0 - 0 For nearly 30 minutes on Monday night against the Texas Longhorns, NC State played its worst game of the season. The Pack couldn't defend, rebound or shoot. Then something happened. The Wolfpack started to click offensively and defensively. Shots started falling like rain, Texas fell apart and NC State stormed back from down 18 points to take an 8 point lead, finally winning 77-74.
I watched in near disbelief as the Pack went on a 28-2 run in a 9 minute span against a respectable Texas team. As a result of years of State typically being on the receiving end of such an epic comeback, I was shocked. I thought, this is not something that NC State does. But this NC State is different. Resiliency, a team-first mentality, mental toughness and maximum effort have defined the first five games of this season.
Perhaps the best thing about State's win over Texas is that one cannot just point to one player, one moment or one lucky break. This was a total team effort. Everyone contributed- from obvious heroes such as DeShawn Painter, Calvin Leslie, Lorenzo Brown and Scott Wood, to the enthusiastic and emotional guys on the bench, to the coaching staff keeping the players mentally in the game and focused on playing the right way.
So far in 2011, State has met adversity on multiple occassions and responded positively. The credit for that goes straight to the coaching staff, which has instilled toughness, confidence and team chemistry in a once fragile program. The players have bought in and it is resfreshing to watch.
About 9 months ago, in the midst of an incredibly frustrating and disappointing season, I wrote an article entitled "NC State Basketball is Dead." The title was harsh, but the point was that State had not only lost its commitment to winning, but that State basketball no longer had any significance. One amazing comeback victory does not make State a contender again, and two games in the Legends Classic exposed some of State's weaknesses. However, the takeaway from this event is that NC State is no longer a program that rolls over and quits when the going gets tough.
Only time will tell whether State basketball is on its way back to what it once was, but for one night at least, it felt like the magic was back.
