The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/406183
WOLFPACK BASKETBALL PREVIEW Five-Minute Guide The Key Names, Games and Numbers You Need To Know For The Wolfpack's Upcoming Season BY RYAN TICE 4 The number of ACC programs — No. 3 Duke, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 8 Virginia and No. 9 Louisville — listed in the top 10 of the first coaches' poll of the season. 7 The ranking of redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey on ESPN Insider Jeff Goodman's list of the top eligible transfers for this season. 8 NC State's projected finish in the ACC by ESPN Insider and Athlon, while Sporting News and Blue Ribbon tabbed the Pack ninth. 9 BEEJAY ANYA'S rank in the ACC in blocks last season (1.4 per game), despite averag- ing fewer than 12 minutes per game. 9.4 Redshirt junior Trevor Lacey's points-per-game scoring average in two years at Alabama. 16 Number of games NC State will play this year against squads who qualified for the postseason last year, including 11 against NCAA Tournament qualifiers. 17 Sophomore point guard Anthony Barber's ranking among players at his position in the country, according to Lindy's Sports College Basketball Preview. 25 The number of Division I teams, out of 340, that have reached the NCAA Tournament in each of the past three seasons, including NC State. 34 Percentage of NC State's points that were scored by NBA Draft lottery pick T.J. Warren last year. The Pack must replace a total of 46 percent of its scoring with the additional losses of Jordan Vandenberg, Tyler Lewis and Jevoni Robinson. 53 Pounds lost by sophomore forward BEEJAY ANYA — he got up to 348 last season according to head coach Mark Gottfried — to check in at 295 before the season. 81 Each of the Pack's three freshman recruits were ranked in the top 81 nationally and named four-star pros- pects by Rivals.com — Abdul-Malik Abu was 45th, Caleb Martin 60th and Cody Martin 81st. ■ By The Numbers PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN 50 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Three Key Games • Vs. Duke, Jan. 11: NC State and Duke played at least twice every year from 1925-2004, but this will be the fifth season in the last decade where they meet just once. The Pack draws the Blue Devils in Raleigh this year. Duke must replace freshman sensation Jabari Parker, but reloads with the nation's best signing class according to Rivals.com. Center Jahlil Okafor was the top-ranked individual, while point guard Tyus Jones and small forward Justise Winslow were listed in the top 12. Shooting guard Grayson Allen checked in at No. 29, but was still the group's fourth McDonald's All-American. They will join a nucleus that includes senior guard Quinn Cook and junior forward Amile Jefferson — both returning starters — as well as junior guard Rasheed Sulaimon. The Pack went 3-9 against teams that finished in the RPI top 50 last year, but lacked a true marquee win and had to sweat it out on the bubble. The Blue Devils are a consen - sus top-10 pick this preseason, and Okafor is a popular first-team All-America pick, so a win over the Triangle rival would give State's profile a significant boost. • Vs. North Carolina, Jan. 14: The first of the team's annual pair of meetings concludes a difficult stretch that includes Cincinnati and Pittsburgh at home, followed by Virginia on the road, and then back to Raleigh for tilts with in-state rivals Duke and North Carolina. The Pack makes the return trip to the Dean Smith Center Feb. 24, but hasn't won there since the 2002-03 campaign and has beaten the Tar Heels just twice at home during that stretch. Last year's home game with Carolina was a duel between T.J. Warren and point guard Marcus Paige — who returns this year — but resulted in a one-point loss for the Pack in overtime. Much like Duke, this provides a NCAA Tourna - ment résumé-defining opportunity. A strong freshman class has made the Tar Heels a popular pick to also finish in the top 10 and among the ACC's best. • At Louisville, Feb. 14: Like Duke, NCSU plays ACC newcomer Louisville just once in its inaugural campaign with the league. Playing at the KFC Yum! Center is no easy task — the Cardinals are 66-9 at home since it opened in 2010, and they were slotted at No. 9 in the preseason coaches' poll. Following the trend in this section, the con- test gives the Pack an opportunity — should it win — to go into Selection Sunday much more confident than the past three seasons with a win against one of the best teams in the land. The Cards' explosive offense will be led by All-America candidate Montrezl Harrell, a native of Tarboro, N.C. The 6-8, 240-pound forward could have been a first-round pick in the 2014 NBA Draft after averaging 14.0 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season, but wants to prove he is one of the best in the country this year. He could end up carrying a T.J. Warren-like load this winter — senior swingman Wayne Blackshear, who was in and out of the lineup last year, is the only remaining starter from the 2013 champion - ship squad.