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NC State Basketball

Backs Against the Wall as State Visits VT

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10 years ago

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NC State at Virginia Tech
2pm | Cassell Coliseum | RSN/ESPN3

The Wolfpack are on their last legs today as they take on last place Virginia Tech at 2pm.

After a heartbreaking loss to Syracuse and the debacle at Clemson, NC State’s tournament hopes are bleak, but not completely gone. Winning out would certainly give State a great shot at getting an at-large bid, but that means winning today against Virginia Tech. Now sure, the Hokies are only 2-11, but remember, we just saw a 2-10 Boston College team knock off undefeated Syracuse just a few days ago and this State team isn’t exactly setting the world on fire right lately. So, let’s take a closer look at the keys to the game.

Must stop Jarell Eddie
Yep, Eddie is still at Virginia Tech even though it seems like he’s been there a full century. Now a senior he’s leading their team in scoring at 13 point per game. At 6’7 he’s a wing guy that can cause some matchup problems for some teams. However, I think State matches up well with guys like this. They did a good job shutting down the 6’8 CJ Fair and then really didn’t give up much to the 6’6 KJ McDaniels at Clemson.

Guards need to get their act together
Coming into the season you’d have probably though NC State would have most of their trouble inside. With a group of freshmen and Jordan Vandenberg manning the middle, it didn’t seem like this would be an area of strength. We’re not 3/4 of the way through the season and the Wolfpack bigs are really the story of this team. Warren of course is their go-to guy, but Washington, Freeman, Anya and Vandy have provided a huge lift and really haven’t been dominated since early in the season. Where State is getting killed is at guard. Lewis, Barber and Lee are all really struggling right now. Lewis is playing smart, but just isn’t able to defend bigger, strong guards. Barber is playing hard but is still suffering from freshmen brain cramps and his decision making at the point, while Lee has simply gone missing. Dez hasn’t been aggressive and hasn’t played with that type of fire and explosiveness we saw early in the season.

Really your biggest problem of all is that these guys are shooting worse from 3 than any guard group we’ve ever seen. Combined they are only knocking down 22% from beyond the arc. This on it’s own is crippling the Wolfpack’s ability to compete against the zone on most nights. What’s crazy about the whole thing is that Lewis, Barber and Lee are all decent shooters but for whatever reason they have absolutely lost confidence in their ability to shoot from the outside.

Where’s the fire? 
Where’s the ‘us against the world’ attitude that this young team should be taking on? I see it every night from Kyle Washington. I see it from Lennard Freeman when he’s out there. I see it from TJ Warren while he’s carrying the team, but outside of that it’s non-existant. Is anyone else out there aware that they were picked to finish near the bottom of the ACC. That no one thought they had a shot at even sniffing the NCAA Tournament. But here they are with hopes still slightly alive. With the ability to take a group that has no business playing in March on paper, but who are a few wins away from doing just that. Where is that chip on their shoulder? Where is that hunger to disprove doubters? I don’t see it collectively from this team and with their backs against the wall, that is a huge problem.

State’s kind of Game
Now having gotten a lot of criticism out of the way, I really think this game against VT is tailor made for NC State. It’s a team that really can’t shoot it. They don’t defend well and they don’t really play as a team. What they do however, is rebound the basketball. They really get at it on the boards and they have some good size. With that said, State should be able to match them on the boards if Vandy plays strong and Washington stays hungry. The only way State loses today is if they play absolutely flat like they did against Clemson. Play that way and you won’t beat anyone in the ACC, not even VT.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Releases Their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

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15 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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NC State Women’s Basketball team released their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule yesterday.

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s basketball program has announced its non-conference slate for the 2024-25 season, as revealed on Thursday.

The Pack will play eight of its 11 games, in addition to a preseason exhibition, at Reynolds Coliseum. Coming off a historical 2023-24 season that was highlighted by the program’s first Final Four since 1998, second in program history, head coach Wes Moore is entering his 12th season at the helm. With a strong home court advantage, the Pack has accumulated a 117-15 (.886) record at home since the renovation of Reynolds Coliseum was completed in August 2016.

NC State will participate in the Pink Flamingo Championship at Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday, Nov. 25 and Wednesday, Nov. 27 against opponents that will be announced at a later date. As previously announced, NC State will play the defending NCAA Champion South Carolina at the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Sunday, Nov. 10, as well as host Ole Miss for the SEC/ACC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The Wolfpack will host Anderson (S.C.) for an exhibition on Tuesday, Oct. 29 before officially starting the season at home vs. ETSU on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Following the Ally Tipoff, NC State will return home to host Kent State on Thursday, Nov. 14.

NC State’s first true road game of the season is at TCU on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Pack will then play Coastal Carolina at home on Thursday, Nov. 21 before its trip to the Bahamas for two games (Nov. 25-27).

The Pack will close out the non-conference slate with four straight games at Reynolds Coliseum, starting with the SEC/ACC Challenge game vs. Ole Miss (Thursday, Dec. 5). NC State will then host Old Dominion (Sunday, Dec. 8), Davidson (Wednesday, Dec. 11) and James Madison (Thursday, Dec. 19) to wrap up non-conference play.

With NC State’s known non-conference opponents, six are coming off postseason tournament appearances. Three received NCAA Tournament bids (Kent State, Ole Miss and NCAA Champion South Carolina), two were invited to play in the WBIT (TCU and James Madison) and one played in the WNIT (Old Dominion).

NC State’s Atlantic Coast Conference schedule will be announced by the league office at a later date. NC State will play Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech at home. The Pack will take on Wake Forest, Cal, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse on the road.

Season tickets are sold out for the 2024-25 season. Tip-off times and television designations will also be released at a later date.

2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Anderson (Exh.)

Tuesday, Nov. 5 – ETSU

Sunday, Nov. 10 – South Carolina $

Thursday, Nov. 14 – Kent State

Sunday, Nov. 17 – at TCU

Thursday, Nov. 21 – Coastal Carolina

Monday, Nov. 25 – Opponent TBD &

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – Opponent TBD &

Thursday, Dec. 5 – Ole Miss +

Sunday, Dec. 8 – Old Dominion

Wednesday, Dec. 11 – Davidson

Thursday, Dec. 19 – James Madison

$ – Ally Tipoff (Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.)

& – Pink Flamingo Championship (Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas)

+ – SEC/ACC Challenge (Raleigh, N.C.)

 

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NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

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2 days ago

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July 24, 2024

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NC State Legend Julius Hodge has been named the Head Coach at Lincoln University.

This marks Hodge’s first stint as a Head Coach.

Hodge has been in the Coaching world since 2015, when he served as Director of Player Development at the University of Buffalo under Bobby Hurley. Then, he spent 2016 and 2017 as an Assistant Coach under Herb Sendek at Santa Clara. From 2018-20, Hodge served as an Assistant Coach at San Jose State. Hodge has spent the past three seasons as an Assistant Coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

At NC State, Hodge earned 1st Team All-ACC honors in 2003 & 2004, and 2nd Team honors in 2005. Hodge was named the ACC Player of the Year in ’04. He earned the All-Freshman Team in 2002.

Hodge is 1 of 11 players in NC State history to earn 1st Team All-ACC honors more than once.

His 2,040 career points scored rank 3rd in NC State history. Hodge also ranks 1st in Free Throws Made, 14th in Rebounds, 7th in Offensive Rebounds, 6th in Assists and 7th in Steals.

Congrats Julius! You deserve this!

 

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WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

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4 days ago

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July 23, 2024

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NC State Men’s Basketball is releasing videos helping fans get to know the new players on the 2024-25 roster.

Below is the video of Freshman Trey Parker (6’1″/178), with a transcript underneath.

“My name is Trey Parker. I’m an incoming Freshman from Fayetteville, North Carolina.” 

“I was recently playing at Overtime Elite. It was a great experience. A whole lot of development and great energy.” 

“Coach Levi (Watkins) recruited me. As soon as I got to the campus, it was a great experience. They just gave me that big inspiration to feel like I’m home, and feel like a great student outside of basketball.”

“I knew I wanted to be a part of the Pack back in November of 2022. I just felt like it was a great fit for me.”

“Living in North Carolina, and now playing in North Carolina, is a big opportunity. There’s a lot of people from North Carolina looking up to me, and I want to give them what they want to see.” 

“Being close, allows for them to bring the whole city out. It just feels like I’m already at home.” 

“Y’all stay tuned. Showtime is coming this year.”

_______

Parker originally signed with NC State in November of 2022, as a member of the 2023 recruiting class. He decided to reclassify, making him a member of the 2024 class.

Parker is a consensus 3-Star prospect, though 247Sports’ Composite Rankings have him as a 4-Star prospect. 247 ranks him as the #135 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #26 Shooting Guard, and the #13 player in the state of Georgia.

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Jersey Numbers for 2024-25 NC State Men’s Basketball Team Revealed

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1 week ago

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July 18, 2024

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The NC State Men’s Basketball team revealed the Jersey Numbers for their 2024-25 team yesterday.

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Numbers that are Staying the Same

Michael O’Connell – #12

Ben Middlebrooks – #34

Dennis Parker Jr. – #11

KJ Keatts – #13

Jordan Snell – #22

Numbers that have Changed

Jayden Taylor – #1 –> #8

Breon Pass – #10 –> #4

Numbers of New Players

Mike James – #0 (He wore #0 at Louisville last year)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield – #1 (He wore #5 at Louisville last year)

Paul McNeil – #2 (He wore #2 in High School last year)

Dontrez Styles – #3 (He wore #0 at Georgetown last year)

Trey Parker – #5 (He wore #5 in High School last year)

Marcus Hill – #10 (He wore #0 at Bowling Green last year)

We don’t know what number Ismael Diouf will be wearing at NC State next year yet. 

 

 

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