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Gameday: Keys for a NC State upset over #15 UNC

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9 years ago

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The day started with a surprise snow storm that blanketed much of central North Carolina and it if the Wolfpack comes prepared it could end with a surprise upset heard ’round the ACC.

Despite a hard snow for much of the morning, ACC officials are saying the game will go on as planned. With NC State already in Chapel Hill, travel should not be a real issue for the team. What will be an issue is offensive rebounding, stopping Marcus Paige and finding a way to get Trevor Lacey going early.

Let’s take a deeper look at the keys to the game:

The bigs must come up big:
If NC State wants a shot in this game they are going to have to come ready to battle on the boards. UNC has made a living off of rebounding and scoring on the blocks. In the first meeting with Carolina Kennedy Meeks, Brice Johnson and Isaiah Hicks combined for 37 points and 19 boards. While State did win the rebounding battle the first time, it won’t be so easy on the road at UNC where the Heels have been playing great and have only lost 2 conference games (both to teams ranked in the top 15).

Gottfried has tinkered with his front court but has seemingly finally found something that works. That something is going with the more physical front line of Abu and Freeman (with Anya coming off the bench). The odd man out right now is Kyle Washington, however I wouldn’t count him totally out of this one. Washington gives State the ability to draw the UNC bigs out of the paint with his short baseline jumpers. In the first meeting it was Washington who really sparked the Pack with 17 points on 8-14 shooting.

 

Stop Marcus Paige
The junior point guard has made a living off of killing State. Last year he single handedly beat TJ Warren and the Pack at the PNC and just last month he was the catalyst in their victory over State with his 23 points and 9 assists. Stopping him is paramount and will fall on the shoulders of the red hot Cat Barber.

Barber has been a real reason State has turned the corer as of late and his confidence on offense has bled over to his tenacity on defense. All of the sudden he’s become the leader of this team and as the leader he has taken on a lot of new roles. Gottfried hopes today he takes the role of ‘stopper.’

Paige will also now have to be burdened by guarding Cat. In their first meeting he was guarding a guy who stood around the perimeter and passed side to side. Tonight he’ll face a different animal, one who never stops attacking and creating. This certainly will play a role on his fatigue level and hopefully take him out of his flow on offense.

 

Get Lacey Off
When Lacey gets going State is hard to stop. The problem he faced at the midseason mark was that teams would put bigger, stronger defenders on him. This made it tough for him to create space off the dribble for his pull up. He’s the nation’s leading isolation scorer, but against Carolina he won’t be able to shoot over top of anyone.

Lacey will certainly be hounded by JP Tokoto who is one of the ACC’s best defenders. Tokoto is long, tall and athletic, but he’ll be forced to really press up on Trevor. The good news is that over the past few games Lacey has opened up his game. All of the sudden he’s been finding success in attacking the basket. If he does this he is literally impossible to guard. Press up to close and he can muscle by you. Play off of him and you’ll get a jumper in the eye. If Lacey can get hot he can carry this team over the Heels, but if he allows Tokoto to shut him down like he did last time out (4-13 shooting), State will be in trouble.

 

Keep Ralston Hot
The other huge factor in this game is that Ralston Turner is getting hot again. Over the past few weeks Turner had gone ice cold and had really become a liability to the Pack, but as of late that’s starting to wear off. He’s dropped 28pts over the last 2 games and is shooting 50% from beyond the arc over that time. He’ll be guarded by Justin Jackson who, while tall and wirey, is not really great at chasing around a spot shooter. Turner getting his shot to fall early is huge for the Pack in this game.

 

If State can take care of those things then there’s no doubt they’ll be in a very good position to win this game, however even then the Heels are a tough matchup. This is a team playing their best basketball over the past two games. Remember, they were a few minutes away from knocking off Duke in Cameron before coming out a blowing GT out of the water 89-60. There is a lot on the line tonight and we should be in for a great matchup in the Smith Center.

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ON3’s Jamie Shaw Puts in a Prediction Georgetown SF Transfer Dontrez Styles will Land at NC State

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7 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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ON3’s Jamie Shaw put in an RPM earlier today for Georgetown Small Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles to land at NC State. All-time, Shaw’s prediction accuracy is 87%.

I spoke with a source, and it seems like this prediction has some merit.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #66 overall prospect in the Portal.

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.

With his final year of eligibility, maybe he’ll make the right choice this time.

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Tennessee Guard Freddie Dilione V is Visiting NC State Tomorrow

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18 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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Tennessee Transfer Guard Freddie Dilone V (6’5″/195) is visiting NC State tomorrow.

Dilone V just wrapped up his Redshirt Freshman season with the Volunteers, averaging 1.7 points in 5.2 minutes of play per game (18 games).

In 2022, Dilone V was a consensus 4-Star prospect, and the #33 overall prospect nationally according to Rivals. ON3 and 247Sports both ranked Dilone V as the #1 player in the state of North Carolina, playing right down the road at Word of God Academy in Raleigh.

Currently, 247Sports ranks Dilone V as the #71 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #10 Combo Guard. He played his first three seasons of high school ball down in Fayetteville at Trinity Christian.

Dilone V has 3 more years of eligibility.

 

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PI EXCLUSIVE: 2024 4-Star Signee Paul McNeil Breaks Down His Thoughts On NC State’s Miraculous Run

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21 hours ago

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April 15, 2024

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The run the NC State Men’s Basketball team went on in March had the whole country watching, but what was it like to watch through the eyes of an incoming Freshman who will be joining the team next year? 4-Star 2024 Shooting Guard Paul McNeil shared his thoughts with me on the Wolfpack’s unforgettable run.

What was it like for you to watch NC State as the #10 seed in the ACC Tournament win 5 games in 5 days to win the Title?

What we did this year shows seeding doesn’t matter. What our guys did was just another level, and when you get between those lines, it’s a different type of static. I believe it took a lot of discipline and focus to win five games in five days. I also feel like the fan base played a huge part to the team by bringing extra energy and not making them feel alone.

What do you think happened to turn this team around?

You have to give God all the glory because without Him guiding us, we wouldn’t have made it how we made it. Also, it’s about the jersey you put on and the pride of it all. It’s like there’s no way we go out this way and they clicked at the right time. The team was just rolling and I also think the mentality of all the players changed.

As a player signed with NC State, how proud were you to see NC State go on this run, from the ACC Championship, to the Final Four?

I’m very proud of the guys. They deserved to win it all, but it just didn’t happen that way. I’ve been saying they were the best team in the ACC and I always knew we had the right pieces to be the best.

What does it mean for you to see Coach Keatts get the recognition he’s getting?

Oh man, he deserves it, especially coming from where he comes from and all the things he dealt with. With all the media attention, he still stayed focused and locked in towards the team. Coach Keatts is very blessed and very humble.

How do you think this run will help the future of NC State basketball?

It will put more eyes on us and teams know now to not overlook us and underestimate us ever again. It was never a Cinderella story — it was never ‘oh they just got lucky.’ This run will definitely help us a lot and I’m forever grateful for what the boys did.

_______

McNeil (6’7″/185) led Richmond to the semifinals of the NCHSAA 4A State Playoffs this season, before losing to #1 Hanover 55-53.

As a Senior at Richmond (Rockingham, NC), McNeil averaged 31.7 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 2.6 assists per game.

ON3 ranks McNeil as the #49 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #15 Small Forward, and the #6 player on the state of NC.

McNeil is a part of a 2-man 2024 Freshman Class that includes 4-Star Guard Trey Parker.

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NC State Has Shown Interest in Oregon Transfer Forward Grace VanSlooten

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2 days ago

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April 14, 2024

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NC State has shown interest in Oregon Transfer Forward Grace VanSlooten (6’3″).

VanSlooten is one of the top players in the Transfer Portal, averaging 15.0 points and 7.1 rebounds as a Sophomore this past season for the Ducks, earning All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention. In her first year, she was a member of the Pac 12 All-Freshman Team, averaging 13.2 points and 5.6 rebounds.

NC State is returning all three starters in their backcourt, but are losing both starters in their frontcourt in River Baldwin and Mimi Collins.

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