Diary Series: Bobby Lutz, Asst. Coach - NC State

As I write this, we are 5-3 and coming off a couple of tough losses to talented teams in Indiana and Stanford.  Each made big plays and hit their shots down the stretch. So many games are decided in the final minutes and Coach Gottfried continues to stress poise and execution at both ends during those critical moments.  Obviously, the more competitive the game and better the opponent, the more likely the game will be close. 

As a coaching staff, we stress to our team to value every possession throughout the game.  The truly great teams do not face as many late game crucial moments because they have stretched the lead out by being consistent for 40 minutes.  While this seems obvious, it is not easy to get players and teams to truly understand how to value every single possession throughout the entire game.  Coach Gottfried does a great job of making our practices reflect this belief in that every drill and scrimmage situation is coached to the fullest degree by our staff. When players seem to take a possession or drill the least bit for granted, we quickly point out the correct way to play.  We have already shortened our practices but increased the intensity to maintain the focus we want our players to have.

December is an interesting month for coaches and players because you’re trying to find the balance between academics and games.  For every team, exam time inevitably brings periods with very few games often followed by several games in quick succession once exams are done and just before Christmas. 

It is not the best way to develop your team in a purely basketball sense, but serves as a reminder to us as coaches to why we have brought these young men on campus to be students and to get an education. The exam week allows for rest, rehab and recovery for injured players and also provides coaches longer periods to focus on your team rather than the opponent. It can be a key time to sharpen the team’s execution regardless of the opponent. 

Once in January, every team is playing twice per week and there is less time to concentrate solely on your team due to preparing for the next opponent.  Coaches attack this differently, as some always focus exclusively on what they do rather than the opponent.  Others spend substantially more time on game preparation while still obviously continuing to develop their own team’s strengths.  I have always felt that the better your team, the less for your need to prepare for the opponent. In contrast, if you are not as talented as most teams in your league, I like taking away some of the key things the opponent does well.  My theory has been based on my belief that other guys can coach and if they have better talent, we better do something within our system to negate the talent differential.  The important component to that approach is that you have to stay within what is your style of play as change for the sake of change is no good.  Neither is trying to coach a style that you do not truly believe in.  Coaching is an art and not a science.

The early recruiting period is over and we are very pleased with signing three in-state seniors. Our class was ranked second nationally by ESPN.com. The state of North Carolina always has excellent players and we wanted to make the state a huge priority immediately as well as for the future.  The beauty of being at NC State is you can recruit nationally due to the program’s rich tradition and playing in the ACC.

It's been nice for Coach Gottfried to make a statement in his first year to sign some of the best players nationally, who happen to be from North Carolina and picked to play for the Wolfpack. Tyler Lewis, Rodney Purvis and TJ Warren will be impact players for us in the future.  Their belief in Coach Gottfried to return State to glory is a huge plus as we continue to focus on this season and building a foundation with our current players. Despite the attempts of other coaches telling them why they should not come to Raleigh (including some pretty negative recruiting), they want to be the first full recruiting class to join us. Recruiting is non-stop for us and makes the season extremely busy since practice and game preparation with our current team is priority one.

Look forward to an update after the holidays.  Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

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