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NC State Basketball

OUR TAKE: NC State goes toe-to-toe with #3 Kansas, losing by 6

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2 years ago

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We all were hoping for a big win against #3 Kansas, but no one can be mad with the product the Wolfpack put on the floor today.

Sure, NC State lost by 6, but we learned that the Pack can compete with the nation’s best. Here is ‘Our Take’ on the close loss.

NC State showed that they are going to be competitors
The game being this close the whole way through was no fluke. This wasn’t a game where State was red hot, making everything they put up. This wasn’t a game where Terquavion Smith was pouring in crazy 3s all day long. State shot just 38% from the floor. This is a team that you can expect to shoot in the mid-40s to low-50s from the floor on most nights. So what you got was a little below-average offensive output from the Pack.

And defensively NC State looked very, very good. There were very few missed assignments. They were swarming everywhere. The help and recover was great, and Kansas really had to work for their points. The x-factor ended up being Grady Dick, the 6’8 freshman sharpshooter. There were a few times when they lost him, but for the most part all of his 3s were pretty well contested. It just so happened he went 6-12 from 3-point range.

Casey Morsell is becoming a star
Morsell was seen by most as a glue guy coming into the season. Someone who was going to defend well, give you a little offense, but mostly just be that do-it-all jack of all trades that gives you positive output across the board. Well, he’s been that, but he’s been so much more. Morsell is an absolute smothering defender on the ball, and he’s always in the right spot on help-side. And suddenly, he’s found his shot. He is now hitting 62% of the 3s on the season after going 5-8 in this one.

Oh, and he also filled up the stat line. He was 2nd on the team with 8 boards, had 2 assists and 2 steals. He finished with a team-high 21 points.

Give credit to Smith for adjusting at the half
This wasn’t the Terquavion Smith we were hoping for, at least not early on. He came out of the game gunning as you would expect in a nationally televised game. And no one should fault him for that, but the kid was off. He was forcing the issues and in previous years it would be a game where he just disappeared. However, Smith adjusted at halftime. He came out and didn’t shoot a single 3 in the second half. Instead, he let Morsell and Joiner take a little more control, and when he did attack, he did that off the bounce, getting to the rim and scoring or drawing contact. He also played a lot better on defense, especially on the help side. Oh and he finished with 19 points on the game, despite going 5-15 from the floor.

The bigs held their own
There were some positives and negatives from the NC State bigs. This was a tough matchup for them, with Adams being so mobile, but they did fine against him. They both defended the screen and roll pretty well, and they didn’t get out physicalled at any point of the game.

What we would have loved to see is a little more offense. They had the size advantage, but struggled to get it going offensively. I think both are getting their taste of high level college basketball. Lots of bodying and bumping is allowed in the post, so when you go up to score, you have to be ready for that. I think this is bothering Burns a little more than it’s bothering Mahorcic, but both need to be able to play through the contact and give NC State a few points from the block. That said, Mahorcic scored 4 points and snatched up a team high 9 boards, and Burns scored 8 and grabbed 5 rebounds.

NC State’s depth is in question
One thing that was clear. When State had to sub at any position other than center, there was a big drop off in production. Pass struggled once again and is battling some confidence issues it seems. Meanwhile, Ross isn’t putting himself in a position to make much of a difference offensively and seems to be getting pushed around a bit defensively. We didn’t see Greg Gantt or LJ Thomas, but both could start seeing some minutes if Pass and Ross don’t start showing some improvement with their minutes.

Because of this, it seemed as if NC State really wore down, down the stretch. They fought so hard, but they pressed a lot, played full-court defense, and had to really work on offense to get good shots. I’m worried about the type of energy they’ll have against Dayton/Wisconsin, tomorrow at 4 pm.

Overall, a great showing for Keatts and Company
Keatts was on his deathbed after last season. With his job in jeopardy this year, he only had Morsell surely coming back. Smith and Seabron were thought to be going pro and he had a bunch of transfers right after the year ended. What we saw on the floor today was a well-built team that is going to contend. With Smith back, Joiner in the mix and Morsell greatly improved, this team has one of the best backcourts in the ACC. Add in some flexibility at center, and you have a pretty good team.

Now, Keatts needs to choose his moments for technical fouls a little better, but aside from that, I think most fans really liked what they saw in this game and I’ll hold to my prediction that this team is either in the Top 25 or flirting with it at some point this season.

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Rev
Rev
1 year ago

Terq had an off night and 8 of 22 for the team from three point land just wasn’t enough. But then, the 5 of 14 from Burns and Mahoric didn’t help either. The good news was the tenacity on defense and holding our own on the boards. The bad news is the lack of depth. Playing with that much intensity will tire us in every game. Pass, Thomas, Ross, Gantt must be able to give the starters more rest.

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Dof87
Dof87
1 year ago

It certainly was encouraging to see us play like we did, and a signal of our potential. I liked the style of ball we played and the tenacity of the team. If we can follow up with 2 wins before coming home this trip will have been a big success.

The difference in the game was 3 pt shooting, and we tried to hard to find 3 pt shots in the last 2 minutes, we could have kept going inside and that may have put is in better position when the final seconds were ticking off.

Last edited 1 year ago by Dof87
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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Releases Their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

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21 hours ago

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July 26, 2024

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NC State Women’s Basketball team released their 2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule yesterday.

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State women’s basketball program has announced its non-conference slate for the 2024-25 season, as revealed on Thursday.

The Pack will play eight of its 11 games, in addition to a preseason exhibition, at Reynolds Coliseum. Coming off a historical 2023-24 season that was highlighted by the program’s first Final Four since 1998, second in program history, head coach Wes Moore is entering his 12th season at the helm. With a strong home court advantage, the Pack has accumulated a 117-15 (.886) record at home since the renovation of Reynolds Coliseum was completed in August 2016.

NC State will participate in the Pink Flamingo Championship at Baha Mar in Nassau, Bahamas on Monday, Nov. 25 and Wednesday, Nov. 27 against opponents that will be announced at a later date. As previously announced, NC State will play the defending NCAA Champion South Carolina at the Ally Tipoff at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte on Sunday, Nov. 10, as well as host Ole Miss for the SEC/ACC Challenge on Thursday, Dec. 5.

The Wolfpack will host Anderson (S.C.) for an exhibition on Tuesday, Oct. 29 before officially starting the season at home vs. ETSU on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Following the Ally Tipoff, NC State will return home to host Kent State on Thursday, Nov. 14.

NC State’s first true road game of the season is at TCU on Sunday, Nov. 17. The Pack will then play Coastal Carolina at home on Thursday, Nov. 21 before its trip to the Bahamas for two games (Nov. 25-27).

The Pack will close out the non-conference slate with four straight games at Reynolds Coliseum, starting with the SEC/ACC Challenge game vs. Ole Miss (Thursday, Dec. 5). NC State will then host Old Dominion (Sunday, Dec. 8), Davidson (Wednesday, Dec. 11) and James Madison (Thursday, Dec. 19) to wrap up non-conference play.

With NC State’s known non-conference opponents, six are coming off postseason tournament appearances. Three received NCAA Tournament bids (Kent State, Ole Miss and NCAA Champion South Carolina), two were invited to play in the WBIT (TCU and James Madison) and one played in the WNIT (Old Dominion).

NC State’s Atlantic Coast Conference schedule will be announced by the league office at a later date. NC State will play Wake Forest, Boston College, Clemson, Duke, Miami, Notre Dame, Pitt, Virginia and Virginia Tech at home. The Pack will take on Wake Forest, Cal, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Louisville, North Carolina, SMU, Stanford and Syracuse on the road.

Season tickets are sold out for the 2024-25 season. Tip-off times and television designations will also be released at a later date.

2024-25 Non-Conference Schedule

Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Anderson (Exh.)

Tuesday, Nov. 5 – ETSU

Sunday, Nov. 10 – South Carolina $

Thursday, Nov. 14 – Kent State

Sunday, Nov. 17 – at TCU

Thursday, Nov. 21 – Coastal Carolina

Monday, Nov. 25 – Opponent TBD &

Wednesday, Nov. 27 – Opponent TBD &

Thursday, Dec. 5 – Ole Miss +

Sunday, Dec. 8 – Old Dominion

Wednesday, Dec. 11 – Davidson

Thursday, Dec. 19 – James Madison

$ – Ally Tipoff (Spectrum Center, Charlotte, N.C.)

& – Pink Flamingo Championship (Baha Mar, Nassau, Bahamas)

+ – SEC/ACC Challenge (Raleigh, N.C.)

 

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NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

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2 days ago

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July 24, 2024

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NC State Legend Julius Hodge has been named the Head Coach at Lincoln University.

This marks Hodge’s first stint as a Head Coach.

Hodge has been in the Coaching world since 2015, when he served as Director of Player Development at the University of Buffalo under Bobby Hurley. Then, he spent 2016 and 2017 as an Assistant Coach under Herb Sendek at Santa Clara. From 2018-20, Hodge served as an Assistant Coach at San Jose State. Hodge has spent the past three seasons as an Assistant Coach at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.

At NC State, Hodge earned 1st Team All-ACC honors in 2003 & 2004, and 2nd Team honors in 2005. Hodge was named the ACC Player of the Year in ’04. He earned the All-Freshman Team in 2002.

Hodge is 1 of 11 players in NC State history to earn 1st Team All-ACC honors more than once.

His 2,040 career points scored rank 3rd in NC State history. Hodge also ranks 1st in Free Throws Made, 14th in Rebounds, 7th in Offensive Rebounds, 6th in Assists and 7th in Steals.

Congrats Julius! You deserve this!

 

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

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4 days ago

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July 23, 2024

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NC State Men’s Basketball is releasing videos helping fans get to know the new players on the 2024-25 roster.

Below is the video of Freshman Trey Parker (6’1″/178), with a transcript underneath.

“My name is Trey Parker. I’m an incoming Freshman from Fayetteville, North Carolina.” 

“I was recently playing at Overtime Elite. It was a great experience. A whole lot of development and great energy.” 

“Coach Levi (Watkins) recruited me. As soon as I got to the campus, it was a great experience. They just gave me that big inspiration to feel like I’m home, and feel like a great student outside of basketball.”

“I knew I wanted to be a part of the Pack back in November of 2022. I just felt like it was a great fit for me.”

“Living in North Carolina, and now playing in North Carolina, is a big opportunity. There’s a lot of people from North Carolina looking up to me, and I want to give them what they want to see.” 

“Being close, allows for them to bring the whole city out. It just feels like I’m already at home.” 

“Y’all stay tuned. Showtime is coming this year.”

_______

Parker originally signed with NC State in November of 2022, as a member of the 2023 recruiting class. He decided to reclassify, making him a member of the 2024 class.

Parker is a consensus 3-Star prospect, though 247Sports’ Composite Rankings have him as a 4-Star prospect. 247 ranks him as the #135 overall player in the 2024 recruiting class, the #26 Shooting Guard, and the #13 player in the state of Georgia.

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NC State Basketball

Jersey Numbers for 2024-25 NC State Men’s Basketball Team Revealed

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1 week ago

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July 18, 2024

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The NC State Men’s Basketball team revealed the Jersey Numbers for their 2024-25 team yesterday.

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Numbers that are Staying the Same

Michael O’Connell – #12

Ben Middlebrooks – #34

Dennis Parker Jr. – #11

KJ Keatts – #13

Jordan Snell – #22

Numbers that have Changed

Jayden Taylor – #1 –> #8

Breon Pass – #10 –> #4

Numbers of New Players

Mike James – #0 (He wore #0 at Louisville last year)

Brandon Huntley-Hatfield – #1 (He wore #5 at Louisville last year)

Paul McNeil – #2 (He wore #2 in High School last year)

Dontrez Styles – #3 (He wore #0 at Georgetown last year)

Trey Parker – #5 (He wore #5 in High School last year)

Marcus Hill – #10 (He wore #0 at Bowling Green last year)

We don’t know what number Ismael Diouf will be wearing at NC State next year yet. 

 

 

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