North Carolina State Wolfpack
Overall Rank: #72
Conference Rank: #8 ACC
North Carolina State Team Page
2010-11: 15-16, 5-11
2010-11 postseason: none
Coach: Mark Gottfried (First year at North Carolina State, 279-154 overall)
Last year was do or die for former Coach Sidney Lowe. He finally had the talent on hand to make the NCAA Tournament, but instead finished with a losing record. Coach Mark Gottfried takes over the program and has enough tools to get this team to the postseason. The players who left with Lowe are a cause for concern however. Lorenzo Brown is a dynamic, versatile guard who will now have to take over the point guard duties. He certainly has the skill to do it. He managed to lead the team with 3.7 assists last season despite two point guards on the roster who split time at the starting spot.
Who’s Out:
Those two point guards were Javier Gonzalez and Ryan Harrow. Gonzalez was forced to run the point due to lack of other options for pretty much his entire collegiate career. Every year he would get benched, although he did do a good job of keeping the turnovers down during his senior season. During the 2010-2011 campaign, Lowe benched him again in favor of Harrow, a true freshman. Harrow proved to be much more efficient and effective in a variety of ways, but he transferred after the season. That leaves Brown as the point guard. The other loss is even bigger. Tracy Smith was the dominate inside scoring force on this team for a few years and he will be nearly impossible to replace. For a while, Smith carried this team.
Who’s In:
This is not a great recruiting class like the one the Wolfpack brought in last year. Alex Johnson, a transfer from Cal State Bakersfield is an interesting option though. The 5-11 shooting guard is a great long range shooter and is eligible immediately after graduating with a year of eligibility remaining. This team needs a shooting guard now that Brown is running the point, but Johnson would be best utilized as a shooter off of the bench. Staats Battle and Jaqawn Raymond are a couple more options at shooting guard. Neither are very highly regarded recruits, but both will be given every opportunity to see playing time. Tyler Harris is an athletic small forward who can get up and down the floor. At 6-8, he has the height to play the four spot in a pinch too. Belgian Thomas de Thaey could play a big role right away helping to replace the production of Smith under the basket. He is relatively polished for a 6-8, 235 pound big man, but it will take him a little time to get adjusted to life in the ACC.
Who to Watch:
There are a lot of options in the frontcourt. Scott Wood is a great shooting small forward who keeps adding weight and strength and expanding his game. He will still shoot a lot and last year he connected on 41.9 percent of his long range attempts, but he can also attack the basket more than he could a year or two ago. C.J. Leslie is the new star of this team. As a freshman last year he averaged 11.0 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.3 blocks. Having Smith by his side certainly made things easier for the ultra-athletic Leslie, but a year of experience should help him emerge as the Wolfpacks go-to-guy. The question now is who replaces Smith? It will certainly have to be a group effort. Richard Howell does not have the size of a traditional center in the ACC, but he is easily the most experienced and effective option. A year ago he averaged 7.4 points and 6.5 rebounds in just over 18 minutes per game. DeShawn Painter and Jordan Vandenberg can both play some minutes here and there when Coach Gottfried needs a little more size. Painter is 6-9 and Vandenberg is 7-1. However, it is not like Howell is small. He is 6-8 and a hefty 261 pounds. His build is more like a power forwards, but this team has size across the board and having a bruiser like Howell playing 25 minutes per game at the five spot will not hurt the rebounding at all.
Final Projection:
With Brown running the point, this team needs a shooting guard. Johnson could be the answer, but he is a lot like a very short Wood. Shooters are nice, but having too many on the floor at the same time can cause some problems. Along with the newcomers, C.J. Williams is the other option. The 6-5 wing is more of a small forward than a shooting guard, but Wood is more of a shooting guard than a small forward. Williams has the size and strength to attack the basket and hit the glass. He was not very productive last season, averaging 4.7 points and 2.4 rebounds, but the senior should be given the opportunity to start for now. By the end of the year one of the newcomers may have taken his spot, but he will still play a larger role on this team than he has up to this point.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NIT
Projected Starting Five:
Lorenzo Brown, Sophomore, Guard, 9.3 points per game
C.J. Williams, Senior, Guard, 4.7 points per game
Scott Wood, Junior, Forward, 9.7 points per game
C.J. Leslie, Sophomore, Forward, 11.0 points per game
Richard Howell, Junior, Forward, 7.4 points per game
Madness 2012 NBA Draft Rankings:
#22 C.J. Leslie
Madness 2011 Men's Basketball Recruit Rankings:
#114 Tyler Harris
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