NC State Basketball
Basketball Preview: Why the heck is nobody talking about Torin Dorn?
When last season started, it was the Dennis Smith Jr show. He’s who everyone was talking about. He was the savior that had come to help NC State rise to greatness once again. Only, if you remember back, it wasn’t Smith who was leading the team in the early going. It was Torin Dorn.
Through the first eight games of the season, Dorn averaged almost 18 points and 7 rebounds per game. He was dominant. He was scoring from inside and out. He looked like a superstar in the making. But something happened after these 8 games. Dorn went cold. He lost confidence in his shot and it seemed as if as Dennis Smith starter to bloom as the team’s top scoring threat, Dorn found himself wondering what his role was.
The early media take was that Dorn ran into a buzz saw when he hit ACC play and it was a little too physical for him, and he was simply outmatched. That never really made sense to us because Dorn had big games against some big-time talent. He put up 16 vs Creighton and then had a 17 point (7-11), 7 rebound outing vs a pretty good Illinois team. When he started to fall off, it wasn’t against better talent. It was against Tennesee St and Appalachian St. In fact, Dorn’s numbers started to decline just as NC State’s offense started to get stagnant and turned into a Dennis Smith Jr watch party. It was also right around the time that Omer Yurtseven came back from suspension and the Wolfpack started to go big. Dorn just didn’t have much value with a clogged up lane and nowhere to drive.
What we are getting at is that Torin Dorn never had a problem being outmatched at the ACC level, he just lost his confidence, had the offense change on him a bit, and never was able to turn it around. The fact still remains that he’s proven that he can be a real scorer at this level and we believe he’s going to be a major surprise this season for NC State.
Dorn’s quiet end to the season last year has people forgetting that this guy was the Conference USA Freshman of the Year for Charlotte just a few years ago. He’s finally in a situation where he fits the offense perfectly. The 4 guard lineup that NC State will be playing to start the season is the dream situation for him. The floor will be spread and there will be a ton of space to go to work.
While there hasn’t been much hype around Dorn this offseason, we think he is going to be one of the Pack’s most productive players in 2017-18.
According to reports, NC State is adding UMASS’ Brett Nelson as an Assistant Coach.
Sources: Brett Nelson is leaving UMass to join Kevin Keatts’ staff at NC State as an assistant.
Matt Figger — who worked for Frank Martin at both South Carolina and Kansas State — will replace Nelson in Amherst.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 15, 2024
Nelson was only at UMASS for 1 season under Frank Martin. Prior to that, Nelson was the Head Coach at Holy Cross for 4 seasons, posting a 27-84 record.
Prior to taking the Head Coaching mantle at Holy Cross, Nelson was at Marquette for 5 seasons, spending the first 3 as an Assistant Coach, and the final two as an Associate Head Coach. Prior to Marquette, Nelson also served as an Assistant Coach at Ball St., Drake, Arkansas and Marshall.
Before coaching basketball, Nelson played for the University of Florida from 1999-2003. He was All-SEC twice, and earned Third Team All-American honors. When he left Gainesville, he was the Gators’ all-time leader in three pointers made, and ranked 2nd in steals.
As a Senior in High School, Nelson was a McDonald’s All-American.
Power Forward Ernest Ross announced this morning that he is returning to NC State for his final year of eligibility.
View this post on Instagram
Last Friday, Ross committed to UTSA after entering the Transfer Portal on April 17th, but it looks like he had a change of heart over the past couple of days.
NC State has been in desperate need to add a Big out of the Portal. They have hosted ECU’s Ezra Ausar and Georgia’s Frank Anselem-Ibe, but neither of them have found a home yet. With the addition of Ross, NC State has added depth in the Frontcourt, and unless something changes, their roster is full with 13 scholarship players.
Ross played in 14 games this past season, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in NC State’s 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
