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Dennis Smith Jr. Facing Tough Comeption From the Start

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7 years ago

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The Mavs released their 2017-18 schedule on Monday, and it’s clear that the schedule won’t take it easy on former NC State point guard, and potential NBA rookie of the year candidate Dennis Smith Jr.

Beginning his NBA career against Atlanta’s Dennis Schroder at home on Oct. 18, Smith will then find himself matched up against No. 5 overall draft pick De’Aaron Fox, veteran lead guard George Hill and the Sacramento Kings two nights later. From there Smith will see some of the Western Conference’s top lead guards during his first week in the league with four straight games against perennial All-Star candidates like Houston’s Chris Paul, two-time MVP Stephen Curry of Golden State and Memphis’ Mike Conley. A date against No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz looms from there when the Mavs welcome in the Philadelphia 76ers on Oct. 28. And with early-season matchups against Washington’s John Wall, Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving, scoring champion Isaiah Thomas of Boston, San Antonio’s Tony Parker, Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon of Milwaukee and reigning MVP Russell Westbrook of Oklahoma City to come in November, Smith will immediately be thrown into the fire on the defensive end of the floor. (Mavs)

Vegas thinks that Smith Jr. is the second most likely rookie to win the 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year award, but as you can see above, it won’t be an easy road.

Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle believes that Dennis has what it takes to be in the conversation, especially on the offensive end, but defense will be the area he will be playing catch up on the most.

“This is a fact: There’s no player that comes into this that can be totally prepared to play defense in the NBA with the pace, the strength difference, the speed difference and all those kinds of things. But I think Dennis understands that staying on the court to do that means you’ve got to be strong in both areas,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said of Smith’s defensive abilities earlier this summer. “It’s important to attack the guy that’s going to be attacking you at the other end, but you’ve got to be able to guard him, too. And you’ve got to have a system in place where your teammates can help you do that, so that’s going to be one of the biggest parts of his learning curve. You know, I expect the offensive stuff to happen pretty naturally just based on what I’ve seen on film, but NBA defense is a different metabolic situation. There’s a lot to learn, and he understands that. (Mavs)

This isn’t lost on Smith Jr. Defense isn’t a priority in AAU basketball, and unfortunately it wasn’t a priority under Mark Gottfried during his one season at NC State.

“I want to learn exactly how to play defense,” Smith confessed back in June. “You know, that’s not something that was really pressed about last year. And with the staff we had, we were more of an offense-oriented team, so we really didn’t learn too much about defense. I’m looking forward to learning a lot about it this year, and I think that will be the main thing — learning how to play.” (Mavs)

(This isn’t an article about former NC State head coach Mark Gottfried. This isn’t an article about current NC State head coach Kevin Keatts. With that being said, it PAINS me to read the above quote. It’s one thing to have a team that doesn’t execute their coach’s defensive strategy well. It’s another thing to say ‘we really didn’t learn too much about defense.’ Let’s HOPE Keatts TEACHES these Wolfpack players how to play defense.)

Stay tuned to PackInsider all year long, for continual Dennis Smith Jr. coverage. The Mavs kickoff preseason play on September 2nd at home against the Bucks, and the regular season on October 17th against Atlanta at home.

 

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Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

Pack in the Pros

Former NC State Punter Trenton Gill Signs with Denver

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2024

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Former NC State Punter Trenton Gill has signed with the Denver Broncos after he was released by the Bears this offseason.

Gill was drafted by Chicago in the 7th round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and has averaged 46.1 yards per punt through his first two NFL seasons.

Heading into the 2024 season, Gill will compete with Riley Dixon for the starting Punter job. Dixon was the Broncos’ starter in 2023, averaging 46.3 yards per punt.

Gill’s career average of 45.8 yards per punt in college is the best in NC State history. In 2019, Gill averaged 47.6 yards per punt, which led the ACC, and earned him a spot on the All-ACC Third Team. In 2021, he was on the All-ACC 1st Team. All 3 of his seasons as NC State’s Punter rank in the Top-6 in school history for best punting average in a single season.

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Former NC State G Lorenzo Brown Named to All-EuroLeague 2nd Team

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4 days ago

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May 14, 2024

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Former NC State Guard Lorenzo Brown was named to the All-EuroLeague 2nd Team.

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Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

After injuries sapped Lorenzo Brown of his best form during the regular season, the Maccabi playmaker snapped back to health just in time and, as one of the stars of the postseason, has been recognized by the voters his second consecutive All-EuroLeague Team selection. Brown was the MVP of the Play-In Showdown after he erupted for 29 points on 7-for-8 three-point shooting – both Maccabi postseason records – plus 5 assists against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz to send Maccabi to the playoffs. He then led the Israeli champs with 17.2 points and 5.8 assists for a PIR of 19.2 in the five-game series against Panathinaikos. Brown ranked third in scoring for the playoffs, with 17.2 points per game, and was third for the full season in assists with 6.1. (Link)

This is the 2nd time that Brown has earned All-EuroLeague status, earning 1st Team honors in 2022-23.

Brown plays for Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv in Israel, and this was his 2nd season with the squad.

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NC State is Tied for the 2nd Most Defensive Tackles in the NFL

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1 week ago

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May 9, 2024

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ProFootballFocus released this infographic this week, revealing which College Football Teams had the most Defensive Tackles on NFL rosters, and NC State was tied for 2nd with 7.

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Defensive Tackles on NFL Rosters who Played at NC State

B.J. Hill – Bengals (2018-23) – Career Stats: 285 Tackles, 22 TFL’s and 20.5 Sacks
Justin Jones – Cardinals (2018-23) – Career Stats: 219 Tackles, 34 TFL’s and 12 Sacks
Alim McNeil – Lions (2021-23) – Career Stats: 112 Tackles, 15 TFL’s and 8 Sacks
Kentavius Street – Falcons (2019-23) – Career Stats: 89 Tackles, 17 TFL’s and 7.5 Sacks
T.Y. McGill – 49ers (2015-23) – Career Stats: 45 Tackles, 10 TFL’s and 5.5 Sacks
Larrell Murchison – Rams (2020-23) – Career Stats: 37 Tackles, 5 TFL’s and 2 Sacks
Cory Durden – Rams (2023) – Career Stats: 3 Tackles

All 7 of the above players played regular season games for an NFL team in 2023. We will have to see how many of the 7 make 53-man rosters this Fall.

Junior Wolfpack Nose Tackle Brandon Cleveland tweeted with confidence that he will be #8 sometime soon.

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Mike Tomlin’s Thoughts on the Steelers Drafting NC State’s Payton Wilson

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3 weeks ago

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April 29, 2024

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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin was ecstatic that NC State Linebacker Payton Wilson was available for Pittsburgh to pick up with the 98th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

“We had to get comfortable with his medical and we brought him in on a pre draft visit. We allowed our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort. And so from that perspective, man, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)

“Man, we’re really excited about Peyton. When we turn his tape on, we see him making all the type of plays you need linebackers to make. He’s a volume tackle player. He makes plays in the passing game from a coverage perspective via interception and pass breakup. He gets after the quarterback in the blitz game. He’s got a very well-rounded skillset. He’s a fluid mover. He can run. Had an opportunity to lay some real up close eyes on him down there in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, we’re thankful we had an opportunity to get him. He’s got all the hardware that comes with some of those things that I described being a Butkus Award winner and so forth. We had to get comfortable with his medical and we brought him in on a pre draft visit. We allowed Our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort. And so from that perspective, man, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)

“I think you could characterize it as surprised. I mean, he is an award-winning linebacker, Butkus Award winner. Had an opportunity to get really familiar with him down in Mobile as well. But the linebackers themselves weren’t coming off the board at that juncture. So sometimes they make runs on positions at different times and it hadn’t been a lot of linebackers to that point. I think what he was number five or so.” (Link)

“We’re really excited about Payton. When we turn his tape on, we see him making all the types of plays you need linebackers to make. He’s a volume tackle player. He makes plays in the passing game from a coverage perspective via interception and pass breakup. He gets after the quarterback in the blitz game. He’s got a very well-rounded skill set. He’s a fluid mover. We had to get comfortable with his medical, and we were. We brought him in on a pre-draft visit to allow our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort, and so from that perspective, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)

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