Anya Throws Block Party, Pack Stifles Jacksonville 79-43

Looks like the days are no more where when NC State struggles on offense they struggle to win. This team is built on solid defense and max effort. They showed those things all night against Jacksonville as they took them to the wood shed 79-43. Here are some notable from last nights game.

Defense, Defense, Defense
Sure, it’s exciting to watch a fast paced, high octane offense, but you know what’s even better? Watching a hard nosed, gritty team that relies on it’s defense to create their offense. Now, this isn’t just your ‘solid,’ ‘smart’ defensive team that is all about position and communication, this is a defense that wants it, they’re in the passing lanes, starving for the steal, dying to turn you over. Yeah, they communicate and have shown great positioning and help side D, but the difference is the effort. In fact, you can see a difference on the sidelines as well. Coach Gottfried, who was always known as an offensive coach is screaming at his players to get in the passing lanes, provide more effort and to turn them over. With a team this deep, this long and this quick, teams are going to have a heck of a time trying to get clean shots off.

Just take last night for example. Jacksonville shot only 23% for the game and struggled to even get the ball to the basket at times. More on that later. The point is, this Wolfpack team is buying in on the defensive end of the floor and it’s very exciting to see. It’s starting up top with the constant harassment that Lacey and Barber and putting on the opposing guards and it’s trickling down to the bigs.

Beejay Anya’s Block Party
The big man was just insane last night. Beejay swatted almost every shot Jacksonville put up in his vicinity. At one point he had blocked 4 consecutive shots and should have had a 5th but the ball went in the basket (counting as a made FG instead). When the dust settled NC State had a new single-game blocks leader. Anya finished with 10, passing Todd Fuller and Thurl Bailey who both were tied with 9. The crazy thing is, he could have had a couple more. His 10th block came with 15 minutes left in the game, but he didn’t play much more as the Pack already had the game in check.

Beejay is going to be a huge factor for the Pack this year. Every great defensive team has an enforcer in the middle and there might not be a better one in the ACC .

Caleb Earning PT?
State’s offense was really struggling at the start of this one, but when Caleb Martin entered things started changing. The freshman forward came in and ignited a 13-0 run that gave State that momentum they carried through the rest of the game. We’ve been wondering who was going to step up and be the go-to scorer for the Pack and we were having a hard time figuring it out. Lacey was always the defacto choice and Ralston Turner was another guy we thought could be the guy, but early on neither of those two have shown elite scoring abilities.

Turner is hampered by his inability to score going to the basket and Lacey, while silky smooth, seems like more of a secondary scorer than a go-to type guy. I’m not claiming Caleb Martin is going to lead this team in scoring, but I think you’re going to see him blossom into that go-to guy role. The twins have always been two of our favorite recruits State has landed since Julius Hodge and they are already showing you why. Their coachability, their motor and their skill set has Gottfried already finding it hard to take them off the floor, Caleb especially.

Last night when it seemed like everyone was off and State was going to have one of those nights offensively, Caleb entered and immediately got aggressive, taking the ball to the rim and making something happen on both ends of the floor. A few 3s and a couple steals later and State is off and running. Caleb finished with a game high 16 points on 6-10 shooting and 3-5 from 3point range.

Cat Barber Working Into Role
You might see Barber’s 9 point, 1 assist, 5 turnover line and think he played awful. While he was off and did have some miscues with the ball, I think you got to see a more patient player last night. He was getting into the lane, creating havoc and finding the open man. The problem was that the open men were not making shots. Cat really should have had around 5 or 6 assists in this one (maybe more?). Now, there’s no excuse for the turnovers, but he’ll work that out.

I just think he played a smarter game as a PG last night and although the stats tell a different story, I’m pleased with the way he ran the team when he was in there. He picked his spots, didn’t get caught inside amongst the trees trying to make something out of nothing, and when in doubt he shook his man and got a nice clean look at the mid range. These shots will fall and he’ll be smarter with the basketball as the season goes on, but the thing that was great to see was his patience and his desire to get his teammates good, clean looks. Barber is an x-factor on this team, as we keep saying, and him being a floor general is paramount to this team’s success and to his future at the next level as a PG.

Freeman, The Quiet Workhorse
You’re not going to see him with many highlight reels and you’re not going to see him lead the team in scoring, but Lennard Freeman is doing a TON of dirty work for this basketball team. He’s filling the Richard Howell role pretty nicely right now and it won’t be going unnoticed for much longer. Freeman put up another nice game, notching a double-double with 10 points and 12 boards. He didn’t turn the ball over and he only fouled one time. He also took a charge. Freeman was an afterthought in the rankings when he was recruited and not many people saw him as a starter this season, but low and behold Lennard is State’s most important big at this moment and it’s going to be very hard to keep him off the court.

Next up is USF on Sunday at 4pm at the PNC. We’ll have more on that game as it approaches.