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NC State falls to 0-3 in the ACC with the loss last night to Wake Forest, 77-74.

In what was another roller coaster ride of a game, NC State fought hard to come back, but eventually fell short to a Deacon team that used their size and their depth to outpace the Pack.

With Abu and Anya battling foul trouble, NC State was forced to go small, allowing Wake big man Devin Thomas to have a big night. Thomas dropped 20 points and grabbed 11 boards in the win.

 

Barber Becoming a Leader
For State it was another huge game for Cat Barber. The junior PG is getting better and better as the season goes on and this may have been his best overall performance. If you’re watching closely, Cat is becoming a team leader. He’s still scoring at a great clip (26pts) but tonight he started to distribute. His 7 assists were a season high, and honestly, the kid is doing all he can to help this team get an ACC win. He just needs a little help.

 

Where is the help?
State is desperate for some scoring help. They were hoping to get a lot more from Caleb Martin, but he’s been ice cold. Over the last 8 games he is 19-76 (25%) from the field and 12-51 (23.5%) from beyond the arc. That from a guy who is shooting the most 3’s on the team (over 7 per game).

Then there’s the freshman Mav Rowan who has also stepped in to attempt to help with the scoring. He’s also been very streaky, with numbers prior to ACC play that mirrored Martin’s. However, since league play started, Rowan has been a decent option. The 6’7 guard is shooting 10-29 (35%) from the field and 7-19 (37%) from 3 point range.

Outside of those two guys, NC State simply does not have a consistent scorer. Abu has been decent this season, but his offensive game has been nowhere near where many expected it to be coming into the season.

This team is desperately missing Terry Henderson (who was hoping to be back by mid January, is now looking like he wont’ be back for another month.)

 

Time to turn to Cody?
With Cat Barber doing his part and NC State still struggling, it’s time to make some adjustments. The team has some glaring holes. Obviously, scoring is an issue, but shooting more contested 3’s isn’t the answer. NC state needs to start allowing their offense to create opportunity. They also need to start defending better. Both of these issues could be worked out by moving Cody Martin into a starting role.

While Caleb will still see minutes, this team can ill-afford to allow him to work out his shooting kinks in the middle of the ACC season. Cody, meanwhile, has had his intangibles on display since the start of league play. He is 8-16 (50%) from the field has 9 assists and 16 rebounds over the 3 games. Add in the fact that he’s NC State’s best defender and that he’s done all of this while playing only 24 minutes per game. Outside of Cat, Cody has been the most efficient player on the court as of late. He has earned his minutes and allowing him to become a more central figure on this basketball team is definitely warranted and certainly worth experimenting with.

 

Bigs got to produce
Simply put, NC State needs more from their bigs. Abu has been producing with double-digit scoring in all but 3 games this season, but they just need more from him. I know asking a sophomore to carry a scoring load isn’t something you’d love to do, but Freeman and Anya just aren’t build to put up points. This means that Abu needs to attack more and not stop. Foul trouble has hurt him, but when he’s in the game he needs to be in attack mode. He needs to polish his post game and his release and he needs to become the Abu we saw at the end of last season. He has the skills to be a monster on the blocks, and right now State needs him more than ever.

Meanwhile, Freeman has been playing his role. He’s rebounding, playing tough, and putting up solid numbers. The problem is, when Abu gets in foul trouble and he and Anya are on the court together, State really has no option but to try to score with their guards. Freeman is limited by his size, but has still done his job. Anya on the other hand, is struggling. The junior big man just isn’t ready to a scoring force on the blocks. He has 8 points over the last 3 games and while he rebounded the ball well in the first two outings, last nights 3 just won’t cut it for a team that needs to rely on him.

 

Showing Fight…Turning the corner?
While many fans left early when the Pack was down by 14 with just 3 minutes to play against Louisville, the team fought back and had it to a one possession game. Again last night against Wake, they got down big, only to fight back and make this one a one possession game. This team has shown short spurts of being very efficient and very dangerous when they are focused and playing together. Unfortunately, these were games State could have won and they now find themselves 0-3. This might be a big hole to dig out of, but with wins over FSU and an upset over UNC this Saturday, many of the early season woes could be forgiven.

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wolfpack74
wolfpack74
8 years ago

0-4 and the beat goes on.

thecrowdgoesmoo
thecrowdgoesmoo
8 years ago

Kirk is very talented to be honest. He’s just not showing it due to lack of confidence. His game isn’t shooting 3’s like he’s doing. but since he rarely plays, he’s going to have a lack of confidence and do things he shouldn’t. Play him more and we will have a much more stable 8 man rotation.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
8 years ago

wormncsu He loaded up on guards because 1) that’s all he knows how to coach or recruit; 2) He doesn’t have any coaches that improve bigs or he has no faith in the coaches he has.  He won’t last past next year, if the team performs like this.  They play hard sometimes but still make silly mistakes.  If we lose the next third or four games, I would go small and play Kirk instead of Anya or Freeman.   Go small and press like hell.  Kirk has no confidence.  Give him some and play him.  Anya and Freeman have peaked or… Read more »

wormncsu
wormncsu
8 years ago

I think we really are seeing how the transfers have hurt us now. Gottfried in his first years try to load up on guards. Now look we only have one when he hope to have a rotation of cat, purvis, and Lewis. Take in Lacey leaving early and Washington’s transfer Gottfried went from a chance to be loaded to basically back to square one. With the outlook so far on next years recruiting class I do not see a lot to be hopefully about in the next couple of years.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
8 years ago

“This might be a big hole to dig out of, but with wins over FSU and an upset over UNC this Saturday, many of the early season woes could be forgiven.”  What in the world are you smoking?  Plant and sell that stuff, if you really believe they will win those games.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
8 years ago

Another one bites the dust.  Get this tone in your head, there will be many more examples this year.

NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 11 Schools with Men’s & Women’s Teams in the NCAAT, & a Football Team in a Bowl Game

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NC State is 1 of 11 schools to have both their Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams earn spots in the NCAA Tournament, while also having a Division-I Football team that played a game in the postseason.

The Wolfpack Women’s Basketball team is a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the Men are an #11 seed. The Football team lost to Kansas St. 19-28 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.

Here’s a look at the other the 11 schools who have pulled off the trifecta.

NC State
Tennessee
Texas
Texas A&M
Kansas
Alabama
Arizona
Auburn
Duke
Iowa St.
UNC

NC State is the only school in the nation, to have both their Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams play in their Conference’s Championship game.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s DJ Burns Joins the 2,000 Point Club

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This past Saturday was a good night for NC State’s DJ Burns. He led NC State to their 1st ACC Championship since 1987. He earned the ACC Tournament MVP Award. He also joined the 2,000 point club.

With 11:52 left in the 2nd half, Burns fittingly made a hook shot that added up to his 1,999th point and his 2,000th point.

Burns joined DJ Horne, who joined the 2,000 point club earlier in the ACC Tournament in the Wolfpack’s victory over Duke.

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NC State Basketball

NC State is Right Outside of the AP Top-25 Heading into the NCAA Tournament

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The new Men’s College Basketball AP Poll is out, and NC State is right outside of the Top-25, sitting at 29th heading into the 1st round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. The Wolfpack will be playing Texas Tech in the 1st round on Thursday night at 9:40, and the Red Raiders moved up 3 spots in this poll to #22.

ACC Teams in the AP Poll

5. UNC
13. Duke
29. NC State
39. Clemson

It is interesting that NC State is the 3rd highest ranked team in the AP Poll, but are the lowest seed of any ACC team in the NCAA Tournament.

With a good showing in the NCAA Tournament, the Wolfpack could find themselves in the Final AP Top-25 for the first time since 2003-04, when they finished 15th. NC State has been ranked in the Final AP Top-25 seventeen times.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Guard LJ Thomas Enters the Transfer Portal

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NC State is the first team currently in the NCAA Tournament to have a player enter the Transfer Portal. In a move that isn’t a shock, Sophomore LJ Thomas has entered the Portal. The move isn’t a shock, because he hasn’t been on the sideline with the team recently.

ESPN ranked Thomas as a 4-star prospect in the 2022 recruiting class, while Rivals, ON3 and 247Sports all gave him 3 stars. Originally from Florida, Thomas finished his High School career playing for Bull City Prep in Durham, right down the road.

Thomas managed to carve out a more significant role as a Freshman last season, than he was able to do this year.

Obviously, NC State will be active in the Transfer Portal once again, but here’s a look at which Guards are currently coming back next season.

Jayden Taylor (1 year of eligibility)

Kam Woods (1 year of eligibility)

Breon Pass (1 year of eligibility)

Dennis Parker Jr. (3 years of eligibility)

Michael O’Connell (1 year of eligibility)

(I’m not expecting MJ Rice to return either, but we will see.)

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