The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/197085
Ba ketball Preview 2013-14 ■ NC State's Returning Leaders Points: Sophomore F T.J. Warren (12.1) Rebounds: Warren (4.2) Assists: Sophomore PG Tyler Lewis (48) Blocks: Warren (15) Steals: Warren (42) Three-pointers made: Warren (14) FG percentage: Warren (.622) FT percentage: Lewis (.859) Minutes: Warren (944) By The Numbers .622 3 5 Sophomore T.J.Warren led the ACC and was fourth nationally with a .622 field goal percentage last year. Head coach Mark Gottfried is one of just three coaches in ACC history to take his first two teams to the NCAA Tournament. Virginia senior guard Joe Harris was a first-team All-ACC pick after averaging 16.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game in 2012-13. photo by matt riley/courtesy uva Best Opposing Players • Forward C.J. Fair, Syracuse: The ACC newcomer was welcomed to the league by being named the Preseason Conference Player of the Year by the media on 17 of 54 ballots, barely edging out Virginia's Joe Harris, who had 16 votes.The senior forward helped Syracuse reach the Final Four last season after he led the team with 14.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He also shot a sizzling 46.9 percent from behind the three-point line. The versatile 6-8 athlete will combine with sophomore Jerami Grant and a platoon of solid centers to form one of the country's best frontcourts. • Guard Joe Harris, Virginia: Fifth-year head coach Tony Bennett has seen 10 players transfer during his tenure, which has featured more wins than the previous year for four consecutive seasons, and the senior guard has been the one consistent factor.The 6-6 sharpshooter was an All-ACC pick last season and will lead the way for a backcourt that could provide a ton of match-up problems — only two scholarship players are listed under 6-5. • Forward Jabari Parker, Duke: The rookie was one of two Duke newcomers to be named to the Preseason All-ACC team by the league media, alongside transfer forward Rodney Hood, a sophomore from Mississippi State who sat out last season. Parker, a five-star recruit, was listed by Rivals.com as the No. 4 overall player in the class of 2013 and the 6-8 small forward, who has been praised for his intelligence and unselfish play, will be right at home in the Duke system. ■ Stats To Watch 1. Points scored: This seems like an obvious statistic, but the real question is where does NC State's scoring come from and how much can they produce outside of sophomore forward T.J. Warren? NC State led the ACC and ranked ninth nationally with an average of 77.4 points per game last year, and featured a balanced scoring effort with five players at a clip of 12.1 points per game or better. However, the Pack has lost six of its top seven scorers, and sophomore point guard Tyler Lewis is the No. 2 returning scorer with an average of just 3.5 points a game. The cavalry arrives in the form of two transfer wings — 6-4 junior Desmond Lee, formerly of New Mexico Junior College, and 6-5 redshirt junior Ralston Turner, a shooter who sat out last year after his transfer from LSU. Lee, a second-team juco All-American, averaged 20.3 points per game last season, while Turner averaged 10.5 points and shot 34.1 percent from three-point land in his two years in the SEC. 2. Field goal percentage defense: Although NC State lit it up from the floor last year with an impressive .496 shooting percentage that ranked fourth-best in the land, opponents had similar results.The Pack ranked 262nd nationally after allowing an average of 70.2 points per game, and ranked 129th overall in opponent field goal percentage, allowing teams to make 41.9 percent of their shots from the floor in 2012-13.The numbers were even worse in ACC play, where opponents averaged 71.1 points and shot 42.8 percent from the field. 3. Free throw percentage: The Pack ranked among the nation's top 13 in both field goal percentage (.496, fourth) and three-point shooting percentage (.391, 13th), but left a ton of points at the free throw line. NCSU ranked seventh in the ACC and 212th nationally after making just 68.1 percent of its opportunities from the charity stripe. With a much thinner margin of error this year, State can't afford to continue its struggles at the line; the Pack was 6-5 in games decided by five points or less last season and shot 66.9 percent from the stripe in those games. NC State sophomore point guard Tyler Lewis turned the ball over just five times in conference play, when he totaled 226 minutes played and 25 assists, while filling in for former teammate Lorenzo Brown. 14 Mark Gottfried is one of just 14 coaches to defeat a No. 1 ranked team at two different schools — he and the Pack topped No. 1 Duke, 8476, on Jan. 12, 2013, at PNC Arena. 15 NC State's rookie class of Anthony Barber, BeeJay Anya, Kyle Washington, Desmond Lee and Lennard Freeman was ranked as the No. 15 group of incoming players in the land by Rivals.com. It checked in as the fourth-best in the ACC. 20 The entire 2013-14 roster has combined for just 20 starts in an NC State uniform. Both Division I transfers, redshirt junior Ralston Turner (57 career starts) and junior Trevor Lacey (52), who will sit out this year, have more collegiate starts at their previous schools than the rest of the returning players combined. 20.3 Junior college transfer Desmond Lee averaged 20.3 points per game last year as a sophomore, which ranked fifth nationally for juco players. 78.9 The percentage of scoring that NC State must replace from last year's squad that ranked first in the ACC and ninth nationally with an average of 77.4 points per game. 326 Mark Gottfried has 326 career wins with nine NCAA Tournament appearances as a head coach. In addition, he reached the Sweet 16 three times as a player and helped UCLA to seven NCAA Tournaments, including the 1995 national championship, in eight years as an assistant coach. 633 The Wolfpack's three returning scholarship players — sophomore T.J. Warren (425 points), classmate Tyler Lewis (118) and fifthyear senior Jordan Vandenberg (90) — have combined for 633 career points. Ralston Turner totaled 619 points in his two years at LSU, while Trevor Lacey tallied 646 in his first two years at Alabama.The three returning walk-ons have combined for 19 points. November 2013 ■ 43 42-43.Men's BKB Quick Facts.indd 43 10/22/13 1:23 PM