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NC State Basketball

No. 3 Arizona’s Trier may be nations best scorer, can Wolfpack stop him?

Published

6 years ago

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NC State takes on No.3 Arizona this Wednesday night at 7pm as a part of the “Battle For Atlantis” tournament.

The matchup will be the first true test for both teams, however, a lot more will likely be learned about the Wolfpack, who are a bit of an unknown at this point. New head coach Kevin Keatts’ squad has passed the early eye test, but how will they hold up against elite competition. For instance, how will they deal with someone like Arizona’s top scorer, Allonzo Trier?

Trier could have gone to the NBA after his sophomore season. He averaged 17 points, 5 boards, shot 46% from the floor and 40% from beyond the arc. He would have likely been a late 1st round, early 2nd round pick, but that wasn’t good enough. Trier returned to Arizona this season to enhance his draft status and to try to win a national championship.

It’s safe to say, he’s off to a good start.

Trier is a 6’5, 205lb guard who can do it all. He’s long and strong and can get into the lane, create contact and finish. When he doesn’t have a lane, he’s fine settling for the 3 ball, where he’s a sharp-shooter from deep. Just look at these ‘per game’ stats so far this season:

Points: 30
Rebounds: 4
Assists: 3
Steals: 1
FG: 70%
3pt: 59%

Are you serious? Yeah, Arizona has only faced Northern Arizona, UMBC, and CSU Bakersfield, but those numbers are mind-boggling. 70% from the field? Maybe if you’re a big, scoring from 2 feet out, but this kid is shooting over five 3s per game.  Speaking of 3s, he’s knocking down nearly 60% of those. Just for a Wolfpack comparison, Scott Wood’s BEST season was 42%.

So can NC State stop him?

That’s really the million dollar question. There isn’t really a blueprint on how to bother Trier. He’s put up big games in his career vs. both big and small guards.

NC State can try to bother him with constant pressure from Johnson and Batts, or they can go big and have Dorn or Al Freeman try to slow him down.

We believe from watching as much Treier film as we could, that a longer, athletic guard is the best option. Trier will kill you inside and outside. Just watch his highlights. The guy really gets going by getting to the rim and finishing through contact. However, the one weak spot (if you can call it that) in his game is his slow jumper. It’s accurate, sure, but it takes him a while to get it off. NC State could guard him with Dorn who could give him an extra step to stop the drive but have the length to close out and get a hand up by the time he’s ready to release.

We will wait and see how Keatts defends a guy like Trier, but we suspect he has a little more success than Gottfried did vs. elite scorers. Against Gottfried guys like this were going for career nights on the regular and we don’t expect that to be the case this time.

If NC State wants to shock the world and topple the Wildcats, it starts with stopping Allonzo Trier.

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NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

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3 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.

Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.

In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.

As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).

1 year of Eligibility 

Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

2 Years of Eligibility

Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)

3 Years of Eligibility 

Guard/Forward Dennis Parker Jr.

4 Years of Eligibility 

Guard Paul McNeil
Guard Trey Parker

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

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3 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

Guard Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

NC State still has a chance to move up in the rankings. East Carolina Power Forward Ezra Ausar just wrapped up an Official Visit to NC State, and things are looking good for the Wolfpack. ON3 ranks Ausar as the #67 overall player in the Portal, and the #15 Power Forward.

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Andy Katz’s Offseason Convo with NC State’s Kevin Keatts

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4 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.

In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.

Check out the conversation below:

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NC State Basketball

Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

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4 days ago

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May 1, 2024

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Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

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A post shared by Michael O’Connell (@michaeloc_12)

Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.

This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.

O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.

He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.

NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).

Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.

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