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NC State Wolfpack vs. Williams & Mary Tribe
8pm | Raleigh, NC | ESPN3

Notes:
This is NC State’s season opener. William & Mary actually has beaten NC State before. That was in 1952. The Tribe graduated their all-time leading scorer, Marcus Thornton, last season. However, they do return 4 starters.

Scouting report: 
As we stated, W&M has 4 starters coming back this season and 7 of their top 10 scorers. Omar Prewitt, Terry Tarpey, Daniel Dixon and Sean Sheldon combined for 43 points and 20 rebounds per game last year. Together, they’ve played 283 games, with 157 starts. The TLDR here is that they are experienced and they can score  (via the 3 ball.)

Their weakness:
W&M is not going to out-rebound anyone and their defense leaves much to be desired (allowed almost 80ppg last season). They are going to struggle to keep Cat Barber out of the lane and they are simply just not big enough to match up with the Pack. If they aren’t hitting from the outside, this could be a long night.

Keys for NC State:
State needs to control the tempo on offense and get good shots. A lot of that is going to fall on the shoulders of Cat Barber. The bigs should really have a big night offensively, with a lot of stat padding going on with rebound and put backs. On defense, the Pack really needs to make sure to keep close on the shooters. With their length you’d think this wouldn’t be a real issues, but last season they were not very good at closing out and contesting 3s. If they can funnel the Tribe’s guards into the lane, then Beejay and company can take it from there. This should be a good tune-up for Gottfried’s group.

 

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Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

wormncsu Yeah but Henderson looked like crap out there before he got hurt. Looked like someone who has never been in a college game. I know it’s just one game but they looked so horrible in all facets of the game it’s hard to have much enthusiasm for this team. They got out-hustled for much of the game, out rebounded, didn’t know how to cover a switch, shots were mostly forced and not setup, turned the ball over. I could go on and on. There were very few bright spots. I thought coach gave the green light to Rowan and… Read more »

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

wolfpack74 You have to give credit to Caleb as well. He seemed to be the only one that came to play much of the game. Abu was okay but settled for too many long jumpers.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
8 years ago

Wolfer96 If he doesn’t bring BAM BAM and Alkins, it won’t  matter.

wolfpack74
wolfpack74
8 years ago

I told you guys how bad this team was going to be.  Only Wolfer96 has a open mind.  Barber sucks, big men can’t score (except Abu), everyone else playing roles that they are not accustom to playing.  I never thought that I would say this this early.  Bring on baseball.

wormncsu
wormncsu
8 years ago

It is discouraging but let’s not throw gott under the bus. Taking us to NCAA four straight years and two sweet 16. This team will have to find an identity and find it quickly. The team we played tonight was no push over the guys did not show up. Losing Henderson hurt as well.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

This is the crap that Gott puts together year 5? I have now lost all faith. Guess I’ll have to wait another season for Dennis to come show us what a real PG can do.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

How can 2 twins be so different? Caleb is doing it all out there and Cody is missing layups right under the basket.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

If only Caleb can get the others to play like they care. He’s single handedly keeping this team in the game.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

I hope someone took money to throw this game because it’s inexcusable otherwise. Cat Barber is the worst PG in the ACC at this moment.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

What is Cat even doing out there? He’s getting beat by his man, not driving to the hoop, not hitting 3’s.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

Caleb has the ugliest shot ever. Slowest release I’ve ever seen. He’s like the anti-StephCurry.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

Cat looks worse than the 1st half of last season. Anya made no progress. Team still can’t play defense at all.

Wolfer96
Wolfer96
8 years ago

So far not so good. This is just embarrassing. These guys look like they never played together before.

NC State Basketball

NC State Women’s Basketball Ranks 8th in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25

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ESPN released their updated Way-Too-Early Preseason Top-25 for the 2024-25 Women’s Basketball season, and NC State ranked 8th.

8. NC State Wolfpack

The dynamic backcourt that took the Wolfpack to their first Final Four since 1998 returns. Aziaha James (16.8 PPG), Saniya Rivers (12.5 PPG) and Zoe Brooks (9.0 PPG) are enough to keep NC State near the top of a highly competitive ACC. How well a new mix of bigs fits in will determine if the Wolfpack are good enough to win the conference and contend for a trip to Tampa. The experience of River Baldwin and Mimi Collins can’t be replaced, so how well 6-5 recruit Lorena Awou adapts to the college game and 6-4 Boston University transfer Caitlin Weimar, the Patriot League player of the year and two-time defensive player of the year, adjusts to the upgrade in competition will have a big impact on NC State’s season. Previous ranking: 8

(ESPN)

ACC Teams in the Top-25

4. Notre Dame

8. NC State

11. Duke

12. Louisville

17. UNC

18. FSU

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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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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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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

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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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