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NC State Basketball

Wolfpack Fold, #8 Irish Refuse to Lose in OT

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9 years ago

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NC State as clicking on all cylinders once again. They were up nearly 20 once again, and they folded up once again as Notre Dame stormed back from a 18 point deficit to beat the Wolfpack 81-78 in OT. 

Early on it was the Wolfpack who looked like a top 10 team in the country. They were scoring from everywhere. They were hitting jumpers, Abu was scoring every time he touched it inside. Cody Martin was locking down on defense and driving to the basket for buckets. Lacey and Turner weren’t even being utilized as scorers in the early going. Lacey racked up 5 assists pretty quickly as Cat Barber was benched to start the game. But all of that was short lived….

Soon after, Abu picked up his 2nd foul and was sent to the bench. This is when State changed. They went back to a team searching out the jumper. Ralston Turner took contested 3 after contested 3 and Trevor Lacey was forcing everything he could. The Irish did a good job of not allowing those guy to get clean looks but State kept taking them. As the tides began to change as the first half came to a close, Jerian Grant started to come alive, driving to the basket and finishing or dishing out to Connaughton or Jackson for 3. At the half, the 18 point lead had become 12 and the momentum seemed to have shifted.

The second half was much of the same. State struggled to get anything other than jumpers and the Irish closed off any 2nd chances by owning the boards. State stayed with the lead most of the 2nd half. The margin stayed thin and the Pack was even up 5 with 1:16 left to play.

After a Grant FT, instead of going inside and trying to get to the line, they took a Cody Martin jumper and missed. Jackson came down for the Irish and hit a layup. Making it a 2 point game.

This is where things got weird. With 16 seconds to play and up 2. NC State simply had to inbound the ball. ND would foul and they would have to ice it at the line. They had a group of guards in. Ralston Turner (88% from the line), Trevor Lacey (75% from the line) and Cat Barber (70% from the line.). Instead of taking their chances at the line, Martin breaks deep and Lacy throws a high arching full court pass that Martin has to go up and fight for. Of course, it goes off of him out of bounds and the Irish get the ball and a chance to tie with 16 seconds left.

And then it happens. The usual ‘State on defense final possession.’ They defend as hard as they can, they shut off all good shots. When the Irish finally do get one off its with only 6 seconds left, they miss, they tip it up, no good, they tip it again….and it falls in. We go to OT.

Overtime was much more of the same. Abu had fouled out so State was one dimensional again and after taking an early lead, the Irish came back took the lead and ended up winning by 3 when Lacey couldn’t get a buzzer beater to fall.

 

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wormncsu
wormncsu
9 years ago

I was at the game and believe me it was heartbreaking to watch. The inbound pass by Lacey still leaves me scratching my head. This team the last few games has built nice leads in the first half of games only to come out in the second half and look like a completely different team. But I think we all need to take a step back and think to before the season started. Did any of us think they would be this competitive with a roster of freshmen and sophomores. I have been a fan and keep up with this… Read more »

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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5 hours ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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1 day ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

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2 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.

Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.

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NC State Basketball

What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

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2 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.

It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!

2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.

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