NC State Basketball
NC State Opens With a Convincing 102-67 Victory Over VMI
NC State opened up the Kevin Keatts era with a convincing 102-67 victory over VMI tonight.
The wealth was spread around nicely, with 7 Wolfpack players scoring in double figures.
Al Freeman – 17 pts
Torin Dorn – 16 pts
Lennard Freeman – 15 pts
Markell Johnson – 14 pts
Omer Yurtseven- 13 pts
Sam Hunt – 11 pts
Lavar Batts – 10 pts
NC State’s defensive intensity was evident from the tip-off, all the way until the final second ticked off the clock. The Wolfpack forced VMI to commit 21 turnovers.
The Wolfpack shot a solid 51% from the field, and 73.3% from the charity stripe, while holding VMI to 36% shooting.
Lennard Freeman had a great first game back after missing all of last season, scoring a career high of 15 points (5-8 FG).
Markell Johnson nearly had a double-double, adding 9 assists to his 14 points, with only 1 turnover. Oh yeah, he also chipped in 4 Steals.
Torin Dorn was probably the most steady player on the court tonight, doing a little bit of it all. To go along with his 16 points (7-11 FG), he also led the team in rebounds with 8.
Despite not shooting his best (5-15), Al Freeman showed that he is a leader on this team, and will get points one way or another. Lavar Batts gave us flashes of his lightning speed and athleticism. Sam Hunt popped in 3 from deep-land, which was an encouraging sign, after the exodus of Terry Henderson and Maverick Rowan.
On the whole, it was a dominant performance to start off the season. They reached triple digits while holding their opponent to under 70. The Wolfpack displayed tremendous effort, played unselfish basketball, and were pretty disciplined and smart while doing so.
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.
