Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.
Looking at our remaining 11 games, there are generally (based on both NET & KP rankings – but not trying to even guess the quad rationale) 7 opportunities for quality wins, and 4 opportunities for ugly losses.
If we go 4-3 in the former, and win all of the latter, that has us at 23-8 / 13-7, Keatts best ACC regular season, and before the post season, one win away from his highest win total at State. That would be one heck of a turnaround, and if we get into the NCAAT, should assure him his job for another season.
Papajohn
1 year ago
Alright, back to business.
Let’s put all of the UNC crap behind us and play like we are capable.
Really liking how Ernest has stepped up his game. I think Greg is still getting used to playing again, he needs to get minutes. And keep giving Breon and LJ as many minutes as you can, both so they will grow, and our three headed guard monster will be fresh and ready for the final push in every game.
Last edited 1 year ago by Papajohn
Dof87
1 year ago
I’ll take a 2 pt win and a healthy T. Maybe Ebe is back to full strength and can help. Will Ross hit another 3?
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.
Smith filled up the stat sheet every game this year, averaging 13.3 points, 7.1 assists and 6.3 rebounds, shooting 46.7% from the field and 40.8% from three for Utah. He earned All-Pac 12 Honorable Mention this season. Smith had 8 double-doubles and 1 triple-double this year.
Wherever Smith lands, this will be his 4th college. He started at Mississippi St., starting in 8 of the 33 games he played in, averaging 22.5 minutes per game. Smith went on to spend his next two seasons at Georgia Tech. Year 1 in Atlanta, Smith started in 5 of the 24 games he played in, averaging 19.7 minutes per game. In Year 2, he carved out more of a role, starting in 13 of the 24 games he played in for the Yellow Jackets, averaging a career high 24.8 minutes per game.
At Utah this year, Smith broke out and had a career year in every possible way.
NC State is familiar with Smith, offering him back when he was a 4-Star prospect out of Grayson High School in Loganville, Georgia. Rivals ranked Smith as the #53 overall player nationally in the 2020 recruiting class. ESPN ranked him as the #5 player in the state of Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #11 Point Guard in his class.
Looking at our remaining 11 games, there are generally (based on both NET & KP rankings – but not trying to even guess the quad rationale) 7 opportunities for quality wins, and 4 opportunities for ugly losses.
If we go 4-3 in the former, and win all of the latter, that has us at 23-8 / 13-7, Keatts best ACC regular season, and before the post season, one win away from his highest win total at State. That would be one heck of a turnaround, and if we get into the NCAAT, should assure him his job for another season.
Alright, back to business.
Let’s put all of the UNC crap behind us and play like we are capable.
Really liking how Ernest has stepped up his game. I think Greg is still getting used to playing again, he needs to get minutes. And keep giving Breon and LJ as many minutes as you can, both so they will grow, and our three headed guard monster will be fresh and ready for the final push in every game.
I’ll take a 2 pt win and a healthy T. Maybe Ebe is back to full strength and can help. Will Ross hit another 3?