The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1343401
12 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK Women's Basketball Coach Wes Moore, Center Elissa Cunane Earn Midseason Honors Multiple individuals from the women's basketball program have earned national attention for prestigious awards after a 15-2 start to the 2020-21 campaign through Feb. 22. Head coach Wes Moore was featured as one of 15 candidates on the late-season watch list for the 2021 Werner Ladder Naismith Trophy for Women's Coach of the Year award. Moore is one of two nominees selected from the ACC, along with Louisville's Jeff Walz. The list will be narrowed to 10 semifinalists on March 3 and four finalists on March 18, and the win- ner will be announced on April 3. Junior center Elissa Cunane was named to the 2021 Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy for Women's Midsea- son Team. She is one of two players from the ACC to make the list, along with last year's Conference Player of the Year, Dana Evans of Louisville. The 6-5 native of Summerfield, N.C., was also the only player from the ACC named to the organization's Defensive Player of the Year watch list. Cunane, who was averaging a team-high 15.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as of Feb. 22, is also a part of the John R. Wooden Late Season Top 20 and is one of 10 finalists for the 2021 Lisa Leslie Award, which is annually presented to the nation's top collegiate center. Men's Soccer's 2021 Signing Class Ranked No. 5 Nationally The Wolfpack men's soccer's 2021 signing class moved up to a No. 5 national ranking in late January according to TopDrawerSoccer.com. The class is headlined by three top-100 pros- pects including midfielder Jeremy Garay (No. 47), midfielder Luke Hille (No. 55) and goal- keeper Lucas Hatsios (No. 79), who have all already signed with the Pack. "Netting Garay helps nudge NC State into the top five," TopDrawerSoccer wrote. "It's a mas- sively needed injection of quality in this class, including two of the most talented players from North Carolina in Hille and Hatsios." The Wolfpack has also inked an additional four midfielders and two defensemen to round out the nine-man class. Will Buete, Yaniv Bazini, Jaime Mendiola and Vusumzi Plamana make up the other 2021 mid- field signees, while Alex Darko and Kobe Frank- lin represent the class' defensemen. NC State opened an eight-game schedule of spring matches with a 2-0 victory over UAB on Feb. 20, then the top-five class will officially join the squad in the summer. — Justin H. Williams Wolfpack Hires New Football Assistant Joker Phillips NC State football announced the official hiring of Joker Phillips as its new wide receivers coach on Jan. 27. Phillips will also hold the title of associate head coach. He replaces former wide receivers coach George McDonald, who was hired by his alma mater, Il- linois, after spending the past six seasons with the Wolfpack under head coach Dave Doeren. A 30-year coaching veteran at the Power Five level and in the NFL, the 57-year-old Phillips was most recently the co-offensive coordinator and wide re- ceivers coach at Maryland the past two years. Phillips' résumé includes a 10-year stint at Kentucky, his alma mater, where he served as the offensive coordinator for five seasons and head coach from 2010-12. Upon his arrival in Raleigh, Phillips immediately took notice of the competi- tive culture McDonald left behind in the wide receivers room. "We're deep in numbers and talented at the top end," Phillips said in his intro- ductory virtual press conference. "They've recruited some talent in the class that just came in last year, and three other kids just walked in the building who are mid-year guys. "My expectation is to continue that, continue the great wide receiver tradition here at NC State." The new Wolfpack assistant has also coached alongside offensive coordinator Tim Beck and running backs coach Kurt Roper in the past. Phillips was an offen- sive analyst at Ohio State in 2016 when Beck was co-offensive coordinator of the Buckeyes. Now a member of the NC State staff, this marks the fourth time Phillips has coached alongside Roper. "We always talked ball, always stayed in touch, and we have similar philoso- phies," Phillips said. "It was just natural for me to be able to come here and work with those two guys who I truly believe are really good friends for me." ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Junior center Elissa Cunane (center), who was averaging a team-high 15.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game as of Feb. 22, was named an official candidate for several national awards after helping the Wolfpack to a 15-2 start. PHOTO BY ETHAN HYMAN, THE NEWS & OBSERVER/COURTESY ACC MEDIA