The Wolfpacker

48 ■ THE WOLFPACKER In The Paint Starting center Jordan Vandenberg is gone after five years in Raleigh. He saved his best for last, averaging 4.8 points and 3.9 rebounds while blocking 45 shots in 2013‑14. Potentially replacing him could be rising sophomore BeeJay Anya. Anya averaged 2.1 points and 2.1 rebounds off the bench, but he also led the team with 46 blocks, one more than Vandenberg despite playing 319 fewer minutes. Anya, though, only averaged 11.8 minutes a contest primar‑ ily because of conditioning issues. Anya is listed at 6‑9, 325 pounds, and the hope for NCSU is that he will take a page from Vandenberg's playbook. Vandenberg was checking in around 280 pounds after the 2012‑13 season and dropped down to 245 pounds in preparations for his final year. A similar weight drop for Anya could be a big boost for NCSU. "If he gets down under 300 and plays at 280, he becomes a really good player, and I mean a really good player," Gottfried said. NC State also returns rising sophomore power forwards Lennard Freeman and Kyle Washington, both of whom flashed potential during their rookie campaigns. Washington started 25 games and averaged 4.8 points and 3.9 rebounds while finishing third on the team with 21 rejections. Freeman started 11 times and contributed 4.0 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest, the second‑highest board average behind Warren on the team. "Kyle and Lennard did a great job this year as freshmen," Gottfried added. While NCSU does lose Vandenberg, it gains a valuable addition in touted recruit Ab‑ dul Malik‑Abu, a Boston native that played at Kimbrel Academy in Meriden, N.H. The 6‑8, 230‑pounder chose NCSU over Florida after also considering Connecticut and Providence. Rivals.com rated Abu as the No. 45 overall player in the 2014 class. ■ Season Superlatives The could be more appropriately named "The Best of T.J. Warren" since this season he dominated the action for NCSU basketball like few players have done before. Here is a look back at some of the brightest moments from NC State's 2013‑14 campaign. Team MVP: Warren had the type of season that will likely warrant yet another No. 24 in the rafters of the PNC Arena. Among past standouts with that number to have been honored are John Richter, Tommy Burleson, Tom Gugliotta and Julius Hodge. Warren became NC State's sixth different winner of the ACC Player of the Year award and the first since Hodge in 2004. He led the league in scoring average (24.9 points) and field goal percentage (.525), and was second in offensive rebounds per game (3.2) and tied for third in steals per game (1.8). He led NCSU in total rebounding at 7.1 a contest. Play(s) Of The Year: NC State had little luck this season in games decided in the final seconds or overtime. They lost to North Carolina Central, North Carolina and Saint Louis in overtime, with the UNC setback coming on a last‑second shot. They were also defeated near the buzzer in one‑point losses at Wake Forest and at then‑No. 1 Syracuse. The one time the ball did bounce NCSU's way was at home against Georgia Tech Jan. 26. First, rising senior wing Desmond Lee tipped in a missed shot from Warren to tie the game at 72‑72 with 19 seconds left to force overtime. Then, after rising sophomore point guard Anthony Barber drew a charge with 37 seconds left and the game tied 78‑78, Warren nailed a running one‑hander from the right side of the lane about 10 feet from the basket with five seconds left for the 80‑78 victory. Best Individual Performance: Head coach Mark Gottfried noted during an interview with Raleigh‑based sports talk radio station 99.9 The Fan that in hindsight, NC State's NCAA Tournament started when they traveled to Pittsburgh March 3. "You have to win that game to give yourself a chance and stay alive," Gottfried explained. Thanks to Warren, State did win. Warren was a master of offensive efficiency, pouring in 41 points on 16‑of‑22 shooting from the field, including 3 of 5 from three‑point range. He also had five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a blocked shot in the game. Warren followed up the stellar effort at Pitt by scoring 42 the next time out against Boston College at home to become the first ACC player since Lennie Rosenbluth at UNC in 1957 to score 40‑plus points in back‑to‑back league games. Best Non-Conference Win: NC State scored the first six points at Tennessee Dec. 18 and never looked back. The Pack led from start to finish in a 65‑58 victory. The win looked more impressive after the Volunteers mounted their own late‑season push and reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Michigan after pushing the Wolverines to the final seconds. Best ACC Win: After losing to Syracuse in heart ‑ breaking fashion earlier in the season, the Pack enacted some revenge with a 66‑63 win over the Orange in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament March 14 in Greens‑ boro, N.C. That victory helped seal an NCAA Tournament bid for the Pack. — Matt Carter Rising sophomore BeeJay Anya, who blocked a team-high 46 shots in just 11.8 minutes per contest as a rookie, could play a bigger role with improved conditioning next year. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Sophomore forward T.J. Warren was named the ACC Player of the Year after carrying the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tourna- ment by averaging 24.9 points and 7.1 rebounds per game, and tallying a single-season school-record 871 points. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN 46-48.Men's BKB Wrapup.indd 48 4/29/14 2:50 PM

• Cover