In preparation for what it hopes to be a deep tournament run, the NC State men’s basketball program celebrated its season with a banquet on Monday night.
Just hours after being named first team All-ACC by the conference’s coaches and media,T.J. Warren claimed a number of awards. The 6-8 sophomore was named the David Thompson Team MVP in addition to winning awards for leading the team in steals and rebounds.
The event, which took place at NC State’s McKimmon Center, featured remarks from head coach Mark Gottfried and Wolfpack director of athletics Debbie Yow. The night’s keynote speaker was 2004 ACC Player of the Year Julius Hodge, who will be among the conference’s ACC Legends this week at the conference tournament in Greensboro. The always-entertaining Hodge urged the current players to keep working and put in the time to improve.
After a season highlight video, Gottfried spoke about the upcoming week.
“We’re going over there to win a championship,” the coach said. “That’s our goal.”
NC State (19-12, 9-9) will be the No. 7 seed in the 2014 ACC Men’s Basketball Championship. The Wolfpack will play the winner of Wednesday’s Miami-Virginia Tech game Thursday, March 13 at 7 p.m.
Here’s a list of the team awards handed out at Monday’s banquet:
Thurl Bailey Most Blocks Award: Jordan Vandenberg and BeeJay Anya (tied) Chris Corchiani Most Steals Award: T.J. Warren Ronnie Shavlik/Tommy Burleson Most Rebounds Award: T.J. Warren Scott Wood 3-point Shooter Award: Ralston Turner Terry Gannon Best Free Throw Shooter Award: Tyler Lewis Kevin Thompson Field Goal Percentage Award: Jordan Vandenberg Chris Corchiani Most Assists Award: Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber and Tyler Lewis (tied) Everett Case Scholar Athlete Award: Chase Cannon 6th Man Award: Lennard Freeman Nate McMillan Best Defender Award: Desmond Lee Norm Sloan Most Improved Award: Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber Jon Speaks/Julius Hodge Award: BeeJay Anya Jim Valvano Coaches Award: Kyle Washington David Thompson Team MVP Award: T.J. Warren
Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) is currently on an Official Visit to NC State.
Sources tell me Caitlin Weimar (6’4” Forward transfer from Boston U) is currently on a visit to NC State.
She ranked 44th in D1 (scoring) last season at 18.7 ppg & 15th in rebounding at 10.6 rpg, in addition to 2.0 apg, 1.3 spg & 2.8 bpg. pic.twitter.com/d2y4jACx2K
Weimar is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.
This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.
With NC State not having River Baldwin at Center next year, adding Weimar is an extremely exciting possibility.
What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend TJ Warren? I caught up with the man who won the ACC Player of the Year Award in 2014 to get his take.
What was it like for you watching NC State go from the #10 seed in the ACC Tournament, to winning the Championship, to going to the Final Four?
I’m a second generation Wolfpack basketball player. Wolf blood runs through my veins, so to be able to witness a ride like that was truly amazing.
What did this run say about Kevin Keatts and these players? In what ways did you see them adapt, change or persevere?
I think that is speaks to the heart that the players have. As a 10th seed in the ACC tournament, it’s easy to pack it in and look towards the offseason, but they did the opposite. They bonded together over adversity and that’s what made them so endearing. Hard work in the face of adversity, that’s something that Wolfpack fans can relate to.
As one of the best players to ever wear the Red & White, what did this run mean to you personally?
As I mentioned earlier, NCSU hoops has been in my family for a long time, so it meant a whole lot personally. This run definitely took me back to some of the fond memories I have of putting on the Red & White and playing in front of a packed house at the PNC.
What was the most memorable moment for you?
I think Mike’s shot to tie the game at the end of regulation. It just felt like destiny at that point. Anytime you get to beat UNC and Duke days apart is special too.
How do you think this run can change things for the NC State Basketball program going forward?
I think that it puts us back on the national radar where we belong. After a magical run like that, I think it makes players want to be a part of that. A run like that reinvigorates a program definitely.
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Warren is 1 of only 6 NC State players to ever be named the ACC Player of the Year. In his Sophomore season, Warren was named a 2nd Team All-American by Sporting News and the AP. He averaged 24.9 points per game, which is the 5th best mark in a single season in NC State history. Warren scored 871 points that year, which is the most points ever scored in a single season by a Wolfpack player.
TJ was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 14th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
Ross played in 14 games this year, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in the 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.