NC State Basketball
LOVED IT, HATED IT | From NC State’s win over Colgate
I’m back with another installment of 3 things I loved and 3 things I hated. Today I’m getting candid on the Pack’s weekend win over what was a pretty darn good Colgate team. Let me jump right in…
3 Things I LOVED about NC State’s win over Colgate
- The emergence of Casey Morsell
Morsell’s offensive output was a ‘love’ in my last installment, but I had to add him here again, because boy, oh boy, did he bail out State in this one. He went 6-9 from the field and 2-4 from 3, finishing with a team-high 22 points. And that’s great and all, but it was his play down the stretch that had me hyped. He was hunting his shot as the game was in its most pivotal moments. His demeanor on the court and his ability to hit big shots just show you that this kid (as we predicted) is going to be not just a major contributor, but one of the leaders of this ballclub. Here’s what we at PI agreed upon publishing for our Casey Morsell prediction.
- Another Dereon Seabron double-double
After 2 games, Dereon Seabron looks like he’s going to be one of Keatts’ go-to guys this year. He once again notched a double-double, going for 21 points and 10 boards. Heck, he even added a team-high 3 assists. Keatts is putting him in positions to get the ball in spots where he can take advantage, and he’s doing that. This team needs guys who can get into the lane and attack, and it looks like Seabron is showing us all that he’s going to be that guy. Oh, and it’s not just about scoring. This team NEEDS rebounding now that Bates is lost for the year, and the big question was going to be where those come from. It looks like Seabron is giving us a hint. - Keatts moving Seabron to PG when the game was on the line
This one I didn’t see coming. Cam Hayes is going to be a big part of this team, we all know that, but early in the season, Hayes has struggled to make plays by attacking the rim. He’s been a little too passive and has been settling for jumpers in the lane. This team, without Bates, needs a guy who is going to put pressure on the defense by getting into the lane and making plays. Seabron was doing that, so Keatts moved him to the 1. This allowed them to play Smith at the 2, Morsell at the 3, Hellems at the 4 and Dowuona at the 5. This is a pretty potent lineup for State, and if you remember, he tried out Seabron at the point a few times last year, and while he wasn’t ready then, he might be ready now. This would put a new wrinkle on things, and honestly, I love it.
3 Things I HATED about NC State’s win over Colgate
- Colgate’s bigs were having their way in the paint
If Colgate is willing to clear the lane and try to get a 1 on 1 matchup in the paint, then you know you have a problem. But that’s what they were doing and no one on NC State could stop them. Dowuona and Gibson both were getting taken to task down low. Now, Jeff Woodward (their center) is 6’11 and 270, so he’s a hoss, but he’s not even half as athletic as Dowuona. That said, he was using his frame to back him down and get easy buckets. NC State has to fix this. They are young and thin in the middle, and if they are going to compete, they need their bigs to at least be able to stop lumbering opponents from getting easy buckets. - Lack of ball movement creating bad shots and a stagnant offense
NC State finished the game with only 9 assists. That’s right, the whole team, just 9. That is coming off a game where they had just 7 vs. Bucknell. These are pretty pitiful numbers, and you can trace them back to the fact that the Pack simply isn’t getting into the lane and making things happen. They are usually taking shots off the dribble or passing the ball around the perimeter until something opens up. This might win games early in the season, but in the ACC, you need to start attacking, making the defense react, and finding the open man. I believe this is why you saw him go to Seabron at the point late in the game. Cam Hayes will need to start taking on that role as the season moves forward. - Still not getting out and challenging the 3 pointers
We talked a lot about NC State’s defense and how overplaying on the ball is leading to the need for help-side defense to step up, thus leading to open shooters on the perimeter. This happened yet again and will bite NC State soon if they don’t sure it up. The guards have got to keep ball handlers out of the lane and allow help-side to stay home and challenge those outside shots. Colgate hit 12 of 26 3s (46%), but it could have been worse as they started the game pretty cold from outside.
NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.
Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.
Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.
Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.
The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross. Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.
With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.
Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!
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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.
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.
He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.
James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.
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.
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.
Excellent analysis. It’s still early, but KK’s got to find a formula for winning. It’s simple math. You either have to shoot better than the opposition or shoot more often. Meaning, additional possessions by forcing turnovers and/or rebounding. Defensively, teams are going to clog the interior and force us to hit outside shots since the 3PT shot hasn’t been our friend , yet, and we don’t have a strong interior game. We’ll see that until we can beat it. Offensively, we’re going to see teams go inside more and more frequently until our bigs get better at defending the post.… Read more »