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Lacey’s On-time as State wins 81-80

Published

9 years ago

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Trevor Lacey came up with a dramatic game winner from distance as time expired to save the day as the Pack escaped the Yellow Jackets to earn their 5th ACC win. Early on the Pack raced out to a comfortable lead behind Cat Barber’s outstanding shooting. The sophomore showed off an excellent touch from three as he hit 4 in the 1st half. His hot shooting continued as he finished the half with 18 points on 70% shooting. I cannot express how good this team is when they are running their offense inside and then looking outside to the perimeter. To start the game State had  excellent high low action as Kyle found Abu for a couple beautiful baskets as Abu worked hard off the ball to get position. Just as GT started to collapse on the interior Cat found the touch from the outside. I am not sure what the pregame meal was, but I think it should be on the menu each and every game for Cat. He looked confident and didn’t hesitate. Cat Barber was the reason the Pack held a 9 point advantage at the intermission.

In the second half the Yellow Jackets punished the Wolfpack underneath. In today’s contest NC State was out-rebounded 49-31. That is not a typo. The only reason this game was close was because GT pounded the glass and had an unbelievable 22 offensive rebounds. Our guys must do a better job at putting a body on their man and stop trying to out jump people. All too often the Yellow Jacket big men out muscled us. Cox and Mitchell had 12 offensive rebounds combined for Georgia Tech. This caused the Pack to scramble defensively which led to Georges-Hunt scoring a game high 23 points. It has been a troubling trend for the Pack to allow perimeter scorers to have big night after big night since the FSU game. Someone can earn big time minutes if they can prove to be a lock down defender on the outside.

Coach Gottfried said after the game that he has seen Trevor Lacey come up with big time plays in big moments since high school. The play was similar to the Wofford shot that was a tenth of a second too late. Cody Martin grabbed the rebound off the missed free throw and found Lacey at half court. Trevor then took a couple of dribbles to pull up with a hand in his face…As the ball glided through the air the red light illuminated just before the ball splashed through the net! Trevor unleashed his signature grin as his teammates raced to celebrate the victory. Should this game of been decided by a buzzer beater in OT? Absolutely not, but this could prove to be a great momentum boost for our squad as the season presses on. Any win on the road in the ACC is a good win in my opinion.

State must sure up the boards as they travel to Wake Forest to face the Demon Deacons this Tuesday at 8PM. Standing 5-5 in the ACC with 8 games left leaves the Pack with plenty of opportunities to play their way into the NCAA Tournament. However the Pack must practice good fundamentals if they are going to see their names’ called on Selection Sunday. The only reason we were able to escape with a win today; despite getting hammered on the boards was because Georgia Tech was inferior  to the Pack. We will not be able to secure another signature win against a team of class without playing with a solid effort in all phases of the game. The standings can change in a moment’s notice given the competitive nature of the ACC. Let’s hope the Pack can find a way to navigate their way to the top as the season marches on.

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Real_Pack_Man
Real_Pack_Man
9 years ago

Someone mentioned this in the forums, but it begs repeating here: coming out of a loss to Clemson and close call against GT, a win or loss against Wake Forest may really start indicating our viability as a post-season team.  That’s not a commentary on whether we “belong” in the post season as much as a statement on how good we may or may not do.  That performance against GT showed me that we still have plenty of “melt down” left in us.  By February, I would expect most of the “major moving parts” to be about where we can… Read more »

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

That was a great shot by Lacey and a hard fought win. Takes me back to the Wofford game and that Lacey shot that almost was.  The team stands at 5-5 in the conference. Looking ahead the best case scenario appears to be a 4-4 finish. More realistically 3-5. Which would put this team at 9-9 or 8-10 in the conference. It looks like yet another year where the Pack will have to make a deep ACC Tourney run to even sniff the NCAAs. Would love to make the NCAAs for a 4th season in a row but not feeling… Read more »

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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2 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.

Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.

From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.

For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.

Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State

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6 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.

NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Casey Morsell is the 4th Player in NCAA History to Start 41 Games in a Season

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11 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State Guard Casey Morsell started 41 games for the Wolfpack this season, becoming the 4th player in NCAA history to do so.

 

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Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.

Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.

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NC State Basketball

Georgetown Transfer Dontrez Styles Commits to NC State!

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22 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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Georgetown Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles (6’6″/212) has committed to NC State!

Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.

Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.

After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.

With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.

NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.

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