Connect with us

NC State Basketball

Wolfpack Trump Volunteers 83-72

Published

10 years ago

on

NC State proved to be too much as they had the answers to every Volunteer charge. Tennessee was on fire to start the game hitting their first four three pointers, luckily State settled down on both ends of the floor to gain control of the game. At the half the Pack held a 39 to 27 advantage. Pacing the Wolfpack was Ralston “Freeze” Turner, he had a career night scoring a total of 33 points while connecting on 8 out of 17 attempts from three!

How did the Pack bounce back after a tough loss? Here is our take!

Ralston “Freeze” Turner: 

I can’t overemphasize just how important he is to State’s offensive attack. Tonight he had it going. I touched base on the fact that he is one of the best heat check guys in the NCAA. What does this mean? Well it means that he can get hot at any given moment, when that happens he is must see TV. Ralston was in the zone all night. He is so dangerous once he hits a couple in a row. Once he gets into rhythm opposing teams beware! Throughout the game Ralston had a couple of heat check moments, none better than his 35 foot three pointer he hit at the top of the key assisted by Cat Barber! Lets recap this play. It wasn’t anything special leading up to his shot, Cat dribbled at Ralston who looped behind him as Cat shovel passed it to him. I think there was only one player on the court that thought he was going to shoot it…That player was number 22. On this night before he walks across the stage (he graduates tomorrow) he will always remember, scoring a career high in points and made three-pointers (8).Only one off of the school record of 9 by Rodney Monroe! Hats off to Ralston!

Cat Barber: 

Cat’s outstanding performance will undoubtedly be overshadowed by Ralston’s career night; however, Cat was a steady presence who also had a career high against the Volunteers! Barber tallied a total of 8 assists tying his career high in that category. Not only did Cat get his teammates involved but he valued possessions by only turning the ball over once! This is impressive given the aggressive nature of Tennessee. Throughout the game the Volunteers were relentless in their full court pressure and on the ball defense of the Pack. No question that the refs allowed a fair amount of hand checks and physicality, yet Cat was up to the challenge and passed with flying colors. To cap off his steady night Cat went 5 for 5 from the charity stripe, which played a huge role in the Pack holding off the late push by the Volunteers. This type of performance is exactly what the Wolfpack needs out of him. He doesn’t have to be super aggressive hunting his shot, but needs to use his speed to set up his teammates. I was proud of Barber in the way he turned down his own shot in favor of Turner’s hot hand on a couple of possessions.

Abu and Anya? I think so! 

Tonight we were shown a different combo underneath. Abu and Anya played more minutes together than in any game previously. I really enjoyed the way they compliment each other and believe that they could be the best answer for the Pack down low. Why? Well by having Abu and Anya NC State presents a difficult blend of length and athleticism that other teams must game plan against. Abu is long, strong, as well as quick. He also displayed a soft touch around the rim tonight as he found the soft spot in the heart of the 1-3-1 zone employed by the Volunteers. With Abu flashing the high post and BeeJay throwing his weight around on the block teams quickly become exposed defensively! I saw it on a couple of plays where BeeJay cleared out space as Abu used his face up game to attack the rim. Then on another possession Abu pulled the help-side big away from the paint that resulted in a nice lob to Anya!

Playing these two together in stretches is a great option for Gottfried as it adds excellent versatility on both side of the court. Look for the Pack to experiment more with Abu, Anya, Lacey, Turner, and Barber to create mismatches nightmares for opposing teams!

Plenty of Bite to back up the Howl: 

Tennessee tried to punk the Pack tonight! They came out with the attitude that they were going to be physical on both ends of the court. They attacked the rim with ferocity and determination! Yet our boys were tough all night and did an admiral job of playing with emotion as well as energy to overcome the Vols. Officiating played into Tennessee’s favor in the way hand checking was allowed as they harassed our guards the whole night; however, our three headed attack of Barber, Lacey, and Turner were fully equipped physically to handle the pressure. All three used pace and angles to use the Volunteers aggressive nature against them. For example I saw where State used emotional intelligence tonight by walking away from a potential disaster. A couple of times the Vols tried to bait our bigs into altercations after a play, yet our guys didn’t bite and played with composure! Throughout the night NC State hung tough and didn’t allow the Vols to get over the hump as they tried to close the gap late in the game. You have to appreciate how this team competes, I promise you they will never quit! Its’ not in their DNA.

Conclusion: 

Great win for NC State. Tennessee was a gritty grind it out type of team that must be matched in intensity and energy! Everyone of our players were ready to play with outstanding effort and selflessness. I loved how our guys rallied behind Ralston all night. Every single player looked to feed Turner’s hot hand, there were no signs of jealousy. From the tip to the final buzzer our guys had one thing on their mind…Atone for Sundays loss against Wofford. Sometimes the taste of defeat can be the fuel needed to achieve success. Our guys could of easily let the last games fate happen tonight, yet instead of crumbling they came together and finished the job as a team!

State returns to action this Saturday in the Gotham Classic against the 22nd ranked Mountaineers from West Virginia! The game will be played in Madison Square Garden, arguably the most famous arena in the world! You can check out all of the action on ESPN 2 at 9:30 PM

 

 

 

 

Related Topics:
1 Comment
Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

We were very fortunate that Turner’s shots were falling like rain this game because it would have been tough to win otherwise. Turner shot lights out. He keeps shooting like this and he will position himself as a late 1st round to 2nd round pick. One shot was from the parking lot.  Tennessee played very physical defense and it seemed like all their long jumpers were automatic. If not for our interior defense for most of the game this could easily have been a loss. I thought Anya and Abu really controlled the paint area. Anya however did lose his… Read more »

0

NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Releases Their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

Published

16 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

NC State Women’s Basketball team released their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule yesterday.

Image

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s basketball program has announced its non-conference slate for the 2024-25 season, as revealed on Thursday.

The Pack will play eight of its 11 games, in addition to a preseason exhibition, at Reynolds Coliseum. Coming off a historical 2023-24 season that was highlighted by the program’s first Final Four since 1998, second in program history, head coach Wes Moore is entering his 12th season at the helm. With a strong home court advantage, the Pack has accumulated a 117-15 (.886) record at home since the renovation of Reynolds Coliseum was completed in August 2016.

NC State will participate in the Pink Flamingo Championship at Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday, Nov. 25 and Wednesday, Nov. 27 against opponents that will be announced at a later date. As previously announced, NC State will play the defending NCAA Champion South Carolina at the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Sunday, Nov. 10, as well as host Ole Miss for the SEC/ACC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The Wolfpack will host Anderson (S.C.) for an exhibition on Tuesday, Oct. 29 before officially starting the season at home vs. ETSU on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Following the Ally Tipoff, NC State will return home to host Kent State on Thursday, Nov. 14.

NC State’s first true road game of the season is at TCU on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Pack will then play Coastal Carolina at home on Thursday, Nov. 21 before its trip to the Bahamas for two games (Nov. 25-27).

The Pack will close out the non-conference slate with four straight games at Reynolds Coliseum, starting with the SEC/ACC Challenge game vs. Ole Miss (Thursday, Dec. 5). NC State will then host Old Dominion (Sunday, Dec. 8), Davidson (Wednesday, Dec. 11) and James Madison (Thursday, Dec. 19) to wrap up non-conference play.

With NC State’s known non-conference opponents, six are coming off postseason tournament appearances. Three received NCAA Tournament bids (Kent State, Ole Miss and NCAA Champion South Carolina), two were invited to play in the WBIT (TCU and James Madison) and one played in the WNIT (Old Dominion).

NC State’s Atlantic Coast Conference schedule will be announced by the league office at a later date. NC State will play Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech at home. The Pack will take on Wake Forest, Cal, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse on the road.

Season tickets are sold out for the 2024-25 season. Tip-off times and television designations will also be released at a later date.

2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Anderson (Exh.)

Tuesday, Nov. 5 – ETSU

Sunday, Nov. 10 – South Carolina $

Thursday, Nov. 14 – Kent State

Sunday, Nov. 17 – at TCU

Thursday, Nov. 21 – Coastal Carolina

Monday, Nov. 25 – Opponent TBD &

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – Opponent TBD &

Thursday, Dec. 5 – Ole Miss +

Sunday, Dec. 8 – Old Dominion

Wednesday, Dec. 11 – Davidson

Thursday, Dec. 19 – James Madison

$ – Ally Tipoff (Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.)

& – Pink Flamingo Championship (Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas)

+ – SEC/ACC Challenge (Raleigh, N.C.)

 

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

Published

2 days ago

on

July 24, 2024

By

NC State Legend Julius Hodge has been named the Head Coach at Lincoln University.

This marks Hodge’s first stint as a Head Coach.

Hodge has been in the Coaching world since 2015, when he served as Director of Player Development at the University of Buffalo under Bobby Hurley. Then, he spent 2016 and 2017 as an Assistant Coach under Herb Sendek at Santa Clara. From 2018-20, Hodge served as an Assistant Coach at San Jose State. Hodge has spent the past three seasons as an Assistant Coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

At NC State, Hodge earned 1st Team All-ACC honors in 2003 & 2004, and 2nd Team honors in 2005. Hodge was named the ACC Player of the Year in ’04. He earned the All-Freshman Team in 2002.

Hodge is 1 of 11 players in NC State history to earn 1st Team All-ACC honors more than once.

His 2,040 career points scored rank 3rd in NC State history. Hodge also ranks 1st in Free Throws Made, 14th in Rebounds, 7th in Offensive Rebounds, 6th in Assists and 7th in Steals.

Congrats Julius! You deserve this!

 

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

Published

4 days ago

on

July 23, 2024

By

NC State Men’s Basketball is releasing videos helping fans get to know the new players on the 2024-25 roster.

Below is the video of Freshman Trey Parker (6’1″/178), with a transcript underneath.

“My name is Trey Parker. I’m an incoming Freshman from Fayetteville, North Carolina.” 

“I was recently playing at Overtime Elite. It was a great experience. A whole lot of development and great energy.” 

“Coach Levi (Watkins) recruited me. As soon as I got to the campus, it was a great experience. They just gave me that big inspiration to feel like I’m home, and feel like a great student outside of basketball.”

“I knew I wanted to be a part of the Pack back in November of 2022. I just felt like it was a great fit for me.”

“Living in North Carolina, and now playing in North Carolina, is a big opportunity. There’s a lot of people from North Carolina looking up to me, and I want to give them what they want to see.” 

“Being close, allows for them to bring the whole city out. It just feels like I’m already at home.” 

“Y’all stay tuned. Showtime is coming this year.”

_______

Parker originally signed with NC State in November of 2022, as a member of the 2023 recruiting class. He decided to reclassify, making him a member of the 2024 class.

Parker is a consensus 3-Star prospect, though 247Sports’ Composite Rankings have him as a 4-Star prospect. 247 ranks him as the #135 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #26 Shooting Guard, and the #13 player in the state of Georgia.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Jersey Numbers for 2024-25 NC State Men’s Basketball Team Revealed

Published

1 week ago

on

July 18, 2024

By

The NC State Men’s Basketball team revealed the Jersey Numbers for their 2024-25 team yesterday.

Image

Numbers that are Staying the Same

Michael O’Connell – #12

Ben Middlebrooks – #34

Dennis Parker Jr. – #11

KJ Keatts – #13

Jordan Snell – #22

Numbers that have Changed

Jayden Taylor – #1 –> #8

Breon Pass – #10 –> #4

Numbers of New Players

Mike James – #0 (He wore #0 at Louisville last year)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield – #1 (He wore #5 at Louisville last year)

Paul McNeil – #2 (He wore #2 in High School last year)

Dontrez Styles – #3 (He wore #0 at Georgetown last year)

Trey Parker – #5 (He wore #5 in High School last year)

Marcus Hill – #10 (He wore #0 at Bowling Green last year)

We don’t know what number Ismael Diouf will be wearing at NC State next year yet. 

 

 

Continue Reading