Connect with us

NC State Basketball

Our Take: Wolfpack Flatlines in 73-56 Loss to Clemson

Published

10 years ago

on

NC State suffered a serious hangover from the Syracuse loss, losing to Clemson 73-56. There was a lack of energy, zero defense and just not much want-to out of a Wolfpack team that was playing with their backs to the wall.

I really am not sure what to say here. The breakdown is simple, NC State just didn’t want it as much as Clemson did. Maybe it was the unusual travel schedule or the fact that they felt cheated out of that Syracuse game, I don’t know. What I do know is the performance should be seen as unacceptable from Mark Gottfried. His team had a shot to make a move and sneak into the tournament, now they pretty much need to win out to secure a spot and with games at Pitt and against UNC, it’s not going to be the least bit easy. So really, what went wrong?

TJ Warren was off
Sure Warren put up his usual 20 points, but it wasn’t vintage Warren. He really struggled on offense and just couldn’t seem to get his game going. He had 7 turnovers by himself, many of which were just balls slipping out of his hands. There was a complete lack of focus early on in this one and caused the Pack to dig themselves a hole.

Defense was poor 
There are going to be games when you really need to lock down on defense and this was one of them. If you pressure Clemson and really lock down, they’re not going to score. It really set the tone early when PG Rod Hall went right at Lewis early in the game. He got some easy buckets and State was forced to take out Tyler. Now, I know that is the trade-off you get with Lewis. He’s not a great defender due to his size, but he’s got to get better if State wants to succeed night in and night out with him on the floor. As crafty as he is on offense, he seems to not bring much of that to the game defensively. When guards drive on lewis he gets very handsy and is often called for the foul. As a small guard, your best defense is to make contact with your chest. Lewis does often stay in front of guys, but when they get physical with him and force their way in, he either gives way, or uses his hands. If he’d just make contact with his chest and keep his hands out, the refs wouldn’t be able to make this call. He also could take a page out of Barber’s book. Cat stays in front of his guy and when they try to force their way in, he allows their momentum to take him backwards, usually resulting in a charge. Lewis has got to get more crafty on defense if he wants to be the long term option for NC State at PG.

The team needs toughness
This team has been better than most expected, but their is a huge problem with lack of toughness and lack of ability to play through contact. Teams like Clemson, UVA, Duke and at times UNC are very physical. They invite contact and use it to their advantage. These are the type of teams that NC State is getting crushed by. The Pack is shying away from contact, and are timid when teams really get up in them. Now, we do need to realize that this team is young and that they are still learning how to play in this league, but going forward toughness and physicality is going to be the difference-maker in this team becoming a contender in years to come.

I know this team is down, but they need to get their chins up and come back with an attitude. I’m not sure where it starts who who is the catalyst for this type of change, but it needs to happen. They have seen success with teams that lay back and don’t apply pressure, but have wilted when teams got physical and upped the pressure. And yes, I’m mainly talking about the guards. The Wolfpack bigs have really played strong and with a ton of passion this season, but the guards have had a ton of trouble against teams that key on defense. If they want to make a run, the guards need to toughen up quick.

Related Topics:
Click to comment
Subscribe
Notify of
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

NC State Basketball

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

Published

18 hours ago

on

April 24, 2024

By

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.

Image

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

Published

2 days ago

on

April 23, 2024

By

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

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Tipton Edits (@tiptonedits)

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

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

Published

3 days ago

on

April 22, 2024

By

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

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

Published

3 days ago

on

April 22, 2024

By

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.

Continue Reading