5 Things to Watch for at Throwback with the Pack

Basketball season is finally upon us. The 2014-15 basketball season kicks off tonight with Primetime With the Pack at Reynolds Coliseum. The event is going to be a lot of fun with a red-white scrimmage and an old-timers game featuring Julius Hodge, Chris Corchiani, David Thompson, Rodney Monroe and many more (Tickets for the event are $5).

While the old timers game is going to something to watch, the real focus for us is going to be on the team scrimmage. Every year it’s written off an event that doesn’t hold much value in predicting the coming season, but we believe that it’s a great chance to get a first glimpse of playing styles, player combinations and off-season transformations. Here are our 5 things to watch in tonight’s game.

– How much better is the thin Beejay Anya?
To be honest, a lot rides on the gigantic sophomore. With the graduation of Jordan Vandenberg, Anya is the only thing the Pack has at center. He’ll be looked at to provide a good chunk of minutes in the front court and he’ll have to be ready to shoulder that load. As you likely have heard, Beejay has dropped nearly 60 pounds this offseason in hopes to be able to slot in better to Gottfried’s uptempo offense. Tonight we’ll get our first look at the new Anya in action. I think it will be important to watch the way he gets up and down the floor, the amount of lift he’s gained (which would even increase his shot blocking ability), and his ability to make quicker moves in the post. We’ve been hearing how good his footwork has gotten, so it will be interesting to see if he’s actually going to be a legit scoring option this season for State.

– Just how good is Trevor Lacey?
I remember the hype coming out of high school. Lacey was supposed to be the next elite scorer in college basketball. His combination of a good handle, strength and a silky jumper were the best that the high school ranks had seen in a while. However, after two years at Alabama he hadn’t lived up to those expectation. Now, he was always a very good guard with leadership abilities, but we never saw that game changing scoring ability at work. This offseason, the hype is back. After transferring to State before last season, Lacey has sat out his one year and is ready to suit up for NC State. So what can we expect? Well, I for one and very excited to watch him play in this game. I’ve been told by someone within the program that ‘Lacey is very close to scoring the ball as good as Warren did last season.’ When I heard this I had to ask him to repeat it. I was sure this must be an over-exaggeration. He assured me it was not and that Lacey is really as good as advertised. I’m still skeptical that he’s THAT good, but I guess we’ll get our first clue tonight.

– Can Cat Barber lead?
Huge question here. Last year Barber was no doubt the more talented guard for the Wolfpack, but it was Tyler Lewis who saw a majority of the minutes during ACC play. Barber’s decision making and leadership abilities where just not up to par. This season the job is all his and word is that he has matured a lot and really focused on honing his jumper and adding bulk to his frame. I do think Cat can lead this team and I think if he does improve his decision making ability that he’ll be one of the better PGs in the ACC. Tonight I really won’t be focusing on his skill set (I think that’s a given). What I’ll be really watching is his interaction with his teammates and his ability to lead his team. Is he calling plays, encouraging his troops and being an extensions of Coach Gott on the floor? If he is, then I think State is in for a big season.

– Are the freshen ready?
The Martin twins and Abu make up a pretty good haul by Gottfried for 2014, but will they be real  rotation players when the real games begin? This is something we’ll be watching tonight. Caleb and Cody are both talented kids who make plays, but they’re also still a little raw offensively. Abu is actually the one that is more likely to see time since State will need a little front court scoring to go along with Kyle Washington. None of the 3 will likely start, but it will be interesting to see what roles they’ve fallen into this preseason and if any of them comes out looking to make a statement in front of the Wolfpack faithful. I’ll be focused on style of play with these kids. I want to see how each one attacks offensively. Will Caleb Martin just default into a 3 pt shooter or will he attack the hoop? With Cody mix it up in the paint, or will he settle for a lot of midrangers? Does Abu have any true back to the basket ability, or will he be more of a fast break finisher / garbage man around the rim? Freshman are always the most interesting part of these scrimmages and I don’t think this year is much of an exception.

– Just how deep is this team?
I know we won’t get an idea about the starting lineup in this game, but it will help us make some assumptions. As of now I’m guessing the starting 5 would be Barber, Lacey, Turner, Washington, Anya. Off the bench you’d have Abu behind Washington and I guess Freeman behind Anya. State really does not have a backup center, so they will be forced to go smaller when Anya gets winded or gets in foul trouble. What will be interesting is to see where the Martin twins slot in. I’m thinking you’ll see Caleb behind Turner at the 3, but where does Cody fit in? Does Caleb make the jump and become the backup at the 2? Probably not with Dez Lee around. Dez, Lacey and Barber will likely become a 3 man rotation at guard with Barber and Lacey interchangeable at  the 1 and Lacey and Lee interchangeable at the 2. So really I guess the real questions surround the Martin twins. These are versatile kids and we’re really not sure how their games will translate to college. I guess tonight’s game will help us get a better idea about that.