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Yikes. NC State has fallen to 1-3 in ACC play after their loss to Boston College on Wednesday night.

If you listen to social media or message boards, then you’re left to believe that Gottfried is on his way out, this team has no chance and the season might as well be over. If you listen to Gottfried and his players, the narrative is quite different. The team improved. According to the coaches, NC State got a little bit better despite the loss because they fought through adversity and showed more will and want-to.

The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. NC State did do some things better in this game. The defensive pressure for most of the game was good. The hustle was there, however, communication on defense still left a lot to be desired. Offensively, NC State did do a better job of running the sets and getting good looks early on, but reverted to one on one play later in the ball game.

Gottfried is still tinkering with his lineups as well. Markell Johnson may have earned himself some minutes last night as he showed that he can coexist with Smith on the floor. This left Torin Dorn getting only 2 minutes in the 2nd half. Dorn has seemingly fallen in love with the jumper and it has ended up hurting his efficiency and scoring ability.

State also struggled in the paint. Yurtseven is simply not ready for ACC basketball. As harsh as it may seem, he is just too weak right now. He is getting pushed around and has shown very little aggressiveness or confidence over the conference season. Anya played well, but when he is on the floor the team is slower and more stagnant, at times they have to pull the ball back and wait for him to get down the court. Abu has bee good but he still has not shown the dominance he has flashed in the past. Kapita is still raw, and while he certainly works hard and is aggressive, he sometimes gets lost on both offense and defense.

So what do you make of this? Well, it’s hard to tell. Some of the blame certainly falls on Gottfried and company. This team is young, but mentally they are unprepared. This team has a ton of talent, but they seem to be lost as to what they are supposed to do with it. But, some of it still sits on the players. At the end of the day, these are guys who have the skills, yet mental mistakes, poor shots and lack of focus lead to them not getting everything they could out of themselves.

This season is far from over. The Pack obviously is not ready to compete on the road in this league quite yet. The good news is that with every game they grow up a little and the next 3 games are at home. This three-game stretch will probably be this team’s make or break time. If they come out 2-1 or better, then they are still in position to make a move. Lose 2 of the 3 or all 3 and it will be a very tough climb back into contention.

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yakima2k
yakima2k
6 years ago

We’re deep this year – how come we never press? We’ve got more shooters than ever – how come we never go small? I”m behind this team and Gott through the end of the season, but the kids need to get more dialed in and we need to start doing some things to make our opponents uncomfortable.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
6 years ago
Reply to  yakima2k

Well said..

yakima2k
yakima2k
6 years ago

Gott’s certainly frustrated, but they don’t seem to be doing anything different. It’s just more of the same and a hope that the kids start doing it better. If we just keep putting Abu in the high post he’ll become a better passer. If we just keep playing straight man they’ll start defending better. Square pegs and a round hole.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
6 years ago

If that was improvement, maybe we should schedule some high schools around Raleigh. We might show much greater improvement then. Just try something different, I would start with defense or is that a bad word for Gott.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
6 years ago
Reply to  wolfpack74

Are you trying to make us look even worse!!! lol

yakima2k
yakima2k
6 years ago

Last night didn’t look like much improvement to me. Continued lackadaisical passing, especially in the second half, leading to crushing turnovers. The team is playing with very little focus, and there doesn’t seem to be much creativity in solving the problems. Road wins are always hard to come by, but this BC team is not very good and we should not have lost.

RIZ DOLLA
RIZ DOLLA
6 years ago
Reply to  yakima2k

Coaching…… Point Blank Period.. Move Butch Pierre to the head coach he has experience. Im sure he cant do any worse that Mark

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!

 

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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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