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This past Friday I was lucky enough to go to the NC State Men’s Basketball Alumni Dinner at Coach Gottfried’s house.  Coach Gottfried has made this an annual event where all former players, managers, and coaches are welcome to come to his house and have dinner.  It is a super relaxed atmosphere that allows ample time to reminisce with former players, teammates, and friends.  If the 14-year old version of myself would have known that I would one day be involved and a part of the NC State Basketball family, he would of been skeptical, but ecstatic at the thought.

Fast forward to today where Coach Gottfried and his staff have done an excellent job showing the present and future players of NC State Basketball the greats that have come before them.  Friday night the current members of the team were in attendance, and all throughout the night they were talking to the likes of Tommy Burleson, David Thompson, Ben McCauley, Todd Fuller, Eddie Biedenbach, Chucky Brown, Chris Corchiani, and the list goes on.  It was a night that any NC State fan would have killed to be at, just to meet those who so many loved to watch.

The most impressive thing about Mark Gottfried is that he realizes everyone plays a part.  The managers and administration staff are important, and the past players are the ones responsible for the golden opportunity he has had at NC State.  He was extremely gracious and complimented Randy Woodson, Debbie Yow, and Bobby Purcell, because they are giving him every possible resource to build a national power house.

Gottfried broke news that the new dorms for the Men’s and Women’s teams have been cleared for construction.  Gottfried and Debbie Yow have traveled to see Kentucky’s dorms and have plans to go to Kansas to visit similar facilities.  Gottfried plans to take these examples and transform them to better fit NC State’s needs.

Gottfried exudes confidence and is excited that the start of the season is here.  His team just completed a rigorous Navy Seals style boot camp to prepare them for the opening practice that will take place today.

The training involved a late night session that had them in the Close-King indoor practice facility followed by an early AM wake up to swim.  This type of tough training has a way of bringing the team together.  Coach Gottfried and company have a great group of guys that all seem to enjoy being around each other.  This camaraderie will pay dividends once the season starts.

Building a program is a process that takes time.  It is a process that NC State is quickly progressing through as they are starting to reap the rewards of the hard work and dedication put forward by the whole Men’s Basketball Staff and those who give them support.  I look forward to the continued expansion, and watching Gottfried achieve his goal of developing this program and ultimately bringing a National Championship to Raleigh again.

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NC State Basketball

NC State 84 BC 78: BOX SCORE

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5 hours ago

on

December 2, 2023

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NC State improved to 5-2 this afternoon, defeating Boston College 84-78 on the road, winning their 2023-24 ACC opener. Below is the box score.

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NC State Basketball

NC State is a Slight Underdog in ACC Opener vs. Boston College

Published

1 day ago

on

December 1, 2023

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NC State (4-2) will play their first ACC game of the 2023-24 season tomorrow on the road against Boston College (5-2), and they enter the game as slight underdogs. The Wolfpack are 1.5-point underdogs, and the Total is 150.5.

  • NC State is 0-2 Straight Up as underdogs
    • BC is 4-1 Straight Up as favorites.
  • NC State is 2-4 Against the Spread.
    • BC is 4-3 Against the Spread
  • The Total has gone Under in 2 games for NC State, Over in 3 and Pushed in 1.
    • The Total has gone Under in 3 games for Boston College and Over in 4.
  • NC State is 6-4 in their last 10 games against BC Straight Up.
    • NC State is 4–6 Against the Spread in their last 10 games against BC.
    • The Total has gone Under in 5 games, and Under in the other 5.

NC State

Boston College 

 

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NC State Basketball

#5 NC State 70 Vanderbilt 62: BOX SCORE (with notes)

Published

3 days ago

on

November 29, 2023

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The 5th ranked NC State Women’s Basketball team improved to 8-0 tonight, defeating Vanderbilt 70-62 in the inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge.

Notes

  • Saniya Rivers scored 20+ points for the 2nd time this season, scoring 22 points on 8 of 14 shooting. She also chipped in 8 rebounds and 2 steals.
  • River Baldwin posted her first double-double of the season. She scored 12 points and grabbed 10 boards.
  • Aziaha James has now scored in double figures in 7 of 8 games, scoring 14 points tonight, shooting 6 of 10 from the field and 2 of 3 from beyond the arc.
  • Freshman Zoe Brooks led the Pack in steals (4) and assists (4).
  • NC State didn’t shoot well, making only 39% of their shots. Fortunately, they held Vandy to 34.3% shooting.

The Wolfpack will host Illinois State on Sunday at 2pm.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Stat Leaders Heading into the ACC Opener vs Boston College

Published

3 days ago

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November 29, 2023

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This Saturday, NC State heads to Boston College for the now-annual early ACC opener. The Pack will face off against the Eagles at 4pm on ACC Network. Here is where the team is statistically after 6 games.

  • Casey Morsell leads NC State in scoring with 14.5 ppg.
  • The Pack has 4 double-digit scorers this season. Morsell (14.5), Jayden Taylor (13.3), DJ Burns (13) and DJ Horne (11.2)
    (Last season State had 4 double-digit scorers as well. Terquavion (17.9), Joiner (17), Burns (12.5) and Morsell (11.8)) 
  • After their top 4 scorers there is a big dip. Parker comes in at 6.8, O’Connell at 6.3, and Middlebrooks at 5.5 ppg.
    (Last season Jack Clark was 5th on the team in scoring at 9 points and Mahorcic was at 8.7. However, both guys missed a large chunk of the season.) 
  • Burns is leading NC State in rebounding this year at 5.3 per game. Diarra is next with 5.3 (but is currently hampered by an ankle injury.) 
  • O’Connell is leading NC State in assists with 3.3 per game, and Burns is up next with 2.5. PG DJ Horne is only averaging 2.
  • LJ Thomas and Mike O’Connell are tied in leading the team at .15 assists per minute.
  • Jayden Taylor is leading NC State in 3pt %, shooting an outstanding 45.8%, while Morsell is up next at 34.6%. Horne is close behind at 33%.
    (LJ Thomas is shooting 50% from 3, but only has 2 attempts.) 
  • Burns is leading the bigs, shooting 56.5% from the floor, while Middlebrooks is close behind at 54.2%. Dennis Parker Jr is coming in at 45.2%.
  • For the guards, it’s Casey Morsell leading the way at 44.6% from the floor, while O’Connell is next up at 43.4%. Taylor is shooting 42.4%, and DJ Horne is struggling a bit, shooting just 34.8% from the field.
  • Jayden Taylor is turning the ball over the most at 1.8 times per game, while Burns is next at 1.7. Morsell is at 1.5 and O’Connell is at 1.2. DJ Horne has been doing a good job of protecting the basketball, turning it over just .3 times per game.

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