The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/406183
34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER WOLFPACK BASKETBALL PREVIEW in situations like that, and I enjoyed it." "I've known him a long time and watched him mature, and I also watched Ralston go through two difficult years at LSU where they didn't win a lot," Gottfried added. "At that time I had a number of their games working for ESPN. I felt for him, man he deserved to be a part of something more special than where he was. "Last year we played at Tennessee, we played really well and won the game and I can remember walking off the floor and Ralston put his arm around me and said, 'Coach, I'm not used to this,' going on the road and winning like that. It's been fun watching him develop. Last year he was re- ally solid for our team, did a really nice job once he got going." Watching those moments like the Ten- nessee game from a distance was Lacey. As Turner did the year before, Lacey had to sit out per NCAA transfer rules, and thus he did not travel with the team on the road except for local games such as UNC, Duke and Wake Forest. "It was terrible," Lacey said. "The fun part about it was when we played home games and we did scouting reports. I could kind of help guys for the game because I was the opposing team's best player. I could be like a coach on the bench, too, but other than that it was no fun at all." It added another related experience for the two Alabama natives who transferred to NC State from football-crazed SEC schools. Thus Turner was there for Lacey. "There was only one time I told him, 'I feel your pain,'" Turner noted. "It was kind of late in the season. At that point, it had been a while and kind of worn on him a little bit. He was good about the whole situation, so I never really had to help him too much." Like Turner, Lacey is being counted on to contribute heavily in his first season for the Pack. He averaged 11.3 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists as a sophomore for the Tide, and he made 62 three-pointers while shoot- ing 37.3 percent from long range, giving the Pack a much-needed second long-range threat. "He knows how to play," Gottfried said. "He's very unselfish. I think he enjoys pass- ing as much as scoring. The ball seems to move so well when he's involved in the play offensively. He's always finding the next guy to pass the ball to. I think he can score when he needs to score. "I really like that he's one of those play- ers that because he understands how to play it gives the coach a great feeling of trust in him because you really feel like he's going to make the right decisions. Obviously he sat out a year so it's going to take him a little while to get in the groove, but I think once he gets his legs back under him and gets comfortable playing in this league, I think he has a chance to be special." "I'm looking forward to it," Lacey admit- ted. "I feel like I can play in this league. I understand the game. Coach Gottfried is going to put me and the rest of the team in a position to be successful. It's going to re- ally show who's really got skills and who is really a part of a team. It's going to show. "I feel like I am going to be able to adjust well with my team helping out. Some of the guys who played last year can tell me how this environment is and how they are able to guard guys without getting fouls called." Of course, one of those guys will be Turner, who has turned into a seasoned vet- eran with a sound approach for handling the rigors of the ACC. "I'm going to go out and play my game," Turner said. "I think pressure is what you make it, and if you make it too big it can overwhelm you, so I am just going to go out and play basketball." Gottfried probably could not have said it better himself, but as long as he has known Turner he also likely knew that is how his fifth-year senior would handle things. Odds are that he has a similar feel for how Lacey will do. "He always has won," Gottfried said. "In high school, he won three out of four state championships, and the other one he didn't win he had a knee injury and didn't play his junior year in the playoffs. So winning is important to him. His teams have always won. Those are some great attributes to have as a player." ■ Lacey, a native of Huntsville, Ala., played 69 games over two seasons at Alabama, and averaged 9.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per contest. PHOTO COURTESY ALABAMA "When he was about to come here, I didn't try to put pressure on him. I wanted him to try to make his own decision. With that being said, I did tell him we have been down this road before and it would be really nice if we would reunite again." ■ Turner on Lacey