The AP Preseason College Basketball poll came out today, and NC State recevied 19 votes, which ranks them 34th overall. Here is a breakdown of NC State’s history in the AP Poll.
NC State has STARTED the season ranked 16 times. Out of those 16 times, the Wolfpack only finished in the Top 25 seven times.
1970-71 – 19th
1972-23 – 8th
1973-74 – 2nd
1974-75 – 1st
1975-76 – 13th
1976-77 – 15th
1978-79 – 12th
1982-83 – 16th
1984-85 – 13th
1985-86 – 17th
1986-87 – 17th
1988-89 – 18th
1989-90 – 19th
2003-04 – 24th
2004-05 – 19th
2007-08 – 21st
2012-13 – 6th
NC State has FINISHED the season ranked 17 times. This goes to show that Preseason rankings aren’t everything. 59% of the time NC State has finished in the Top 25, they didn’t start the season ranked (10 of 17).
1948-49 – 13th
1949-50 – 5th
1950-51 – 8th
1952-63 – 18th
1954-55 – 4th
1955-56 – 2nd
1957-58 – 20th
1958-59 – 6th
1969-70 – 10th
1972-73 – 2nd
1973-74 – 1st
1974-75 – 7th
1982-83 – 16th
1984-85 – 16th
1987-88 – 14th
1988-89 – 19th
2003-04 – 15th
The final AP poll is always released after the NCAA tournament field is select, but it doesn’t account for how teams do in March Madness. The Coaches Poll takes the tournament into account, and Mark Gottfried’s Wolfpack teams have finished the season in the Top 25 twice (2011-12: 20th/2014-15: 24th)
Here is a look at how many times NC State has been ranked at each spot in the Top 25, and the last time they were there.
NC State hasn’t been ranked in the Top 25 of the AP poll since January 26th of 2013. The last time they finished in the Top 25 of the AP poll was in 2004. Maybe this will be the first year Mark Gottfried leads the Wolfpack to a spot on the final AP poll in March of next year.
According to reports, NC State is adding UMASS’ Brett Nelson as an Assistant Coach.
Sources: Brett Nelson is leaving UMass to join Kevin Keatts’ staff at NC State as an assistant.
Matt Figger — who worked for Frank Martin at both South Carolina and Kansas State — will replace Nelson in Amherst.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 15, 2024
Nelson was only at UMASS for 1 season under Frank Martin. Prior to that, Nelson was the Head Coach at Holy Cross for 4 seasons, posting a 27-84 record.
Prior to taking the Head Coaching mantle at Holy Cross, Nelson was at Marquette for 5 seasons, spending the first 3 as an Assistant Coach, and the final two as an Associate Head Coach. Prior to Marquette, Nelson also served as an Assistant Coach at Ball St., Drake, Arkansas and Marshall.
Before coaching basketball, Nelson played for the University of Florida from 1999-2003. He was All-SEC twice, and earned Third Team All-American honors. When he left Gainesville, he was the Gators’ all-time leader in three pointers made, and ranked 2nd in steals.
As a Senior in High School, Nelson was a McDonald’s All-American.
Power Forward Ernest Ross announced this morning that he is returning to NC State for his final year of eligibility.
View this post on Instagram
Last Friday, Ross committed to UTSA after entering the Transfer Portal on April 17th, but it looks like he had a change of heart over the past couple of days.
NC State has been in desperate need to add a Big out of the Portal. They have hosted ECU’s Ezra Ausar and Georgia’s Frank Anselem-Ibe, but neither of them have found a home yet. With the addition of Ross, NC State has added depth in the Frontcourt, and unless something changes, their roster is full with 13 scholarship players.
Ross played in 14 games this past season, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in NC State’s 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
