The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1527657
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2024 ■ 31 season, O'Connell knows his role isn't in question, and his confidence couldn't be higher ahead of the 2024-25 cam- paign. Solidifying A Role O'Connell's tying shot against Vir- ginia followed back-to-back 16-point efforts in the ACC Tournament. Before his postseason surge, however, he had reached a point where it seemed like nothing would fall for him. O'Connell's playing time dipped from 30-plus minutes per night on a consis- tent basis to 26 minutes or less in five of the Wolfpack's last eight regular-sea- son games. He didn't score more than 7 points in any game over that stretch, and twice he was held scoreless. But when starting point guard DJ Horne, an instant bucket-getter, went down with an injury in the regular-sea- son finale at Pitt, O'Connell was forced into a key role ahead of the ACC Tour- nament. He was going to be the Pack's go-to ball handler. NC State wasn't expecting O'Connell to make up for Horne's scoring, but that is actually what happened. After av- eraging just 4.4 points per game dur- ing the regular season, he averaged 13.2 points in the ACC Tournament, playing a vital role in the Pack's historic run. O'Connell knocked down 16 three- pointers in those five games after mak- ing 14 in 31 regular-season contests. "What a great postseason for a guy that everybody said couldn't shoot and was slow," NC State coach Kevin Keatts quipped recently. "He went from what- ever he shot at Stanford — I think it was 20 percent — to 37 percent behind the three-point line." T h a t s c o r i n g o u t b u r s t f r o m O'Connell, along with his innate abil- ity to find teammates with crisp passes around the floor, appears to have estab- lished him as the Wolfpack's starting point guard for the upcoming season. He is no longer just the game manager who can find his teammates. O'Connell is also a proven threat to shoot from nearly anywhere on the court. Confidence Boost NC State's postseason run — five wins in as many days to claim the ACC title and then four more over the following