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NC State Basketball

State Slips Past USF, 68-65

Published

9 years ago

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The good news is that NC State finally got some early season adversity to practice through against USF. The bad news is that it nearly ended with a loss. The Pack had the game in check for the majority of the time, but never really were able to pull away. Some intense late game pressure from the Bulls really exposed some areas for improvement for the Pack, especially in the ball handling and FT shooting department.

Trevor Lacey led scoring with 21 point and 7 boards while Kyle Washington stepped up in the 2nd half after coming off the bench to score 8 points. Lennard Freeman didn’t have the best game but he did end up with 10 boards, making it 3 straight games with double digit boards.

Here are a few thoughts from the game:

Poor Against the Zone
It’s early so you don’t want to be too hard on the guys, but for such a good shooting group, these guys struggle against the zone. They need to be quicker with their rotations and more sure of their interior passing. This means the guards need to trust that the bigs are going to seal and come to the ball when they do weave it in there. All too often the Pack is throwing it around the perimeter and settling for a poor contested 3. The times they got it inside and played inside-out they were able to find some success. Lacey did a good job of penetrating the zone and then looking to kick for open 3s. Why do you want to get the ball inside the zone? We’ll for one, that is where the biggest gaps are, but as soon as you do that you get swarmed. That’s actually the point. Getting the defense to turn their heads, move, and lose the guys drifting on the perimeter equals wide open looks from 3. After you hit a few 3s you will get the zone extended and begin to do your damage in the middle.

Playing to Not Lose
Nonchalant play is not going to cut it this season. This team needs to get strong and learn to go for the jugular when they get leads. They don’t have a Warren to bail them out this season and they definitely need every win they can get in a very competitive ACC schedule. It was a bit troubling to see them making mistake after mistake down the stretch and allowing USF back in the game. Missed FTs, turnovers and poor body language were all to blame…but the season is young and so is this team. Hopefully this is a learning moment for the guys and they’ll come back ready to nail up the coffin next time.

NC State will play twice around the Thanksgiving holiday. The Pack gets Richmond on Wednesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. Boise State comes to the PNC Friday, Dec. 28 at 7 p.m.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Ranks 8th in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25

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2 hours ago

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May 7, 2024

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ESPN released their updated Way-Too-Early Preseason Top-25 for the 2024-25 Women’s Basketball season, and NC State ranked 8th.

8. NC State Wolfpack

The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8

(ESPN)

ACC Teams in the Top-25

4. Notre Dame

8. NC State

11. Duke

12. Louisville

17. UNC

18. FSU

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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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4 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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5 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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5 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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