What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend TJ Warren? I caught up with the man who won the ACC Player of the Year Award in 2014 to get his take.
What was it like for you watching NC State go from the #10 seed in the ACC Tournament, to winning the Championship, to going to the Final Four?
I’m a second generation Wolfpack basketball player. Wolf blood runs through my veins, so to be able to witness a ride like that was truly amazing.
What did this run say about Kevin Keatts and these players? In what ways did you see them adapt, change or persevere?
I think that is speaks to the heart that the players have. As a 10th seed in the ACC tournament, it’s easy to pack it in and look towards the offseason, but they did the opposite. They bonded together over adversity and that’s what made them so endearing. Hard work in the face of adversity, that’s something that Wolfpack fans can relate to.
As one of the best players to ever wear the Red & White, what did this run mean to you personally?
As I mentioned earlier, NCSU hoops has been in my family for a long time, so it meant a whole lot personally. This run definitely took me back to some of the fond memories I have of putting on the Red & White and playing in front of a packed house at the PNC.
What was the most memorable moment for you?
I think Mike’s shot to tie the game at the end of regulation. It just felt like destiny at that point. Anytime you get to beat UNC and Duke days apart is special too.
How do you think this run can change things for the NC State Basketball program going forward?
I think that it puts us back on the national radar where we belong. After a magical run like that, I think it makes players want to be a part of that. A run like that reinvigorates a program definitely.
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Warren is 1 of only 6 NC State players to ever be named the ACC Player of the Year. In his Sophomore season, Warren was named a 2nd Team All-American by Sporting News and the AP. He averaged 24.9 points per game, which is the 5th best mark in a single season in NC State history. Warren scored 871 points that year, which is the most points ever scored in a single season by a Wolfpack player.
TJ was selected by the Phoenix Suns with the 14th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft.
“Gottfried will never be a defensive coach. He never has been and he never was supposed to be”
If this is true then we got half a coach. We should pay him half his salary. If he does like defense, then why did he not hire an assistant that did? There has always been two parts to the game. We got suckered.
Sorry, doesn’t like defense.
Well said. Good write up. I only hope Gott and leadership above him is thinking the same thing because this year feels like a broken record.
Time to get a new coach.
too little too late. this discussion should have happened after Creighton, or Illinois not 5 games into conference play.
And definitely after UNC….
Disagree on timing. Creighton is a top 10 team. We already had a hunch on that when we played. First real competition for a young team and they held their own for a majority of that game.
Illinois was first true road game. First time in hostile territory. That loss hurt, but shouldn’t have set off any alarms.
You’d hope those two losses would make the team aware of their defensive deficiencies…but 6 wins in a row after that covered up that need to change.
The loss to Miami was bad, and should have had the team back to reevaluating their approach. But then they came out and smoked VT.
The 51 pt loss to UNC was the first real wake-up call…
This loss should had them convinced they need to hunker down & get serious. about their flaws and work to fix them. BC was when panic should have set in, but you could argue it was that they were rebuilding their confidence and just came up short on the road..
Now the loss to GT is the final straw. This is now where you change course 100% and be real about your weaknesses. I guess we’ll see
Yes. I mentioned in a post, my inability as fan to see the world around me and make “decisions” based on everything in all directions, not just what’s in front. It’s hard, in season, not to become myopic a feel a sense of doom after a loss or or several. But it’s nice to see level headed responses to our situation. Like you said, “I guess we’ll see.”