The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/89497
WOLFPACK BASKETBALL had the philosophy that you have to beat the best to be the best. Come this season, we can catch them on some off days and get some victories against them." Gottfried cautions that NC State has yet to earn the right to be boastful about any- thing. "I think that we will be ranked high, but the truth of the matter is I'm not sure if we really earned that yet," the coach warned." I think you've got to be careful to not get caught up in some of those things at times." NCAA Clears Rodney Purvis Freshman guard Rodney Purvis' ordeal with the NCAA Clearinghouse lasted 44 days from when he was first told that only one of his core classes at Upper Room Christian Academy in Raleigh was being accepted to when he was finally informed that he would be eligible to play this season for the Wolfpack. 2012-13 NC State Men's Basketball Schedule Nov. 23 UNC Asheville Nov. 27 Dec. 4 Dec. 8 Nov. 15 Nov. 16 Nov. 18 Feb. 10 Feb. 16 Feb. 19 Feb. 23 Feb. 27 Jan. 12 Jan. 16 Jan. 20 Jan. 22 Jan. 26 Jan. 29 Feb. 2 Feb. 7 Dec. 29 Western Michigan Dec. 31 UNC Greensboro Jan. 5 Jan. 9 Dec. 15 Dec. 18 Dec. 22 St. Bonaventure Date Opponent (TV) Oct. 12 Nov. 3 Nov. 9 vs. Providence/UMass^ 5 or 7 p.m. vs. TBD^ vs. Penn State^ (ESPN2) vs. Connecticut! (ESPN) Cleveland State@ Norfolk State Stanford at Michigan (ESPN) March 6 Wake Forest (ACCN/ESPN3) 9 p.m. March 9 at Florida State (ESPN/ESPN2) 2 p.m. Mar. 14-17 ACC Tournament$ (ACC/ESPN2) TBD March 3 at Georgia Tech (ESPNU) Boston College (ACCN/ESPN3) 8 p.m. 6 p.m. at Clemson (ACCN/ESPN3) 1 p.m. Virginia Tech (ESPN/ESPN2) 2 p.m. Florida State (ESPN2) at UNC (ESPN/ESPN2) at Duke (ACCN/ESPN3) at Virginia (ESPN2) Miami (CBS) UNC (ESPN) 7 p.m. 4 p.m. at Wake Forest (RSN/ESPN3) 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 p.m. 4 p.m. 9 p.m. at Maryland (ESPN2) Clemson (ESPNU) Georgia Tech (ACCN/ESPN3) 8 p.m. Duke (ESPN) at Boston College (ESPN2) 12 p.m. 7 p.m. 6 p.m. 7:30 p.m. 9 p.m. TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA TBA 4 p.m. Primetime With The Pack Belmont Abbey* Miami (Ohio) Time (ET) TBA TBA 7 p.m. 5 p.m. "I learned a lot over those 44 days, I learned a lot about myself," Purvis said. "Just being strong mentally. It was a really hard time for me and my mom. We cried a lot together." Carrie Ann Doyle, NC State's compli- ance director, worked meticulously with the NCAA to clear the confusion about Upper Room Christian Academy, a school Purvis had attended since middle school. He was part of its first graduating high school class. NC State and Upper Room had to prove that the high school was not a diploma mill for prospective student-athletes. "Every time we tried to get more things that they needed, it was more. We just kept sticking with it and giving them everything they asked for," Purvis recalled. His teammates, including juniors Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie, checked in on him frequently. "Lorenzo called me a few times," Purvis stated. "I'm sure it hurt his phone bill, but he didn't care. He was just making sure I was okay." There were times where it looked bleak, especially when the NCAA ruled Maryland freshman guard Sam Cassell Jr. ineligible in a somewhat similar case. The issue was finally resolved in a posi- tive fashion for Purvis Sept. 17, the day the NCAA delivered the news he can suit up for NCSU this season. "Just finally getting cleared was the best news I probably heard in my life," Purvis acknowledged. "I always felt like the right thing was USA Today Preseason Coaches' Poll * Exhibition; ^ Puerto Rico Tip-Off at San Juan, Puerto Rico (Akron, NC State, Oklahoma State, Providence, Penn State, Tennessee, UMass and UNC Asheville; all games on ESPN2, ESPNU or ESPN3); ! Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, N.Y.; @ at Reynolds Coliseum; $ at Greensboro, N.C. 44 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 10. Florida 11. Arizona 12. North Carolina 13. UCLA 14. Michigan State 15. Creighton 16. Memphis 17. Missouri 18. Baylor 19. UNLV 20. San Diego State 21. Wisconsin 22. Gonzaga 23. Notre Dame T-24. Florida State / Texas 1. Indiana (21 first-place votes) 2. Louisville (5) 3. Kentucky (5) 4. Ohio State 5. Michigan 6. NC State 7. Kansas 8. Duke 9. Syracuse For 44 days, it was in doubt whether Purvis would be cleared to play this season for the Wolfpack, but ultimately the NCAA did declare him eligible to suit up this year. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP he would be eligible to play," head coach Mark Gottfried said. "He took all the right classes. He did everything he was supposed to do. He stayed at one high school. I was excited when it panned out that way. "He didn't lash out. He wasn't angry at the NCAA. He wasn't angry at his high school. He handled it with great class in my opinion. It showed a lot about his char- acter." Purvis will have to play catch-up. His or- deal with the NCAA cost him the chance to go on the trip to Spain with his teammates during the summer, which Purvis believed "hurt me a little bit." Brown is not worried about Purvis, how- ever. Brown has become a quick believer in Purvis, and his fellow freshmen, guard Tyler Lewis and forward T.J. Warren. "Rodney is an explosive guy, a scorer," Brown noted. "It's definitely a learning curve. It's a big step from high school to college level. "These guys are different. They are not normal freshmen. I think they are ready to play." Gottfried isn't putting any extra pressure on Purvis. "One area where he has to be careful is the expectation level for him is so high," Gottfried said. "It's hard to reach that day in, day out. On one hand, that's a good thing he has high goals and high expecta- tions of each day on how he should per- form. On some days, though, when he is doing well, he is still frustrated because he wants to reach that level now." ■