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Lewis, Warren Help Pack Hold on to Beat VT 71-64

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10 years ago

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TJ Warren (31 pts, 6 rebounds and 4 steals) and Tyler Lewis (8 pts, 11 assists and zero turnovers) led NC State past last place Virginia Tech, 71-64.

If the Wolfpack just just ‘kind-of’ shoot, they would be top 5 in the ACC, but once again we saw a close game with a subpar team because they just can not hit the 3 pointer. Teams consistently back the middle and make State shoot from the outside, and it plays into their hands every time. The Pack shot 24 3s and only connected on four of them (16.7%). Two of those came in the first two minutes by TJ Warren.

Speaking of Warren, this guy is absolutely amazing and showed once again why he should be considered for ACC player of the year. The guy was everywhere, hitting outside, inside, floaters, layups, getting steals, grabbing boards. Warren is nearly a one man show for State. However, I shouldn’t say that because a lot of his looks were thanks to the play of Tyler Lewis. The kid who was only seeing about 6 minutes per game early in the ACC season has suddenly regained form and has become a catalyst for this offense. Lewis has been as good as he could be against the zone, finding the gaps and hitting open men everytime down the floor. He has finally stopped trying to be a scorer and has gotten back to his role as a floor general and distributor. He dropped 11 dimes in this one and did so without a turnover. That’s pretty amazing, but what’s even more impressive is the streak he’s been on. Over the past 3 games Lewis has 21 assists and zero turnovers. Talk about getting the most out of your point guard.

With solid play from Lewis and Warren and Kyle Washington continuing to get involved (13 points, 5 boards), State was able to keep control of this game throughout, but against a better team this one could have gotten ugly. State has become such a poor shooting team that it is a no-brainer to go zone and really pack in the lane. Lee, Lewis, and Barber all absolutely need to find their touch. At this point it’s most certainly a mental block. Whether they are unsure if they’re taking a good shot and it’s making them hesitate or they’re just not confident in their own shot, it’s something that has to be overcome. Those 3 guys are not 20% 3 point shooters. They all should be hovering around the 30% mark at worst. State needs to fix this soon or they’re going to really struggle with their upcoming games against UNC and Pitt.

Virginia Tech really just doesn’t have much firepower and even though State was missing from the outside, they weren’t able to ever make a big enough run to claim the lead. The Pack was able to stay close enough in the rebounding war and rely on Warren to get inside that zone and knock down a few jumpers to hold off V Tech, but they’re going to need improved scoring from their guards if they’re going to make any sort of run.

‘Our Take’:Barber to the 2?
It’s about time for Gottfried to mix it up a bit. Lee has hit a wall and Barber hasn’t quite grasped playing point at this level. So what’s the answer. I can’t say we have one, but it’s probably worth a shot to get Barber more involved in a different capacity. He’s too good a defender and has too much potential to score for him to be playing 5 minutes per game . I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I know Barber’s mind set right now, but we know early in the season he was intent on playing point. Right now, that position belongs to Tyler Lewis and it doesn’t look like he’s giving that up anytime soon, but State is dire need of a scorer and Barber can be that. If he wants to see minutes and wants to be a part of any kind of late season run it might be wise to bring the idea of moving to the 2 to Gottfried’s attention. While I’m sure the staff has toyed with the idea, I’m not sure they know if Barber would be ok with it. At this point, I’m guess that he’d play any position if it will get him on the floor. By doing this you could leverage his defense and his scoring ability while taking the ball and some decision making out of his hands a little bit.

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NC State Basketball

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

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10 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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3 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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