NC State Basketball
5 Takeaways from NC State’s 79-65 win over CCSU + Box Score
1.) The FloSports stream absolutely sucked, as anticipated, and now I’m $30 poorer.
As I mentioned yesterday, you had to dish out $30 just to stream this game, and I can’t imagine too many Wolfpack fans were happy. First off the stream was awful, constantly buffering and breaking down. Secondly, the announcers were horrible and couldn’t get anyone’s names right. And lastly, NC State was almost unwatchable for the majority of this game.
2) NC State’s offense looked pretty bad for a majority of the game
When they are hitting shots, this NC State team looks pretty decent. When they aren’t, it gets bad. The offense looks non-existent. Meaning, it’s just a bunch of high ball screens and then guys doing whatever they want, almost like a pick-up game. Everyone waiting around for someone to make a play.
I don’t know the answer to this, but it needs to be fixed and fast. State trailed at the half by 1 and led by one with less than 10 minutes to play before they broke out and went on a huge run. It’s concerning since this was statistically one of the worse teams in the nation and the Pack wasn’t able to put them away fast.
Now, to their credit, the second half was much better. They played with more energy and looked like they were gelling a little more as a unit, but honestly, they were just bailed out by Seabron again. They did shoot 45% after shooting in the mid-30s in the first half.
3) This was their first road game and it WAS only the 3rd game of the season for a young team.
Now, I’ve been hard on this group and hey, this s big-time college basketball, deal with it. But, I do want to say that I think it’s important to understand that this is a young team that lost its best player. They are starting 3 sophomores, a junior and a senior. And the first guy off the bench is a freshman.
This team is learning. This was their first road game, and it wasn’t even a true road game. At least in a road game, you can get motivated by opposing fans hating on you. In this tournament, the stands are empty, so a young team struggling to find their energy makes sense.
That brings us to our next point…
4) Jericole Hellems has lost his mojo, and NC State needs him to find it
NC State lost Bates to injury. They can’t afford to lose their senior leader, Jericole Hellems, to …whatever it is that’s going on with him.
Hellems emerged last season when Daniels went down and became the leading scorer on the team. This season it was thought that he’d take on the same role and increase his output. After game 1, that bet looked good. However, in the past 2 games, he’s gone missing, going 3-12 from the field, scoring a combined 8 points, and committing a combined 9 fouls.
Hellems usually feats on these early season teams with smaller frontcourts, where he can play bully ball on the block. But right now he’s lost his shot and looks like he’s not sure what to do when he gets the ball.
NC State desperately needs him to turn it around, and that starts tonight when they take on OK State.
5) Dereon Seabron is our savior
Man, if it weren’t for Dereon Seabron, where would NC State be right now?
The 6’7 guard has been the only dominant player on this roster of the first 3 games. He’s got two double-doubles, 3 consecutive career-high scoring games, and just missed another double-double with his 24 point, 9 rebound performance last night. When NC State needed a boost, Seabron gave it to them.
You love to see this, but you also need to see others set up. Remember, Seabron, right now is overmatching these smaller teams with his size and versatility. None of these early-season opponents even have a chance to land a 6’7 guy with great guard skills. But as we get later into non-conference play and into ACC play, teams are doing to have guys comparable to Seabron. What happens then?
I still believe Seabron is going to be a major factor for this team, but the guaranteed double-doubles are going to be a lot harder to come by. Who steps up to help him?
That hasn’t quite been figured out yet.
MOVING FORWARD
The first 3 games have been a bit of a testing ground for Keatts and aside from the emergence of Seabron and the play of Morsell and Smith, it hasn’t been all that pretty. But, like I said, this is a young team without their best player and anchor in the middle. They need time to adjust. They need time to understand their roles. They need time to build confidence.
Tonight will be big for this team. Will they show up and challenge Oklahoma State, or will their first taste of high-major competition overwhelm the young guys? Usually, I can get a read on things, but right now I’m totally unsure what to expect.
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Box Score
Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!
Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.
This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. 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 #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.
Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.
Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.
With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.
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.
Joey, I love reading your stuff (next time please share the password to the crappy streaming service) but . . . “this s big-time college basketball”; “Hellems usually feats on these early season teams” little things like this interrupt a good time reading about the pack. Well that and how poorly we played.