The year was 2009. Sidney Lowe was in his 4th year with the Wolfpack and was coming off a 10th place, 16-14 (6-10) season. He was relying on a backcourt of Farnold Degand, Javi Gonzalez, Julius Mays and a freshman Scott Wood, to lead this Wolfpack ball club. In the frontcourt, they had some talent. Tracy Smith, Dennis Horner, and a young Richard Howell were asked to shoulder the load. They were supplemented by athletic wing Johnny Thomas and the huge Aussie Jordan Vandenberg.
Obviously, as expected, this team didn’t end up all that great. They finished with 20 wins but a 5-11 ACC record doomed them to 10th place.
That will be remembered for two things.
This 3/4 court heave by Chandler Parsons that won the game for a ranked Florida team…
And the ‘Primetime with the Pack’ dunk contest.
When your dunk contest participants are Farnold Degand, Johnny Thomas, walk-on Kaycee Obi-Gwacham and Jordan Vandenberg you aren’t going to be expecting much. But that night, Reynolds Coliseum was electric. It had an alley-oop from the 2nd deck, a decent ‘off the side of the backboard’ slam, and a 7’1 guy going between his legs for a dunk.
This might not be the best dunk contest in ‘Primetime with the Pack’ history, but considering it’s participants and the reaction from the crowd, I’d say it’s got to be the most memorable.
Nelson was only at UMASS for 1 season under Frank Martin. Prior to that, Nelson was the Head Coach at Holy Cross for 4 seasons, posting a 27-84 record.
Prior to taking the Head Coaching mantle at Holy Cross, Nelson was at Marquette for 5 seasons, spending the first 3 as an Assistant Coach, and the final two as an Associate Head Coach. Prior to Marquette, Nelson also served as an Assistant Coach at Ball St., Drake, Arkansas and Marshall.
Before coaching basketball, Nelson played for the University of Florida from 1999-2003. He was All-SEC twice, and earned Third Team All-American honors. When he left Gainesville, he was the Gators’ all-time leader in three pointers made, and ranked 2nd in steals.
As a Senior in High School, Nelson was a McDonald’s All-American.
Last Friday, Ross committed to UTSA after entering the Transfer Portal on April 17th, but it looks like he had a change of heart over the past couple of days.
NC State has been in desperate need to add a Big out of the Portal. They have hosted ECU’s Ezra Ausar and Georgia’s Frank Anselem-Ibe, but neither of them have found a home yet. With the addition of Ross, NC State has added depth in the Frontcourt, and unless something changes, their roster is full with 13 scholarship players.
Ross played in 14 games this past season, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in NC State’s 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
According to NCAA.com’s Andy Katz, a matchup between NC State and Marquette next season might be in the works.
Love that @CoachShakaSmart doesn’t shy away from big games next season. @MarquetteMBB will play 3 @B1GMBBall teams in Purdue, Wisconsin and likely Maryland. Iowa State is on the schedule and the hope is Marquette could also get a game with NC State. Kam Jones could be @BIGEASTMBB…
The NC State Men’s Basketball Team will be playing in the 2025 Maui Invitational, on November 24-26 in Hawaii. This will mark the first time that NC State has ever played in the Maui Invitational.
NC State will be joined by Baylor, Oregon, Seton Hall, Texas, UNLV, USC and Chaminade.
And now your starting lineup for the 2025 Maui Invitational! 🏀🏆🌴@TheAndyKatz reveals the eight premier programs with 156 @MarchMadnessMBB appearances, 19 @MFinalFour‘s and 5 national championships between them coming to the Lahaina Civic Center Nov. 24-26, 2025. pic.twitter.com/dnq94dQfvH