WOLFERETTI: On NC State’s 2 point loss to UNC and how the heck we parlayed a Final Four into this

Another day, another frustrating 40 minutes of basketball from NC State.

You all watched the game and digging into the stats or trying disecting the game does no one any good. It’s the same story. NC State plays very hard. NC State stuggles to shoot, NC State struggles to get easy shots, NC State gets beat on the boards. NC State makes too many defensive miscues. NC State comes close but can’t close it out.

It’s the same story in almost every competative game.

So instead of dissecting the game, I want to dig into the surrounding issues that got us here and some (not so new) ideas that can salvage this season and Kevin Keatts’ reputation with the Wolfpack fans.

A missed opportunity
I’m not trying to be a downer here, but we’re coming off an ACC Tournament Championship. We’re coming off a Final Four run. The earned media that the Wolfpack got from last year’s run was astronomical.

You had the most exciting, most fun, big man in the nation, all over every news channel for a full month. His usage rate was insane and you’re telling me you couldn’t go out into the portal and land an elite big? “Hey, you want to be the next DJ Burns? You want to touch the ball every time down the floor? That’s a big mans dream pitch, and you could point to the tape and show them how they’d be used.

The same goes for DJ Horne. You’re telling me you couldn’t go out and find a true creator off the bounce. Someone who could score it at 3 levels and who was hitting the portal and tell them “You want to be the next DJ Horne? You want a full-on green light all day, every day?” That’s a scorer’s dream pitch, and you could point to the tape and show them how they’d be used.

Maybe we tried this. Maybe it just didn’t work. Who knows, but either way, here we are with a roster of mostly role players, trying to compete in the ACC.

It’s not the kid’s fault. It really isn’t. Say what you want about the game against UNC on Saturday, but they played their tails off. Despite their issues, they played UNC (who has their own set of issues) down to the wire.

Like it or not, the biggest discussion around NC State basketball right now is about coaching.

Roster creation, roster management, minutes distribution, defensive strategy, and offensive strategy. These are the issues being discussed on NC State Twitter, on every message board, and at every sports bar around Raleigh. We could ignore it and change the conversation, or we can address it. As a website dedicated to reporting on NC State sports, with our core audience being NC State fans, it only makes sense that, no matter how uncomfortable it may be, we address these issues striaght forward and with honesty.

It didn’t have to be this way
This team doesn’t have the pieces to where you can just throw them out there and make the NCAA Tournament. Due to the way the roster was created, talent isn’t going to get you by this season. Every fan watching now understands that.

Some will say that’s on the players, but most realize that if Kevin Keatts didn’t want to be the center of attention this season, then he’d of put together a roster that mimicked last year’s run as close as possible, altered his defense approach the way he did during that run, and attack this season as an extension of the run.

Had that approach not worked, no one would have been focusing on Kevin Keatts. They wouldn’t have blamed him. It was a no brainer to try to replicate all the aspects of the run. If it didn’t work it would just go to show you how good Burns and Horne really were. At that point, Kevin Keatts would have been in the drivers seat. He could go back to his style of play, be vocal about how he tried to replicate the run despite belief that his long-time system was the right way forward, and go back to that system. Again, no one would have blamed him.

That isn’t what happened. A small-ball roster was created. Our 4 went from 6’10 to 6’6. We went back to full court extended defense with our bigs hedging high and looking to speed up the game in hopes of creating turnovers. So fans are rightfully frustrated as that system has NC State back to where it’s been over the past 6 years, on the outside of the bubble looking in.

Shut up and cheer!
I know this is a touchy subject. I know there are factions that would like it if the media and the fans would just stand down, cheer hard, and let the team play without nitpicking.

But let’s be clear, this is our team too. Most of us attended this school, donate to this school, and now even donate to the NIL collective which is more and more becoming the lifeblood of college basketball programs. Most of us have skin in this game, so I do think it’s fair that the fans use the only power they currently have (their voice) to attempt to make what they view as necessary changes.

It’s a complicated puzzle…but every puzzle has a solution
With all of that said, last season we watched a very talented team win the ACC Tournament and then take it all the way to the Final Four.

But we only saw that after a season in which we finished 10th in the ACC. That means the talent to compete for a national champion was on this roster the entire time and it couldn’t even finish in the upper half of its conference.

I’m not saying it’s 100% Keatts fault, but I am saying that when you dig into the metrics and you see that deploying the same talent in a different way completely changed your outcomes, you have to wonder why those changes or those lineups weren’t established sooner.

Fast forward to this season and NC State is currently, yep, you guessed it, 10th in the ACC. And the fans, and the media are rightfully wondering if we have a similar situation.

No, this team isn’t going to win a ACC Championship or go to a Final Four (they dont’ have the offensive fire power for that), but I think they have skill sets that if put together correctly could finish in the. upper third of the ACC.

But that’s the issue. The pieces are not being put together correctly in most people’s eyes. If they were, we wouldn’t be sitting in 10th place.

Basketball is a puzzle. When you have elite players, they are like versatile puzzle pieces. They have the ability to change and fit multiple other pieces, so no matter what you have around them, the puzzle will still go together. However, NC State has none of those pieces. They have stagnant pieces that will only fit together when put together perfectly.

Most people’s argument is that Kevin Keatts keeps trying to put the puzzle together the way he thinks it should go. While everyone else is begging him to put the pieces together the way they naturally fit together.

My argument is that our puzzle has too many similar pieces.

Mike O’Connell & Breon Pass– Both guards who aren’t quick enough to get in the lane in create. Neither have the ability to consistently finish at the rim, or create havoc off the bounce and find open shooters. Both however, are good role players. Pass is shooting the ball really well and O’Connell is protecting the ball pretty well. However, on a team with so little ability to create off the dribble, neither guy’s advantage really plays up for NC State. You have to question why these two are combining for around 45-50 minutes per game. On a team with play makers all around, you can have a guy like this, but this team isn’t built that way.

Dontrez Styles &Dennis Parker Jr– Both of these guys have been good for NC State, but again, you have a redundant type of player. Styles and Parker Jr are both 6’6. Not quick enough to be guards, not tall enough to be Power Forwards. But Parker is athletic and Styles is physical with a decent jumper.

Both are being put out there at the 4 where they are forced to (on most nights) match up with bigger opponents. If they were great shooters or super quick, I’d understand it. You pull out the bigger 4 and abuse him off the dribble. He’d be forced to come out because they are such good shooters that you can’t leave them open.

But that is NOT what is happening here. Styles and Parker have the ‘skill-sets’ of a classic 4 man, but they just so happen to be undersized at 6’6. You can’t continue to run these guys out at the 4 when you’re center isn’t a go-to scorer and your 1-3 can’t spread the floor with their shooting ability, nor can they turn the corner, get in the lane, and create (aside from Hill).

We are playing two very decent pieces at a constant disadvantage night in and night out.

Ben Middlebrooks & Brandon Huntley-Hatfield– Both of these guys are about 6’10. Neither is very good at defending the pick and roll and neither is a dominant back to the basket offensive presence. Hatfieild is a better scorer and rebounder, but he’s constnatly lost on defense, provides very little rim protection and and isn’t very physical. Meanwhile, Ben is becoming a decent rim protector and very physical and active on the blocks. He’s not great against the pick and roll either, but it’s rarely because he’s lost and more because he’s over aggressive and extends too far out.

Creating versatility and accentuating your advantages with your lineups
The more ways you can attack the harder you are to guard. The more looks you can give on defense, the harder you are to gameplan against offensively.

NC State has some unique pieces, but they aren’t really using those unique pieces in a way that their abilities are being showcased. For example…

Marcus Hill:
Marcus Hill isn’t the perfect player, but Hill has been elite in ACC play. He’s proven that his skill set plays in the ACC, and it’s not because he’s super athletic or super tall. He’s unique. Defenders haven’t seen or played against many guys like him. He’s low, quick, slippery. He’s got a great handle going either way, and his most important skill is his elite finishing ability (with both hands) around the basket.

He’s 6’4, but moves and drives like he’s 6’1. He stays low and gets off the ground fast. He isn’t playing above the rim, but he understands angles and can finish amongst the trees. You don’t have another Marcus Hill and teams aren’t used to a guy like Marcus Hill.

Marcus Hill needs to be highlighted more than he is. Sure he was 10-19 shooting with 20 points and 9 boards on Saturday, but 12 of those shots came within the first 10 minutes. Most of the rest came in the final 10. There were 20 minutes in this game where Hill was a ghost. Sure, he could have asserted himself more, but this is the coaches job. Put the ball in his hands, run him off screens or create sets that isolate him. Marcus Hill for all intents and purposes should be the primary ball handler for NC State. Sure he’s not classic PG, but at this point, with this roster, he’s got to be ball-dominant and you have to challenge him to create, up his assist totals and continue to score it. Even if that means an uptick in turnovers.

Jayden Taylor:
Taylor had an up and down season last year and he’s having one again this year. But Taylor is a guy that really needs to be on the floor. He’s the team’s second best 3pt shooter at 36.4% and he’s NC State’s BEST shooter amongst guys who are multi-dimensional.

What I mean by that is, Taylor is State’s best defender. He is their backcourt energy guy. He’s physical and can get to the line, and while he does push the issues a little too much sometimes (ending up in turnovers), this is a team that actually can live with that. They need guys attacking more and pushing the issue more, and less kicking it from side to side with no real ability to create or make a play. Taylor gives you a lot and the fact that he’s shooting it so well lately, makes him a guy you can’t take off the floor.

Ismael Diouf:
Diouf is being misused. He’s playing too few minutes, and the minutes he does get are at the 5. He is not a center and when you put him up against guys that are 20-30 lbs heavier than him, you’re doing him a disservice. Diouf is another very unique player that isn’t replicated on this roster. He’s 6’9, he’s very fundamental, he’s lefty, he’s able to drive and attack but also post you up. We haven’t seen it yet, but he’s also a pretty decent shooter from long-range.

I don’t care how you put together your lineup, there is no scenario where Diouf isn’t getting 25+ minutes for me. He’s a freshman, so sure he’s seemed a little timid at times (especially early on against UNC), but he needs time to get comfortable without being pulled after a 4-minute spurt. He’s constantly open on the block and they don’t get him the ball, despite the fact that he’s 2-3 on the season in back-to-the-basket attacks. He’s also attacked the rim with more reckless abandon than anyone else we have. For the second time, he was fouled on a straight-line dunk attempt on a pick-and-roll.

Had this foul been called, Diouf would have given you 6 points in 8 minutes (UNC also would not have gone down and hit an open 3). He already your best per-minute offensive rebounder and your 2nd (or maybe now 3rd) best rebounder overall per minute.

Ismael Diouf is one of the 3 guys that need to be on the floor for NC State most of the time, and I truly believe this is one area where we are seeing the most obvious mismanagement of this roster.

Trey Parker and Paul McNeil
Both of these guys are unique players. McNeil is 6’5 shooting guard who was a prolific scorer in HS. NC State has nobody like him, skill-set-wise, but he’s not ready yet. Is it because he just wasn’t ready to make the jump or is it because we didn’t spend a lot of the early season getting him acclimated to this level.

Then there is Trey Parker who is an elite athlete and potential 3-level scorer. He’s another guy who could bring a unique look to your team, however, he hasn’t been able to put it together.

Both guys are likely being held out because of their defense and I get it. But I wonder if there were ways to have them ready or to get them acclimated with more minutes early on.

At this point it’s too late. They likely aren’t going to become major players on this team, and it’s a shame one way or another.

The Lineup for the Rest of the Season
I’d love to see more versatility going forward. The 3 unique guys we have on this team should be on the floor as much as possible on most nights.

Hill, Taylor and Diouf.

Middlebrooks should be getting most of your minutes at the 5, and BHH can give him breathers when he’s back healthy, or when he proves to you that he can handle the physicality of the ACC and our team defense concept.

Styles and Parker should share minutes depending on what you need. Do you need to go more athletic, go Parker. Do you need more physicality and shooting, go Styles. Either way, you should be playing them at the 3. Getting more usable talent on the floor and putting guys into their correct positions where they can be matched up wtih guys their size on a nightly basis.

O’Connell and Pass should be giving you spot minutes. Do you need to slow it down, calm it down and get control of the game. Bring in MOC.

Do you need to spread the floor against a zone or do you just need more shooters on the perimeter, go Pass.

When you need Pass or O’Connell it’s one or the other, not both at the same time. And when you have them in, it’s a time where you are either giving Taylor or Hill a breather. That, or you have to go small, taking Taylor down to the 3 and Styles/Parker to the 4. Again, this is fine from time to time or when the matchups suggest it, but for the most part, this is where I believe the biggest problem lies.

These are the same guys you are seeing every night for NC State, but they have never been deployed like this. It’s getting to the point now where almost every local NC State media outlet and every fan are saying this exact same thing. Abandon the PG. Hand the reigns to Hill. Abandon this small-ball, and move Styles-Parker to the 3. Become a bigger, more athletic team. Put a taller, more versatile Diouf at the 4 and have a bruiser in Ben at the 5.

Until the fans see this tried, it’s going to be as it is with almost every X post, every message board post, every comment, questioning Kevin Keatts.

If he tries it, commits to it for a game or two, and it fails, then everyone will shut up and deal with the fact that we just don’t have the horses. They will get off his back about this roation stuff (however the frusteration will then be more targeted at the roster construction) which you can push SOME blame on the fact that you don’t have Mike James due to injury.

Right now, though, there is no excuse. NC State isn’t great, but there are too many talented pieces on this team to be seeing the product we are seeing on the court.