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Pack in the Pros

Is Dennis Smith Jr making his final stand with Portland?

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2 years ago

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Dennis Smith Jr. hasn’t really had the career we all envisioned.

The kid was an elite 5-star coming out of high school, came to State, put up numbers, but didn’t win anything. In fact, the 2016-17 Wolfpack team went 15-17, lost 7 straight ACC games in the middle of the season, and as the #13 seed was ousted by the #12 seed Clemson in round 1 of the ACC Tourny. But hey, he averaged 18 points, 6 assists, and 4 boards!

Then onto the NBA, where it looked like he had finally found his footing. He averaged 15 points, 5 assists, and 3 boards for the Mavs. In year two, he was traded to the Knicks halfway through the season but averaged 14 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds.

Then the wheels came off. Smith averaged 5 ppg the next season and was shooting just 34% from the field. Anyways, the next few seasons have been awful for Smith. He’s either been injured, benched, or just plain bad.

People thought maybe this year would be different. He was finally out of New York and in Portland around a more talented cast. And he’s played here and there, but really hasn’t done much in the reserve role.

However, this past Saturday, Smith Jr finally got the start in place of the injured Anfernee Simons, and he kinda went off.

Smith went for 21 points, 6 assists, 4 boards, 3 steals, and not a single turnover.

Then on Monday night, Smith played 39 minutes, scored 13 points on 6-11 shooting, was 1-1 from 3, and had 7 assists and 6 boards (however he did have 7 turnovers).

Unfortunately, they lost both of the games.

When Simmons comes back, Smith is back to the bench and if he keeps playing like he did over the past couple of games, he might remake himself into a quality backup PG in this league.

However, if he can’t keep it up, this might be his last stop. Smith has lost some of the top-tier level explosiveness he had earlier in his career. He doesn’t have elite vision as a PG, and he’s not a reliable shooter.

On the plus side, the kid is still just 24 years old, has a good handle, and great size. And heck, maybe this is the beginning of the DSJ resurgence?

…Or maybe it’s Dennis Smith’s last stand. We’ll have to wait and see.

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Pack in the Pros

Former NC State Punter Trenton Gill Signs with Denver

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5 days ago

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May 16, 2024

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Former NC State Punter Trenton Gill has signed with the Denver Broncos after he was released by the Bears this offseason.

Gill was drafted by Chicago in the 7th round of the 2022 NFL Draft, and has averaged 46.1 yards per punt through his first two NFL seasons.

Heading into the 2024 season, Gill will compete with Riley Dixon for the starting Punter job. Dixon was the Broncos’ starter in 2023, averaging 46.3 yards per punt.

Gill’s career average of 45.8 yards per punt in college is the best in NC State history. In 2019, Gill averaged 47.6 yards per punt, which led the ACC, and earned him a spot on the All-ACC Third Team. In 2021, he was on the All-ACC 1st Team. All 3 of his seasons as NC State’s Punter rank in the Top-6 in school history for best punting average in a single season.

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Former NC State G Lorenzo Brown Named to All-EuroLeague 2nd Team

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6 days ago

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May 14, 2024

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Former NC State Guard Lorenzo Brown was named to the All-EuroLeague 2nd Team.

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Lorenzo Brown, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

After injuries sapped Lorenzo Brown of his best form during the regular season, the Maccabi playmaker snapped back to health just in time and, as one of the stars of the postseason, has been recognized by the voters his second consecutive All-EuroLeague Team selection. Brown was the MVP of the Play-In Showdown after he erupted for 29 points on 7-for-8 three-point shooting – both Maccabi postseason records – plus 5 assists against Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz to send Maccabi to the playoffs. He then led the Israeli champs with 17.2 points and 5.8 assists for a PIR of 19.2 in the five-game series against Panathinaikos. Brown ranked third in scoring for the playoffs, with 17.2 points per game, and was third for the full season in assists with 6.1. (Link)

This is the 2nd time that Brown has earned All-EuroLeague status, earning 1st Team honors in 2022-23.

Brown plays for Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv in Israel, and this was his 2nd season with the squad.

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NC State is Tied for the 2nd Most Defensive Tackles in the NFL

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2 weeks ago

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May 9, 2024

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ProFootballFocus released this infographic this week, revealing which College Football Teams had the most Defensive Tackles on NFL rosters, and NC State was tied for 2nd with 7.

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Defensive Tackles on NFL Rosters who Played at NC State

B.J. Hill – Bengals (2018-23) – Career Stats: 285 Tackles, 22 TFL’s and 20.5 Sacks
Justin Jones – Cardinals (2018-23) – Career Stats: 219 Tackles, 34 TFL’s and 12 Sacks
Alim McNeil – Lions (2021-23) – Career Stats: 112 Tackles, 15 TFL’s and 8 Sacks
Kentavius Street – Falcons (2019-23) – Career Stats: 89 Tackles, 17 TFL’s and 7.5 Sacks
T.Y. McGill – 49ers (2015-23) – Career Stats: 45 Tackles, 10 TFL’s and 5.5 Sacks
Larrell Murchison – Rams (2020-23) – Career Stats: 37 Tackles, 5 TFL’s and 2 Sacks
Cory Durden – Rams (2023) – Career Stats: 3 Tackles

All 7 of the above players played regular season games for an NFL team in 2023. We will have to see how many of the 7 make 53-man rosters this Fall.

Junior Wolfpack Nose Tackle Brandon Cleveland tweeted with confidence that he will be #8 sometime soon.

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Mike Tomlin’s Thoughts on the Steelers Drafting NC State’s Payton Wilson

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3 weeks ago

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April 29, 2024

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Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin was ecstatic that NC State Linebacker Payton Wilson was available for Pittsburgh to pick up with the 98th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

“We had to get comfortable with his medical and we brought him in on a pre draft visit. We allowed our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort. And so from that perspective, man, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)

“Man, we’re really excited about Peyton. When we turn his tape on, we see him making all the type of plays you need linebackers to make. He’s a volume tackle player. He makes plays in the passing game from a coverage perspective via interception and pass breakup. He gets after the quarterback in the blitz game. He’s got a very well-rounded skillset. He’s a fluid mover. He can run. Had an opportunity to lay some real up close eyes on him down there in Mobile at the Senior Bowl, we’re thankful we had an opportunity to get him. He’s got all the hardware that comes with some of those things that I described being a Butkus Award winner and so forth. We had to get comfortable with his medical and we brought him in on a pre draft visit. We allowed Our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort. And so from that perspective, man, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)

“I think you could characterize it as surprised. I mean, he is an award-winning linebacker, Butkus Award winner. Had an opportunity to get really familiar with him down in Mobile as well. But the linebackers themselves weren’t coming off the board at that juncture. So sometimes they make runs on positions at different times and it hadn’t been a lot of linebackers to that point. I think what he was number five or so.” (Link)

“We’re really excited about Payton. When we turn his tape on, we see him making all the types of plays you need linebackers to make. He’s a volume tackle player. He makes plays in the passing game from a coverage perspective via interception and pass breakup. He gets after the quarterback in the blitz game. He’s got a very well-rounded skill set. He’s a fluid mover. We had to get comfortable with his medical, and we were. We brought him in on a pre-draft visit to allow our medical experts to really get a good evaluation of him. We talked to him about his injury history. We were at a place of comfort, and so from that perspective, we’re really excited about having him.” (Link)

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