VIDEO: Scott Wood thinks NC State has a favorable matchup today vs. Creighton
This week it’s about NC State’s NCAA tournament hopes.
Giglio is suffering from some serious recency bias. The roller coaster ride has taken its toll on him to the point of not wanting to get on again. He take is that the Virginia Tech game was as good as NC State gets, but after the Clemson let down he can’t pick them to beat Creighton.
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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I think Smith and Jarkell struggled at times against teams that got physical with them on defense. Creton has a great defense but they aren’t physically dominant, and so hopefully won’t throw our guards off kilter. Casey may be the X factor. DJ will have a tough matchup, but he might be able to draw some fouls with his spin move. Their center isn’t going to draw DJ out past the FT line so that should help. Rebounding will be a key stat. I really wish Gantt could play, but appears he’s out for the year. Their mostly play 5… Read more »
I think what this game comes down to is if we keep playing solid defense and have an efficient offensive game, we can win this game. We’ve played with great focus and effort all year long (we’re a two half, 40 minute a game team). Our Achilles heel has been when out offense is inefficient or disappears long periods of time.