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NC State Basketball

What does Manny Bates’ season-ending shoulder surgery mean for NC State’s frontcourt?

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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.

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NC State Basketball

An NC State Win Over Marquette in the Sweet 16 Would Be…

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Awesome. Obviously.

#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette tomorrow night in the Sweet 16. What would a win mean for the Wolfpack? Many things, but here’s just a few:

It would give NC State 25 wins on the year (25-14), which would be the most wins since 1982-83, when the Wolfpack went 26-10, winning the National Championship.

It would mark the 12th time in school history that NC State has won 25+ games in a single season.

1982-83 – 26-10 

1973-74 – 30-1 

1972-73 – 27-0 

1954-55 – 28-4 

1953-54 – 26-7

1952-53 – 26-6 

1950-51 – 30-7 

1949-50 – 27-6 

1948-49 – 25-8 

1947-48 – 29-3

1946-47- 26-5

It would be the 7th time NC State has advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

1950

1951

1974

1983

1985

1986

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NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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NC State has won 5 ACC Championships this year, which is the most of any athletic program in the conference this year.

The Wolfpack has won ACC Titles in Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics.

The last time NC State won 5 ACC Championships in one year was 1979-80.

As far as I can tell, here’s a look at the Wolfpack Conference Titles from 1979-80:

Football
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Men’s Tennis

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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NC State is 1 of 4 schools to have their Men and Women’s Basketball teams BOTH advance to the Sweet 16, along with Duke, Gonzaga and UCONN.

NC State and Duke are the only two schools in the country to send both Basketball teams to the Sweet 16, and also send the Football team to a bowl game.

This marks only the third time in school history that BOTH teams made the Sweet 16.

Years NC State’s Men & Women’s Teams Made the Sweet 16

1985
1989
2024

Despite the fact that the Men’s team has made the Elite 8 six times (1950, 1951, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986), and the Women have made it 2 times (1998 & 2022), in the three occasions they both went to the Sweet 16 in the same year, neither team advanced to the Elite 8.

In 2024, Why Not Us?

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#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.

The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.

At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.

With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.

Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.

Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.

Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.

This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.

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