The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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NOVEMBER 2016 ■ 83 BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2016-17 ranked Elon and Wake Forest, played a role in the Pack's absence in the NCAA Tourna- ment field, Moore felt the team's overall effort merited inclusion. "You can always look in the mirror and see a game or two you let get away," he admitted. "But I still felt our résumé war- ranted a bid. "But now we must move on. You must keep that [memory] channeled in the right di- rection and make sure that it is a motivation day in and day out." That won't be a problem, according to senior guard Miah Spencer, the most vis- ibly upset of all the players on that night last March. "It's still kind of shocking," she said. "When I look back, it makes some sense — the games we lost like Elon, the close ACC losses [to Louisville, Florida State and eventual national runner-up Syracuse, by a combined total of nine points]. Those were games we should have capitalized on and should have won. "We still tied for fifth in the ACC, the hardest of all the conferences, but we know now what we have to do to get there." What NC State has to do, Moore said, is make it impossible for the NCAA selection committee to ignore the Pack again. "We must take it out of other people's hands by winning a lot of games," he said, "and winning significant games." Added assistant coach Gene Hill: "Every game, you have an opportunity to control your own destiny. So, although we're excited about this season, we feel we have a lot to prove. We want to continue to get better and prove to everyone that we're a team that deserves to be in the NCAA Tournament." There are ample reasons to believe that the 2016-17 Pack may be capable of achieving that goal, and possibly equaling, or improv- ing on, its fifth-place ACC finish of a year ago, though the conference coaches and me- dia preseason polls picked the Pack to finish no better than seventh. Moore begins his fourth year at the helm of the program with his most experienced squad since his 25-win team from his 2013- 14 debut season. Graduation claimed just three seniors (starting center Carlee Schuh- macher, who averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game; and reserves Ashley Eli and Kaley Moser), while sophomore cen- ter Sara Boric and freshman forward Lena Niang opted to transfer after seeing limited playing time. Four of NC State's starting five return, led by the senior quartet that include second- team All-ACC guards Miah Spencer and Dominique Wilson, the team's top two scor- ers of a year ago with 14.1 and 15.3 points per game, respectively; along with forward Jennifer Mathurin, the Pack's top rebounder (6.9 per game) and third-leading scorer (11.4 points per game), and guard Ashley Wil- liams, the squad's fifth-leading scorer (6.1 points per game). Seven other veteran backups return, led by junior Chelsea Nelson (7.2 points and 5.0 re- bounds per game), one of several contenders for the post spot vacated by Schuhmacher. With redshirt freshman Kaila Ealy fully recovered from a season-ending knee injury suffered just four games into last year, the Pack has depth at the point guard position it lacked last year, when Spencer was forced to move from her natural shooting guard spot and wound up with 151 assists, the seventh- most in a season in program history. "We've got a good core of players back, including our top five scorers, and I do see leadership out there on the court from our four seniors," Moore said. "At the same time, you can say we have this core back, but that core is going to have to get better to get to where we want to go. "Their efforts this summer were good, and they've been pretty focused here in pre- season, but it's a long season, and you have to continue that focus and keep that chip on your shoulder over a long period for it to re- ally pay off." Veteran Starters Anchor Experienced Backcourt In Spencer and Wilson, both two-year starters, the Pack has a guard duo that is one of the best in the conference, and the nucleus of a veteran backcourt that has Hill, who works with NC State's guards, as happy as a kid opening Christmas presents in July. "You bring back three starters, includ- ing two All-ACC players, and you're happy with that alone," he agreed. "Then you throw in Ashley Williams, [sophomore] Camille Anderson and [sophomore] Amber Richard- son, and you're definitely happy with that nucleus. "And then you throw in the newcomers [freshmen Aislinn "Ace" Konig and Kiana "Lucky" Rudd], and Kaila Ealy returning, and you have a lot of depth and a lot of op- tions you didn't have a year ago. I think that will allow Dom and Miah to be even more effective with having that type of talent and depth." The Pack coaches are also hoping that depth, when developed, will prevent hav- ing to keep Spencer and Wilson in games as long as they had to play last year, when Spencer led the ACC in minutes per game (37.6), and both Wil- son (35.0) and Wil- liams (36.2) also fin- ished in the top 10. That was one reason, Moore speculated, for the fourth-quarter lapses that led to the losses to Louisville, Syracuse and FSU. Ealy, who played the first four games of last season and averaged 12 minutes a con- test, is one potential candidate for the point if Moore chooses to move Spencer back to the two-guard spot, though he's keeping his options open. "It's a good problem to have," the coach said. "But I'm trying not to get caught up in who's one, who's two. I want the five best on the court, so whatever we have to do to make that happen, we will. They're all inter- changeable." Anderson also saw action at the point last season, playing in 27 games with two starts, and was the team's third-best three-point shooter, making 25 of 74 attempts (33.8 per- cent). Williams, in her first year as a starter after two seasons coming off the bench, contrib- "It was a hard pill to swallow. I know there probably hasn't been a day gone by this past year that I haven't thought of it. It was very disappointing when you look at the numbers and the history. … But now we must move on. You must keep that [memory] channeled in the right direction and make sure that it is a motivation day in and day out." ■ Head coach Wes Moore on last year's NCAA Tournament snub ■ Pack At A Glance 2015-16 Overall Record: 20-11 ACC Record: 10-6 (T-5th) Home/Away/Neutral Record: 11-4/6-5/3-2 Postseason Results: Lost to Syracuse 80-61 in ACC quarterfinals Starters Lost: 1 (C Carlee Schuhmacher) Others Lost: 4 (F-G Ashley Eli, G Kaley Moser, C Sara Boric and F Lena Niang) Starters Returning: 4 (G Miah Spencer, G Domi- nique Wilson, G Ashley Williams and F Jennifer Mathurin) Others Returning: 7 (G Camille Anderson, G Kaila Ealy, G Amber Richardson, F Chelsea Nelson, F DD Rog- ers, C Akela Maize and C Nae Nae Cole) Head Coach: Wes Moore (fourth season; Johnson Bible College, 1984) Record: 63-34 at NC State (.649); 621-203 overall (.754) Assistants: Nikki West (fourth season; Clemson, 2000), Gene Hill (fourth season; Coker, 1997), and Lind- say Edmonds (fourth season; Appalachian State, 2005)