The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/406183
NOVEMBER 2014 ■ 81 WOLFPACK BASKETBALL PREVIEW BY BRIAN RAPP F ive years ago, a new NC State women's basketball coach won 20 games in her first season in Ra- leigh. But as she began her second year fol- lowing legendary coach Kay Yow, Kellie Harper admitted that year two was expected to be a lot tougher than her debut. That pre- diction proved accurate — the Pack, after losing two key senior contributors from the previous year (center Lucy Ellison and guard Nikitta Gartrell) and undergoing a rash of injuries, suffered only its sixth los- ing season (14-17) in program history. Fast forward to the 2013-14 season, and the debut of Wes Moore as the Wolfpack's fourth head coach in its 40-year history. Moore took a team that finished .500 the previous year and, in one of the biggest surprises of the college basketball season, guided it to its first 25-win season since 2007 — and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since Harper's first season. "This season is very similar to what Kellie faced her second year," Moore said shortly after practices began in October. "You know that in your first year, if the se- niors you inherit buy into what you want to do, you can be decent. But with recruiting being so far ahead now, you aren't able to get the players you may have been looking at before you moved because the ones you had a shot at are already committed — the hay's already in the barn." A more immediate challenge, however, faces Moore and the 2014-15 Wolfpack beyond potential recruits that may have been lost by last year's coaching change. Six seniors, including three pivotal starters and a key backup inside, played major roles in last winter's Cinderella success story. In departed center Markeisha Gatling, the Pack must replace not only last year's leading scorer and rebounder and team MVP, but the most accurate shooter in the nation last season (who made a school- record 66.3 percent of her shots) and the school's first All-ACC first-team selection since 2008 — as well as the Pack's highest WNBA Draft choice (10th overall) since 1997. Four-year starting forward Kody Burke provided the perfect counterpunch to Gatling's board game, netting career bests in scoring (14.7 points per game), three- point shots (39) and three-point shooting accuracy (32.8 percent) while contributing 209 rebounds on the way to second-team All-ACC recognition. She also was a third- round WNBA Draft pick, marking the first time since 2007 NC State had two players chosen in the same year. Also key to last year's success was Myi- sha Goodwin-Coleman. A point guard most of her first three years in Raleigh, she made her move to the two-guard spot more suc- cessful than anticipated and became the Pack's top three-point scorer (79 treys for 237 of her 290 total points) before a knee injury at Duke seven games before the end of the season brought her career to a pre- mature ending. "We had a very talented group of se- niors [including key backup Lakeesa Dan- iel, who also finished her career on the sidelines after injuring her knee three days after Goodwin-Coleman, and backup guard Breezy Williams]," Moore acknowledged." I also think that after a couple of disap- pointing seasons they were hungry — they had something to prove. "It really made for a dream season — it was about as enjoyable a year as it could be except for the injuries. You would have liked to have seen what we could have done in the postseason if we'd been at full strength [the Pack lost to BYU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament with both Goodwin-Coleman and Daniel out and Gatling hobbled by an injury suffered in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals]. "Other than that, the kids were great. When you come into a program the first year, obviously you've got to have some talent to be successful — but you also have to have good kids. It was a home run as far as it being a fun year for me." Whether year two of the Moore Era will produce another grand slam will depend mainly on the answer to one question: Can a quartet of frontcourt players who, com- bined, have a grand total of 9.3 minutes per game of experience (all by returning 6-1 sophomore forward Jennifer Mathurin) possibly compensate for the loss of two of the program's best inside players in a decade? "We've got some big shoes to fill, and that's going to be our biggest challenge, an- swering those questions about our post and power forward positions," Moore agreed. "I feel good about our perimeter game. We have some veteran leadership there with our two seniors [point guard Len'Nique Brown-Hoskin and wing Krystal Barrett]. You can't ask for better work ethic and leadership. And even (sophomore) Miah Spencer gained some valuable experience last year [starting the final six games in place of Goodwin-Coleman]. "We know it's going to be hard inside with a bunch of young kids coming in as college freshmen — and doing it in the ACC, no less –— it's overwhelming, I'm sure. But we're hoping they'll learn and grow up fast." NC State's recruiting class of 2014 does feature size, with both post prospects, Sara Boric and Akela Maize, topping 6-5; junior college transfer Carlee Schuhmacher a hair below 6-2; and athletic forward Chelsea Nelson scraping 6-1. "One can run great, but needs to be a little stronger physically," Moore noted. ■ Pack At A Glance 2013-14 Record: 25-8 ACC Record: 11-5 (4th) Home/Away/Neutral Record: 14-2/7-3/4-3 Postseason Results: Lost 83-48 to Notre Dame in ACC Tournament semifinals; lost 72-57 to BYU in NCAA Tournament first round (at Los Angeles) Starters Lost: 3 (C Markeisha Gatling, F Kody Burke and G Myisha Goodwin-Coleman) Others Lost: 3 (F-C Lakeesa Daniel, G Breezy Wil- liams and F Julianna Prim) Starters Returning: 2 (G Len'Nique Brown-Hoskin and G Krystal Barrett) Others Returning: 4 (G Ashley Eli, G Ashley Wil- liams, G Kaley Moser and F Jennifer Mathurin) Head Coach: Wes Moore (second season) Record: 25-8 at NC State; 583-177 overall (.767) Assistants: Nikki West (second season; Clemson, 2000), Gene Hill (second season; Coker, 1997), Lindsay Edmonds (second season; Appalachian State, 2005) A TOUGH ACT TO FOLLOW Rebuilding The Inside Game Is The Pack's Biggest Challenge In Head Coach Wes Moore's Second Season Moore must replace six departed seniors, including three pivotal starters and a key backup inside, that played major roles last season. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN