The NC State Men’s Basketball team improved to 4-0 on the year today, beating Elon 74-63. Below is the ACC Digital Network’s Highlight Reel and Condensed Game.
Hope to hear some first hand insight.
After watching the condensed game, I was disappointed with our defense. Seemed like our guys, especially Smith and Joiner, kept losing their man. Maybe that’s not fair, but those Elon points made the highlight reel.
It is really good to see Morsell, and Clark, scoring and hitting threes. No doubt our offense has improved.
Gonna have to really step up our game on Wednesday.
I watched the game, they were a bit uninspired and lacked that full 100% energy, which is understandable since the arena was practically a ghost town with most students gone for the holiday week. Elon’s zone slowed things down a bit as well.
Seems like every year we struggle with these holiday week games. Hopefully, relocating to the Bahamas this week will shake them out of it. Happily, they get the week off for Christmas (22-30). Not sure what the deal is with those back cuts. We seem to fall for it regularly. It’s been a problem all season. And normally they aren’t contested, our guys are just standing there watching the shot. Need to fix that or we’ll see it all season. Last year’s team relied on three guys being ‘on’ to win. There really was no bench, other than Thomas Allen… Read more »
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.
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.
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts and the beloved DJ Burns were both Siren Sounders for the Canes this evening, with Carolina defeating the Islanders 6-3, winning the Round 1 series 4-1.
Me: Were you nervous?
Kevin Keatts: No! I just won nine elimination games in the NCAA Tournament!
Hope to hear some first hand insight.
After watching the condensed game, I was disappointed with our defense. Seemed like our guys, especially Smith and Joiner, kept losing their man. Maybe that’s not fair, but those Elon points made the highlight reel.
It is really good to see Morsell, and Clark, scoring and hitting threes. No doubt our offense has improved.
Gonna have to really step up our game on Wednesday.
I watched the game, they were a bit uninspired and lacked that full 100% energy, which is understandable since the arena was practically a ghost town with most students gone for the holiday week. Elon’s zone slowed things down a bit as well.
Morsell and Clark had great games.
We’ll learn a lot more about our team vs Kansas.
Seems like every year we struggle with these holiday week games. Hopefully, relocating to the Bahamas this week will shake them out of it. Happily, they get the week off for Christmas (22-30). Not sure what the deal is with those back cuts. We seem to fall for it regularly. It’s been a problem all season. And normally they aren’t contested, our guys are just standing there watching the shot. Need to fix that or we’ll see it all season. Last year’s team relied on three guys being ‘on’ to win. There really was no bench, other than Thomas Allen… Read more »