CBS took on the ginormous task of doing preseason rankings of all 351 men’s college basketball teams, and they ranked NC State 32nd. Even with the departure of Trevor Lacey, CBS still has a very optimistic view of the Wolfpack’s potential this year. In Mark Gottfried’s press conference at NC State’s media day, he said he could see people giving them a preseason ranking of 9th, 10th or 11th in the ACC. It looks like CBS didn’t listen.
32. NC State: Losing Trevor Lacey was a hit that wasn’t quite expected, but at 24 years old he felt it was time to start making money. It’s now Cat Barber’s show, and he’ll be helped by Abdul-Malik Abu, the Martin twins, and a newly-skinny Beejay Anya. (CBS)
CBS’ Preseason Rankings of ACC
1) UNC
5) UVA
7) Duke
20) Notre Dame
21) Miami 32) NC State
43) Syracuse
48) FSU
50) Louisville
60) Pittsburgh
77) Wake Forest
90) Georgia Tech
98) Clemson
109) Virginia Tech
212) Boston College
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Wolfer96
8 years ago
I’m not upset at this low ranking because usually when we get ranked high in the preseason the team underwhelms majorly. So this is probably a good thing. We always seem to do better as the underdog. Having said that realistically I think this team is a top 25 team. Maybe even top 20. Lacey was clutch and will be missed but his defense wasn’t always the best. So maybe we lose a little scoring but make up for it with defense. And I’m hoping that Henderson picks up where Ralston left off with similar outside scoring and better defense… Read more »
Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.
This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.
O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.
He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.
NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).
Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.
ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.
Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.
Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.
Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.
Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)
At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.
Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts and the beloved DJ Burns were both Siren Sounders for the Canes this evening, with Carolina defeating the Islanders 6-3, winning the Round 1 series 4-1.
Me: Were you nervous?
Kevin Keatts: No! I just won nine elimination games in the NCAA Tournament!
I won 1450$ last night following the prediction from Sport Picks. You can check it from http://apple.co/1OOODGv
I’m not upset at this low ranking because usually when we get ranked high in the preseason the team underwhelms majorly. So this is probably a good thing. We always seem to do better as the underdog. Having said that realistically I think this team is a top 25 team. Maybe even top 20. Lacey was clutch and will be missed but his defense wasn’t always the best. So maybe we lose a little scoring but make up for it with defense. And I’m hoping that Henderson picks up where Ralston left off with similar outside scoring and better defense… Read more »