I’m not sure why nearly every other NC State-focused media outlet decided to couple the news of Blake Harris becoming eligible and Manny Bates going down with season-ending surgery in one story.
Although both things were announced on the same day, these are both big pieces of news and each deserves their own undivided attention.
Yesterday we broke down the Blake Harris news and went into detail about what it means for the NC State backcourt. Today we are going to focus on what losing Manny Bates to season-ending shoulder surgery means for the frontcourt.
Fontcourt depth takes a hit
Losing freshman 4-star Manny Bates is going to hurt, but if it weren’t for Keatts late addition of grad-transfer Wyatt Walker, it would have been devastating.
The honest truth here is that if NC State was counting on Manny Bates to play major minutes his freshman season, they were probably going to struggle. And look, that is not a knock on Bates. He’s just young, offensively raw, and hasn’t logged a single college minute yet.
To really understand the impact of this loss, you have to take into consideration how Keatts is going to run his system.
This isn’t your typical offense that relies on two ‘back to the basket’ bigs. This is a team that wants to play quick, agile and fast. That is going to mean Torin Dorn is going to continue to see time at the 4.
Dorn saw most of his 2017-18 minutes at the 4 and logged almost 30 minutes per game. This year I think you’re going to see Dorn switch between the 3 and the 4 a little more (based on need), however, we expect to see him at the 4 most often. With Wyatt Walker likely locked in at the 5, DJ Funderburk, Ian Steere and Manny Bates would have been battling for backup minutes at the 4 and the 5. With Bates out, it clears room for Funderburk and Steere to handle those duties.
(also note that Keatts has freshman Jerricole Hellems, who is a Dorn clone (size and skill wise) and can play the 3 or the 4.)
So NC State only really has 2 or 3 true bigs with Manny Bates out, however, it really should be enough (depth wise) since Keatts won’t always need two of them on the court at the same time.
No rim protection?
The biggest problem NC State is going to face this season with Bates on the shelf is rim protection. They really don’t have a good shot blocker on this roster. Funderburk is more of a tall hybrid-wing and both Steer and Walker are big bodies, but not known for their ability to block shots.
Bates on the other hand, well, that was his specialty. Without him, Keatts doesn’t have a go-to guy when he needs someone be a true above-the-rim enforcer.
Blessing in disguise?
I hate calling any injury a blessing in disguise, but for Bates long-term future and career trajectory, this might be exactly what it is.
While it definitely would have been nice to have him this season, redshirting a year is probably going to do him a ton of good. He needs to fill out his frame, he needs to polish up offensively, and he needs to get healthy (his shoulder injury was lingering).
A year watching, learning and building himself will end up being more of a long-term plus than it is a short-term minus.