Connect with us

NC State Basketball

Manny Bates is on pace to shatter an NC State record

Published

on

Manny Bates Point

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been digging into the stats to look for some interesting stats that we may have missed during the season. We’ve found a few, including Shakeel Moore being the 16th best player in the nation in Steal %. But the most important one, and likely the most obvious one comes from Manny Bates.

Bates is now at 147 blocks for his career, landing him at 4th all-time at NC State.

Think about that. He’s a sophomore and he already has 147 blocks. That is just 3 shy of Kevin Thompson, who is 3rd on NC State’s all-time list with 150.

If Bates stays all 4 years and keeps this pace, he will absolutely shatter the all-time record of 243 held by BeeJay Anya, and that is after he passes Thurl Bailey’s 207, which is 2nd in NC State history.

If Bates replicates his first two seasons (one of which was shortened by COVID and the other had game canceled due to COVID) he will finish with 294 blocks. That would be good for 1st place in NC State history by over 50 blocks.

But that’s not the best part. Beejay Anya, averaged 1.88 blocks per game in his career, while Thurl Bailey averaged 1.68 per game.

Manny Bates is averaging 2.77 blocks per game. That is almost a full block better than NC State’s all-time shot blocker, Beejay Anya.

So yeah, if Bates keeps this up, and there is no reason to think he won’t, then he will be in the history books. However, with Funderburk likely gone, Bates also becomes NC State’s best offensive option in the post. If he can improve over this offseason even half as much as he did last season, then Bates may enter the conversation of the most productive big in NC State history. To do that he’ll need to up his scoring average by about 5 points (15ppg range) and up his rebounds by about 3 per game (9 rpg range).

Will he make that big of a jump offensively and on the boards? I’m not sure, but if there’s one guy on this roster I’m not going to bet against, it’s Manny Bates.

A pasta eatin', Wolfpack lovin' loudmouth from Raleigh by way of New Jersey. Jimmy V and Chuck Amato fanboy. All opinions are my own and you're gonna hear'em.

1 Comment
Subscribe
Notify of
1 Comment
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
travelwolf
travelwolf
2 years ago

I suggest that he goes to the Len Bias school of offseason evolution… that guy went from being a power forward with no shot to being the ACC POY in one summer. OK, maybe it was two summers.

NC State Basketball

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

Published

on

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

What did an ACC Title & Final Four Mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.?

Published

on

What did an ACC Title & Final Four mean to NC State Legend Dennis Smith Jr.? The man who won the ACC Rookie of the Year Award in 2017 gave me a statement.

It means a lot. It means a lot to the university, the state of North Carolina and a lot more to my dad, grandma, and myself. They have been NC State fans since forever, so their excitement level was though the roof when they saw BOTH of our basketball teams shining like that. It was a great feeling!

2017 was Smith Jr.’s only year of College ball, averaging 18.1 points, 6.2 assists, 4.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals. He earned 2nd Team All-ACC honors, and obviously, he earned a spot on the ACC All-Freshman Team.

DSJ was drafted by the Dallas Mavericks with the 9th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.

Smith Jr. just wrapped up his 7th season in the NBA. This was his 1st season with Brooklyn, playing in 56 games for the Nets. He averaged 6.6 points, 3.6 assists, 2.9 rebounds and 1.2 steals per game, averaging 18.9 minutes per contest.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State’s DJ Horne Named to Portsmouth Invitational All-Tournament Team

Published

on

NC State’s DJ Horne played in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament this weekend, and he was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Image

Image

In 3 games, Horne averaged 14.3 points, shooting 41.5% from the field, and 30% from three.

Horne’s Portsmouth Partnership team made it to the finals, but lost to Jani-King 68-75.

The Portsmouth Invitational is an annual pre-draft camp that has been showcasing College Seniors to professional scouts since 1953.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State Has Shown Interest in Utah Guard Transfer Deivon Smith

Published

on

NC State has reached out to Utah Transfer Guard Deivon Smith (6’0″/173).

Smith filled up the stat sheet every game this year, averaging 13.3 points, 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.8% from three for Utah. He earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention this season. Smith had 8 double-doubles and 1 triple-double this year.

Wherever Smith lands, this will be his 4th college. He started at Mississippi St., starting in 8 of the 33 games he played in, averaging 22.5 minutes per game. Smith went on to spend his next two seasons at Georgia Tech. Year 1 in Atlanta, Smith started in 5 of the 24 games he played in, averaging 19.7 minutes per game. In Year 2, he carved out more of a role, starting in 13 of the 24 games he played in for the Yellow Jackets, averaging a career high 24.8 minutes per game.

At Utah this year, Smith broke out and had a career year in every possible way.

NC State is familiar with Smith, offering him back when he was a 4-Star prospect out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Rivals ranked Smith as the #53 overall player nationally in the 2020 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him as the #5 player in the state of Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #11 Point Guard in his class.

 

Continue Reading