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

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7 months 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
6 months 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
6 months ago

Stay healthy, everyone!

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Scottp123
Scottp123
6 months 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

D.J. Burns is OFFICIALLY BACK!

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1 month ago

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April 27, 2023

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Well, it’s OFFICIAL. D.J Burns will be returning to NC State for his final year of collegiate eligibility!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by DJ Burns / BIG 30♨️ (@dj.b30)

This confirms everything I’d been hearing about the return of Burns. Burns was the key to the Wolfpack offense running effectively this past year. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game in 2022-23, but he elevated his game in ACC play, averaging 16.1 points and 5.6 rebounds in conference games.

Burns is celebrating his return to run with the Wolfpack by dropping his own Big 30 merch. Go over and snag something.

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NC State Basketball

Isaiah Miranda is an Early Entry Candidate for the 2023 NBA Draft

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1 month ago

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April 26, 2023

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The NBA released the names of the 242 players that have filed as early entry candidates for NBA Draft 2023 last night, and NC State’s Isaiah Miranda’s name was on the list.

Miranda (7’1″/225) joined the Wolfpack back in December, deciding to forgo the remainder of his prep season. Miranda didn’t see the court for NC State, resulting in a redshirt season.

ON3 ranked Miranda as the #16 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class.

It makes perfect sense for a player like Miranda, with his height and athleticism, to go through the draft process to be evaluated on what he needs to continue to work on. As an early entrant, Miranda has the ability to pull his name out of the draft and remain a collegiate athlete.

I don’t expect Miranda to keep his name in the hat when the time comes. From what I hear his game has tons of potential, but he still needs to fine tune his craft. Also, Miranda shared this on social media, implying he will be back in the Red and White next year.

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NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra Commits to NC State

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1 month ago

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April 24, 2023

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NC State picked up their 5th transfer today. Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) committed to run with the Wolfpack today while in Raleigh on an Official Visit.

Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

With news breaking today that Dusan Mahorcic entered the Transfer Portal, the Wolfpack found his replacement. NC State’s frontcourt in 2023-24 currently will be made up of D.J. Burns, Ben Middlebrooks, Mohamed Diarra and Ernest Ross.

Check out these highlights of Diarra.

There is a lot to like in Diarra’s game. He is athletic, can hit a jump shot, put the ball on the floor, can play defense on the perimeter, block shots, and is an aggressive rebounder.

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NC State Basketball

Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra is On an Official Visit to NC State Today

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1 month ago

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April 24, 2023

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Missouri Transfer Mohamed Diarra (6’10″/215) is on an Official Visit to NC State today. Diarra originally spent his first two seasons at Garden City Community College, averaging 17.8 points and 12.6 rebounds per game in his second season. He landed at Missouri last year, after being rated as the #1 JUCO prospect in the 2022 class according to JucoRecruiting.com.

In his only season at Missouri, Diarra averaged 11.7 minutes per game in 25 games played (6 starts), averaging 3.3 points and 3.2 rebounds. Because of the extra year due to Covid, Diarra has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

Diarra entered the Transfer Portal on March 28th.

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