NC State started fast, but puttered through final half on their way to a 66-59 loss to Michigan.

It was a tough pill to swallow for Gottfried and company as Michigan was forced to play most of the game without their leader Derrick Walton Jr. who left with a sprained ankle in the first half and still won.

This is a young NC State team, but not a team void of experience. There were some positives last night, but also some red flags and things that desperately need to be addressed if they want to be in tournament contention by the end of the season. Here are a few areas that NC State came up short against the Wolverines last night.

What’s going on with the bigs?

Abu, Anya and Freeman were being relied on for some major contributions this season, but this group has been largely underwhelming thus far. It’s not all their fault. The Pack is not playing as a cohesive unit. The guards are not feeding the posts enough. Then when they do, the Wolfpack bigs are forcing shots in fear that they won’t get the ball for a few more possessions. This has got to stop. The guards need to trust their bigs. When they get position, feed them the ball. The bigs, however, have to be quick to move the ball when a double comes or if they’re not in great positions to score.

Last night we saw some glimpses of what Beejay Anya could be if he was more aggressive and he was given more touches in the post. His frame, added quickness and length allowed him to get some really easy buckets. He was 4-5 from the field for 9 points (and added 7 boards and 3 blocks) but his free throw shooting was crippling. He was 1-6 from the stripe and has had trouble there his whole career. If he gets the ball in the post and keeps attacking he’ll get his points but may really hurt the Pack if he’s getting to the line and not knocking down the free ones.

Abu has gone missing. At the end of last season we were watching a future NBA star emerge. He was strong on the blocks, always in attack mode, and getting to the line at will. He was playing with tenacity, his emotion sparked runs and his play pushed the Pack into the sweet 16. This year has been puzzling. He has gone back to settling for jump shots, playing less aggressive and without the edge we’ve seen from him in the past. Gottfried says he’s not hurt, but you have to wonder why a kid with this much size and athleticism is shying away from contact and post play. Last night, the guy who many thought could be the centerpiece of the Wolfpack offense played 13 minutes, went 0-6, finished with 2 points and didn’t have a single rebound. This game is on the heels of another 14 minutes, 2 point performance against Winthrop in a game Abu should have absolutely dominated. We will monitor this situation, but we are as surprised as you are by Abu’s play of late.

Shooting (shot selection) Woes Continue

Last night we were made aware of a stat that said only Caleb Martin and Maverick Rowan have hit 3s for NC State this season. When we looked back, it was correct. And it’s not only the 3s that have been a problem for State. Cat Barber is shooting just 36% from the field (last on the team) after hitting nearly 44% last season. He’s also 0-8 from 3 so far. Last year Cat hit 38% of this 3s.

So if State isn’t shooting well from 3 (31%) and their bigs aren’t getting touches, then how are they attempting to score? The answer is that they are relying on mid range contested jumpers far too often. They are forcing 3 points shots at times, which is hurting their percentage, and they are not getting to the rim with any consistency. At the end of they day they are shooting such a low percentage because they are taking such low percentage shots. That has got to change.

If this team wants to win it needs to play as a unit. They need to move the basketball, run the offense, cut with conviction and attack with authority. This team is playing too soft, too loose and too selfish to be considered dangerous in the ACC. Gottfried may say that this group is just missing their shots (video below), but it’s most certainly a deeper problem than that. It’s fixable for sure, but not just guys missing shots.

Find your Identity and Embrace it

The trend we’ve seen with Gottfried is that his teams get better as the season goes along, and are usually in contention by season’s end. That may be the what we’ll witness as the season unfolds, but if it does, it will be because this team found it’s identity.

This team’s identity won’t be it’s sharp-shooting, or it’s ability to spread the floor and let one person out athlete everyone else. No, if this NC State team wants to be great it’s going to have to start getting serious about it’s defense.

Now, denying the basketball and staying in the passing lanes doesn’t fill up the stat sheet. Boxing out and constantly communicating on help side aren’t exactly the sexiest things one can do on the basketball court, but these are qualities of teams that have an edge about their defense. Teams that take it personal when their man scores on them and are happy to expend most of their energy not trying to get open, but to get stops. These are the qualities of teams with a killer instinct. These are teams that want to win together. They’re not looking at points or rebounds or trying to make a highlight reel play on the break. These qualities are only found in teams that are playing for each other and for a common goal. Right now NC State isn’t close to being this type of team. Aside from a few spurts where Cody Martin has really locked down, and a couple possessions when Cat has decided to harass his man, this team has played passive defensively.

This team doesn’t have a Trevor Lacy. Maverick Rowan hitting more 3s isn’t going to change the game. Caleb Martin knocking down deep 3s isn’t going to make this NC State team a true threat night in and night out. However, buying into defense will. By forgetting about the box scores and the fans and the scouts, and by being obsessed with locking down their opponent, disrupting offensive sets, making it a chore for the PG to get down the court, this team could be a true disrupter in the ACC.

Great defensive teams make it difficult for the initiating pass to be made. They keep a hand in the passing lane. They see man and ball at all times. They force teams to start their offense from further out by pressuring the ball handler. They never lose focus on the defensive end. This is the type of teams that offenses are afraid to face. These are the types that get people out of their comfort zone and out of their rhythm. If this Wolfpack team is going to achieve greatness this season, it’s going to have to change is style and focus and start getting down to the dirty business of defense.

NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Releases Their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

Published

19 hours ago

July 26, 2024

NC State Athletics

NC State Women’s Basketball team released their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule yesterday.

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s basketball program has announced its non-conference slate for the 2024-25 season, as revealed on Thursday.

The Pack will play eight of its 11 games, in addition to a preseason exhibition, at Reynolds Coliseum. Coming off a historical 2023-24 season that was highlighted by the program’s first Final Four since 1998, second in program history, head coach Wes Moore is entering his 12th season at the helm. With a strong home court advantage, the Pack has accumulated a 117-15 (.886) record at home since the renovation of Reynolds Coliseum was completed in August 2016.

NC State will participate in the Pink Flamingo Championship at Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday, Nov. 25 and Wednesday, Nov. 27 against opponents that will be announced at a later date. As previously announced, NC State will play the defending NCAA Champion South Carolina at the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Sunday, Nov. 10, as well as host Ole Miss for the SEC/ACC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The Wolfpack will host Anderson (S.C.) for an exhibition on Tuesday, Oct. 29 before officially starting the season at home vs. ETSU on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Following the Ally Tipoff, NC State will return home to host Kent State on Thursday, Nov. 14.

NC State’s first true road game of the season is at TCU on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Pack will then play Coastal Carolina at home on Thursday, Nov. 21 before its trip to the Bahamas for two games (Nov. 25-27).

The Pack will close out the non-conference slate with four straight games at Reynolds Coliseum, starting with the SEC/ACC Challenge game vs. Ole Miss (Thursday, Dec. 5). NC State will then host Old Dominion (Sunday, Dec. 8), Davidson (Wednesday, Dec. 11) and James Madison (Thursday, Dec. 19) to wrap up non-conference play.

With NC State’s known non-conference opponents, six are coming off postseason tournament appearances. Three received NCAA Tournament bids (Kent State, Ole Miss and NCAA Champion South Carolina), two were invited to play in the WBIT (TCU and James Madison) and one played in the WNIT (Old Dominion).

NC State’s Atlantic Coast Conference schedule will be announced by the league office at a later date. NC State will play Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech at home. The Pack will take on Wake Forest, Cal, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse on the road.

Season tickets are sold out for the 2024-25 season. Tip-off times and television designations will also be released at a later date.

2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Anderson (Exh.)

Tuesday, Nov. 5 – ETSU

Sunday, Nov. 10 – South Carolina $

Thursday, Nov. 14 – Kent State

Sunday, Nov. 17 – at TCU

Thursday, Nov. 21 – Coastal Carolina

Monday, Nov. 25 – Opponent TBD &

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – Opponent TBD &

Thursday, Dec. 5 – Ole Miss +

Sunday, Dec. 8 – Old Dominion

Wednesday, Dec. 11 – Davidson

Thursday, Dec. 19 – James Madison

$ – Ally Tipoff (Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.)

& – Pink Flamingo Championship (Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas)

+ – SEC/ACC Challenge (Raleigh, N.C.)

NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

Published

2 days ago

July 24, 2024

Matthew Bradham

NC State Legend Julius Hodge has been named the Head Coach at Lincoln University.

I’m excited to be named as the 24th head men’s basketball coach at Lincoln University. Thank you to President Allen and our athletic director Harry Stinson III.

At 40 years young, God is still making my dreams come true. #WaterTheGarden #WhenWeHungry #GoLions pic.twitter.com/8UzN8dTokC

— Julius Hodge (@Follow24Hodge) July 24, 2024

This marks Hodge’s first stint as a Head Coach.

Hodge has been in the Coaching world since 2015, when he served as Director of Player Development at the University of Buffalo under Bobby Hurley. Then, he spent 2016 and 2017 as an Assistant Coach under Herb Sendek at Santa Clara. From 2018-20, Hodge served as an Assistant Coach at San Jose State. Hodge has spent the past three seasons as an Assistant Coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

At NC State, Hodge earned 1st Team All-ACC honors in 2003 & 2004, and 2nd Team honors in 2005. Hodge was named the ACC Player of the Year in ’04. He earned the All-Freshman Team in 2002.

Hodge is 1 of 11 players in NC State history to earn 1st Team All-ACC honors more than once.

His 2,040 career points scored rank 3rd in NC State history. Hodge also ranks 1st in Free Throws Made, 14th in Rebounds, 7th in Offensive Rebounds, 6th in Assists and 7th in Steals.

Congrats Julius! You deserve this!

NC State Basketball

WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

Published

4 days ago

July 23, 2024

Matthew Bradham

NC State Men’s Basketball is releasing videos helping fans get to know the new players on the 2024-25 roster.

Below is the video of Freshman Trey Parker (6’1″/178), with a transcript underneath.

Showtime Trey 👀

Get to know the freshman, @showtimetreyy! pic.twitter.com/u2VLR7VTtF

— NC State Men’s Basketball (@PackMensBball) June 28, 2024

“My name is Trey Parker. I’m an incoming Freshman from Fayetteville, North Carolina.”

“I was recently playing at Overtime Elite. It was a great experience. A whole lot of development and great energy.”

“Coach Levi (Watkins) recruited me. As soon as I got to the campus, it was a great experience. They just gave me that big inspiration to feel like I’m home, and feel like a great student outside of basketball.”

“I knew I wanted to be a part of the Pack back in November of 2022. I just felt like it was a great fit for me.”

“Living in North Carolina, and now playing in North Carolina, is a big opportunity. There’s a lot of people from North Carolina looking up to me, and I want to give them what they want to see.”

“Being close, allows for them to bring the whole city out. It just feels like I’m already at home.”

“Y’all stay tuned. Showtime is coming this year.”

_______

Parker originally signed with NC State in November of 2022, as a member of the 2023 recruiting class. He decided to reclassify, making him a member of the 2024 class.

Parker is a consensus 3-Star prospect, though 247Sports’ Composite Rankings have him as a 4-Star prospect. 247 ranks him as the #135 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #26 Shooting Guard, and the #13 player in the state of Georgia.

NC State Basketball

Jersey Numbers for 2024-25 NC State Men’s Basketball Team Revealed

Published

1 week ago

July 18, 2024

Matthew Bradham

The NC State Men’s Basketball team revealed the Jersey Numbers for their 2024-25 team yesterday.

Numbers that are Staying the Same

Michael O’Connell – #12

Ben Middlebrooks – #34

Dennis Parker Jr. – #11

KJ Keatts – #13

Jordan Snell – #22

Numbers that have Changed

Jayden Taylor – #1 –> #8

Breon Pass – #10 –> #4

Numbers of New Players

Mike James – #0 (He wore #0 at Louisville last year)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield – #1 (He wore #5 at Louisville last year)

Paul McNeil – #2 (He wore #2 in High School last year)

Dontrez Styles – #3 (He wore #0 at Georgetown last year)

Trey Parker – #5 (He wore #5 in High School last year)

Marcus Hill – #10 (He wore #0 at Bowling Green last year)

We don’t know what number Ismael Diouf will be wearing at NC State next year yet.

Pack Insider

NC State Faces Identity Crisis After 66-59 Loss to Michigan

NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Releases Their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

NC State Basketball

WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

NC State Basketball

Jersey Numbers for 2024-25 NC State Men’s Basketball Team Revealed