Connect with us

NC State Basketball

OUR TAKE: On NC State escaping with a win over Notre Dame 85-82

Published

2 years ago

on

Notre Dame came in struggling. They were 1-8 in conference and had lost 7 of their last 8. On paper this looked like an easy home win for NC State, but in reality this wasn’t going to be a cakewalk at all.

For one, Notre Dame doesn’t play a true big man. They have Nate Laszewski, who does most of his damage outside. He’s shooting over 40% from long range and wants to pick and pop. The problem for NC State is that DJ Burns is playing 30 minutes a game now, which is a lot of him, and he’s not quick enough to guard a guy like Laszewski that far out.

Putting Burns in action that far out is going to through everything out of whack. ND’s guards are going to get mismatches they can exploit, or they’ll be able to turn the corner if Burns doesn’t hedge and cut them off on ball screens (which he’s not very good at.)

Once those ND guards get in the paint, they can score alright, but they also like to find shooters on the wing, and ND has tall shooters who can knock it down.

On top of that, Terquavion Smith was coming off a pretty bad fall and he might not be 100%.

As it turns out, Burns had trouble guarding the high screen, the ND guards were creating havoc and their shooters were knocking down 3 after 3. Meanwhile, Smith was off all night.

So how did NC State pull this off?

Let’s explore.

Jarkell Joiner stepped in and took control
With Smith not himself, Jarkel Joiner stepped up in a huge way. The senior guard was putting pressure on the defense all night, and did a great job stepping in as the main scoring threat with Smith struggling. Joiner finished with 26pts and 6 boards. He only turned the ball over once. Joiner is your MVP in this one.

Keatts masterful move against the zone
Notre Dame jumped out to their largest lead in the first half when they went into a 2-3 zone. They were backing the back line and extending the top. This left Burns wide open in the middle to take the 15 footer. They were banking on Burns missing that shot, and they bet right. Burns doesn’t shoot that 15 footer as well as one might expect, but he was so open he almost had to take it.

After a few missing, NC State’s offense looked lost and stagnant. Keatts decided to move joiner into the high post and take out Burns. This was a great move, as suddenly that flash to the middle was a wide open jumper for a guy who thrives on mid-range jumpers. After he hit a couple, Notre Dame switched to a 1-3-1 zone, but that was leaving too much room on the wings and the corners for State shooters.

Eventually, the Irish went back to some man, and Burns started to take over.

This was the game within the game that I’m not sure people paid attention to. Keatts made moves that won this game, so give him the credit he deserves.

DJ Burns is such a monster
No one can stop Burns. When he gets it on the block, he scores. But when teams throw double teams at him, he finds the open man. NC State could very easily run their entire offense through DJ Burns if they wanted to. But they choose to use him in spurts, which I think keeps him fresh and keeps defenses on their toes. I mean, they also have one of the best guard tandems in the nation you have to worry about. Burns finished with 14 points, 4 boards and 3 assists.

Casey Morsell deserves more credit
Terquavion Smith, Jarkell Joiner and DJ Burns get the hype, but no one has been more consistent than Casey Morsell. He’s shooting a blistering 44% from long range on the season, is scoring at the bucket and is the teams best defender. Morell isn’t flashy, but he might be the glue that is really putting this NC State run together.

Ebe Dowuona is coming into his own
When Mahorcic went down, State fans were worried. Could Burns handle this big of a load? Could he play 30+ minutes per game? And if he does, could Dowuona spell him? Well, Ebe has quietly been a real surprise for NC State for the past few weeks. He was a key in this game because he was able to guard the ND bigs on the perimeter without fouling. He also has been adding a little offense to his game. He looked like a mini Burns in this one, going 3 for 4 from the field, even showcasing a little lefty hook. He added 3 blocks as well. If Dowuona can become a guy that you drop the ball down to for a bucket, then heck, State might finish the season with 3 viable bigs (something almost no team in the conference has).

Smith was off, but dropped 6 assists in this one, I’d love to see even more!
Thank God the kid is ok. I wasn’t sure he was going to suit up in this one, but I felt as if, if the Dr. cleared him, he’d play. He wore a little back brace in this one, and I’m not sure if that threw him off or not, but he just never could get it going. But, despite his struggle shooting the ball, he was doing a great job of facilitating. He had 6 assists on the night. This is where Smith has really improved. I know he wants to score and keep his average up, but this kid is SO dangerous when he starts attacking and dishing. I’d like to see him start trying to get 10 assists and 12 points per game. Cut down on the long range bombs and instead put pressure on the d with drives and dishes. NBA scouts know Smith can score. There’s not question. But if this kid started throwing up a few double digit assist games and then plop down a 30-piece once in a while, it would certainly move him up the draft boards.

Related Topics:
5 Comments
Subscribe
Notify of
5 Comments
newest
oldest most Upvoted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Rev
Rev
1 year ago

I have not watched a single Wake game. Their record ain’t bad. They were lucky to play FSU and BC early, split with Clemson and beat Duke. We need this road game to keep ahead of them for one of those NCAAT spots.

0
Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

Twitter buzz that Jack Clark will play Saturday. Great news!

1
Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

Wake almost pulled off the upset at Pitt last night, lost by two. They’re going to want to erase that bad taste on Saturday. We’re going to need to be at our best to pull off this one. Hope Terquavion’s shot is back, it’ll be critical this week.

1
Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

Could not agree more on Smith backing off on the really long 3PT shots. He’s actually defeating his own purpose, lowering his shooting percentage and scoring by taking more difficult shots. As he gets closer to the arc, he gets better. Last season he shot 40% from the arc during ACC play by shooting far fewer bombs. Also, you mentioned Keatts’ strategy. I don’t think he gets enough credit for that. The players haven’t always executed it well, but he’s adjusting as the games progress. The older players are implementing better. Morsell is finally living up to what Keatts expected… Read more »

0
Rev
Rev
1 year ago
Reply to  Papajohn

Keatts main issues with his detractors, and I think they are somewhat justified, are lack of discipline (long 3’s from Terq) and poor execution of plays called after timeouts or critical situations. Our defense has covered up a lot of our weaknesses. A little more efficiency on offense is all we need to get over the hump. A win AT Wake would go a long way towards our goal of getting t9 the DANCE.

0

NC State Basketball

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

Published

21 hours ago

on

July 26, 2024

By

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

Image

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.)

 

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

NC State Legend Julius Hodge Named Head Coach at Lincoln University

Published

2 days ago

on

July 24, 2024

By

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!

 

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

WATCH: Getting to Know NC State’s Trey Parker

Published

4 days ago

on

July 23, 2024

By

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.

Continue Reading

NC State Basketball

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

Published

1 week ago

on

July 18, 2024

By

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

Image

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. 

 

 

Continue Reading