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Things to watch for on Wolfpack’s Trip to Italy

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7 years ago

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Next month NC State basketball will head to Italy for some of their first true competition as a unit. Here are a few things well be keying in on.

What will Kevin Keatts style of play look like at NC State?

During his time at UNCW, Kevin Keatts was known for his up and down, fast-paced, defense first style of basketball. How will that play out at NC State?

While he does have a few guys that he has brought in, he will mainly be working with guys leftover from Mark Gottfried’s tenure. If you remember, Gottfried constantly promised a run and gun style of play, but rarely did it come to fruition. Now with 4 months of tutelage from Kevin Keatts, will this team finally be the energetic, up and down type of team Wolfpack fans have been dying for?

It’s easy to imagine Markell Johnson, Lavar Batts, Malik Abu and Torin Dorn thriving in this atmosphere, but none of those guys are particularly good shooters. Keatts UNCW teams took a ton of transition 3s and it really allowed them to play at a break neck pace. So, what will this team look like? If defenses get back and clog the lane, will they be forced to slow it down and find open looks? Will they settle for 3s even though they might not be shooting at a high percentage? Offensively, I think there are a lot of questions to be answered.

Defensively, we will likely get a good idea of where this team is pretty fast. Last season there was little to no defense played by this group. Has Keatts been able to through to them in 4 months? Are they in good enough shape to lock down teams for 40 minutes? Are they going to make their money as a solid ‘stay between your man and the basket’ type defensive team with good communication and smart positioning, or will they be more of a high-risk, high-reward gambling defensive unit?

How do Markell Johnson and Lavar Batts co-exist?

Both are point guards will similar skill sets. Neither one can really stroke it from 3pt range, but they are super fast, very quick and extremely athletic. Is there room for two guys that basically play the same style of basketball? This, to me, will be one of the more interesting things to watch. Keatts is going to need some backcourt scoring, but who will he be able to count on.

If NC State is going to be successful these two guys will need to carve out their roles so they compliment each other. There certainly will be a lot of ball movement and penetration, but can either one of these guys step in as a true scorer?

Keeping Johnson and Batts on the court together will obviously pay off on the defensive end, but if neither one of them steps up as scorers, Keatts will be forced to rely on a lineup of Johnson (or Batts), Dorn and Freeman (which may end up costing a little bit on the defensive end.) Keatts is a defense first guy, so we should be watching closely at how he handles this situation.

Is Al Freeman NC State’s go-to scorer? 

With Dennis Smith Jr in the NBA, Terry Henderson being denied his senior season, and Mav Rowan deciding to transfer, NC State is left with a huge hole in the scoring column. Who will fill it?

Enter Al Freeman. Freeman transferred to NC State from Baylor where he averaged 9 points per game. He is not super athletic and not the quickest guy on the court, but he can shoot it. His game is pretty similar to Trevor Lacey in that he can create his own shot and shoot it over his defender. He’s also a pretty good catch-and-shoot guy. Freeman has never been a lead scorer at Baylor, but at NC State he may need to fill that role. Is he ready?

How will this team look without Yurtseven?

As you probably already know, Omer Yurtseven will not be making the trip to Italy and instead will be staying in Turkey to play with the national team. This is pretty unfortunate because it would have been great to see how Keatts plays with all his pieces.

One of the biggest questions is how Yurt will fit in this run and gun style of offense. Keatts really didn’t have a guy like him at UNCW so it’s tough to pull any parallels and come up with an idea of how he’ll be used.

A stronger and more confident Yurtseven would be huge for NC State. In a season where scoring could possibly be their biggest problem, Yurt has the skill set to really have an impact as a go-to guy. The only problem is that we thought the same thing last season and it turned out that the big man simply wasn’t ready for the physicality of the ACC. Has that changed? I don’t know but we’ll be watching.

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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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12 hours ago

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April 25, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!

Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.

This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.

Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.

With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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2 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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3 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill is on a Visit to NC State

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3 days ago

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April 22, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) confirmed with me that he is currently on a visit at NC State.

Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons this season. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #78 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

According to a source, the NC State Coaching Staff is extremely high on Hill, and they are recruiting him as a Point Guard.

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