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NC State Basketball

USF, Chris Perry Could Be Pack’s First Test

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NC State vs. USF
4pm | PNC Arena | ESPNU

The USF Bulls come to Raleigh Sunday, as both teams will put their undefeated records on the line. USF is coming off of an overtime victory against UAB and NC State handily beat Jacksonville in a physical contest that had a couple of flagrant fouls called on the Dolphins.

Sunday will be NC State’s first test of the season, especially our post defense, as the Bull’s have prized big man Chris Perry. Perry was an ESPN Top 100 recruit and played an important role as a freshman in route to averaging close to 9 points and 5 rebounds per contest. He was also named to the American Athletic Conference All-Rookie team a year ago.

Standing at 6-8 242 pounds Perry has the physical strength and skills to give State problems. Perry has started the season off on a good note currently averaging 19 points and 8 rebounds a game, while shooting 58 percent from the field. If State wants to beat the Bulls they will have to limit Perry. I am sure Perry will see a variety of looks out of the Pack.

Undoubtedly BeeJay will be matched up with Perry throughout the game. This will be a great matchup within the game to keep an eye on. It will be important for Beejay to play great ground defense, and not be bated into fouls. Perry has shown an adequate touch from the charity stripe this season, connecting on 76 % of his attempts. Anya must move his feet and keep Perry in-front of him and not be to eager to block his shot. Last game BeeJay set the single game record for blocks; however, the Bull’s will use the pump fake to play into BeeJay’s pension to block shots.

A tactic that we will likely see in this game is for State to occasionally send a double team to keep Perry uncomfortable. As good as Perry has been, he hasn’t shown the ability to pass effectively out of the double team and has registered 0 assists on the season. The guards can make life difficult for Perry as well by pressuring the ball and not allowing clean entry passes.

This is an exciting matchup for State. It will be a great barometer at just how good our post defense can be. Early on this season they have yet to be tested by a low post scorer; however, it’s likely the guys are equally excited to face a team that has a post attack. Gottfried and his staff should be anxious to see how his group responds defensively against an inside attack, especially since the ACC has some talented big men right now. We don’t have to look far as both Duke and UNC have had great success inside the paint early this season.

Overall USF is coming in with a 3-0 record on the season and coming off an emotional 2pt overtime win over UAB. There’s no questions that the Bulls are going to be ready. Will the Pack?

Tip-Off is slated for 4PM at the PNC and can be seen on ESPNU

 

 

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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.

Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.

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NC State Basketball

What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

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What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.

It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!

2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s DJ Horne Named to Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team

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NC State’s DJ Horne played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

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In 3 games, Horne averaged 14.3 points, shooting 41.5% from the field, and 30% from three.

Horne’s Portsmouth Partnership team made it to the finals, but lost to Jani-King 68-75.

The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual pre-draft camp that has been showcasing College Seniors to professional scouts since 1953.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Has Shown Interest in Utah Guard Transfer Deivon Smith

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NC State has reached out to Utah Transfer Guard Deivon Smith (6’0″/173).

Smith filled up the stat sheet every game this year, averaging 13.3 points, 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.8% from three for Utah. He earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention this season. Smith had 8 double-doubles and 1 triple-double this year.

Wherever Smith lands, this will be his 4th college. He started at Mississippi St., starting in 8 of the 33 games he played in, averaging 22.5 minutes per game. Smith went on to spend his next two seasons at Georgia Tech. Year 1 in Atlanta, Smith started in 5 of the 24 games he played in, averaging 19.7 minutes per game. In Year 2, he carved out more of a role, starting in 13 of the 24 games he played in for the Yellow Jackets, averaging a career high 24.8 minutes per game.

At Utah this year, Smith broke out and had a career year in every possible way.

NC State is familiar with Smith, offering him back when he was a 4-Star prospect out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Rivals ranked Smith as the #53 overall player nationally in the 2020 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him as the #5 player in the state of Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #11 Point Guard in his class.

 

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