The Wolfpacker

March 2013 - Signing Day Edition

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/112604

Contents of this Issue

Navigation

Page 58 of 95

picked as ACC preseason champions by both the media and league coaches. NCSU opened up at No. 6 in the country in the Associated Press poll, and ESPN���s Dick Vitale declared the backcourt of Purvis and junior point guard Lorenzo Brown the best in the nation. NC State had gone through a similar hype machine when Brown, C.J. Leslie and Ryan Harrow signed with the Wolfpack. All three were ranked in the top 40 in the country by Rivals.com. The biggest difference between the class of 2010 and 2012 is that the Wolfpack had veterans to ease the burden this season. Leslie, Harrow and Brown often started together and had to carry the team, but weren���t ready for those expectations. NC State went 15-16 overall, and head coach Sidney Lowe was let go at the end of the season. NC State has started two freshmen at the same time, but that was due to injuries or disciplinary reasons. Warren and Purvis started together in the losses at Virginia Jan.��29 and at home versus Miami Feb.��2. Lewis and Purvis started together when NC State fell at Duke Feb. 7 and won at Clemson Feb. 10. Warren and Purvis both started fast this season, with Purvis being named the ACC Rookie of the Week Nov. 12, and Warren earning the honor the next week and then in mid-December. Lewis didn���t hit his stride until February, partly because he backs up a star player in Brown. ���We are still trying to figure things out, but whoever is playing good will stay in the game,��� Warren said. ���We are just trying to play our roles and help this team win the best way that we can. Our chemistry is coming together.��� Leslie knows how effective the Wolfpack become when the freshmen are all clicking. ���We are a very good team, an outstanding team,��� Leslie said. ���We can do a lot of things well. Whenever we have all our guys on the same page, our team just steps up and we are so much better with that.��� Senior wing Scott Wood has watched three different NC State recruiting classes make the transition from high school to college during his career and went through it himself. ���It���s difficult,��� Wood said. ���I���m not big on what your ranking was coming in. At the end of the day, you have to play basketball. It���s different, it���s tough and you are coming into a new system. You don���t know if it will exactly fit your game until you get into the system.��� Senior center Richard Howell backed up Tracy Smith and Dennis Horner his freshman year in 2009-10, and was often the first big man off the bench. He went through all the various experiences the freshmen are going through now, and was rewarded with hitting the game-winning shot against Stout Florida off a pass from then-freshman Wood in the first round of the NIT. NCSU got hammered by Alabama-Birmingham the next game. ���I���ve been preaching to all of the freshmen since they���ve stepped foot on campus that it is all about patience and timing,��� Howell said. ���It���s never going to get here when you want it. Coming from high school to college, you are used to just getting the ball when you want and scoring whenever you want. It���s a lot different in college. It���s a lot harder to get in the game in college basketball.��� Head coach Mark Gottfried pointed out that he has been very pleased with how the freshmen have responded to college basketball. ���I don���t think any of our three freshman guys have appeared to me at any point in time, whether it was in Puerto Rico, on the road at Michigan or New York City [versus UConn] where they���ve ever looked afraid or cautious,��� Gottfried said. ���They���ve always been pretty aggressive.��� The 6-8, 223-pound Warren���s success came early and often with six games of at least 15 points in the Wolfpack���s first eight contests, including a 22-point effort against Penn State in Puerto Rico Nov. 15. He has scored at least 21 points in five games this season. ���He���s a tough matchup for anybody that is guarding him,��� Leslie said. ���He can score the ball ��� that is obvious. He makes us a lot taller on the court, too.��� Warren also showed he was still a freshman who is still learning with a trio of scoreless efforts against Georgia Tech Jan.��9, at Maryland Jan. 22 and at Clemson Feb.��10. He played at least 22 minutes in all but four games out of the first 27. Warren went through a season-defining experience by being inserted into the starting lineup against Florida State Feb.�� 19, Statistics For NC State���s Freshmen Player GP-GS MPG FG-FGA T.J. Warren 27-6 25.7 140-225 Rodney Purvis 27-23 27.7 86-206 Tyler Lewis 26-2 12.8 22-63 (Through 27 games) Pct. .622 .417 .349 3s-3A 12-22 26-66 5-18 Pct. .545 .394 .278 FT-FG 35-63 33-67 43-50 Pct. .556 .493 .860 RPG 4.0 2.5 1.1 APG 0.6 1.5 1.4 PPG 12.1 8.6 3.5 Rodney Purvis started 23 of NC State���s first 27 contests this season, and was averaging 8.6 points, 2.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. photo by ken martin March 2013��� ������ 59 58-61.Men's BKB Freshmen.indd 59 2/26/13 2:36 PM

Articles in this issue

Links on this page

Archives of this issue

view archives of The Wolfpacker - March 2013 - Signing Day Edition