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NC State’s Own, Nate McMillan, is the Coaching Savior of the Atlanta Hawks

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3 years ago

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Last night, the Atlanta Hawks made it to the Eastern Conference Finals. The game before? They. Were. DEAD. Down by as much as 26 and with the 76ers having a 99.7% chance to win (ESPNStats), Hawks went on a 40-19 run in the fourth quarter to win.

So why are we even bringing the Atlanta Hawks?

Enter Nate McMillan

Heading into the All-Star break, the Hawks were 14-20 and 11th in the East. On March 1, they fired Head Coach Lloyd Pierce and named McMillan interim HC. Since that point, Hawks have been arguably the hottest team in the NBA. They went 27-11 the remainder of the year, won the Southeast Division, upset the Knicks in the first round, and after a miracle comeback, are in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Every. Single. Statistical. Category has been improved under McMillan. The team not only is clicking on all cylinders production-wise, but 1000% believe in themselves. The swagger they played with in Madison Square Garden was intense. Then they backed it up in Philly.

McMillan needs to be name official head coach as soon as this run is over.

 

Road to Coaching

If you focus on regular seasons, Nate McMillan has quite impressive record. In his last seven full seasons behind the bench, every team is above .500 and in the playoffs. Prior to Atlanta, McMillan was the head coach of the Pacers, where his last three seasons were all 2nd in the Central and floating around 60% winning percentage.

The problem has always been the playoffs.

While McMillan has a .535 overall winning percentage in the regular season, that drops to .321 in the playoffs. Outside of this run by the Hawks, his teams have been bounced in the first round 8 of 10 tries.

Yet you look at his back-to-back 48-34 seasons, followed by 45-28 shortened season and now this crazy run with the Hawks and realize; maybe he finally has the postseason answer?

Trae Young loves him and wants him to stay. When asked about the situation,

“I’m not surprised they haven’t announced because, I don’t know, it could become a distraction. I think everybody kind of knows what’s going to be coming. We’re all winning, so it’s not anything that I feel like he should be worried about or anything like that.

 

State Career

After spending two years at Chowan College, McMillan came home to Raleigh to play for Jim Valvano. In his first year back, he helped the Wolfpack grab a share of first in the ACC regular season. Both years, State made it to the Elite Eight. During his career, he spread the wealth across the stat sheet; 5.1 REBs, 6 ASTs, 2.2 STLs, 1 BLK, and 8.5 PTS.

 

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Passionate State fan that just wants to win...something...like anything...

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Papajohn
Papajohn
2 years ago

I recall hearing V say very early in his first season, “Pay attention, Nate’s going to be a pro.” Love to see this happening for him.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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6 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.

Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.

From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.

For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.

Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State

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10 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.

NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Casey Morsell is the 4th Player in NCAA History to Start 41 Games in a Season

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15 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State Guard Casey Morsell started 41 games for the Wolfpack this season, becoming the 4th player in NCAA history to do so.

 

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A post shared by NC State Basketball (@packmensbball)

Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.

Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.

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NC State Basketball

Georgetown Transfer Dontrez Styles Commits to NC State!

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1 day ago

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April 18, 2024

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Georgetown Forward Transfer Dontrez Styles (6’6″/212) has committed to NC State!

Styles was the 2nd leading scorer for Georgetown this season, averaging 12.8 points per game, while grabbing 5.8 boards. He shot 36.8% from three.

Originally, Sytles was a consensus 4-Star prospect in UNC’s 2021 recruiting class. 247Sports ranked him as the #62 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina, playing for Kinston High School.

After two seasons with the Tar Heels, Styles entered the Portal, and took an Official Visit to NC State and Georgetown, and ultimately chose the Hoyas.

ON3 ranks Styles as the #104 overall player in the Portal.

With his final year of eligibility, Styles’ made the right choice this time.

NC State now has 2 scholarships remaining after Styles’ commitment.

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