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NC State held on to beat Pittsburgh 79-74. Mark Gottfried wanted to see more effort out of his players and they indeed played with intensity and desire. What are some of the headlines from last night’s game?

Markell Johnson’s energy, defense, and playmaking influenced the game for NC State.

The freshman guard had a big night for NC State as he scored 8 points and recorded 7 assists. Defensively Johnson was outstanding as he took away passing lanes, pressured the ball, and contested shots well. Mark Gottfried could not keep him off the court as his play earned 33 minutes of playing time. NC State’s offense hummed with Johnson penetrating the Pitt defense to find open players. The Wolfpack have a unique advantage when both Johnson and Smith are on the court together as both players find the paint with their quickness. One highlight of the game included a missed shot that saw Markell fly out of nowhere for the tip slam put back! The Pack will be just fine with Markell running the show once Dennis Smith is gone.

Omer Yurtseven showed toughness gathering 16 rebounds and scoring 12 points.

Finally, Omer had an impact on an ACC game in the way he used his length to attack the glass. The Wolfpack outrebounded the Panthers 44-30 because of Yurtseven’s effort on the glass. The seven-footer also knocked down two huge free-throws at the end of the game to help preserve the win. Another positive for Omer was his willingness to attack the rim as he had some nice finishes in traffic. Yurtseven needs to get stronger and stop bringing the ball down once he gets a rebound; however, it was an improvement. Last night’s game can be a confidence builder for the skilled big man and should be a building block for the rest of the year.

Defensively NC State showed improvement but still struggled to guard the three-ball.

The Pitt Panthers have a deadly three-point attack as they spread teams out with their shooters. We knew NC State would struggle to guard Michael Young a big man with three-point range and that was the case. Pittsburgh knocked down 12-28 from the three-point line. The Pack showed improvement by pressuring the ball on the perimeter and making it difficult on Jamel Artis. NC State has to be pleased with holding Artis to just 16 points on 5-15 shooting. Dennis Smith led by example defensively as Mark Gottfried gave him the challenge of guarding Artis and he did a solid job!

Maverick Rowan and Terry Henderson picked up the Wolfpack offensively.

Maverick Rowan knocked down 6-9 threes as he caught fire on the night. Rowan’s teammates did an excellent job at setting him up as well as feeding him once they saw that look in his eye. Terry Henderson had a great game as well scoring 21 points and knocking down four threes. These two players saved the Pack due to Dennis Smith not having his typical scoring night. Not only was Smith off but Abu played just 13 minutes due to fouls.

The Pack finally get off the shneid by beating Pittsburgh. Standing 2-4 in ACC play as they head into Saturday’s game aginst Wake Forest. NC State fought their way back in the second half when it appeared that Pittsburgh was one possession from putting the game away. The Wolfpack refused to quit and despite some shaky execution at the end walked away with the victory. The Wolfpack returns to the court this Saturday at 2 o’clock facing Wake Forest with coverage on the ACC Network.

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Tarhater
Tarhater
7 years ago

Rowan, Yurtseven and Johnson deserve game balls. Dennis Smith,jr touched the ball 18 times in the last 5 minutes of the game which produced 2 turnovers, 2 foul shots (important) and 14 neutral exchanges. Said another way, his touches were net negative down the stretch. The offense runs better with Johnson running the show. DS,jr is too much dribble isolation.

Jules
Jules
7 years ago
Reply to  Tarhater

It is also fairly difficult to dribble penetrate into a 3-2 zone, there are going to be many times when DSJR attacking the basket is the best option, but it was nice to see that we did not just settle for that on every single play.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  Tarhater

We will be a better team next year if all we loose is DSJR.

yakima2k
yakima2k
7 years ago
Reply to  Tarhater

Johnson is a quality player with great potential, and he had a great game last night, but from a plus/minus and win shares perspective (or any other measure that doesn’t involve an arm chair and a TV) there’s just no comparison between him and DSJ. We are almost unquestionably worse with DSJ on the bench.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  yakima2k

Looks like you are in the minority concerning DSJR, YAK.

yakima2k
yakima2k
7 years ago
Reply to  wolfpack74

Thankfully internet commenters don’t make the decisions about playing time. You can count on our fan base to be self-defeating – it’s what we do best.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
7 years ago
Reply to  yakima2k

I don’t know what planet you came from. Our self-defeating attitude is based on what we have seen on the field and court. Lucky for me when I was in school, we were one of the dominant team in football, basketball, and baseball in the ACC. I am still waiting on a revival. You can just keep drinking the Kool-Aid.

NC State Basketball

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

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

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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.)

 

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NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

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

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!

 

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

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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.

“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.

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NC State Basketball

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

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

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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. 

 

 

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