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Words from the Sideline

Published

9 years ago

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Communication is important no matter the profession; however, in athletics it is even more critical. In order for a team to win, they must execute the plays from the sideline and the given game plan. Throughout the game coaches communicate relentlessly to their players in hopes of giving them an edge in the contest. This past weekend I was able to focus on some of the verbal exchanges between coaches and players.

Mark Gottfried:

Throughout the game Coach Gottfried can be seen standing carefully watching the game for any area of weakness that the opponent presents offensively or defensively. He has a great relationship with Cat Barber, frequently during free throws or as Cat comes out of the game Gottfried can be heard giving Cat reminders. For example versus Queens, Gottfried frequently gave Cat encouragement to use his strengths. He told Cat to use his elite quickness to get into the paint, and cut hard off the high post. I could tell that Cat responds well to Gottfried who is very positive in his approach with his young point guard. The second half Cat really settled down and looked much more comfortable.

Another phrase that I heard throughout the game from Coach Gottfried was to not be casual in their approach. He really let Ralston know that he was not pleased with the way he was too casual with ripping the ball through on offense, which resulted in a weak turnover. Ralston responded well to Gottfried’s criticism and played much tougher the rest of the night.

One last thing that caught my ear was just how emphatic Coach Gottfried was about defense. First off I think he has a bad rap as not being a defensive minded coach. I was a part of his practices for two years; he definitely spends a considerable amount of time on defense. However I think for a team to be great defensively there has to be a desire. I am not sure in past years that desire burned throughout the whole 40 minutes. Yet as I watched Gottfried pleading with his guys to get up and pressure they were more than willing to oblige. You could see it in their eyes that they wanted to embarrass who ever they were defending!

Coach Lutz:

He is one of my favorite coaches to listen to during games. He has an incredible amount of knowledge and experience. He is great at creating the matchups defensively for our team. Periodically he makes adjustments on the fly to find the correct players to stop the opposing players strengths. He spends a great deal of time studying habits and plays of the opposing team. Even in the exhibition versus Queens, I could tell that he knew the opposing personnel, which resulted in putting our players in good positions defensively. 

Coach Early:

 Orlando Early is an excellent motivator. He’s responsible for the power forwards and centers on the team. He is their positions coach and works with them exclusively throughout the season. Coach O can constantly be heard shouting, “make them score over you not around you!” This is a simple phrase yet one of great importance. If you are making opposing players score over the top, this mean you are not getting beat to the rim. Bad things happen when guys get beat, this causes other guys to scramble into help defense, which means someone is open. If our post players can keep their man from going around them things stay airtight in the interior! Especially with BeeJay, its pretty difficult to score over the top of him, many players have been an unwilling guest to his block parties!

Coach Moxley:

 Just as Coach O is the positions coach for the forwards and centers, Coach Moxley works exclusively with the guards. Toughness is a staple with Coach Moxley as is effort and pride. Few coaches can match Rob Moxley in toughness and energy. He is constantly pushing the guards to be aggressive offensively. Throughout the season Rob puts the players through intense drills that push the players to their limits. His whole thing is to make sure he is matching the stresses that players will encounter in an ACC game. Confidence is a must with him; he makes the players feel confident in their abilities and is one of the first to give players a pat on the back, quickly followed by a get back on defense.

There will be countless lessons and opportunities for improvement this season, and I am confident that our battle-tested staff will maximize the talent and abilities within this team. The season officially kicks off tomorrow, November 14th at 7PM in the PNC. Game can be seen on ESPN 3 and the WatchESPN App.

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NC State Basketball

Boston Transfer Center Caitlin Weimar Commits to NC State

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1 day 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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2 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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4 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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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James Commits to NC State!

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5 days ago

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April 23, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) has announced his commitment to NC State!

 

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This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining. With James’ commitment, NC State currently has 1 scholarship available for next season.

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