Basketball Preview: NC State’s Senior Leadership May Take Them Far

Senior leadership is something you really don’t hear too much about in college basketball anymore. In the age of ‘one and done’ and guys leaving early to go play overseas,  it’s becoming rare that a guy with that type of make-up sticks around.

However, every March the phrase starts to get a little more run. It’s no coincidence either. Experience trumps talent in college basketball. It always has and it always will. Sure, you will still have a ‘one and done’ squad like Kentucky snatch a championship every now and again, but it’s not the norm. Seniors bring something no underclassman can ever give you. They bring you 3 years of work. 3 years of preparation. 3 years of punishing their bodies. They sit there, starting at that 4th and final year, motivated to make it all worth something.

Not all seniors end up capitalizing, but the more they’ve invested the more they will focus. They bring a sense of urgency that you can’t coach and wisdom that only game minutes can give you.

NC State enters this season with many believing that they are young and inexperienced. But if you look closer you’ll see a team that has more experience than we’ve seen in Raleigh in a long time. In fact, between Lennard Freeman, Sam Hunt, Malik Abu and Al Freeman, the Wolfpack has 15 years of college experience. That’s right. Three of NC State’s seniors are 5th year guys.

Let’s look at the last few seniors (from the Gottfried Era) that NC State has had on their roster and then look at how those teams finished.

Beejay Anya (2016/17) – No postseason
No seniors (2015/16) – No postseason
Ralston Turner (2014/15) – Sweet 16
Jordan Vandenberg (2013/14) – NCAA 2nd round
Scott Wood (2012/13) – NCAA 2nd round
CJ Williams and Richard Howell (2011/12) – NCAA Sweet 16

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that when you saw strong senior leaders, you also saw good results. Just look.

The only outlier here is last season when Beejay Anya was a senior and the team didn’t make the postseason. I also think of all the seniors on this list, he was the only one who had no real leadership qualities (at least that he showed). His quarrels with the coaching staff and a certain sect of the team made that apparent. Other than that instance, where there was leadership, there was success.

While Hunt and Al Freeman may be new to the program, it doesn’t take away their four years in a college basketball program and it certainly doesn’t take away the fact that this is their last go-round. With those two, the always hungry, always focused Lennard Freeman, and Malik Abu, who decided to stick around one more season to reach his full potential, this Wolfpack team might end up being a little better and a little hungrier than everyone is expecting.