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NC State Basketball

Players to Watch: LSU’s Versatile Bigs, Mickey and Martin

Published

9 years ago

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Jarell Martin stands at 6’10 and weighs in at 236lbs. His front court mate, Jordan Mickey isn’t far behind at 6’8 and 235lbs. These are the guys that make LSU go. They are a team that will go as far as their bigs can take them Mickey is a double-double machine that averages 15.5pts and 10rebounds per game while adding 3.6. Martin is putting up even better numbers at 17ppg and 9.2 rebounds per game.

First let’s have a look at Martin.

Jarell Martin: Martin isn’t your average 6’10 big man. He’s not a big, lumbering back to the basket type guy. He is agile, strong and can attack off the dribble. His jumper is decent but you’d much rather him be spotting up than attacking the rim. He’s going to be a major mismatch for NC State and how they decide to guard him could be a deciding factor on Thursday.

Jordan Mickey: Watching those Martin highlights you’d think he was the athletic one, but he’s not. Mickey is a CJ Leslie type athlete with more strength and better shot blocking anticipation. This guy can rise and can also attack off the dribble. He’s more average sized and should be a little more natural for NC State to matchup against, but honestly, I’m not sure State has faced a guy as bouncy and long as Mickey.

Matchups
State is going to have a tough time matching up here in the middle. The problem for LSU is that State is going to have the advantage on the perimeter. For the Pack though, the question is how will they guard these two monsters in the middle. Abu matches up well physically with Mickey but his position defense and propensity to foul is going to be a problem. Freeman is a guy who can really body up Mickey and throw him off balance. Sure he’ll get around him some, and he’ll rebound over top of him, but he’s not going to be able to just out physical him. That means you’ll need Anya in there to deal with the 6’10 Martin. The problem here is that Martin is agile and Anya has trouble stopping attacks off the dribble.

These are the major questions surrounding this game. Their answers will be the difference between going home and advancing to the next round.

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

From everything I’ve seen on LSU it appears that it will be a battle of their Front Court vs our Back Court. If our interior guys play smart we can match up fairly well on defense but not sure how much scoring we’ll be doing from the paint? It will be an interesting matchup. 

Just remember one thing Wolfpack… when they press, attack, attack, attack. Hopefully we’ve learned this by now having played half a dozen pressing teams this season.

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ThatWiggaJigga
ThatWiggaJigga
9 years ago

I’m Ok with this team basing everything around their bigs.  If we can effectively double team their big and rotate back on D well we should be able to shut down to a degree their bigs.  Anya has the power to battle down low and a second defender should take away that drive.  Then we have Freeman and Abu who can matchup with the other big.  If Ralston isn’t hitting I expect to see alot of the twins.

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wolfpack74
wolfpack74
9 years ago

Their bigs can get their points.  State needs to stop Hornsby.  If he get 15 or more, we are in trouble.

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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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NC State Basketball

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

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5 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.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

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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