Clemson crushes Wolfpack in ACC Opener 78-62

This wasn’t the ACC opener that Kevin Keatts was hoping for.

NC State looked bad. They shot 34.8% from the floor and 22.7% from 3 point range. They only had 9 assists on 24 baskets. They allowed Clemson to shoot 43.3% from the floor. They were seriously out-muscled on the inside and only turned the Tigers over 9 times.

Offensively, NC State is in trouble. If Markell Johnson doesn’t come back to this team, then I think what you saw is who they are. With Beverly at the point, they struggle to really play in transition. He’s a good player, but he doesn’t have the quickness to get past his man and into the lane to create. This is where Johnson was so good and the reason why he was one of the nation’s leaders in assist %. The offense is based on a guy being able to do that and when they can’t, they end up looking lost and settling for an Al Freeman jumper.

Speaking of Freeman, this was another high-volume, low percentage night for the senior. 5-19 from the field for 26%. 14 points, 4 turnovers, and only 2 assists. I understand that he feels like he needs to carry this team, but at this point, you just have to call it like it is. He’s shooting NC State out of ballgames. You can’t have a guy shoot the ball 19 times and come away with 14 points.

Meanwhile, Beverly and Yurtseven combined to go 12-21 for 27 points. Yurt added 10 boards and 5 blocks.

Honestly, there really isn’t a clear answer. It’s becoming clear that this team doesn’t have many scoring options. They aren’t quick enough to run Keatts system and they have to hope they catch fire if they want to win against stiff competition.

Torin Dorn is suffering from the same fate we saw last year, out-muscling the smaller, weaker opponents and struggling badly against teams that can match up with him. His inability to stay balanced when he makes moves laterally, causes turnovers and off-balance shots. He does go up strong inside, but without pump fakes or initiation body contact, he’s easy to read and constantly getting blocked. He went 1-8, scoring 7 points. He did have 10 rebounds (which is where he really helps this team), but he also turned it over 3 times.

So where do you turn on offense?

If this offense is going to compete in this league they’ll need Lavar Batts to drastically change his offensive outlook. For one, he shouldn’t be shooting unless no one is within 20 feet of him. Secondly, he should dedicate his entire game to getting into the paint, drawing the defense and finding open guys. Too often Batts is pulling an ill-advised 3 or driving head down into the trees. He’s still a freshman, sure, but if he wants to carve out a niche in the ACC it’s not going to be as a scorer, it will be as an elite distributor.

Defensively there were a ton of problems. Inability to defend dribble penetration is going to ruin this team if they don’t get that in order.

Marcquise Reese finished with 18 points, Devoe had 15 and Mitchell had 14. These are all guards that really don’t have great size or are great scorers. They just out-quicked the Wolfpack guards and got easy buckets.

What we’re trying to say is that this wasn’t just an off-night for NC State. This was a rude awakening. This is a team that is in real trouble if things don’t change quickly.