It's the same old story for Wolfpack

By: Lenox Rawlings | Winston-Salem Journal
Published: January 20, 2011

RALEIGH --

The N.C. State crowd arrived late, probably stuck in the persistent Boomtown rush hour.

The N.C. State team arrived later, presumably stuck in the perpetual muck of an always-under-construction basketball program.

The rest of the story looked like the same old story. Duke mashed the gas pedal just enough to maintain a four-car lead over the sputtering, experimenting Wolfpack and won 92-78.

Before Coach Mike Krzyzewski shook a single hand, he spun in front of the bench and emphatically hugged reserve Miles Plumlee, confirming his blessing through public symbolism. The message: You're out of the doghouse now; go hunt down some more prey.

Plumlee earned his exit visa with 11 points, eight rebounds and 21 intense minutes on a night when Duke needed fresh energy from pent-up sources.

For Sidney Lowe, that red coat of a coach on the other end of Krzyzewski's first handshake, the exit ramps flash by like Cracker Barrels. The big question: Do any of Lowe's exit ramps come with a meat, three vegetables and return access?

Only Athletics Director Debbie Yow knows the answer, and she might not know quite yet. But nearly five seasons into the Lowe revival, the momentum arrow points down and the noise meter barely registers.

Eventually, an announced crowd of 19,387 almost filled the versatile RBC Center hockey arena — site of the upcoming NHL All-Star Game — but the Wolfpack's tepid start sucked life out of the air and even tempered the toxic bellowing about fouls. State trailed by eight points only four minutes into the game and shot 22 percent in the first half, with projected freshmen saviors Lorenzo Brown, C.J. Leslie and Ryan Harrow going zero for 17.

Sophomore Scott Wood, who made four of seven 3-pointers overall, noticed the same pattern in the previous two games, losses at Boston College and Florida State. "To me," he said, "I think the goal always looks like an ocean, but they must have a cap put on it for our first half."

Lowe jumbled the lineup at halftime, benching senior point guard Javier Gonzalez. Rookies Harrow (15 points, five assists) and Leslie (13 points, six offensive rebounds) flexed their raw talent occasionally. State cut the margin to five points, but nothing really moved the crowd to a committed roar. The Wolfpack won this showdown last winter, but folks sensed that it wouldn't happen again.

It didn't, mainly because Duke spread things out and turned the hardwood into an end-game carving board. As a result, State dropped to 11-7 and 1-3 in the ACC, with Miami coming to town Sunday.

"I'll never be in desperation unless it's my Pittsburgh Steelers playing," Wood said, "but there's always a sense of urgency."

The Wolfpack has no signature wins, nor any block-printing wins. It ranks No. 108 in the NCAA computer. Any contender for an at-large tournament bid needs to hang inside the top 50. State might approach mathematical elimination soon, with only one game left against each Duke and Florida State, two against North Carolina.

"Yeah," Lowe said, "we need to get something going here, but urgency is every single game. We need to get a win. We need to get something going…. There are still a lot of games left, but we need a run. We need a nice run, but it's not a panic situation. Too many of those, yeah, it will be."

So, Lowe arrives at the 19th game far short of his aim, not to mention the outrageous expectations of aspiring local hero Leslie (who predicted a top-five team) and distressed fans (who grew weary of the Duke-Carolina title axis before urging Herb Sendek's departure). Lowe also heads into the 19th game remodeling his team.

"Going forward, I've got to make some decisions, and we have to put the guys out there that are going to get it done," Lowe said. "That's the only way we can do it."

But can they do it? The players say so, but they don't often play so, and it's getting late.