The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/743343
18 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK "We are going to score, and we are going to run. I've never been a guy that is excited about walking the ball up the floor. We are going to try create opportunities like we always have with our athleticism, and get out and run." ■ NC State men's basketball coach Mark Gottfried on his up-tempo offense (The Wolfpacker) "He [NCSU freshman center Omer Yurtseven] is just so polished for a kid who is 18 years old. He knows how to score with his back to the basket. He knows how to use his feet to set screens and find those little ways to get to the basket or slip off into space for a little 12-footer or eight-foot hook. He knows how to find the soft spot in the zone and where it would be after help defense rotates over. I'm a pretty big fan of his game." — NBA Draft expert Sam Vecenie of Sporting News on NC State freshman center Omer Yurtseven (The Wolfpacker) "Being a good defense is about accountability first and understanding how much your role affects everybody else on the field. You have to do your job and not try to make someone else's plays." — NC State head coach Dave Doeren on the Wolfpack's defense (The Raleigh News & Observer) "It starts at the beginning of the week, talking through plays and what we're going to do against different looks, so always trying to stay on the same page and just be- ing aware of what each other's doing. It goes down the whole line, we're all talking, communicating the whole time. It just starts early, early in the week and hopefully it shows on Sunday." — Former NC State offensive lineman Joe Thuney on his success as a rookie left guard with the New England Patriots (The Boston Globe) "The results are secondhand to me because that stuff doesn't really last. But the friendships, the relationships and the family aspect of it, feeling like you're part of something that's bigger than yourself really lasts, it goes beyond anything you did on the field. I really enjoy that." — NC State fifth-year senior soccer goalie Alex McCauley on his Wolfpack memories (The Technician) "I've talked to multiple NBA guys who have raved about NC State's overall talent. It's why I'll have them firmly in my Preseason Power Rankings -- despite some con- cerns about Gottfried. Dennis Smith has looked phenomenal to everyone who has been through Raleigh -- and the ball shouldn't stick nearly as much with him running the show as it did with Cat Barber. Smith should be a clear-cut lottery pick — if he stays healthy. Skilled 7-footer Omer Yurtseven (possible first-rounder) still isn't cleared, but staff is confident he'll only miss a few games. Keys are a healthy Terry Henderson and addition of Charlotte transfer Torin Dorn. No glaring holes with this team. Athletic, have size, experience, depth, terrific PG. NC State has top-10 overall talent." — ESPN college basketball analyst Jeff Goodman PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN QUOTING THE PACK India Clyburn, Women's Golf The sophomore was the lone Wolfpack golfer to fire an under-par score at the Cougar Classic Oct. 2-4 in Hanahan, S.C., fin- ishing in a tie for 13th place. Then at the Ruth's Chris Tar Heel Invitational Oct. 14-16 in Chapel Hill, N.C., the England native again led the way for the Pack, finishing in a tie for sixth place to help NC State to a fourth- place finish among 18 teams in the event. Clyburn led NCSU with three top-20 finishes during all of last season. Julius Duchscherer, Men's Soccer The highlight of the men's soccer season has been its 2-0 upset on the road over No. 21 UNC Wilmington Oct. 19, and the standout from that game was Duchscherer, whose back-heel goal became a viral sensation. The sopho - more midfielder from Germany, who made the All-ACC Freshman Team a year ago, garnered his team-leading eighth goal of the year on the score, and it was viewed over 133,000 times on FOX Soccer's Facebook page within five days of being posted. Sam Parsons, Men's Cross Country Parsons has been a strong competitor going into the upcoming postseason meets. He finished second at the Joe Piane Notre Dame Invitational Sept. 30 in South Bend, Ind. He was just three seconds behind the winner and was named the ACC Male Performer of the Week for his effort. Then at the highly competitive Nuttycombe Wisconsin Invitational Oct. 14, with a field that included top-ranked Northern Arizona, the fifth-year senior from Newark, Del., was leading the race at one point before finishing fifth. Kristina Schuster, Women's Soccer The freshman had a goal and four assists from her defender position through Oct. 25. Her play has impressed enough that she was named to the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week for Sept. 30. The same organization released its ranking of the top 100 freshmen nationally, and Schuster — a native of Germany — was rated No. 14. Three more Wolfpack rookies made that list: midfielder Ricarda Walkling (No. 24), forward Kia Rankin (No. 36) and midfielder Tziarra King (No. 51). Benjamin Shipp, Men's Golf The Duluth, Ga., native arrived at NC State with high ex - pectations, which always come when a prospect is ranked the No. 1 golfer nationally in his class. Thus far, he has delivered. Shipp, who was a two-time Georgia High School Golf Coaches Association Player of the Year, fin- ished tied for fifth at the Wolfpack Fall Intercollegiate Oct. 3-4, to help NCSU to a third-place finish. A week later, he had the top NC State score and finished tied for 10th at the Alister MacKenzie Invitational to lead the Pack to a third-place tie. ■ PACK PERFORMERS