The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/89497
BKB PREVIEW 12-13 Freshman Rodney Purvis averaged 26.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game as a prep senior, and he was ranked the No. 12 player in the country by Rivals.com. schel Walker and Bo Jackson. "Rodney is like that," Gottfried said. "He is so quick and strong and gets into the open floor. He's hard to contain and that is his greatest strength." The bench rotation will take time to work itself out, but Lewis has already im- pressed his teammates and coaches this summer. The 5-11 Lewis has worked hard with NCSU strength and conditioning coach Bob Alejo to regain the 10 pounds he lost during his senior season at Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy and is around 167 pounds. Lewis, whom Rivals.com ranked No. 55 in the country, will have the chance to fill the role that Johnson played last year. "I think Tyler will back him up and there will be times they do play together," Gott- fried said. "It will be similar to last year when we used Alex and Lorenzo together at times. I think Tyler on the Spain trip got better and better each game." Lewis averaged 12.0 points, 7.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds for the 44-0 Oak Hill Academy Warriors last year. He also is the all-time leading scorer at Lewisville (N.C.) Forsyth Country Day, where he finished with 1,927 points and 685 assists. Lewis is an impressive free throw shooter, which could lead to some late-game appearances. "I think he has a really good understand- 34 ■ THE WOLFPACKER ing of the game and understands how to play," Gottfried said. "I think he is one of those guys late in the game, you'll feel real comfortable with him on the floor. He is going to bring a lot to the team." If Purvis starts at shooting guard, the chain reaction will lead to Warren to back up Wood at small forward, and also play some power forward if called upon. The 6-8, 233-pound Warren is the son of former NC State player Tony Warren Sr., and is a Durham, N.C., native. Warren attended Durham Riverside High, before moving to Raleigh and playing for Word of God for a year. He played his senior year at star-studded Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy, and Rivals.com ranked him No. 17 in the country. Warren's calling card is his ability to score baskets in bunches. Gottfried hopes to work on making him well rounded in No. Name PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN the future. "I think his ability to score, I don't know if it surprised me because I watched him do it in high school, but maybe it confirmed for me what I knew about him is a better way to describe it," Gottfried said. "He has the ability to make baskets. He was able to do that there [in Spain], in the midst of having sometimes four veteran players on the floor with him. It didn't stop him at all. He just kept getting it done." Senior point guard Jay Lewis and sopho- more shooting guard Staats Battle, a pair of walk-ons, both return this season. The duo along with LSU junior transfer Ralston Turner, who has to sit out this season due to NCAA rules, will help push the starters in practice. Turner, who has two years of eligibility remaining, averaged 9.1 points per game and shot 37.2 percent from three- point land for the Tigers last year. ■ 2 Lorenzo Brown PG 12 Tyler Lewis 15 Scott Wood 20 Jay Lewis 0 Rodney Purvis SG 22 Ralston Turner 24 T.J. Warren 30 Staats Battle SG ■ 2012-13 NC State Backcourt Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown (Previous School) PG 5-11 SF 6-2 6-5 PG SF SF 6-6 6-1 6-5 6-8 6-6 195 186 157 169 198 209 233 191 Fr. Jr. Fr. Sr. Sr. Jr. Raleigh (Upper Room Christian Academy) So. Fr. Greensboro, N.C. (Greensboro Day) Muscle Shoals, Ala. (LSU) Roswell, Ga. (Chatham [Va.] Hargrave Military Academy) Statesville, N.C. (Mouth of Wilson [Va.] Oak Hill Academy) Marion, Ind. (Marion) Durham, N.C. (Wolfeboro [N.H.] Brewster Academy) Raleigh (Broughton)