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State Needs the ‘Real’ Tyler Lewis Back

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There’s no denying that Tyler Lewis has really struggled since being moved out of the starting line-up. He’s lost his confidence and has since seen his minutes nearly disappear (Less than 10 minutes in 3 of the last 4 games). However, I don’t think all is lost with this kid. He’s too talented, has too unique of a skill set to go to waste. Mark Gottfried needs to step in and do something here. He needs Tyler Lewis if he’s going to be successful during ACC play, but he needs him confident and with an understanding that he’s a major part of this basketball team.

 

I think the Lewis situation has been a bit mismanaged by the staff up to this point. Here is a kid who stuck with the program, came in as the starting PG and leader of this team. He now manages only 5 minutes per game.
On the other hand, Cat Barber has been magnificent. He certainly deserves to be starting and playing the majority of the minutes at point, and I don’t disagree with the notion that he should be the #1 guy, getting big-time minutes. The fact is, Barber is still a freshman and over the past two games the Wolfpack has gotten out to big leads and then fallen apart late. They lost this way to Missouri and nearly fell to the same fate at UNCG. Barber is still learning this part of the game. He’s a great scorer who plays with elite speed and quickness, but there are times when he still looks like a freshman. He can start playing too fast, settling for poor shots and really getting away from what got them the big lead in the first place. This is where I think Tyler can still be a huge asset for the Pack.

Lewis could and should still be a huge part of this basketball team. He is (was?) definitely the more heady PG. He knows (knew?) how to control flow and how to read the situation. The problem is now that Lewis has gotten away from what made him special. He’s struggling with his confidence and his insecurities have led him to try to alter his game. We know he wants to show that he can score to keep up with Barber, but that’s a losing battle. Barber was built to score. He’s a great defender and quicker than anyone on this team.  Lewis is a game manager and a facilitator. He also can be a very good leader when he’s on his game. If he wants to get back on the floor for NC State and if he wants to find success at a level beyond college, then he needs to embrace these strengths and use them to his advantage.

I don’t think Tyler getting back to basics is all on him. I think Gottfried and this staff need to make it their job to get him back to being himself. I think it begins off the floor. I don’t know how it’s being handled, but the staff needs to give Lewis a boost. They need to remind him of who he was and what made him special. They need to let him know that if he gets back to that then he’ll have a much bigger role on this team. On the floor, they need to utilize him a little more. This is a game of ebbs and flows. When State goes in a little funk, change the pace with Lewis.

Tyler could have a been a late game savior against Missouri and he could have righted the ship against UNCG. In both cases Barber had a streak of freshman moments. He wasn’t playing as if the team was up 10 or 15, he was forcing the issue a little too much, and the Wolfpack got out of rhythm. Over the past two games Barber has shot 6-25 from the field. To his credit, he has gotten to the line a lot, but a lot of that is from just going one on one and taking it at the rim, regardless of situation or scenario. These games would have been great situations for Lewis to earn back some minutes and show that he can be trusted to secure a lead and manage a game that has gotten out of hand or sloppy. For that to happen, Lewis needs to get back to his game and Gottfried needs to see that Lewis’ confidence is restored.

At the end of the day, Barber is a superstar for the Pack and he’s a future NBA PG. Barber is State’s 2nd best scoring option with the basketball and certainly has a been a big reason why the Wolfpack has been successful during this 10 game stretch, but that doesn’t mean that there’s no spot left here for Lewis. If he can accept his role and play his game, he could be emerge as a leader and a guy that Gottfried trusts with the ball late in games if Barber is faltering.

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Middlebrooks, Taylor & Huntley-Hatfield After NC State’s Win Over Presbyterian

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After NC State’s 81-72 win over Presbyterian tonight, we were able to get interviews with Ben Middlebrooks, Jayden Taylor and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield.













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WATCH: Kevin Keatts’ Postgame Press Conference After NC State’s Win Over Presbyterian (with transcript)

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NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after the Wolfpack’s 81-72 win over Presbyterian tonight. You can watch the video ABOVE, and read the transcript BELOW.

Give Presbyterian a lot of credit, man. They were really scrappy. And we knew they’re coming in.

He’s done a really good job with his team, been there six years. I even went back last year and watched him go to Vanderbilt and win. So they did a good job.

And when you look at it, man, I tell you what, (Kory) Mincy was really good. We threw a little bit of everything at him. He scored in every way, 28 points.

But I thought we did some really good things. This team right now, we’re really passing the ball. You look at our assists, and it’s pretty good.

We had 18 tonight on 31 main field goals. We had 12 steals. And so we’re getting everything that we want out of it.

We’re gonna continue to build. I like where we’re at in game number two. And I just wanna keep building on it.

But I thought we did some good things. You look at JT (Jayden Taylor), it was good for him to score the basketball. He had a career high in steals in five.

Now, we gotta talk about his five turnovers. We’ll have a conversation about that. But I thought they were really good.

I thought both Brandon (Huntley-Hatfield) and Ben (Middlebrooks) complimented each other. You look at it, and I didn’t plan this out, but both were around 20 minutes a game. And you look at it, 11 points, and then what did Ben have, 16.

And I thought both of them were really good. One was good in the first half, I thought Ben was good in the second half.

As far as Ben’s play, you talked about the last game after the practice that he had. What do you see from him being able to score the basketball?

He’s an energy guy. And when he doesn’t play with energy, I think he’s just okay sometimes. But when he plays with energy, he’s really good.

Brandon’s probably a little bit more skilled. Even though, just so you know, Ben’s 100% from the three-point line, just so you know that. But I thought he did a great job.

We talked about it all week, denying the reversals from the top of the key. And I thought he did a really good job. But I know what he did for us in the second half.

Does he have the green light in front of him?

Right now, right now. I mean, it’s hard to deny a guy that’s shooting one for one. He’s 100% on the year, so he does have it right now.

How do you feel about the rebounding effort and how they competed off the glass? 

We do, we try to finish possessions with physical rebounds and so we can get out and run. Once again, the 27 fast break points is pretty good.

So we’re scoring the way we want to score. We’re getting out and we’re playing fast and we’re doing a good job. But we’ve really concentrated on rebounding the ball and getting the ball out to our ball handlers.

And what else can I say about Michael (O’Connell)? Eight assists and one turnover. I mean, pretty good. I mean, he knows how to deliver the basketball.

What was the game plan on fighting through those screens that Presbyterian kept throwing at you all night long?

Give them credit. He does a great job with those screens. And we decided at times to fight through both of them and then switch to the last one, but they do a really good job.

And they’re good at it. They’re very efficient at what they do. They’ll run the shot clock down and then Mincy gets the ball and Mincy goes one-on-one.

And if he’s playing really well, it’s going to be a tough night for you. I thought we did a good job and I say that, but he still had 28 points.

Ben Middlebrooks’ personality

He’s been around college basketball for so long that he sees the ups and downs.

He understands the aspect of it, never taking it, never getting too high, never getting too low. And he understands that what’s important is our team winning. And that’s what we talked about.

So I think he loves to smile. He loves to give you great energy. And if he’s not looking that way, I think something’s wrong with himself.

Jayden Taylor in the preseason game and the first game for a veteran guy, he just didn’t seem like himself, really. Did you take him aside? He looked more aggressive.

Yeah, I pointed to that bench.

You see that right there? It’s like, hey, no, I’m just kidding. No, he didn’t have a good game. He didn’t have the pop in the preseason.

And then now he’s more aggressive. He’s doing things like him and Michael O’Connell. They are really, really good players that played on an ACC championship team.

And we need those guys to be good, and he was really good tonight. But I just, I let him play. Sometimes we, as coaches, you can say too much.

Just let guys get out of it, get them back in the gym. See the ball going home, and they become really good basketball players.

Has there been a point of emphasis for him to kind of attack the rim more?

Yeah, and he settles sometimes.

So we talked about driving the basketball. One of my keys is paint touches. I wanted to play inside out, whether we threw the ball inside to post guys, or we drove the ball, and we got 48 points in the paint.

What do you think about that, when you were doing different rotations, you had seven seniors.

It always helped when you got seven seniors. I like our bunch.

Then what I want everybody to think about is it’s so early. You’re gonna look around college basketball, and I don’t even know anybody’s scores today. There might be some mind-boggling scores, because it takes everyone so long to get going.

My three freshmen are gonna be good, but they were not ready for a team that ran all of that action today. When you play those older guys, they know. They’ve been around basketball.

They understand how to play. And so, guys, we’re in an era of, I got eight new guys, and most teams are new. So you’re gonna see some crazy scores early, some mid-major teams that’s gonna play well, some high majors that don’t.

But it’s better when you got your older guys out there as you’re going through that stuff.

Are you comfortable with where this team is defensively two games into the season?

Well, I like what we’re forcing. I think we had nine steals the other day and 12 tonight.

I think we’re playing at a high level. My biggest thing is when our guys just play hard, and we’ll figure it out. We’re gonna continue to get better, but I do like some good things that we’re doing.

You guys always kind of come back and strike back a little bit. How do you guys feel like you handled that type of pressure?

I thought both Stewart and Mincy were very good.

I know they guys played really, really well. And Mincy, I loved it. I mean, he was active, he was talking trash.

I just thought this team, because they had some veteran guys that’s been around, they didn’t play in the NCAA, but they played postseason last year. They got five guys that know how to play.

I knew they weren’t going to lay down.

When a player is engaging in trash talk like that, how do you kind of keep your guys calm and poised, not engaging back?

Just play. I mean, it’s gonna happen.

Our guys talk trash too a little bit. I was the biggest trash talker when I played too, but there wasn’t a bunch of cameras around. Matter of fact, I don’t even know if there was one camera around.

So you can get away with it, but I just tell our guys to be careful. God bless you guys.

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NC State 81 Presbyterian 72: BY THE NUMBERS

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NC State defeated Presbyterian 81-72 this evening in the Lenovo Center, improving to 2-0. Here’s a look at the game by the numbers.

The Wolfpack shot the ball extremely well tonight, hitting 55.4% from the field, and 36.8% from three. While NC State shot better than Presbyterian, I’m sure Kevin Keatts wasn’t pleased with the way his team played defense. Presbyterian shot 50% from the field and 33% from three.

Shooting the ball better than the other team is obviously the most statistical category that leads to victory.

The 2nd most important statistical factor in winning is winning the turnover battle. NC State turned Presbyterian 15 times, and committed 12 of their own. As a result, the Wolfpack scored 19 points off of turnovers, compared to Presbyterian’s 13.

Coming in 3rd is Offensive Rebounding percentage. 2nd chance points is a key factor in putting a W in the win column. NC State lost this statistical category this evening.  Presbyterian had 11 offensive rebounds, which led to 15 second chance points. NC State had 10 offensive rebounds, which led to 12 second chance points.

The 4th statistical factor that leads to victory is the free throw line. NC State had 19 free throw attempts, compared to Presbyterian’s 16. Presbyterian shot 68% from the charity stripe, while the Wolfpack shot 63%.

NC State was unselfish once again, with 18 assists on 31 field goals.

Senior Guard Jayden Taylor led the Wolfpack in scoring and steals, with 19 points (7-14 FG) and 5 steals.

Senior Guard/Forward Dontrez Styles led NC State in rebounds and blocks, with 7 boards and 2 blocks. He also had 9 points (4-9 FG).

Senior Guard Michael O’Connell led the Wolfpack with 8 assists, and only turned the ball over 1 time. That’s outstanding. He also had 11 points, shooting 4 of 7 from the field, and 2 of 4 from three.

Senior Forward Ben Middlebrooks came off the bench like a firecracker, scoring 16 points (6-7 FG/1-1 3PT) in only 19 minutes of play. What makes those numbers all the more impressive, is the fact that he scored all 16 of his points in the 2nd half.

Senior Forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield had 11 points (5-6 FG) and 6 rebounds.

Senior Guard Marcus Hill had 5 assists and only 1 turnover. To start the season, the Wolfpack is basically starting two Point Guards in O’Connell and Hill. Between the two of them, they had 13 assists and 2 turnovers. That’s impressive.

NC State didn’t cover the spread this evening. They were 21.5-point favorites, and won by 9. The Total went Over. The Total was 152.5, and the two teams combined to score 153 points. That was cutting it close.

The Wolfpack will be back in action next Wednesday night against Coastal Carolina at 7pm on ACC Network Extra.

 

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NC State 81 Presbyterian 72: BOX SCORE

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NC State improved to 2-0 this season, defeating Presbyterian 81-72 in the Lenovo Center. Below is the Box Score.

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