhouse, apparently).

Important Questions, In Rough Order Of Importance:

1. Has he coached teams that have won a national title, made multiple deep NCAA tournament runs, and/or consistently been highly ranked?

Negative. Holtmann was the head man at Gardner-Webb for three years, and did not make the tournament there (more on that tenure below). Since taking over Butler in 2014, the Bulldogs have made the Big Dance both years (and are on track to make the tournament again this year currently sitting at 21-6 (10-5 in the Big East). Butler has been bounced the past two years in the Round of 32; last year a as 9-seed by Virginia, and in 2015 as a 6-seed by 3-seed Notre Dame in overtime. Butler has been in-and-out of the Top 25 during the last three years, and is currently ranked 24^th.

2. Has he built a program from the ground up?

Yes-ish and no? His tenure at Gardner-Webb saw the Bulldogs (who play in the Big South, for those that didn’t know even though they are in NC) improve from 11-wins in 2011 to a 21-13 record and a CIT bid in his third year. This was the first postseason appearance for Gardner-Webb since making the jump to Division 1 in 2008. Holtmann then left Gardner-Webb to become an assistant at Butler for Brandon Miller in 2013. He was tabbed as the interim head coach in October 2014 when Brandon Miller (who helmed the Bulldogs for one season after Stevens left and had a 14-17 record, a major step-back from where Stevens took the program to), and then made head coach January 2015.

3. Has he substantially improved the program from when he took over?

With Gardner-Webb, this is a "yes". The Bulldogs have posted winning seasons in each of the three years since Holtmann departed, making the CBI in 2015. With Butler, not so much. Todd Lickliter (predecessor to Stevens) and Thad Matta (predecessor to Lickliter) both had the Bulldogs performing solidly before Stevens put it into overdrive with the two national title appearances and multiple conference titles. However, the one season under Miller showed that Butler’s success was not guaranteed and Holtmann successfully has brought Butler back closer to where Stevens had them. Important to note too: Stevens was head coach of Butler when they were still in the Horizon league, followed by one year in the A-10. The Bulldogs joined the Big East the year after Stevens left – saying all that to say that Holtmann has faced increased regular season competition in his time at Butler over the Matta/Lickliter/Stevens eras.

4. Has he succeeded at more than one head coaching job?

Yes.

5.  Does he have significant high-major experience as either a head coach or an assistant?

Depends on how you view the Big East. Holtmann has worked with coaches who had success at some level (Stevens and John Groce when he was at Ohio) but was not an assistant for them at a high-major (keeping in mind that Butler was still in the A-10 when Holtmann came on board).

6.  Is his team one of the best in its conference right now?

Yep. Butler is currently in second in the Big East, a half-game ahead of #20 Creighton and three games back from league-leading #2 Villanova. The Bulldogs appear to be on track for their third straight year in the top 4 of the league.

7.  Do his teams actually play, what is this thing called, "defense"?

Yes. Butler currently sits at 48^th in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency rankings. This is a step up from a finish in 96^th in 2016, their best defensive year was in 2015 when the Bulldogs were 8^th, allowing .88 points per possession. Defense clearly matters to Holtmann. I would offer to him that he doesn’t know the meaning of the word "atrocious" in this context. Of note: the Bulldogs are 3-1 since that rant, including holding three of those opponents to 71-points or less.

8.  So how about offense?

Butler’s rankings in KenPom’s Adjusted Offense from current to the last two years are: 19^th, 15^th, 66^th. So with 2015 being a blip on the radar, clearly the last two seasons have shown Holtmann’s teams to be fairly efficient on offense. Tempo-wise, we could have some disappointment again. They are currently 286^th in adjusted tempo (good for just 66 possessions a game). This is a pretty significant drop from last year’s 182^nd, but in 2015 they were 239^th. They will get out in transition some and clearly can score in buckets (see the 110 points they put on St. John’s a week or so ago) but they are definitely a little closer to UVA than to the current offensive tempo we are used to.

9.  Any indication that he can recruit McDonald’s All-American-type players?

Well not All-Americans, but Butler has consistently reeled in solid three-start talent with a sprinkling of better players. This includes Joe Brunk, a Center from Indianapolis (so hometown kid) that picked Butler over offers from basically the entire Big Ten, Oklahoma, and Xavier; and Kyle Young, a PF currently committed to Butler from OH who had offers from the entire Big Ten, Clemson, Florida, West Virginia, Xavier…and NC State. He is the 11^th ranked PF in the nation and 83^rd overall per Scout. A strong assistant staff would be necessary but it doesn’t seem like he has had too much trouble getting kinds to commit to a Big East school over P-5 schools in the same neighborhood, including Indiana and Purdue.

10. Does he have any connection to NC State, North Carolina, or the ACC?

As previously noted, he spent three years in lovely Boiling Springs, NC outside of Charlotte coaching at Gardner-Webb. So yes.

11. Any other random red flags or positives?

Not that I could find.

Summary:

Would he be better than Gottfried?

Eh. Maybe? The lack of deep tournament runs or championship wins at either stop so far (granted they are short tenures) doesn’t point to him being better than Gottfried. He has high-upside and did right the ship at Butler after the drop-off when Stevens left. His teams do seem to be much more disciplined with the basketball, play with effort, and have a focus on defense, all of which we have lacked for the last six years.

OK, so what is his ceiling?

Holtmann is young at 45, so there is time there for him to make an impact. He may not be a championship-caliber coach, but he may be. Brad Stevens does text him after every game so clearly he is still getting counsel from one of the best coaches out there. I can see his floor as being a Gottfried/Herb level but just not sure what the ceiling is?

Would he take the job if offered?

Searching on his salary, it was rumored in 2015 that Holtmann made less than $1 million a year, maybe he is up over that figure now given the extra money Butler is likely making in the Big East and his success, but money shouldn’t be an issue. Would probably come down to fit and if he felt like this as a logical step. The obvious answer is to say "well yes, of course he would come here!" and I would think he would be interested. Probably just depends on if NC State is the kind of job he wants or if he will bide his time at Butler for something else….or decide that he likes being in a basketball-centric league and decide to stay.

How would I feel if he were hired?

To me, this is the kind of hire that we should have made with a quickness in 2006 or 2011 when it was evident that the big names weren’t interested. This is a high-risk/high-reward type hire but Holtmann has shown consistency at a job that got a lot harder between the National Title runs under Stevens and now given the upgrade in league and the upgrade in expectations. His persona is a fit, I think. This would be somewhat akin to how I felt about the Dave Doeren hire initially: optimistic but cautious .

How would the fan base as a whole feel if he were hired?

I’m sure the initial reaction would be "who?" Would probably take some time to sell. But I would think they would be more hopeful than after the end of the last two searches.

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More big government conservatives

At a time when the country needs less partisanship, Republicans in the NCGA are pushing bills to increase it. Bills sponsored by GOP legislators would make elections partisan that are currently non-partisan. Those include judicial, municipal and school board races. The GOP is also proving once again that it’s the party of heavy-handed big government. As if […]
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In search of the truth: Tim Tyson on objective interviewing

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Monday News: Exporting bigotry

HERE'S HOW BILLS IN N.C. AND TEXAS MEASURE UP (Texas Tribune) -- Since Texas Republicans unveiled their so-called “bathroom bill” in early January, supporters have described the bill as similar to a law passed by North Carolina yet different in important ways. "We're doing what North Carolina did — we're fighting back," Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said Wednesday at an event hosted by the Family Research Council that also featured North Carolina Lt. Gov. Dan Forest. "Our bill is a little bit different than their bill, but our objective is the same. That's to provide common sense, common decency, privacy and public safety to women."
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NC State takes series at Hawai’i with 8-1 win

Joe Dunand is heating up; Brett Kinneman is on fire; the young arms look good

NC State bounced back after dropping the second game of its opening series at Hawai’i with a convincing 8-1 win in the rubber match. Five pitchers combined to twirl a one-hitter in the series-deciding game, and Brett Kinneman had a couple of doubles and a walk to continue his torrid start to his sophomore campaign.

Walks plagued NC State hurlers—they issued eight free passes on Sunday—but it was the Rainbow Warriors’ generosity that staked the Pack to a 2-0 lead in the series finale. Evan Mendoza and Shane Shepherd drew back-to-back walks to open the second. Highly-touted freshman Brad Debo, making his first start, followed with a fielder’s choice that was thrown away in an effort to turn two. Mendoza scored and Debo went to second on the play. Joe Dunand, who went 2-for-3 with a walk to atone for a sluggish start to the season, singled home Debo.

Kinneman’s walk started a two-run rally in the sixth. Debo singled him home in the frame with his first collegiate hit. Josh McLain doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the seventh, and Mendoza added an RBI single to push the lead to 6-0. Lawson McArthur’s first career RBI hit plated Kinneman, who had doubled with two outs, as State went on to add two more in the top of the ninth.

Kinneman is batting .500 through three games with four doubles and a home run. McArthur is a perfect 2-for-2 off the bench.

Tommy DeJuneas drew the start for the Pack and managed 5.2 scoreless innings despite walking five and uncorking a pair of wild pitches. Freshman lefty Kent Klyman made his Wolfpack debut and bailed DeJuneas out of a jam in the sixth, retiring the only man he faced with runners on first and second and two outs. Hawai’i went 0-for-10 with runners on base.

Dalton Feeney was next to make his Pack debut and allowed the lone run for the ‘bows, though it was unearned. He fanned a batter in 1.2 hitless innings but also walked one and threw a wild pitch. Joe O’Donnell got the only batter he faced to end the eighth. Johnny Piedmonte, who begins the season as the team’s closer, pitched the ninth though it was far from a save situation. Piedmonte struggled mightily to find the zone, throwing just 11 of his 24 pitches for strikes, but worked around a pair of walks and a wild pitch to finish the game.

In all, five Pack hurlers debuted in the series: JUCO transfer Zach Ussellman and freshmen Mathieu Gauthier, Michael Bienlien, Klyman, and Feeney. Combined, the newcomers allowed just three hits and two earned runs in 7.1 innings. They did issue a couple of free passes and hit a pair of batters but fanned nine. Both earned runs were Gauthier’s responsibility, but at one point he struck out five batters in a row. There is a lot of young talent on this staff.

With Dunand finally scratching, Stephen Pitarra is the only Pack regular without a hit in 2017. He went 0-for-5 on Sunday and grounded into a double play.

State, facing a long flight east, has no midweek games before hosting Austin Peay in a three-game set that starts Friday at 3 p.m.

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McCrory’s long, ugly legacy

One of my new year’s resolutions was not to write about Pat McCrory. After half a decade of disaster, the former Republican governor is gone from Raleigh, and besides, why give him the attention he so dearly covets? But politics unfolds in tapestry-like form, where one episode seamlessly bleeds into another. Charlotte’s Mayor for Life […]
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