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10 questions for NC State basketball as they take on Lees-McRae tonight in exhibition

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1 year ago

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NC State opens the basketball season with a tune-up against Lees-McRae tonight at 7pm at the PNC.

The game isn’t streamed, so there’s no way to watch it online, but parking and tickets are free, so there really isn’t lot of great excuses for not making it out there to root on the Pack.

If you can’t make it, you can listen on the radio (in Raleigh, the Wolfpack Sports Network airs on 101.5 FM).

What you can expect

Lees McRae is a middle-of-the-road D-2 team. They were 15-14 last season, They beat the #10 D2 team (Chowan) but lost twice to UNC-Pembroke to give you an idea. They will rely mostly on 6’8 senior Drew Gardner, but this is a team that is going to be overmatched by NC State.

For NC State, there are a ton of unanswered questions. This is mostly a new basketball team from last year, so you have to wonder how they will mesh and what type of chemistry they’ll have. However, they did get an off-season trip to the Bahamas to get a head start.

It’s worth noting that Louisville was beaten in their exhibition game by D-2 Lenoir-Rhyne (a team that was 10-18 on the season last year), so it’s not like an ACC with a ton of new talent can’t be beaten by a D-2 team. That said, I wouldn’t expect it to be close in this one.

NC State actually is a pretty versatile team and Keatts is going to have a lot of matchup options. For us, watching how he pairs guys together and changes to his system will be things we’re looking for.

Here are the questions we want answers to…

  1. How much zone will they play?
  2. Will he primarily stick with DJ Burns in the middle?
  3. What role does Mahorcic and Dowuona play?
  4. Do they go big and press all the time, or do they go small at times?
  5. What is Breon Pass’s role?
  6. Is Jarkell Joiner the type of PG that can lead this team and create for his teammates?
  7. Is Jack Clark an upgrade over Jericole Hellems?
  8. Who is the backup 2 guard behind Smith?
  9. Do we finally see NC State dump the ball down to the block on offense?
  10. Can Casey Morsell be a trusted scorer this season?

We’ll find out a lot tonight, even though the score will likely end up being lopsided.

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Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

I would add

  1. How many minutes will Burns play?
  2. Will we upgrade our rebounding?
  3. What’s the rotation for the bigs? Burns then Dowuona then Mahorcic?
  4. Will Pass start hitting the 3PT this season? He was good in HS.
  5. Will Clark rotate in at the 3 at times?
  6. Ross & Gantt? Are they healthy? Will they contribute?
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Afterglow
Afterglow
1 year ago

Stay healthy, everyone!

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Scottp123
Scottp123
1 year ago

Lees-McRae’s best win was actually at Belmont Abbey. They did sweep Chowan but Chowan was #10 in the conference, not #10 in D2.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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16 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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19 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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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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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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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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