As a young boy growing up on Tobacco Road, my parents used to joke that the late Jim Valvano must have sold his soul to the devil to win so many basketball games in exciting fashion. Given the hand which fate has dealt this year's team, I'm beginning to seriously debate the veracity of that notion.

     Herb's second team has been hit by an amazing run of injuries which extends even into the coaching ranks, with assistant Sean Miller rupturing his Achilles tendon. The team which took the floor last night against UNC-Ch was vastly different from the one which beat Georgia back in November. The Pack started a lineup which had only one player taller than 6'5", and they had three subs on the bench: two freshmen and Luke Buffum. It's a good thing State has already played at Cameron, otherwise they may have been exposed to chants of "Follow the yellow brick road!" After the game Herb displayed typical candor, saying "Our inside game is our big Achilles heel right now. Everybody knows it." The Tarheels certainly knew it, pummeling State on the inside on the way to a career game for Jamison and Cota. Norman Nolan for UVA did the same last Sunday. The Pack simply cannot stop anybody on the inside. The familiar cry coming from opponent's locker rooms for the rest of the season is likely to be "Hey coach, can I play the four today?"

     So where does that leave this team? In Texas-speak, it's time to circle the wagons. The team is playing with reduced numbers, and Herb must use every item in his bag of tricks to get wins for the rest of the season. That, and cut down on the WWF imitations in the locker room before practice (Tim Wells). Herb should rename Reynolds "The Alamo" until March, and dump his suits for a coon-skin cap, a Bowie knife, and a musket. On defense, a zone could help stop the bleeding inside. By packing his smaller players in the lane, it would be harder for the opposition to earn career games for their inside players, and defensive rebounding would improve. Spreading the floor with a four guard offense would force other teams to play small to counter State's quicker players and dribble penetration. This would lessen the size deficit when State plays defense as well. Lastly, State must be deliberate and patient on offense, working for good shots. Every possession is critical given the problems with rebounding, and State must become an efficient offensive machine, much like the end of last year. If State had shot above 55% last night, they would have come a lot closer to beating the boys from UNC-Ch.

Notes of Randomness:

* Siren man lives!!!! He first made his mark at Duke, drawing chuckles from the Cameron faithful. At the Maryland and Memphis games he sat in the endzone, and single handedly filled up Reynolds with his trademark cheers. He got the students around him to participate in the patented air raid siren cheer, which created an unsettling aura on the court, like something very bad was about to happen. More recently, at the State/Duke women's game in Reynolds, he could be heard on television. Toward the end of the game, one of the announcers mentioned "Do not adjust your sets. What you are hearing is not a siren near your home. It's being made by one man in the student section. I didn't know one person could make noise like that." This student is to be commended for his efforts and enthusiasm. If anyone knows his name, let me know.

* Brendan Haywood's final line last night was not impressive (1 pt, 3 boards), but he played a big role in holding off a State run when Jamison, Carter, and Ndiaye went out with injuries. His sheer size demands attention at both ends of the floor. State had to play him straight, and it allowed other players to get loose for buckets or draw fouls. UNC-Ch stopped the run with mostly fouls shots, and the fouls were critical 4th fouls on CC and Osh. Should he develop, Haywood should be a dominant player by his junior year, much like Eric Montross. He's still a little raw for the time being though. I know some people are griping about his take down of Kenny Inge, but to me it looked like a clumsy 18 year old trying to keep his balance instead of a cheap shot.

* Carolina's bench is going to come back to haunt them this year. The starters are amazingly talented, but are also playing the majority of the minutes. The effects of this will be expressed in the form of late season fatigue and an inexperienced bench should a player become injured or get into foul trouble.