The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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EARLY IMPRESSIONS this season. Gottfried, though, isn't afraid to be a tough grader on his squad. "I'd say we are about a C+," he said N in early December. "We are OK, and I wouldn't get excited just yet. I think we've shown at times that we can be very com- petitive with just about anybody. For us, can this team get over the hump and really learn how to be an effective team for 40 minutes. I think we've shown it at times." Gottfried wasn't sure what to expect go- ing into the season. The Wolfpack went 15- 16 overall and 5-11 in the ACC a year ago, and failed to make any kind of postseason tournament. "I think we've competed every night," Gottfried said. "I don't think we've had very many stretches where I felt we weren't competing. We haven't always played well. The first half of the Texas game we didn't play well at all, but we were able to in the second half [to win]. I think we are playing pretty hard and playing unselfishly. I like those two things." The following is a look at four areas of improvement over last year for NC State during its 5-3 start to this season. Hitting The Boards NC State's post players are all a year older, and it's showing. The Wolfpack av- eraged 38.1 rebounds per game, including 13.4 on the offensive glass, through its first eight games. NCSU is 85th in the country in rebounding and tied for 64th in offensive rebounding. The 2010-11 version averaged 37.2 re- bounds per game and outrebounded its opponents by just 0.6. NC State has out- rebounded its opponents by an average of 38.1-32.6 through eight games this season, which ranks fourth in the ACC for rebounding margin. Stanford, Van- derbilt and Texas were the lone teams to outrebound NC State both overall and in offensive rebounds. Not coincidentally, the Cardinal and Commodores both ended up winning, and the Wolfpack needed to rally from 18 points down against the Longhorns. NC State has emphasized team rebound- 40 ■ THE WOLFPACKER The Wolfpack Is Showing Improvement In Several Key Areas BY JACEY ZEMBAL C State is still a work in prog- ress, first-year head coach Mark Gottfried likes to point out, but improvements have been made ing with both sophomore point guard Lorenzo Brown and senior shooting guard C.J. Williams doing their fair share of board work. Brown averaged 4.9 rebounds and Williams 4.1 for the Pack through eight games. Two power forwards led the way with junior Richard Howell averaging 8.4 re- bounds a game and sophomore C.J. Leslie 6.0. Junior center DeShawn Painter is right behind at 5.9 a game. Backup post players such as freshman power forward Thomas De Thaey and junior center Jordan Vanden- berg have also proven to be good rebound- ers when called upon. "I think we are playing pretty hard and playing unselfishly. I like those two things." ■ NC State men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried "They've all done well, but we have to do more," Gottfried said. "Painter has been good, and he has really been a surprise. Prior to the first game, I didn't know how he'd fit in after the practices. Calvin [Les- lie] didn't play three games [because of suspension], he gets an opportunity and he plays real well. "Richard is one of those players that we have to play at a high level all the time. He can get to a high level for short periods of time." Better Shot Selection Out of NC State's seven returning play- ers, only one didn't start off shooting bet- ter than a year ago — Howell, who only dropped from 51.8 percent a year ago to 50.7 through the Wolfpack's first eight games this season — and some showed marked improvement. NC State has done a good job of sharing the wealth this season, with at least three different players reaching double figures in scoring in each game through the first eight contests. Leslie has probably made the biggest change in shot selection, and it has helped him improve from 43.3 percent last year to 58.7. Williams isn't far behind, going from 46.3 last year to 54.5. Leslie, who is getting shots within the flow of the offense and isn't forcing jumpers or trying difficult attempts on drives, led the squad in scoring at 14.8 points per game. "If you rank guys right now on who is playing the hardest, he's near the top of the list," Gottfried said in early Decem- ber. "He's also playing within what he can do. He's not taking crazy shots. I don't think he's being lazy. There isn't a lot of criticism right now of his effort level and energy level." Williams is playing with more confi- dence and is getting into the rhythm of the game with a bump in playing time to 31.1 minutes a contest. NC State has six different players aver- aging in double figures. The players didn't seem concerned with who was getting shots, just that they were good ones, and it led to the team shooting 47.8 percent from the field. Gottfried believes Brown will get even better in time in ensuring the Wolfpack players continue to take good shots. "He is the quarterback and needs to un- derstand so many things and tempo, and understand your own players — who needs the ball where, who hasn't had the ball, where do we want to go on each posses- sion," Gottfried said. Unselfish Passing Good passing and field goal percentage go hand in hand, and lead to well-balanced scoring. NC State was second in the ACC with 16.0 assists per game through its first eight games, which led to a No. 3 league ranking in field goal percentage with a sharp 47.8 percent. Last year's Wolfpack shot just 43.9 per- cent from the field and had 14.3 assists per game. The full-time move of Brown from shooting guard to point guard has paid off during the early portion of the schedule. Brown has always excelled at feeding his teammates and didn't get into a comfort zone in that role last year while sharing the play-making duties with score-first Ryan Harrow. Brown still led the squad in assists Under new head coach Mark Gottfried, the Wolfpack averaged 77.5 points per game dur- ing its 5-3 start to the 2011-12 season, com- pared to 70.7 points per game a year ago. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN