Trevor Lacey: Round of 32

As the season has extended into March there is no question that Trevor Lacey’s performances have been a little uneven. What is the cause for the inconsistent performances? Too many minutes? Scouting? Personally I think it has more to do with the scouting instead of Lacey being tired. Yes, Trevor leads our team in minutes per game at 35.7, but I think as the season has progressed more teams have understood the importance of putting length on Trevor in order to disrupt his signature pull up. Many people have been quick to point out how Lacey hasn’t been as efficient scoring the basketball; however, he has not allowed his offense to affect the rest of his game. Look at his performance versus LSU he had 9 points (4-15 fg), 9 rebounds, and 4 assists. He struggled to score but he made his impact on the boards and he still set his teammates up.

The main quality that I love in Lacey is his leadership and ability to stay positive. Against LSU he could have easily given in, but he trusted his teammates and coaches which resulted in a nail biting win. I forecast that Trevor will have a big game tonight as he will find his spots against Villanova. It will be critical that Trevor take care of the ball as the Wildcats are excellent at forcing turnovers and converting them into transition 3’s. Villanova will most likely put Dylan Ennis their best perimeter defender on Trevor in hopes of taking away NC State’s leading scorer. In my opinion this will be a great match up that will be tilted in Lacey’s favor. Ennis is a junior guard who stands at 6-2 and weights roughly 190 pounds, which means Trevor will have the size advantage. All season Lacey has been crafty at creating space by employing a number of hesitations, step backs, and shot fakes to beat his defender 1 on 1. I think his tricks will be mighty effective working against the smaller Ennis and he could be in a position to have a big night.

I want to see Trevor come out and be super aggressive offensively in the way he attacks. Being aggressive doesn’t mean taking a lot of shots but looking to create. If Trevor can use his strength to get his shoulders past his defender and bully his way into the paint I am confident that NC State will give the Wildcats all they can handle. As Lacey gets into the paint he will be set up for his one dribble pull up as the defense will play off of him. The engine that makes the Wolfpack go is without a doubt is Trevor Lacey, sure Cat is a great catalyst but he really gets to the rim much easier when defenders are forced to cling tight to Lacey and Turner. Look for Gottfried to get Lacey going early with some ball screens to get him into a rhythm.  I predict that Trevor will find his scoring touch tonight and there will be plenty of shots of his grin as the Wolfpack looks to play spoiler once more!