Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Gottfried jumps into the Karl Hess officiating fray

N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried won't make any friends among basketball officials or ACC higher-ups with his comments at a student rally prior to the N.C. State-UNC basketball game tonight, but he certainly has made some among the Wolfpack faithful.

Gottfried had played it fairly straight in the aftermath of former N.C. State stars Chris Corchiani and Tom Gugliotta getting thrown out of their seats Saturday for protesting calls as the Wolfpack got hammered by Florida State.

But then Gottfried got taped, apparently by a student, saying this about official Karl Hess's decision and the ACC's reprimand of Hess for not following the correct protocol:

"I think it was weak. It was bad and I thought the official was completely out of line 100 percent. I'm disappointed, quite frankly, in the ACC, because not only did he throw out two of N.C. State's greats, he threw out two of the ACC's greats, and the league is supporting an official rather than supporting former great players.

"The former great players, in my opinion, were embarrassed and wronged when they shouldn't have been. I don't think you can have rabbit ears like that if you're a referee and start throwing people out. I was disappointed in the whole thing. So they gave a reprimand tonight to the official, but it was pretty weak in my opinion."


The ACC did reprimand Hess on Monday night for his failure to follow the proper protocol in ejecting fans, but that was about it. Hess also wrote in an email that Corchiani and Gugliotta were ejected for "excessive demonstration on several calls as they came right up to the scorer’s table."

Meanwhile, N.C. State AD Deborah Yow has seized upon this moment to the utmost, effectively meaning the run-up to the UNC-NCSU game has been about this moment and not the fact N.C. State has lost two huge games in the past five days. It's a wise decision by Yow, and Gottfried would be well-advised to let her handle this from now on.

So now Corchiani and Gugliotta will be honored, with the 1988-89 N.C. State team before tonight's game against the Tar Heels. Think that will throw the crowd into a frenzy? You're right. If there was ever a night where the crowd in Raleigh will be primed for an upset, this is it.

As for tonight's officials, I feel a little sorry for them. They'll get the blowback from the Hess incident big-time. I hope that the game itself is clean and well-played, because the night also has the potential to turn ugly with this much emotion seething on all sides.

69 comments:

Bill said...

NC State's whining about this incident is tiresome. They make it sound like the great crime of the century. Get over it, it's a basketball game.

Hoping they get their rear ends handed to them.

Anonymous said...

This Wolfpack team getting honored tonight got HAMMERED by Maryland in the ACC Tourney...NC State has NOT had a GREAT basketball Team since the early 80's...Just sad.

Anonymous said...

Who cares?

Anonymous said...

Scott, I know you read the comments so I want you to answer this question: Do you think Hess would ever ever ever eject former Tar Heel or Duke players from Cameron or the Dean Dome under similar circumstances?

Kickurpuppytoday! said...

And has been the norm for the last 15 years, the crowd will all be thinking about class and what to have for lunch tomorrow after the first 5 minutes are played.

NCSU is not a threat in any way to UNC. They have no shot, literaly.

Anonymous said...

UNC 79 NCSU 61

Anonymous said...

This would NOT happen to UNC or Dook, b/c they actually matter to what goes on in college basketball. NC State has been and will continue to be the 3rd wheel in the state...look no further than the coaching staff...3 former UNCC coaches...really? What a joke! Lol...

Anonymous said...

Hey moron about us getting hammered. This team being honored won the ACC Championship. PS, all of you know the same would have never happened to any former player at UNC or DUKE.

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't happen at Carolina or Duke because the former players have enough class to not be engaging with the officials. Like it or not, a former player sitting immediately behind the scorer's table berating the official in a demonstrative manner is going to draw attention. That said, even these State guys shouldn't have been kicked out.

Anonymous said...

Just think what kind of crowd reaction Hess will get at his next game. I am a Tar Heel fan 100%, but I think Hess was wrong. Years ago I was a referee for high school games and of course you hear all kind of things from the fans but you just ignore them. I only had one fan removed from a game but it was because he was threatening to get physical.

Anonymous said...

It's what happens when a rat feels cornered. They get nervous and start showing their true colors.

Fact is - most on here are right. State bball in comparison to UNC and Duke hasn't been much to cheer about. State simply hasn't had the fire power to match the 12 McDonalds AA on UNC/Duke's teams.

Fact also is - next year 4 All Americans will be on an NC State team (assuming Leslie doesn't jump). 3 players ranked higher than anyone UNC or Duke is bringing to the table w the exception of Paige at UNC.

Have your checks all dried up? Get it in now...things are changing. You wil get your wish about NC State being relevant again - then we will see who starts crying.

Anonymous said...

UNC vs. NC State 145-75 (all time wins). It would take NCSU 35 years beating us 2x per year to get even in the win column vesus UNC, and we know that AIN'T gonna happen since next year the teams will only play 1 time per year unless they meet in a tourney. It's NOT a rivalry game to UNC. We have 1 rival in college basketball and it AIN'T NC State. Lol...

Anonymous said...

State will still be crying. The only difference if they're good is they'll get to start whining about how little respect they get, plus the bonus of showing what poor winners they can be, too (see Chuck Amato). But you don't even have to worry about that either, cause it'll be UNC's fault, I just know it! Man, it's great to be a State fan: noble from having the whole world hate you, unaccountable for anything you say or do because of all those years of losing. Suffering more than anyone else while bragging about how much better you are than your, ahem, arrogant rivals, how can it get better than that? Heck, you don't even have to face the fact that your arrogance about your noble losers makes you huge hypocrites. Blissful, hate-filled ignorance! Ahhh!!

Anonymous said...

NC State fans...don't get too excited about your 3 McDonald's All Americans...Larry Drew II, David Wear, Travis Wear, Bobby Frasor, Greg Paulus, Josh McRoberts, Taylor King, Lance Thomas were all McDonald's All Americans...By the way, UNC and Duke did not recruit those 3. mIf they would have, they would have landed them before NCSU...

Anonymous said...

UNC 82 NCSUNCC 65

J No said...

"...By the way, UNC and Duke did not recruit those 3. mIf they would have, they would have landed them before NCSU..."

TJ Warren was recruited by UNC. Nice try. Oh, and Purvis was getting heavy interest from Duke.

Better hope we don't land Amile Jefferson, cause Duke is DEF involved with him.

You really, need to learn facts before posting dumb comments.

Anonymous said...

Anon 1:20 said, "Wouldn't happen at Carolina or Duke because the former players have enough class to not be engaging with the officials."

Before you get comfortable atop that high horse, ask Matt Dougherty about Jackie Manuel's mother.

As for Godfried, he's trying to pull a Tom O'Brien. Not a bad idea, but he doesn't have the firepower on this squad to pull it off.

And Hess? Moron. If it's one thing I can't stand, it's an official who thinks people pay money to see him. Hess, quit being such a bawling baby and ref the game.

Anonymous said...

Just because you are a former "great" player doesn't give you the right ride the ref all night and act like a total a hole.

They must have been asking for it, or this would have never happened.

I applaud the ref for putting his foot down with these two a holes.

Anonymous said...

All you Duke and UNC fans are just so almighty and powerful. You guys are sooooo amazing if someone hasn't told you yet.

Imagine if MJ went back to a carolina game and got kicked out. Or imagine if Christian Laettner went to a duke game and got kicked out. Don't tell me you'd be pissed off and want an explanation.

Anonymous said...

You Hole fans are an insufferable bunch. Your arrogance knows no bounds and most likely you have never stepped foot on a college campus. Don't ever wonder why the rest of the world is ABC. Maybe UNC-CHEAT and Dook should form a two team conference and play each other every game. They could play on the newly formed ESPN-HYPE channel and Dickie V. will call each game.

Anonymous said...

NC State's basketball program is a complete joke! They will lose a third game in a row, and headed to the NIT...Lol...Pre-party is at the Golden Corral

Anonymous said...

John Henson OWNS C.J. Leslie...what a tool

Anonymous said...

To all UNC fans who claim that NC State is not your rival--it's funny that you have all taken the time to read an article about a team you supposedly don't care about and then comment on it. Either NC State IS your rival, or you are just as arrogant and mean-spirited as NC State fans say you are.

Anonymous said...

Beating NC State 17 out of the last 18 times or 145-75 makes them NOT a rival in basketball. I graduated from UNC in 1998 by the way.

Anonymous said...

Pig farmers are taking the day off, cleaning up and putting on their best carharrt's.....going to a pre game meal at the golden corral, then heding over to the rbc center to watch their pathetic basketball team get murked...lol...

Anonymous said...

I love the UNC fans that chanted "not our rival" nc state the last time and then proceeded to lose against their rival of duke....5 out of the last 6 times. hahaha

they like to taunt and kick down the team that is down, but then can't compete with their rival when they have more talent.

nc state is getting better, better beat them tonight unc cause it won't get easier. you are expected to win.

Anonymous said...

Having heard from a fan at the game and sitting behind Corch, I believe Hess should be suspended for the rest of the year. There was no cursing, just loud accurate statements of disapproval of an official that hasn't been doing a good job this year. And no wonder. It turns out he is worked to death while other more qualified officials wait for opportunities to work.

Anonymous said...

Don't worry UNC will win by at least 10 tonight, and Duke is coming up next Saturday...UNC wins by at least if not more than 10 against Duke.

Anonymous said...

I'm no State fan, or Gilbert Gottfried fan either, but his comments are right on the mark. If this were Dook or Carolina, there would be heads.

Anonymous said...

Coach Roy would get away slapping an ACC official based on his teflon-coated track record. Coach K as well. I'm behind Coach G. on this one, there's bias towards the Duke-UNC contingent on anything ACC-basketball. Always been that way, and the CO sees fit in holding up that tradition any way it can.

Anonymous said...

NCSU is the 3rd wheel in this state. It is the "Tar Heel" with a Carolina Blue sky today....Lol...This would not happen to UNC or DOOK, b/c they actually matter.

Anonymous said...

NCSU needs to move to the SEC next year where they can actually be the 2nd or 3rd best team in the conference.

Anonymous said...

It's easy to spot comments left by UNC fans. They're riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings.

Anonymous said...

UNC 85 NCSU 65

Anonymous said...

NC States basketball program is not much better than UNCC's.....lol

Anonymous said...

The N.C. State did not "jump into the fray". He was asked to comment and, forgetting that EVERYTHING nowadays is recorded and posted on you tube by some idiot, he told the truth as he sees it. Don't ever believe the Observer has no agenda to promote everything Tar Heel and denigrate all others, because they do have such an agenda. Don't know if Hess would toss a former Tar Heel at the Deandome or not, but I can bet my house and lot that if that happened, the former Tar Heel who runs the ACC would give him more than a reprimand.

Anonymous said...

THIS!

Anonymous said...
It's easy to spot comments left by UNC fans. They're riddled with grammatical errors and misspellings.
February 21, 2012 3:20 PM

Most factual comment on here. Loved the one about "State fans HEDING to Golden Coral." Really dude?

UNC college bball fan =Lakers all time NBA fan = Cowboys super fan, blah blah blah - "I only pull for the best" arrogance boosters for an already inflated ego.

Anonymous said...

NCSU will get into foul trouble early again, and UNC wins as usual.

Anonymous said...

There is an awful lot of chest thumping going on by fans of a tarheel team that has already been defeated 4 tmes this season....statistics that definitely prove that UNC-CH is not the invincible team that you desparately want them to be. Might want to save face and curb the arrogance....for I suspect there may not be enough people in the state of North Carolina familiar enough with the Heimlich maneuver to save the massive number of baby blue fans that could very possibly end up choking on their egotistical prophecies later this evening!!

Anonymous said...

Is NC State one of the teams that beat UNC? Didn't think so...last time I checked UNC has beat them 17 out of the last 18, and this included the BEATDOWN this year...another one coming tonight! Holla!!

Anonymous said...

Anonymous @ 1:15 said...
Hey moron about us getting hammered. This team being honored won the ACC Championship. PS, all of you know the same would have never happened to any former player at UNC or DUKE.

Sorry bud, their 88-89 reg season title was soiled by the shellacking my last-placed, 1-13 Terps laid on them in the first round of the ACC tourney. They did get to the Sweet 16 after that, so I suppose it must have woken their behinds up.

Anonymous said...

Love the comment about how UNC has already been defeated 4 times this year, like that is an embarassment. State normally has that by the end of December...

Anonymous said...

N.C. State is the premier school in the ACC, both athletically and academically. State's upcoming freshman class pretty much as SAT scores on par with Duke. I know for a fact that people are waiting with more anxiety for NCSU acceptance letters than UNC, particularly because of UNC's weak liberal arts - comparatively speaking. It's equally obvious that State has the best athletic department in the conference when considering (for a minute) what Debbie Yow is putting together. Gottfried will surely overtake Coach K and Roy as he is so much younger and has, it seems, gotten his drinking (and perhaps driving) under control. One should also remain mindful of O'Brien's recruiting class this year. Though it's probably the 8th or 9th best class in the league, we stole tons of players LSU and FSU wanted. Trust me on this. We own UNC and Duke. Going back to basketball and school, if you want to know who started the sport in this region, look no further than the Wolfpack. We set the standard (1974 and 1983,baby!). If Valvano hadn't had cancer, we'd have like 7 or 8 more titles. Moreover, Valvano was rumored to become chancellor and would have solidified our hopes of catching Harvard or London School of Economics as the best university in the world. Go PACK. Remember Kenny Inge. Remember Jeremy Hyatt. Remember that NCSU will always reign supreme.

Anonymous said...

anon 5:05

Not to make excuses for my Wolfpack (ok maybe I am), but State's final regular season game was a quadruple-overtime victory. Your Terps definitely had fresher legs.

But anyway...

Anonymous said...

N.C. State is the premier school in the ACC, both athletically and academically. State's upcoming freshman class pretty much as SAT scores on par with Duke. I know for a fact that people are waiting with more anxiety for NCSU acceptance letters than UNC, particularly because of UNC's weak liberal arts - comparatively speaking. It's equally obvious that State has the best athletic department in the conference when considering (for a minute) what Debbie Yow is putting together. Gottfried will surely overtake Coach K and Roy as he is so much younger and has, it seems, gotten his drinking (and perhaps driving) under control. One should also remain mindful of O'Brien's recruiting class this year. Though it's probably the 8th or 9th best class in the league, we stole tons of players LSU and FSU wanted. Trust me on this. We own UNC and Duke. Going back to basketball and school, if you want to know who started the sport in this region, look no further than the Wolfpack. We set the standard (1974 and 1983,baby!). If Valvano hadn't had cancer, we'd have like 7 or 8 more titles. Moreover, Valvano was rumored to become chancellor and would have solidified our hopes of catching Harvard or London School of Economics as the best university in the world. Go PACK. Remember Kenny Inge. Remember Jeremy Hyatt. Remember that NCSU will always reign supreme.

Anonymous said...

1989 Tournament -
1 seed NCSU - 43
8 seed Maryland - 71

Those must have been some REALLY dead legs, man.

ACC champ is the tournament winner, so maybe YOU should check your facts before posting. Of course, I'm just being an arrogant UNC fan by letting the facts get in the way of your happy memories...

Anonymous said...

To anonymous @ 4:40 pm......Not yet...but would not be surprised if that record were to shift to 17 out of 19 by morning....I think the game could easily go either way. I'm only calling out the rampant baby blue arrogance which is the primary reason for the "ABC" mentality with all other schools in the ACC. And don't throw the jealousy word out there...trust me, there is no jealousy....it's just that there is nothing funnier than watching arrogance take a little hit of humility!

Anonymous said...

State isn't the best school in the ACC as far as academics. It's probably more like 2nd or 3rd. Still, I agree State is on the rise.

Anonymous said...

who cares about school? State is a great school. We all know. What matters tonight are the players and we have just as good players as UNCHEAT. Carolina sucks. Tar Holes leave Raleigh crying tonight. GO PACK!!!!!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah, and the quadruple overtime win was against 7 seed Wake Forest. Impressive.

Anonymous said...

"ACC champ is the tournament winner, so maybe YOU should check your facts before posting."

You DO realize not every comment by "Anonymous #:##" is from the same person, right?

Anonymous said...

Pretty sad that the best team you can find to "honor" didn't make it past the round of 16. A team like that at UNC is soon forgotten.

Anonymous said...

Any UNC fan who lumps the entire NCSU fanbase together as "rednecks" has obviously never heard your average UNC fan call into WFNZ.

Anonymous said...

"Pretty sad that the best team you can find to "honor" didn't make it past the round of 16. A team like that at UNC is soon forgotten."

Yeah, Debbie Yow was clearly trying to find the best possible team to honor. She didn't realize State won a couple championships so she went with the best team she could find. It clearly had NOTHING to do with Gugliotta and Corchiani being on that team, and also both being kicked out of the FSU game 3 days ago. You're smart.

Anonymous said...

Love all the references to UNC-Cheat by State fans. Classic. Oh, I forgot - all of State's troubles with the NCAA were Dean Smith's fault. LOL.

And State being the 2nd or 3rd best school in the ACC? I think Va. Tech, Georgia Tech, UNC, Duke, Wake Forest and possibly even Maryland and Clemson would beg to differ. State is a fine school, but let's get real.

Anonymous said...

UNC-CHEAT is only good at basketball because of dean smith. Valvano owned dean. Gottfried will soon own Roy.

Anonymous said...

UNC-CHEAT is only good at basketball because of dean smith. Valvano owned dean. Gottfried will soon own Roy.

Anonymous said...

State had their own NCAA issues in the 80s, even though Valvano was never found guilty of a single major violation.

But hey, leave it to UNC fans to bring up stuff from 25 years ago to deflect from the FACT that their own program is STILL under NCAA investigation for their 8-5 Moral Victory National Championship football program.

Anonymous said...

If you really think about it, there's no debate. STATE will return to glory. Unc-cheat is crap and always will be. Corch and Googs will be cheering us to victory!!!!

Anonymous said...

If the officials are going to toss fans for arguing calls, I guess they will have to clear the entire arenas when the fans all yell Bull #### in unisome.

It was an egotistical ref who wanted to show off.

Anonymous said...

Who's trying to deflect? UNC broke the rules, got caught and will get whatever they get for punishment. I'm just laughing at the hypocrisy of the State fans. Has nothing to do with what either school did or didn't do. UNC is now UNC-CHEAT while you defend State with technicalities like "Valvano was never found guilty of a single major violation". Neither was Butch Davis, but they both got fired and UNC and State both broke the rules. The whole "your cheating was worse than our cheating" is what I find hilarious. It happens everywhere, but so many State fans blame UNC for the trouble in the 70's and make excuses like you did for the mess that they became in the 80's. Own it - it happened and is over. UNC let their football program become a mess and now they will have to deal with the repercussions.

As for the 8-5 MVNC, just remember Phillip Rivers/Chuck Amato. Every year they were supposed to be so great but never finished better than fourth in the ACC. Face it - both schools suck at football no matter how much State wants to think otherwise. Congrats - you own UNC in football. You are officially the tallest little person.

Anonymous said...

Roy Williams' son, Scott, a former player, was thrown out of a dook game by Larry Rose in 2005...Surprised this hasn't been brought up yet...

Anonymous said...

Yeah - V just owned Dean. 7-18 head to head. Again, don't let real life get in the way of your rosy Valvano memories. Look, he was a good, not great coach. He had a fantastic run in 82 with a team of veteran leaders that Norm Sloan recruited. Then he had a pretty good run for a few years, ran afoul of the NCAA and got canned. By all accounts a great guy and a damn shame he left us so early, but now he is like some sort of coaching god. Norm Sloan was 10x the coach he was, but all you ever hear from State fans is V, V, V...

Anonymous said...

82 huh? I thought one of the few things even the dumbest UNC fans knew was who won the 1982 NCAA Tournament.

Anonymous said...

Congrats - you can spot typos. Too bad the rest is lost on you...

Anonymous said...

I'm not the one who claimed V owned Dean either

Anonymous said...

Yeah NCSU has McD's AllStars coming in next year. All three are named Lorenzo.

Anonymous said...

NC State is HORRIBLE.

Anonymous said...

State lost tonight but they're not going to get worse next year, only better. Losing CJ Williams but gaining 3-4 quality freshmen. UNC on the other hand will most likely lose 3 of their top players to the NBA. The Wolfpack are on the rise, don't sleep.