Connect with us

NC State Basketball

Gameday: Pack Needs To Evolve to Upset #2 UVA

Published

on

NC State vs #2 UVA
8pm | Raleigh, NC | ACCN

After losing 5 of their last 7, NC State desperately needs a shot in the arm to save their season. Tonight is their chance. The Pack will take on #2 Virginia at home in a game that NC State really needs if they want to make a late run at the  NCAA tournament.

Losses to Miami, Wake and Clemson have really hurt the Pack as of late. A team that seemed to be climbing to their peak all of the sudden looked lost. What happened? How did they collapse? And how can they resurrect a once promising season? Let us break that down…

• Teams Got the Blueprint on Lacey and Turner
It became pretty obvious that the loss to UNC laid a blueprint. The Tarheels guarded NC State’s (and at that time the ACC’s) leading scorer with a bigger, more athletic player in JP Tokoto. This took Lacey almost completely out of the game in the early going. No longer was he able to isolate, elevate and shoot over smaller 2 guards, and this is how he had been so successful early in the season. All of the sudden teams were putting the the bigger, slower guys on Lacey and the quicker shorter guys on Turner and chasing him around. This has created havoc for the NC State offense. All of the sudden Lacey is being forced to attack off the dribble and while he can do that well (and he’s still scoring a decent clip), it’s not what makes him elite. Then you have Turner, who early on made a living of running opposing 3s around screen after screen and finding openings. All of the sudden the quicker guys on Turner are staying right with him and not allowing him to get many clean looks at all.

At the end of the day, while Lacey is still scoring and Turner is still getting shots off, teams are forcing these two to do things they don’t really feel all that comfortable doing and that is killing the Wolfpack’s flow. They are basically in the process of reinventing themselves. Before, when they needed a bucket they’d just isolate Lacey or get Turner open, but teams aren’t allowing it to be that easy anymore, so they must rethink their approach.

This is where learning the offense and running it correctly comes into play. We’ve been harping on the small things all season. The patience, the walking your man down on screens before going off of them shoulder to shoulder. The changing of  speeds and direction when baiting your man on back cuts. All of these things are areas where State just went through the motions early this season as they constantly were bailed out by Lacey’s jumper and Turner’s 3 ball. All of the sudden they don’t have those to fall back on as easily, so they seem lost. Hopefully this week off will help them retool and put their pieces back together in a way that makes a little more sense for the way the defenses are playing them.

 

Come Together As One…or else
This week off couldn’t have come at a better time. As we stated earlier, teams are changing the way they are attacking NC State and now the Pack needs to adjust. This team needs to become one unit. They need to trust each other and stop being so sold on ‘getting the hot man the ball.’ While that theory does work, it backfires when the rest of your team simply sits around and watches, because eventually the hot man cools off and you are stuck with a bunch of guys out of the flow of the game.

Case in point, when Abu gets going inside, all of the sudden it becomes – dump it into Abu and clear out every time. Or when Turner hits a 3, all of the sudden the next few plays are Turner running around the baseline like a wild man hunting down any shot he can find. Or when Lacey gets going, it’s ‘clear out and let him attack.’ That all good and can work, but that is not team basketball and right now NC State needs to realize that. They are just playing a bunch of games of 1 on 1 within a game and that is why you see no consistency with this squad.

This team needs to come together. Understand that with Barber clicking, all of the sudden you have all the pieces you need, but putting them together is what Gottfried is tasked with right now. You’ve seen the 8 minute stretches when this team looks like the best group in the country, and then they get their lead and start going rogue. I put that on Gottfried. He needs to make sure his teams keep their course for 40 minutes. If a player decides they want to do it themselves, then that player gets a seat on the bench to think about his mistakes. It’s now or never for this group. They need to buy in fast or they’ll be begging for an NIT invite.

 

Attacking Virginia
Virginia is big and strong. They’re going to make everything tough for State and try to force them to fall in love with long jumpers, but the Pack actually matches up pretty well with this team. Virginia gets a lot of mismatches by having big, strong, athletic guards, but with their leading scorer and lock down defender Justing Anderson out of this game with a broken finger, the Pack will be able to take advantage. With Brogden, Anderson and Perrantes, they can really lock down and combination of back courts, but without Anderson, Brogden’s role on defense really grows. Can he shut down Lacey (who only had 9 points against the Cavs last time out)? If he does, who guards Barber? If that ends up being Perrantes, that leaves the 6’6 Shayok to chase around Turner. Can he keep up with him and be disciplined enough to follow him around all that off the ball movement?

See, the Pack is going to have their chance tonight. The matchups look a lot more promising with Anderson out. Couple that with the fact that Barber has arrived, they’ve had a full week off and this game is a must win at home, and you have yourself a LOT of ammunition and motivation.

 

By the Numbers vs UVA
Simple fact. NC State MUST own the boards tonight against UVA. Last time out they were outrebounded 39-30. Anderson had 9 of those in a dominant performance, but again, he’s out for this one. Aside from him, the Pack let up 8 boards to Atkins and 7 more to Gill. You can put that on the State bigs who just were out muscled. But that was without the Abu we know now. Adding him to the mix could help down there significantly.

Back to Anderson real fast, he put up 16pts, 9 boards, and 3 assists last time out against the Pack. They lost him in the second half of the game against Louisville. That was the first time all season they had to play without their emotional, scoring and defensive leading senior. What happened in that half? Well, they let up 34 points and only scored 28. While they still won, they weren’t themselves without Anderson. That was only 4 days ago, so that means they’ve had 3 days to prepare a gameplan without him. I don’t put anything past Tony Bennett, but replacing your senior team leader might seem doable in practice, but this will be their first time really attempting to do it in a game. This is a huge break for the Wolfpack.

Ok, back to the numbers. Without Anderson (who was shooting an insane 48% from beyond the arc) Virginia really doesn’t have a go to shooter. Brogden is hitting 36% from deep, but thats really not his game. After that no one with a significant amount of attempts is shooting above 32%.

FTs will also be big. Last time out against the Cavs, State shot a piss poor 22% from the line. Virginia hit 90%. If State can control the boards, play as a team and knock down their FTs, they can get the season changing win they desperately need.

6 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
6 Comments
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

It’s not an easy task sitting on the bench all season and then be asked to enter the game a few minutes here and there while producing immediately. This coaching staff has misused Dez Lee and I feel like it’s too late to try and add him to the rotation at this point in the season. Very few players can go from the bench and produce like a starter. So yeah I understand if he looks lost sometimes. I feel really bad for Dez because he could have gone to another school and gotten 30+ minutes a game. Shame on… Read more »

PackInsider Staff
8 years ago

I do agree that when things go cold form outside they could use a lot more of Dez. He can go strong to the hoop and get to the line,  however Dez needs to limit his lapses in concentration. I think that is why Gott tends to overlook him when looking down the bench.

THEOKEEP
THEOKEEP
8 years ago

I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND HOW DESMOND LEE WENT FROM 24 MPG TO 8 MPG?

THEOKEEP
THEOKEEP
8 years ago

LIVE BY THE JUMPER DIE BY THE JUMPER. WHY ARE THEY SHOOTING JUMPERS ALL GAME LIKE THEY HAVE THE “SPLASH BROTHERS” PLAY DESMOND LEE HE WAS A JUCO ALL-AMERICAN AVERAGING 23 PTS!

THEOKEEP
THEOKEEP
8 years ago

when you play all guards that shoot jumpers and leave the guards that can drive and create problems for other teams the way DESMOND LEE did against THE TARHEELS last year then you get what you deserve lost after loss. this kid has put in time and he is being done WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THEOKEEP
THEOKEEP
8 years ago

they need to utilize the big guards they have to penetrate like DESMOND LEE instead of holding him on the bench!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

NC State Basketball

NC State’s 2023-23 Men’s Basketball Schedule Has Arrived

Published

on

NC State’s 2023-24 Men’s Basketball schedule has arrived!

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State to Honor David Thompson with Statue Outside Reynolds Coliseum

Published

on

RALEIGH – NC State University will pay tribute to three-time All-American David Thompson with a statue sculpted in his honor that will be placed outside of Reynolds Coliseum.

The unveiling will take place at 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 6, the day of the Wolfpack men’s basketball team’s annual Heritage Game at Reynolds Coliseum, and will be open to the public.

“This is such a deserved honor for the greatest basketball player to ever wear an NC State jersey,” NC State Director of Athletics Boo Corrigan said. “He is one of the most iconic players to ever play in the ACC and our hope is that this statue will ensure that generations of NC State students and fans will always remember the legacy and contributions of David Thompson.”

Thompson is widely recognized as one of the greatest players in college basketball history. A 2008 ESPN story ranked him as one of the ten best college basketball players of all-time, and he is regarded as one of greatest athletes in Atlantic Coast Conference history.

The Boiling Spring, N.C., native played three seasons at NC State from 1972-75 and was a unanimous first-team All-American at the conclusion of all three seasons. He was also named the ACC Player of the Year all three seasons.

He was named the Associated Press National Player of the Year in 1974 and 1975 and remains one of just five players in college basketball history to win multiple AP National Player of the Year honors.

Thompson immediately made his mark on the Pack, helping lead NC State to an undefeated season (27-0) in 1973. The Pack dominated the 1972-73 season and was at the top or near the top of the polls all season as Thompson averaged 24.7 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.

Thompson returned in the 1973-74 season and led the Wolfpack to a 30-1 record and the school’s first NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball National Title.

In the Final Four, Thompson and the Wolfpack met up with UCLA, the seven-time reigning National Champions and the only team to have defeated NC State that season. The Pack trailed 74-67 in the second overtime when Thompson’s heroics helped lead NC State back. Thompson pulled down a defensive rebound and made the go-ahead basket with under one minute remaining and then made two free throws with 38 seconds to go to give the Pack a 78-75 double overtime win in a game that is still considered one of the greatest Final Four games ever played.

Thompson finished the game with 28 points and 10 rebounds in the win over Bill Walton and the Bruins.
Two nights later, the Pack won the National Title over Marquette, 76-64, behind 21 points from Thompson. Thompson was named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.

To make it into the NCAA Tournament, the Pack defeated fourth-ranked Maryland, 103-100, in overtime in the 1974 ACC Championship, in a game that is routinely considered one of the best games in college basketball history.

As a senior, Thompson averaged 29.9 points, still the highest single season average in NC State history. He scored an NC State and ACC record 57 points in an early season win over Buffalo State. The Pack started the season ranked No. 1 in the nation and never fell out of the top-10, but lost in the ACC Championship game to end its season. The Pack finished the season ranked seventh in the nation but because the NCAA Tournament at that time only allowed the conference champion into the tournament its season was over.

Thompson closed his career with 2,309 points in 86 career games. He led the ACC in scoring all three seasons and was NC State and the ACC’s career scoring leader when he graduated.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

Former NC State Basketball Player Torin Dorn Joins Coaching Staff of G-League SLC Stars

Published

on

Former NC State basketball player Torin Dorn has joined the staff of the Salt Lake City Stars, the G-League team for the Utah Jazz. Dorn’s title is Player Development Associate/Assistant Coach.

After playing 3 seasons at NC State, Dorn went on to play professionally overseas in Poland and Czech Republic, before joining the Wolfpack coaching staff last season as a Graduate Manager.

Dorn will be working under newly appointed head coach Steve Wojciechowski (former Duke PG), who was the head coach at Marquette the past 7 seasons.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State Guard MJ Rice Will Be Returning Soon After Stepping Away for a Period of Time

Published

on

NC State Guard MJ Rice (6’5″/215) announced yesterday that due to personal reasons, he had to step away from the basketball program, but was excited to be back with his teammates soon. He was clear that his commitment to NC State hasn’t wavered.

(Tweet)

Life is much bigger than sports. These young men are human beings first and foremost, and as we all know, this life is never simple and easy.

Rice transferred to NC State this offseason from Kansas with three years of eligibility remaining. The former High School McDonald’s All-American didn’t get a lot of playing time in his Freshman season at Kansas, averaging 7.6 minutes per game in only 23 games played.

Coming out of Prolific Prep in California, Rice averaged 20.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game as a Senior. Rivals ranked him as a 5-star prospect, ON3 ranked him 24th nationally, and ESPN ranked him as the #1 player in the state of North Carolina.

Whatever Rice is working through, we value him as a person more than we do a player.

Continue Reading