State Starts Strong, Finishes Sloppy in Win vs. Hofstra

The Pack came out guns blazing, taking an early 20 point lead over Hofstra in the first half. It looked like they were on their way to another gigantic victory, but cold shooting in the second half and a red hot Juan’ya Green (19pts) helped the Pride outscore the Pack 35-31 in the second half. In the end it was another double digit victory for the Wolfpack, but this game exposed that there is still a lot of work to be done on this young team. Here are our main talking points:

Efficiency Against the Zone?
The Pack really went cold when they were slowed down via the Hofstra zone. It’s still early in the season and the zone offense still needs some work, but the Pack quickly found out that heaving up 3 after 3 rarely works. When State got out on the break they were dominant. Everyone was in rhythm, shots were falling, and the guys were attacking aggressively. Against the zone they were timid and quickly took the easy way out by shooting the 3s Hofstra was giving them. Luckily Ralston Turner was hot or this game could have quickly gone in a different direction.

Teams are going to zone this team quite a bit. With two dynamic guards that can get in the lane, and an athletic front court that can finish, it’s going to be in teams best interests to pack the middle and make State shoot it form deep. While Lacey and Turner both are better than average shooters they need to play inside out against these defenses. For instance, when Hofstra went 1-3-1 for a bit, Kyle Washington was sealing the backside guy and asking for the lob. No one wanted to risk throwing it. They also weren’t using the middle flasher as the number one option. Washington was flashing, but rarely getting the ball. When he did he was shooting it instead of either dumping it down to the other big (who should be sealing) or reversing it for a squared up, wide-open 3 ball. This is going to take work, but it’s necessary for State to figure this out before ACC play.

Cat Barber Nearing Potential
I know it probably seems like we’re nitpicky on this site when we talk about Cat. We are, but it’s only because we believe that he’s not only the key to this team, but has the ability to be one of the most dynamic point guards State has seen in a very, very long time. After 2 games it seems like he is certainly making strides in the right direction. After his big 25 points, 6 assist, 6 rebound, 0 turnover performance against Jackson State, he turned around and went for 15 points, 6 assists, 7 rebounds and only 1 TO. Very, very impressive. Add in the fact that he was one of State’s best defensive players in this one and you’re looking at a kid that is close to being All-ACC caliber.

There’s only really one area that Cat really needs to start focusing on improving and it’s on his drives. When a player like Cat has gone his whole life as his team’s top scoring option, it’s normal for him to be focused on scoring as he drives the lane. In the league  however, where the bigs are just dying for a guard to come in and challenge them, Barber MUST get better at driving, drawing and dishing. He gets in the lane at ease, he draws help defense with ease, and then he usually takes an off balance floater or attempts to draw the foul. If he can, at that moment, see the help coming and find the open man (whether it be a dump off or a kick-out) State’s offensive efficiency would be through the roof.

So far Barber’s stat line has been very impressive, but just like last year he tends to turn into more of a volume scorer than a ‘find your spots’ scorer. Don’t get us wrong, this team needs Barber to score at a high rate, but shooting percentage matters, especially for a PG who should be attempting to maximize points per possession.
Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner
Lacey was off in this one but Turner picked him up by going 5-9 from 3 and notching 24 points. These 2 guys give State some real scoring options and seem like they really work well off each other. Lacey was off but is looking really good to us. He’s such a smart player, understands space and constantly making smart decisions. Lacey has the ability to get into the lane, read the defense and then find the open man. Having 2 legitimate PGs on the court at all times is really going to be a plus for Gottfried.

The Bigs Struggled (Except for Freeman)
Again, I’d love to see Kyle Washington get a few physical lay ups before he starts falling in love with that baseline jumper. I know that if he was hitting it we would be praising him, but he’s not right now so I think instead of shooting until he makes one, he’d be better off getting inside, getting to the line and easing into his scoring. It’ll come for Washington, who is likely pressing right now to get off to a good start this season.

Many questioned why Freeman would start over Anya, but I think he kind of showed people why in this one. 9 points and 13 boards later he was the most dominant big that the Pack had out there. With Hofstra going zone, State was unable to really get their bigs much work. The bigs need to demand the ball against the zone and then create enough trust with the guards that they know if they dump it down it’s not a black hole.  They need to use the bigs as a way to shift the zone, turn defenders heads, and then find the open man.

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Next game is Thursday at 7pm against Jacksonville at the PNC Arena.