The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1506671
TRACKING THE PACK Men's Basketball Adds Assistant Coaches A new NCAA rule permits college basketball programs to add two as- sistant coaches who do not have off- campus recruiting responsibilities. The NC State men's basketball team has promoted director of operations Steve Snell for one of the posts, and the Pack announced the hire of Larry Dixon for the other. Dixon is a Salisbury, N.C., native who played at Johnson C. Smith Uni- versity in Charlotte. After his col- legiate days, he coached in the prep ranks throughout North Carolina, ris- ing to the head coaching position at Charlotte's Garinger High, where in 2001 he was selected as the Mecklen- berg County Coach of the Year by The Charlotte Observer. In 2002, Dixon began his lengthy career as a college assistant, start- ing with two years at St. Andrews be- fore heading to South Carolina State (2003-05), East Carolina (2005-07), Winthrop (2007-12), Georgia South- ern (2013-17) and South Florida, where he spent the past five seasons and was named interim coach in March after head coach Brian Gregory was fired. "I think Larry is a great addition to our staff," NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said in a statement. "He's a North Carolina native who has dedicated himself to a coaching career since gradu- ating from college. He started at the high school level in North Carolina and eventually moved up to college and now has been a Division I assistant coach for almost 20 years. "I think his experience is going to be a great asset for me and our coaching staff, as well as the young men in our pro- gram as we develop them on and off the court." Snell joined NC State in 2020 as director of basketball operations following three de- cades as an assistant coach at the Division I level. He came to NC State from Ohio University, and before that coached at Den- ver, Santa Clara and Air Force, among other schools. His son, Jordan Snell, is a walk-on soph- omore on the NC State team. Women's Basketball Announces Nonconference Slate The NC State women's basket- ball team will have an early-sea- son marquee showdown when Connecticut comes to historic Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday, Nov. 12. The time has yet to be announced. UConn, a perennial national title contender, is the headliner on the women's basketball non- conference slate that was an- nounced in July. The Pack will head to the United States Virgin Islands for the Paradise Jam over Thanksgiving, playing Kentucky Nov. 23, followed in successive days by contests against Cincin- nati and Colorado. Colorado made it to the Sweet 16 in the 2023 NCAA Tourna- ment before falling to national runner-up Iowa. I n t h e i n a u g u ra l AC C / SEC Challenge, NC State will host Vanderbilt at 7:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 29. The Commodores struggled last season, going 12-19 overall. That included an 82-73 loss to NC State in Cancun, Mexico. Vanderbilt is coached by Shea Ralph, a Fayetteville, N.C., na- tive and former UConn star. The Pack travels to South Flor- ida on Dec. 16 in another signifi- cant game. The Bulls have made three consecutive NCAA Tour- nament appearances. — Matt Carter 22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Wolfpack Women's Basketball Nonconference Schedule Date Opponent Location Nov. 7 Charlotte Reynolds Coliseum Nov. 12 Connecticut Reynolds Coliseum Nov. 15 Elon Reynolds Coliseum Nov. 19 Rhode Island Reynolds Coliseum Nov. 23 vs. Kentucky* St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Nov. 24 vs. Cincinnati* St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Nov. 25 vs. Colorado* St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands Nov. 29 Vanderbilt^ Reynolds Coliseum Dec. 3 Illinois State Reynolds Coliseum Dec. 10 Liberty Reynolds Coliseum Dec. 16 at South Florida Tampa, Fla. Dec. 20 at Old Dominion Norfolk, Va. * Paradise Jam Tournament ^ ACC/SEC Challenge ■ RED AND WHITE NOTEBOOK Reynolds Coliseum figures to be packed when perennial women's basketball power Connecticut visits for a Nov. 12 nonconference game. The Wolfpack and Huskies played last year in Storrs, Conn., with the hosts prevailing 91-69. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS