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Half of you are going to be pretty excited about the news that NC State is going to be starting next basketball season ranked in the top 20 (17 to be exact). The other half, well, they’re going to be mad that ESPN just jinxed us. Either way, the point is that people are starting to really take note of this basketball team.

Here is whate ESPN had to say:

17. NC State Wolfpack

The Wolfpack revealed their true talent in March, upending No. 1 seed Villanova on the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. A week later, they pushed Louisville — whom NC State beat on the road in February, just before losing to Boston College, which pretty much sums it up — to the brink. Now the fun really begins. Ralston Turner is the only significant departure to account for. Everyone else is back. The biggest name involved is Trevor Lacey, who would be a nightmare to guard even if he weren’t playing alongside the insanely fast, appropriately nicknamed Anthony “Cat” Barber. Freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu’s bullying performance against Villanova prefaced greater things to come; fellow big man Beejay Anya is one of the nation’s best shot-blockers. If these guys can just guard consistently — something Mark Gottfried’s teams almost never do — they’re scary-good. Just ask Villanova.

You have to fell like this is a pretty spot on blurb. It highlights the fact that this team has all the pieces but also hints that they really need to figure out how to put them together if they want to be elite. I don’t know how Gottfried is going to do it, but he needs to turn this team into a real defensive monster. They have the athletes, the length and the deep bench to make this happen. It’s now just a matter of motivation and focus on that part of the game. To be honest, the loss of Ralston, while it may hurt the offense at times, will improve the overall defense. Turner struggled keeping his man in front of him and too often lost his man when he was trying to get in position to help. We’ll have to see how transfer Terry Henderson slots in to this spot. If he can use his athleticism to defend then he’ll be a great addition, but if he suffers the same shortcoming as Turner, then you might see Caleb Martin getting a lot of those minutes. Meanwhile, if Martin wants to lock down that 3 spot he needs to improve his scoring ability and shot selection next season.

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wolfpack74
wolfpack74
9 years ago

packman70 The term “cancer” was mean spirited, therefore I retaliated using the term “idiot”.  So what?  I’m saving my retaliation of you for a later date.

packman70
packman70
9 years ago

Wow, you really are obtuse. Mean spirited as in calling someone else an idiot because you didn’t explain yourself correctly. Get it?

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
9 years ago

packman70 What the hell is mean spirited wanting a backup PG?  We need another point guard.  We have two guards for the two position.  You never know when you might need one. Maybe one of the Martin twins can rotate with the guiards, but I think Gott is thinking the same way since he is talking with Mitchell whom is transferring from Vanderbilt.  Gott must be mean spirited as well.  I am a firm believer in that you need good backups at every position.  That means 10 four or five star players every year on each team.  Only way to… Read more »

packman70
packman70
9 years ago

He probably misunderstood what you meant because you didn’t type what you meant.
But, yeah, he’s the idiot.
You’re much better than I will ever be at illustrating how mean spirited and ignorant you are.
Carry on.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
9 years ago

WolfpackBack Thank you for your comments.  You probably misunderstood what I meant.  I mean another good PG as in a 2015 recruit for backup.  This forum doesn’t have cancer, it has idiots like you that reply too often.

WolfpackBack
WolfpackBack
9 years ago

Your comments are the cancer of this forum.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
9 years ago

Wolfer96 Hopefully some of this good press will get us a good PG.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
9 years ago

Preseason top 20 ranking is a curse for the Wolfpack. Take us off that list ESPN!

NC State Basketball

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

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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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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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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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NC State Basketball

ECU Transfer Forward Ezra Ausar to NC State is Trending Up

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ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.

Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.

Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.

Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.

Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.

Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)

At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.

Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Signee Zamareya Jones Showed Out in the McDonald’s & Jordan All-American Games

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NC State 2024 signee Zamareya Jones has played in the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic over the past month.

In the McDonald’s game on April 2nd, Jones had 13 points, helping her East squad defeat the West.

 

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A post shared by SportsCenter NEXT (@sportscenternext)

In the Jordan Brand Classic on April 21st, Jones had 15 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. She also hit the game winner for Team Flight.

Jones is a 5-star prospect in the Wolfpack’s 2024 recruiting class, ranked 21st overall nationally by ESPN.

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