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NC State Wolfpack vs. Williams & Mary Tribe
8pm | Raleigh, NC | ESPN3

Notes:
This is NC State’s season opener. William & Mary actually has beaten NC State before. That was in 1952. The Tribe graduated their all-time leading scorer, Marcus Thornton, last season. However, they do return 4 starters.

Scouting report: 
As we stated, W&M has 4 starters coming back this season and 7 of their top 10 scorers. Omar Prewitt, Terry Tarpey, Daniel Dixon and Sean Sheldon combined for 43 points and 20 rebounds per game last year. Together, they’ve played 283 games, with 157 starts. The TLDR here is that they are experienced and they can score  (via the 3 ball.)

Their weakness:
W&M is not going to out-rebound anyone and their defense leaves much to be desired (allowed almost 80ppg last season). They are going to struggle to keep Cat Barber out of the lane and they are simply just not big enough to match up with the Pack. If they aren’t hitting from the outside, this could be a long night.

Keys for NC State:
State needs to control the tempo on offense and get good shots. A lot of that is going to fall on the shoulders of Cat Barber. The bigs should really have a big night offensively, with a lot of stat padding going on with rebound and put backs. On defense, the Pack really needs to make sure to keep close on the shooters. With their length you’d think this wouldn’t be a real issues, but last season they were not very good at closing out and contesting 3s. If they can funnel the Tribe’s guards into the lane, then Beejay and company can take it from there. This should be a good tune-up for Gottfried’s group.

 

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

wormncsu Yeah but Henderson looked like crap out there before he got hurt. Looked like someone who has never been in a college game. I know it’s just one game but they looked so horrible in all facets of the game it’s hard to have much enthusiasm for this team. They got out-hustled for much of the game, out rebounded, didn’t know how to cover a switch, shots were mostly forced and not setup, turned the ball over. I could go on and on. There were very few bright spots. I thought coach gave the green light to Rowan and… Read more »

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

wolfpack74 You have to give credit to Caleb as well. He seemed to be the only one that came to play much of the game. Abu was okay but settled for too many long jumpers.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago

Wolfer96 If he doesn’t bring BAM BAM and Alkins, it won’t  matter.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago

I told you guys how bad this team was going to be.  Only Wolfer96 has a open mind.  Barber sucks, big men can’t score (except Abu), everyone else playing roles that they are not accustom to playing.  I never thought that I would say this this early.  Bring on baseball.

wormncsu
wormncsu
7 years ago

It is discouraging but let’s not throw gott under the bus. Taking us to NCAA four straight years and two sweet 16. This team will have to find an identity and find it quickly. The team we played tonight was no push over the guys did not show up. Losing Henderson hurt as well.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

This is the crap that Gott puts together year 5? I have now lost all faith. Guess I’ll have to wait another season for Dennis to come show us what a real PG can do.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

How can 2 twins be so different? Caleb is doing it all out there and Cody is missing layups right under the basket.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

If only Caleb can get the others to play like they care. He’s single handedly keeping this team in the game.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

I hope someone took money to throw this game because it’s inexcusable otherwise. Cat Barber is the worst PG in the ACC at this moment.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

What is Cat even doing out there? He’s getting beat by his man, not driving to the hoop, not hitting 3’s.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

Caleb has the ugliest shot ever. Slowest release I’ve ever seen. He’s like the anti-StephCurry.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

Cat looks worse than the 1st half of last season. Anya made no progress. Team still can’t play defense at all.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
7 years ago

So far not so good. This is just embarrassing. These guys look like they never played together before.

NC State Basketball

D.J. Burns is OFFICIALLY BACK!

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Well, it’s OFFICIAL. D.J Burns will be returning to NC State for his final year of collegiate eligibility!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by DJ Burns / BIG 30♨️ (@dj.b30)

This confirms everything I’d been hearing about the return of Burns. Burns was the key to the Wolfpack offense running effectively this past year. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2022-23, but he elevated his game in ACC play, averaging 16.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in conference games.

Burns is celebrating his return to run with the Wolfpack by dropping his own Big 30 merch. Go over and snag something.

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NC State Basketball

Isaiah Miranda is an Early Entry Candidate for the 2023 NBA Draft

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The NBA released the names of the 242 players that have filed as early entry candidates for NBA Draft 2023 last night, and NC State’s Isaiah Miranda’s name was on the list.

Miranda (7’1″/225) joined the Wolfpack back in December, deciding to forgo the remainder of his prep season. Miranda didn’t see the court for NC State, resulting in a redshirt season.

ON3 ranked Miranda as the #16 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.

It makes perfect sense for a player like Miranda, with his height and athleticism, to go through the draft process to be evaluated on what he needs to continue to work on. As an early entrant, Miranda has the ability to pull his name out of the draft and remain a collegiate athlete.

I don’t expect Miranda to keep his name in the hat when the time comes. From what I hear his game has tons of potential, but he still needs to fine tune his craft. Also, Miranda shared this on social media, implying he will be back in the Red and White next year.

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NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra Commits to NC State

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NC State picked up their 5th transfer today. Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) committed to run with the Wolfpack today while in Raleigh on an Official Visit.

Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

With news breaking today that Dusan Mahorcic entered the Transfer Portal, the Wolfpack found his replacement. NC State’s frontcourt in 2023-24 currently will be made up of D.J. Burns, Ben Middlebrooks, Mohamed Diarra and Ernest Ross.

Check out these highlights of Diarra.

There is a lot to like in Diarra’s game. He is athletic, can hit a jump shot, put the ball on the floor, can play defense on the perimeter, block shots, and is an aggressive rebounder.

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NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra is On an Official Visit to NC State Today

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Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) is on an Official Visit to NC State today. Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Diarra entered the Transfer Portal on March 28th.

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