The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/197085
The Scorer Ba ketball Preview 2013-14 A Lighter, Quicker T.J. Warren Is Expected To Lead The Wolfpack Offense T By Jacey Zembal .J. Warren knows who will push him the most and also be his biggest critic. It's the same person who helped mold him as a player and guide him to NC State. Before Warren became a McDonald's All-American and an All-ACC freshman team member, he was the son of former Wolfpack basketball player Tony Warren Sr. Tony Sr. averaged 9.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 50.5 percent from the field, for the Wolfpack from 1976-80 under legendary head coach Norm Sloan. Warren is the lone member of this season's team that followed NC State growing up due to his dad's influence. He'd see his classmates wearing different shades of blue at school in Durham, N.C., but his friends never swayed him. "My heart was at NC State," said Warren, who attended his first Wolfpack game when he was 12. "The Duke-UNC rivalry was really big in Durham, but on those days, I'd wear my NC State T-shirt. Everybody was like, 'What is T.J. doing?' I was showing my love for NC State." Warren has never seen footage of his father playing at NC State, but half-joked that his dad never allowed him to win growing up in one-on-one. Warren Sr. wisely stopped playing his son in middle school to preserve his undefeated record. "He was just so much stronger than me and had grown-man strength," said Warren. "There wasn't anything I could do about it." As a freshman last season, Warren averaged 12.1 points per game with a high of 31, and shot 62.2 percent from the floor. photo by ken martin 26 ■ the wolfpacker 26-28.TJ Warren.indd 26 10/22/13 12:25 PM