NC State Basketball

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

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23 hours 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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Papajohn
Papajohn
23 hours ago

whittle

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