NC State vs. Appalachian State
Raleigh, NC (PNC Arena)
Tonight | 7pm | ESPN3

NC State opens the season tonight at 7pm against Appalachian State. The Mountaineers come in hoping to put a 15-16 season from a year ago, behind them, however the Pack has other plans. Gottfried and company are opening the season with a nearly entirely different team. The only two returning players who will be suiting up for this game are Lewis and Warren, both of whom played big roles last season. They will be looked to for leadership, but this team still has more questions than answers. Let’s take a look at the 5 major questions we want answered tonight.

1) What is the starting lineup?
After a preseason of constantly changing the lineup, tinkering with combinations and allowing freshman to get comfortable, Mark Gottfried has to finally pick his 5. Coming into the preseason there was a question about whether Cat Barber would outplay Lewis and cause a PG controversy. Lewis put that theory to rest quickly, but where does Barber fit in now? He’s played well in preseason games but still needs to adjust to the 2 spot where he’ll see most of his minutes. Then you have Dez Lee. The juco transfer has come in and really impressed with his physicality and ability to score it. So who is going to get the nod tonight? I think it’s a sure bet that Ralston Turner and TJ Warren are in the starting 5, but who’s the 5th? Kyle Washington? I think Beejay Anya has played himself into a strict reserve role at this point and Lennard Freeman will see time, but likely won’t start. I think it will be interesting to see which way Gottfried plays this.

2) Can Turner, Lee and Barber score it?
Lewis is going to score a bit and we all know Warren is going to be the team’s leading scorer, but State isn’t going to win much with only two guys putting up points. They’re going to need Turner, Lee and Barber to produce in that category. Lee and Turner will be your most likely to help in this area, as they are more built to score, but Barber could also chip in at times. Turner and Lee are going to be the biggest keys to this season. If they are great, NC State has the chance to be a big surprise in the ACC, however if they struggle, it’s likely the predictions will come true and the Wolfpack will find themselves near the conference basement.

3) Is Kyle Washington ready?
I think the freshman has shown readiness in spurts, but there’s no time to guide him along. Washington has to be ready now. With Vandenberg out and Anya simply not ready to contribute, it’s going to be Washington’s position to lose. Sure, Freeman will be there for backup, but Kyle is going to have to really anchor the middle for the Wolfpack. He’s going to have to really rebound and really defend in the post or State is going to be killed in the paint night after night. Washington had a decent showing in the first exhibition game but really came alive in the 2nd. This is a kid who was very highly recruited, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him break out in this season opener.

4.) What’s up with Anya?
I’m not sure we’ll see enough of him tonight to really get this answered, but I’m confused. This is a kid who was highly touted coming in. Sure, he showed up a little overweight, but he’s been really outplayed by his own guys and opponents in every game so far. I know there is tons of potential there and he’s a big, big kid, but I wonder what’s going on there. State really needs him to become a star at some point, but I think step one is to get him into playing shape. We might not see the real Anya until midseason, however it’d be nice if he could get a little run in this one and show us something.

5. Can this team defend/rebound?
Sure, all we’ve seen is exhibition games and scrimmages, but so far neither defense nor rebounding has been great. At times I’ve seen really good defense, especially from Turner, Barber, Washington and yes…even Warren, but what about against real competition? UNCP did play hard, but they were undersized and most of their team was way under-talented. What happens when this team faces real teams with real size? Will they be able to match physicality of a stronger team? Will they be disciplined enough to block out and out rebound a bigger front line? Tonight they’ll face a team has some decent size (a front line of 6’8 guys) so we’ll learn something as we watch how they attack the boards.

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NC State might not blow out Appalachian State, however they should walk out with a win tonight if they can address the questions above. Realize that there is going to be a learning curve with this team and there is going to be bumps in the road since they are so young, but this is a group with a great attitude and a bright future and I really believe that once they get a little experience that NC State is going to surprise a few people.