NC State Basketball
Sweet 16 Coverage: Ralston Turner The X-Factor
Where has Ralston Turner been? I am sure it is a question many Wolfpack fans have been asking themselves as Turner has struggled the past couple of games, but I want to go on record and say that Ralston will have a big impact on the game tonight. A lot of attention has been given to Cat Barber and Trevor Lacey and rightfully so; however, Ralston hasn’t been off by much in the first two games of the NCAA Tournament. His shooting numbers are way down as he has gone 2-14 from distance in the Tournament thus far.
I am confident that Ralston will have some good looks tonight and will be prepared to knock them down. As we look back on the travesty that was the Duke game in the ACC Tournament there wasn’t many positives to be gained but Ralston played well. Versus Duke Ralston had 16 points and shot 60 percent from the field. I honestly think that Louisville will present a similar look as they will pressure Barber and Lacey which could leave Turner open; like he was against Duke. The great thing about Ralston is that he is unafraid to miss! What do I mean? Well we have seen Ralston miss 6 or 7 shots in a row only to make his next 5. This trait is rare as it shows that he is mentally tough as well as confident in his abilities. I love when players display the mental fortitude to move past mistakes or missed shots only to make game altering plays minutes later.
Tonight we will see a great game from Ralston and he is the X-Factor who will most likely determine if NC State wins tonight. I don’t have any predictions as to how many points he will have but I am confident in saying that he will play a great game tonight. Look for Turner to be aggressive in finding his pull up jumper. I have said it all season that I feel like he is at his best when he looks to hunt that 12-15 foot jump shot. Once Ralston sees the ball go through the net; we have all witnessed the fireworks that can erupt when he gets confident. There haven’t been many players that I can think of that have represented North Carolina State University better than Ralston Turner. Let’s hope that his career can go a couple more games!
Wolfer96 wolfpack74 Washington scored 11 points in 9 minutes. Where was he during the last 10 minutes of the game? He must have been sent to the showers or he boarded the bus early. Either way, Gott has to get his head out of his ass concerning Kyle. No where have I seen anything about the defensive capability of Terry Henderson. Has to be better than Scarecrow Turner.
wolfpack74 Wolfer96 I tend to worry less about Freshmen and their mistakes. In my opinion the guys with the most upside are Abu and the Martin twins. Caleb did get caught in the air with no one to pass to but he also had some nice passes and that monster dunk. So he was a net positive for the game. As for Freeman, Cat, and Anya I think they have likely hit their ceiling. Lacey has likely hit his ceiling as well because I really can’t imagine him playing much better but that remains to be seen. Because Anya has bad… Read more »
Wolfer96 Rotation was a major issue to night. You know how I feel about Washington, he outscored all the other three put together. His defense was no worst than Anya, Turner or Freeman. It was obvious that Gott was out coached especially when he went to three different time outs and did not change personnel. Cat was catatonic again. Caleb does not deserve the time he gets, sorry. Maybe someone will really improve before the start of next year. I fear that it will look just like this one. The kind that gets you up and then drops you… Read more »
Ralston hit his 3’s but countered them with his usual brand of poor defense. Other than the 2 three pointers Cat did not show up. He made one poor decision after another. Anya was pretty much useless out there. He played timid. I feel bad for Lacey because he’s the only one that showed up for the entire game. Why Gott didn’t play Kyle more in the 2nd half I do not know? I thought Gott just got out coached and didn’t use the proper rotations. His team settled too often for the long jump shot and didn’t attack the… Read more »