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Scouting the Competition: Cincinnati Bearcats

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10 years ago

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On Tuesday night NC State will travel to Cincinnati to face off against the Bearcats. Both teams will come in at 1-0, and having played pretty weak first opponents. So what can Pack fans expect in this young team’s first road game? First, let’s take a look at who they’ll be facing.

Player to Watch
Redshirt Senior Sean Kilpatrick returns to the Bearcats where a season ago he averaged 17ppg in 34.4 minutes. He’s a NBA hopeful, standing  at 6’4 and weighing in at 210lbs. A good sized guard who can attack the basket and can score from deep. Last season he  hit 82 3s, but only shot 30.7%. This year he’s going to be relied on even more as the Bearcats look to replace their next top 2 scorers from a year ago.

Style of Play
It will be interesting to see how Cincy attacks NC State. I’m sure they’re looking at the roster and salivating at the inexperienced backcourt that State puts out there, but in reality that’s where the Pack is the strongest. Mick Cronin, Cincy’s head coach, loves to play uptempo and will probably keep full court pressure on the Pack until they prove they can handle it. With Lewis, Barber and Lee all showing they can handle, I think State is going to be able to handle it fine. The only worry is that the Bearcats have pretty good length at the guard position and might be able to cause a few turnovers in the press.

How State can beat them…
Over the last few years it’s been the teams that have slowed down Cincinnati that have had the most success. This team loves to play helter-skeltor and wants the game to be as sloppy as possible. They’re physical, but they’re also not very disciplined and not very skilled overall. If the Wolfpack can really handle the press and slow down the Bearcats they’ll find it a lot easier on themselves. That being said, I don’t think Tyler Lewis and company would mind playing uptempo either. If they can beat the Bearcat press, then it might be off to the races where State excels.

How State could lose…
This on is pretty simple. If the young backcourt can’t handle the pressure or if the bigs just get out physicalled. I really think the true problem could be the latter. State hasn’t faced a team of real men yet and it’s going to be interesting to see how Washington and Freeman match up down low. It would be nice to have Vandy back for this one, but the Aussie is still out with a high ankle sprain. I think body-wise, Freeman could match some of the Cincy bigs, but the Wolfpack just is so young and inexperienced. If Cincy goes right at the State bigs, these guys could be in trouble.

Other players to watch:
Cincy isn’t just Kilpatrick. He’s the star, but Titus Rubles and Jermaine Sanders (both forwards) have shown the ability to score as well. They have a front line of 6’7, 6’7, 6’8 and they bring Sanders off the bench at 6’5. It will be touch and go for Gottfried on whether he wants to go big to defend their size, or he wants to go small to beat their pressure and get the quickness advantage. That is something to watch out for…

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Remember, game time is at 5pm because the game is in Cincy. Make sure to get off of work a little early and tune into ESPN for this one.

 

 

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NC State Basketball

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

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14 hours 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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1 day 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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NC State Basketball

NC State’s DJ Horne Named to Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team

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2 days ago

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April 21, 2024

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NC State’s DJ Horne played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

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In 3 games, Horne averaged 14.3 points, shooting 41.5% from the field, and 30% from three.

Horne’s Portsmouth Partnership team made it to the finals, but lost to Jani-King 68-75.

The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual pre-draft camp that has been showcasing College Seniors to professional scouts since 1953.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Has Shown Interest in Utah Guard Transfer Deivon Smith

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3 days ago

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April 20, 2024

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NC State has reached out to Utah Transfer Guard Deivon Smith (6’0″/173).

Smith filled up the stat sheet every game this year, averaging 13.3 points, 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.8% from three for Utah. He earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention this season. Smith had 8 double-doubles and 1 triple-double this year.

Wherever Smith lands, this will be his 4th college. He started at Mississippi St., starting in 8 of the 33 games he played in, averaging 22.5 minutes per game. Smith went on to spend his next two seasons at Georgia Tech. Year 1 in Atlanta, Smith started in 5 of the 24 games he played in, averaging 19.7 minutes per game. In Year 2, he carved out more of a role, starting in 13 of the 24 games he played in for the Yellow Jackets, averaging a career high 24.8 minutes per game.

At Utah this year, Smith broke out and had a career year in every possible way.

NC State is familiar with Smith, offering him back when he was a 4-Star prospect out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Rivals ranked Smith as the #53 overall player nationally in the 2020 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him as the #5 player in the state of Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #11 Point Guard in his class.

 

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