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NC State post players are in for a test come Saturday as they must find a way to stop John Collins. The 6-10 power forward is having a great season averaging 16.4 PPG (59% FG) and 8.8 RPG. Danny Manning has done a great job at putting his talented sophomore in spots where he can thrive. How can NC State slow down Collins?

The Pack will need their perimeter players to pressure Wake’s guards from having easy entry passes to Collins. With ball pressure, NC State guards can buy their big men more time to move Collins away from the basket. The added time will also benefit help-side defense resulting in less space for Collins to operate.

The Deacons also love putting Collins in pick and rolls. The power forward is quick, bouncy, and has great hands to catch as well as finish off the alley. NC State cannot be lax on their pick and roll defense. Dennis Smith and company will need to fight through screens to avoid confusion related to switching. Malik Abu, Omer Yurtseven, and BeeJay Anya must not allow Collins unobstructed lanes to the basket if they do they will have a front row seat to the dunk show. Collins off-ball movement allows him to catch alley’s even outside of pick and rolls. The Wolfpack must keep connected to Collins at all times.

John Collins has the ball handling skills to beat most forwards and centers to the rim. He has shown the ability to put the ball on the deck and finish inside. The Pack must be aware that Collins does not have a good outside shot; therefore they cannot bite on shot fakes. Collins fakes are designed to counter attack with the dribble to get inside, as he is not comfortable taking outside shots.

NC State cannot foul Collins outside of the paint by committing cheap reach-in fouls. Malik Abu needs to stay out of foul trouble because he has the tools to make Collins work. Due to Collins limited range, the Pack needs to give him a couple of steps defensively and not reach in on his drives. There is no doubt that Collins is the head of the Deacon’s attack offensively. He has had huge jumps in his production compared to last season.

NC State can slow the super sophomore down by pushing him away from the basket and communicating with one another to his whereabouts as he moves. Implementing a zone from time to time should also slow him down by having plenty of help inside. In the zone NC State will have to communicate even more to keep Collins off the offensive glass.

Again it will need to be a total team effort from all five players to make Collins work each possession. Game time is at 2 PM this Saturday at the PNC Arena, coverage on ACC-Network.

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NC State Basketball

Guard Jayden Taylor will Return to NC State for his Final Year

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10 hours ago

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April 29, 2024

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Guard Jayden Taylor will be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility.

At this point, I was expecting him to return, but now it is official.

This past season, Taylor averaged 11.2 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, shooting 46.5% from the field and 36.4% from three, which was a new career high by almost 4%.

Taylor started the first 24 games of the season, but after struggling in January, he became the Wolfpack’s 6th man. Taylor excelled as the 6th man, playing some of his best basketball of the season in that role, giving his team a much needed boost whenever he entered the game.

The return of Taylor was essential to NC State’s success next season. In a world where everyone seemingly hits the Portal, seeing Taylor, Pass, Middlebrooks, O’Connell and Rice not do so is a good sign (I know they still could).

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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3 days ago

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April 26, 2024

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Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar (6’4″) has verbally committed to NC State for her final year.

Weimar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago.

She is the reigning Patriot League Player of the Year, and has been named Defensive Player of the Year the past two years. She has earned 1st Team Patriot League Honors the past two seasons.

This year, Weimar averaged 18.7 points, 10.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. As a Junior, she averaged 15.5 points and 10.0 rebounds. She shot 55.5% this year, and 59.7% last year.

With the exodus of River Baldwin, picking up a commitment from Weimar is massive.

With the addition of Weimar, NC State now has 2 scholarships available heading into the 2024-25 season.

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NC State Basketball

Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill Commits to NC State!

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4 days ago

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April 25, 2024

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Bowling Green Transfer Guard Marcus Hill (6’4″/185) has committed to NC State!

Hill took an Official Visit to NC State this past weekend.

This past season, Hill averaged 20.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for the Falcons. He earned 1st Team All-MAC honors. Even though he was only at Bowling Green one season, he had one of the best seasons in school history, scoring 698 points, which ranks 5th all-time in program history for a single season.

For his first two years of collegiate ball, Hill played for Southern Union State College (JUCO) in Alabama. In 2022-23, Hill earned 3rd Team NJCAA All-American honors, and ranked as the #32 overall Junior College prospect.

247Sports ranks Hill as a 4-Star Transfer Prospect, and the #81 overall player in the Transfer Portal, and the #11 Shooting Guard.

Even though 247Sports and ON3 consider Hill a Shooting Guard, NC State is recruiting him as a Point Guard.

Hill is the 4th player to transfer to NC State this offseason, joining Louisville’s Brandon Huntley-Hatfield & Mike James, and Georgetown’s Dontrez Styles.

With the addition of Hill, NC State now has 1 scholarship remaining for next season.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Mohamed Diarra Will Not Return to NC State for Final Season

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6 days ago

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April 24, 2024

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NC State Forward Mohamed Diarra will not be returning to NC State for his final season of eligibility. Rather, he will give 100% of his focus to pursuing his professional career.

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Diarra is declaring for the NBA Draft, and will explore that possibility as far as it goes, but the likelihood of him playing professionally in his home country of France are high.

Diarra was a significant player for NC State all season long, averaging 6.3 points and 7.8 rebounds (team high), but his impact in March was tremendous, recording 10+ rebounds in 7 of the Wolfpack’s 10 postseason games, and five of those performances were double-doubles.

Wolfpack fans will always remember the grit and mental toughness that Diarra put on display in the NCAA Tournament, playing game-after-game while fasting for Ramadan.

The Wolfpack’s frontcourt just got a little bit thinner. In the past two weeks, NC State has lost Diarra and Ernest Ross.  Ben Middlebrooks is returning, and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred in from Louisville. Dontrez Styles transferred in from Georgetown, and while he is more of a Small Forward, in certain lineups, he could play the Small 4 position. With all that being said, I fully expect NC State to try to find another post player in the Transfer Portal with Diarra’s exodus now official.

With Diarra not returning in 2024, NC State now has 2 scholarships available for next season.

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