God Hates Us, Vol. 2

Lorenzo Brown appears to have failed to qualify for the 2009 season and instead will prep next season.

First Nate; now this. It's been a helluva summer thus far. There's no official word on the matter as of yet, but those in the know have confirmed that what initially looked like a simple matter of an incomplete class that could be made up in summer school has manifested itself into a full-blown failure-to-qualify.

Looking for a silver lining? Brown and point guard wunderkind Ryan Harrow will now likely enter school together, allowing Brown the option to begin his career at his more natural two-guard position versus having to play the "savior" role at point in '09-'10.

But can Sidney last to 2010 with another season of guard play like he saw in '08-'09? I think the chances of him getting fired in the coming year are slim because I think the team -- with or without Brown -- will perform as a more cohesive unit next year. But should State finishe in the bottom fourth of the league again, he may never get to coach either of his elite guard prospects.

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Big Ben Posts Big Numbers In Summer League Debut

Ben McCauley scores 24 and grabs 15 boards in helping the Lakers' summer league squad post an 85-84 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Ben got off to a hot start, scoring eight of his team's first ten points. More impressively, Ben hit some long jumpers, including a nice 21-footer with less than two minutes to go to put LA up 83-81 to essentially seal the deal:


His performance overshadowed the performance of Adam Morrison, trying to regain the form that made him a star in college. Morrison also scored 24, but Ben was the big surprise.

You have to wonder, though, if Ben was taking a jab at the State coaching staff in his post-game comments:

"I was playing (center) in college, and all I did was go block to block," said McCauley, who played four seasons for the Wolfpack. "Nobody knew I had the skills to do these other things."

Hmm...nobody, eh?

Whether he meant it as a subtle dig at Lowe and Co. or not, here's wishing the best for Ben and the other State alums (Costner, Fells and Hodge) trying to play their way onto an NBA squad. For Ben it's so far, so good.

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850 The Buzz Interviews Julius Hodge

Da Jules From Harlem On A Somewhat Long And Winding Road To Stardom* was interviewed this week by the folks at 850 The Buzz and aired this morning.

Click here to listen to all the Hodge-y goodness.


*I totally stole that from Steven at BackingThePack.com. Visit his new site to repay him the favor.

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Darren Murph at Engadget.com :hearts State

In a story that's already been posted several times elsewhere, you gotta love the title to Engadget's blog post about robotic bats developed at State:

"NC State gurus build remote control bats, freak out Dukies and Tar Holes"

How cool is that? Not too often you see State's two biggest rivals referred to as "Dukies" and "Tar Holes" on a national blog. Nice.

The author of the post, Darren Murph, also had this to say in a previous N.C. State-related post:

If NC State's athletic branches had even half the aptitude as its medical researchers, maybe then those blue boys down the road wouldn't have so much right to bang us up. Personal beefs aside, we're simultaneously stoked and amazed by a new machine crafted down in Raleigh, one that enables scientists to keep a heart pumping even after it has been removed from the body...

Keep up the good work, Darren. We appreciate it!

The story about the robotic bats is pretty cool, as well...you should check it out, either at Engadget or on State's own website.

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For Those Wondering Where The Irving Post Is...

This is where I've been all week:



I hope you (*cough* David *cough*) will forgive me.

'Course, I didn't plan on our star linebacker pegging a tree at 5:00 a.m. the first night I was down here, either.

I'll be back at the start of next week, hopefully in time to write the piece on Russell Wilson's season-ending injury that's sure to happen.

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