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NC State Basketball

What does the return of Vandenberg mean for State?

Published

10 years ago

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After over a month of waiting, NC State could welcome back Jordan Vandenberg on Tuesday.

The 7’1 senior suffered a high ankle sprain in the preseason and has missed the team’s first four games. His absence has meant that freshmen Kyle Washington, Lennard Freeman and Beejay Anya have been thrown into the fire and asked to bear the entire front court burden.

So far, it’s been a learning process. Washington has struggled with the strength and physicality of the college game. Freeman has been strong enough, but is not advanced enough offensively. Then you have Anya who can hold his own defensively, but again, isn’t there offensively or conditioning wise.

So that leaves the Wolfpack with a gaping front court hole. Their two losses have both come on games where they have been out-rebounded. Their guard play has been surprisingly good, so getting a guy like Vandenberg back is definitely going to help. Here are a few reasons we can’t wait to see JV suit back up for the Wolfpack.

Making it tougher in the paint – You can make any argument you want as to why State needs Vandy back in the lineup, however I think the strongest would be his mere presence in the lane. The guy is 7’1 and you put him in the middle of the lane, all of the sudden interior shot trajectories change and players need to be aware of where he at all times. I’m not saying Jordan is going to be a savior, but I’m saying that he’s going to plug a hole that is currently leaking. State’s front line is usually 6’6, 6’8, 6’9. Not awful, but not intimidating. Add a 7 footer in there and you might have something.

Rebounding – State has been killed on the boards by good teams so far. NCCU and Cincy both took the Pack to school in the rebounding category. It’s not that they’re not fighting – they are – it’s that they aren’t strong enough and aren’t seasoned enough to be good on the glass yet. Adding Vandenberg will most certainly help against bigger, stronger teams.

Second chance points- Here is somewhere that NC State has been bad. While they are rebounding off their own misses (52 offensive boards on the season) they aren’t scoring them. Sure, Warren is saving State’s stats in this category and making them decent, but outside of him, there isn’t much to speak of. Vandy is going to be a huge help with this. While he’s not completely polished offensively, he is a big body and he does work hard on the offensive glass. He’ll need to be careful because he does like to go over the back when trying to hard, but his ability to clean up some of State’s mess will be welcomed.

Scoring in transition- I know this might come as a surprise, but JV is really good at running the break for a big. If you watched early in the season, he was the recipient of a lot of Tyler Lewis highlight reel plays. Vandy is in pretty good shape this year and he really likes the transition game (because, oh how he loves his dunks), so watch out for the fast break points to tick up when Vandy returns.

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All in all, it will be nice to watch the Pack at full strength to get a real feel for their strengths and weaknesses. I guess the silver lining in all of this is that it has made State a deeper team. With Vandenberg down, Freeman stepped up, Washington played good minutes and Anya broke into the rotation. If he had never hurt himself, you may not have seen as much of these young guys. The minutes they received will certainly come back to to help State when foul trouble comes knocking during ACC season.

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NC State Basketball

The Roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball Team is all but Set Heading into 2024-25

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2 days ago

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May 3, 2024

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NC State does have 1 scholarship available, and could still add a player out of the Transfer Portal. With that being said, the roster for the Men’s Basketball team is pretty much set for the 2024-25 season.

Non-graduates had to enter the Transfer Portal by April 30th, and Graduates had to enter by May 1st. Jayden Taylor and Michael O’Connell both made public announcements that they were returning, but the closure of entrance to the Portal means that Breon Pass, Ben Middlebrooks, Dennis Parker Jr. and MJ Rice are all set to return next season.

In a world where the Transfer Portal has all but become free agency in College Basketball, with some players switching schools on an annual basis, it’s encouraging that Kevin Keatts not only recruited a Top-10 Transfer Class, but also recruited a majority of the eligible players to stay. Three players that could transfer entered the Portal (I’m not counting Mohamed Diarra in these numbers, who opted to go pro), while 6 opted to continue running with the Wolfpack.

As a result, below is a breakdown of the roster for the NC State Men’s Basketball team heading into 2024-25, realizing the Wolfpack could still add one player (this team is deep).

1 year of Eligibility 

Guard Michael O’Connell
Guard Marcus Hill
Guard Breon Pass
Guard/Forward Jayden Taylor
Forward/Guard Dontrez Styles
Forward Ben Middlebrooks
Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield

2 Years of Eligibility

Guard/Forward MJ Rice
Guard Mike James
Guard Jordan Snell (Walk-On)
Guard KJ Keatts (Walk-On)

3 Years of Eligibility 

Guard/Forward Dennis Parker Jr.

4 Years of Eligibility 

Guard Paul McNeil
Guard Trey Parker

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Men’s Basketball 2024 Transfer Class Ranks in the Top-10 Nationally

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2 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball team has picked up 4 players from the Transfer Portal this offseason, and the class ranks 10th nationally according to ON3, and 15th nationally according to 247Sports.

ON3

247Sports

NC State’s 2024 4-Man Transfer Class

Center Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (Louisville)

Guard/Forward Dontez Styles (Georgetown)

Guard Mike James (Louisville)

Guard Marcus Hill (Bowling Green)

NC State still has a chance to move up in the rankings. East Carolina Power Forward Ezra Ausar just wrapped up an Official Visit to NC State, and things are looking good for the Wolfpack. ON3 ranks Ausar as the #67 overall player in the Portal, and the #15 Power Forward.

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NC State Basketball

WATCH: Andy Katz’s Offseason Convo with NC State’s Kevin Keatts

Published

3 days ago

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May 2, 2024

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Andy Katz is beginning to make his rounds for his Offseason Convo series, and he took the time to meet with NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts.

In their conversation, Keatts talked about what this run has meant to Raleigh and the Wolfpack fans, how it has helped sell the program the way it deserves to be in recruiting, and even how it helped and hurt in the world of the Transfer Portal.

Check out the conversation below:

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NC State Basketball

Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

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3 days ago

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May 1, 2024

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Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael O’Connell (@michaeloc_12)

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.

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