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CBS’s Rothstein watches NC State practice, calls them a tournament team and gives predictions

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2 weeks ago

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CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein is making his preseason rounds to get a first look at some NCAA teams. One of those stops was Raleigh, to check out Kevin Keatts’ Wolfpack, fresh off an ACC Title and Final Four run.

Here is his recap…

Then he gets to Tweeting some of his takeaways and predictions…

He thinks they are deeper and better defensively this year, which on paper is true. However, we’ve thought this about many of Keatts’ teams and as the season has wore on, they ended up being whittled down to a main 7 guys and sketchy at best on the defense end.

Now, I’m certainly not saying that is going to happen this season, just that I’d feel a little nervous making this claim. At the same time, you have Jayden Taylor coming back who is an absolute ball hawk. You lose Casey Morsell who was an elite defender, but you gain Mike James (a big bodied, athletic guard) and the big addition, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield in the paint. I’ve always thought the gambling, deflection-counting style of defense is great if you have a rim protector in the middle. Now those gambles won’t hurt as much, as Huntley-Hatfield is a thick, strong, athletic 6’10” big man.

Speaking of Jayden Tayler…

I like this take. I think Taylor showed spurts of being a high-end scorer last season. He was a streaky shooter with good form, so I do think eventually he’s going to find consistently there. He’s also very physical on the drive and athletic at the rim and can score so many different ways. He did struggle to create for himself off the dribble against athletic defenders, so we’ll see if he’s able to overcome that hurdle this season.

Rothstein also really encouraged the nation to buy stock in 6’5″ freshman, Paul McNeil. I’ve seen a little bit of McNeil in practice and it was enough to know that this guy is going to be a very good scorer. He’s lanky and thinner than you might want, but he’s got range well beyond the 3 point arc and also has a great feel for his midrange game. With his height and scorer’s mentality, he’s going to be a factor on this years team.

This was a nice surprise to see him call out Hill. I think most of Wolfpack nation is wondering about him. He’s 6’4″, so he’s got size, but he spends a lot of his time in the paint (via dribble drives) and is really crafty when he gets in there. However, Bowling Green is in the Mid-American Conference, and carving up those teams is a little different than what he’ll find in the ACC. The question everyone has is, will it translate? If it does, Hill is going to be an amazing piece for the Pack.

Rothstein then gives his prediction on the starting 5.

It’s interesting to me that Hill is in there over James, as I figured a guy that went 12pts/5rebs last year at Louisville would crack NC State’s starting lineup, but if Hill’s game is really going to translate, then a guy that shifty and disruptive might give you a little better offensive flow.

You also see Styles in there over Middlebrooks, which makes sense. Middlebrooks is there if you need to go big at 4 or if you need to spell BHH. I think Big Ben will also see his share of starts in more physical battles. Styles gives you that stretch 4. I thik it will also be interesting to see how Ismaël Diouf’s game translates from Canada. He’s got the size and versatility to be a factor in the ACC. The question will be how will he deal with ACC physicality.

All in all, Pack fans should be excited about the takeaways Rothstein had coming out of the Wolfpack practice.

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A pasta eatin', Wolfpack lovin' loudmouth from Raleigh by way of New Jersey. Jimmy V and Chuck Amato fanboy. All opinions are my own and you're gonna hear'em.

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Tim McKay’s Postgame Press Conference After Loss to Wake Forest (with transcript)

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2 days ago

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October 5, 2024

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NC State Offensive Guard Timothy McKay met with the media for a postgame press conference after the Wolfpack lost 30-34 to Wake Forest this afternoon. You can watch the video ABOVE, and read the transcript BELOW.

Tim, what was it like seeing Grayson go down? And as an older player, how much do you feel for him not knowing how the rest of the season is going to go for him?

It was heartbreaking to see that. He’s the guy who fought hard for us. He came here from Coastal.

He was the captain. To see him go down earlier in the season and go again this year, this week is kind of disheartening. Just how hard he works for us is really sad seeing that.

What was the mood amongst the players in the locker room after the game? And in your opinion, what are the keys to moving forward from this loss?

Just disappointed in ourselves.

A lot of opportunities where the defense had takeaways and the offense went out there and didn’t respond, didn’t score points. Happened multiple times. And just feel like going forward, you need to do a better job playing complimentary football.

Just stay on the field as the offense, making sure the defense isn’t on the field the whole time. Really important.

How tough was it to get those two turnovers from the defense and not be able to put any points on the board, but then bounce back? So what happened? What was different once you kind of recovered from that and got the two scores?

They were just really pissed off at that point. I feel like after the first turnover, we should have been more pissed off.

But after the second one, we didn’t score again. Just going back out there and just really punching it in. We felt we had momentum going into that after those two turnovers, but we just didn’t capitalize on the ending.

What changed offensively after that that allowed you guys to kind of get on a little bit of a roll?

I think it was just more mentality. It’s crunch time now. We have to score.

We have to keep going.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Guards Aziaha James & Saniya Rivers will Serve as the Alpha Wolf Starter vs. Wake Forest

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3 days ago

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October 4, 2024

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NC State’s standout Senior Guard duo of Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers will serve as the Alpha Wolf Starters at the Wolfpack’s football game tomorrow against Wake Forest.

If you’re not familiar with what the Alpha Wolf Starter does, they come out before the team takes the field with a microphone in hand, for the sole purpose of hyping up the crowd, and getting the Wolf—Pack cheer going.

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Rivers earned 1st Team All-ACC honors last year, and was also named AP All-American Honorable Mention. James also earned 1st Team All-ACC honors last year.

Rivers averaged 12.5 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.1 steals, and James averaged 16.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists.

 

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Wes Moore has the 4th Most Career Wins Out of All Active D1 Men’s & Women’s Coaches

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3 days ago

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October 4, 2024

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In 2013, NC State made on the best coaching hires in the history of the school when they hired Wes Moore to be the Head Women’s Basketball Coach.

Heading into the 2024-25 College Basketball season, Moore ranks 4th out of all Active Division 1 Head Basketball Coaches. That includes Men’s and Women’s coaches.

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Moore will never catch Geno Auriemma, but he could possibly catch Rick Pitino and John Calipari.

When you look at the most wins in Women’s College Basketball history, Moore ranks 18th all-time. With the roster the Wolfpack has this year, Moore should move into 13th place all-time with ease.

Here’s a breakdown of Coach Moore’s wins:

Maryville – 131 wins (6 seasons)

Francis Marion – 69 wins (3 seasons)

Chattanooga – 358 wins (15 seasons)

NC State – 273 wins (11 seasons)

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NC State Basketball

Home court for the NCAA’s? Lenovo Center will host Sweet 16, Elite 8 in 2028

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5 days ago

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October 2, 2024

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The NCAA announced on Wednesday that Raleigh’s Lenovo Center (formally PNC Arena) will be host to Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games during the 2028 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Lenovo Center has already been on the docket for some time now, to host first and second round games in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.

The last time NC State hosted a regional was in 1982 and the last time the hosted the early round games was in 2016.

So if you’re wondering, “Does this mean NC State will be playing home games if they make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament in 2028?” The answer is, it’s wayyyy to early to know anything like that, but they’d have to be a highly ranked team nationally to get in a bracket that would have them playing home games that late in the tournament.

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