NC State Basketball
NC State Mows Over UNC-Asheville 100-49
The NC State Men’s threw down their 3rd straight dominant performance to start the 2018 season tonight, mowing UNC-Asheville 100-49.
The Wolfpack’s defensive intensity has been insane through 3 games. They held the Bulldogs to 33.3% shooting from the field, and have held their opponents under that percentage in each contest so far (Mt. St. Mary’s – 32.8% & Maryland Eastern Shore – 31.5%).
Redshirt Sophomore Devon Daniels’ got in a groove for the first time since the exhibition game, leading the Wolfpack in scoring with 20 points, shooting 8 of 16 from the field. He also led NC State with 9 rebounds.
The Wolfpack’s offense was the epitome of balanced. Five NC State players had double-digit scoring performances (Daniels – 20, Dorn – 13, Bryce – 13, Funderburk – 11, Walker – 10), and eight players had 8 points or more (Beverly – 9, Hellems – 9, Harris – 8).
NC State shot an efficient 53.6% from the field, and a respectable 36.8% from deep. They out-rebounded the Bulldogs 51 to 24, and turned them over 24 times.
Head Coach Kevin Keatts told the team after the game that this was the hardest his team had played in two years.
.@CoachKeattsNCSU just told the team in the locker room that that’s the hardest his team has played in 2 years.
He’s proud of them.
— Craig Hammel (@Hammel_Craig) November 14, 2018
I know that NC State’s competition hasn’t been the most challenging out of the gate, but their offensive explosion through three games is extremely impressive. The last time the Wolfpack scored 90+ points in three straight games was in 1995-96 (tweet)
NC State has beaten their opponents by an average of 49 points through three games. Last year their margin of victory through three games was 26.7
The downer of the night was seeing Junior point guard Markell Johnson leave the game with a head injury four minutes into the game. He was on the receiving end of viscous pick from UNC-Asheville’s Jeremy Peck. Johnson went to the locker room, and came back out in sweats. Keatts said after the game he didn’t have a concussion.
The Wolfpack will host Maine on Saturday in PNC Arena at 2pm.
According to reports, NC State is adding UMASS’ Brett Nelson as an Assistant Coach.
Sources: Brett Nelson is leaving UMass to join Kevin Keatts’ staff at NC State as an assistant.
Matt Figger — who worked for Frank Martin at both South Carolina and Kansas State — will replace Nelson in Amherst.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) May 15, 2024
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.
Power Forward Ernest Ross announced this morning that he is returning to NC State for his final year of eligibility.
View this post on Instagram
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.
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