What do you know about senior leadership?
If you’re under the age of 30, probably not too much. That’s because in today’s game of college basketball seniors rarely stick around. With early exits to the NBA and leagues in Europe willing to pay big bucks, it’s rare that teams have real senior star power.
NC State has been no different. They’ve lost superstars as well as a few role players to the pros over the recent years, putting them in a position of constant flux and turnover.
When Kevin Keatts was hired, he did have two seniors on the roster. Lennard Freeman and Malik Abu. Lennard was a 5th-year guy coming off of a leg injury that cost him the previous season and Malik Abu was coming off of a season where he averaged 11 points and 7 boards per game.
Freeman was a question mark due to health and Abu had never really been asked to shoulder the load, so Keatts thought it best to fill the gaps in his roster with more seniors. Grad-seniors.
Keatts went out and got Al Freeman, a Baylor transfer who put up great numbers, but for some reason, was recruited over. He was a former 4 star who had built his body up, could really shoot it and could get to the rim.
He added Sam Hunt. A local kid from Greensboro, NC who became a dangerous 3-point marksman for a pretty bad NC A&T team.
What he ended up with was actually one of the most experienced teams NC State has had in a long time. We actually a look at this very thing earlier this season and predicted that this experience could take NC State a lot further than many believed.
Turns out, that is exactly what happened. Al Freeman became NC State’s leading scorer at over 15ppg. Sam Hunt became their top 3-point shooter (of those who have taken over 50 attempts) at 42.5%, and Lennard Freeman is leading his team in FG% at 64%.
The only senior who seemed to never hit his stride was Malik Abu. Once thought to be the guy who would lead the Wolfpack this season, Abu hurt his knee and didn’t return until a quarter of the way through the season. But even with his return, he hasn’t seemed himself. His season, however, is not finished.
NC State now stares down an NCAA Tournament bid and one more chance to prove everyone wrong. For these 4 seniors, this is it. This is a culmination of 4 (or 5) years of work. This is the last time they get to lace it up and play for their school. The last time that basketball is for fun and not for survival. One more time to go out and do something that could define you forever.
Judging by past performances, it’s not out of the realm of possibility that NC State starts clicking on all cylinders in March. Some of these guys have done it before.
Malik Abu’s NCAA Tournament Highlights
He played a gigantic role in NC State’s Sweet 16 run in 2015. In the first two rounds (win over #9 LSU and win over #1 Villanova) he finished with 25 points and a monstrous 16 rebounds (8 of which were offensive) combined and was the Pack’s go-to frontcourt option.
Lennard Freeman’s NCAA Tournament Highlights
In his sophomore season, Lennard Freeman wasn’t much more than a role player for the Pack. He played a little over 19 minutes per game and averaged 3.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. But when the bright lights came one against #1 Villanova, Freeman showed up. Lennard punished the Wildcats in the paint and ended up with 11 points and 12 boards in his best post-season performance of his career.
Al Freeman’s NCAA Tournament Highlights
Al Freeman was in the tournament last season, but because of their stacked roster, he came off the bench. That didn’t stop him from single-handedly roasting their first-round opponent (New Mexico St.) for 21 points and 5 boards. He was 6-10 shooting and 3-3 from long range.
For the Pack to make noise in the NCAA Tournament they’re going to need their seniors to step up. They’ll need Al Freeman to be dialed in, but also willing to trust his teammates. They’ll need Sam Hunt in the corner burying 3 after 3 when the defenses collapse. They’ll need Lennard Freeman to be ready to throw around his frame and control the boards. And they’ll need Malik Abu to forget about everything that has happened this season, forget about trying to showcase a jump shot, and go out and punish teams in the paint like he used to.
This group has the opportunity to do something special. To go from predicted 12th in the conference to national noise maker. The opportunity to open the Kevin Keatts era with a performance Wolfpack fans won’t soon forget.
