The NC State men’s basketball team’s excitement-filled season came to an abrupt halt on Thursday in Wichita, Kansas.
The Wolfpack (21-12, 11-7 ACC) fell to No. 8-seed Seton Hall, 94-83, in the round of 64 in the NCAA Tournament. The Pack allowed the Pirates (22-12, 10-8 Big East) to shoot 61.3 percent from the floor in the first half for a 51-41 lead at halftime.
However, NC State would not go down quietly.
Graduate guard Allerik Freeman was masterful in his final collegiate game. The Charlotte native scored 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting in the second half on his way to a career-high 36 points. As the game neared its end and the Pack’s loss was inevitable, Freeman was visibly emotional as the enormity of the moment hit him.
While the loss was difficult to swallow for Freeman and the Wolfpack, the transfer from Baylor left NC State in good hands as the 2017-18 season concludes.
In his up-and-down final year of eligibility, Freeman emerged as the Pack’s leader on the court, leading the team in scoring — and in marquee games.
Freeman stepped up against No. 2 Arizona, No. 10 UNC-Chapel Hill, No. 25 Florida State, Louisville and the rematch against the No. 21 Tar Heels, most notably with a 29-point outing in Chapel Hill on 7-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line.
In a season where the rebuilding Pack was picked to be a bottom feeder of the ACC, Freeman lifted NC State to a year full of pleasant surprises and plenty of upsets.
Thanks to the veterans’ scoring (16.1 points per game) and ability to take over in games, the Pack’s bridge to the future is easier.
While senior forwards Lennard Freeman and Abdul-Malik Abu and graduate guards Sam Hunt and Al Freeman depart the team, head coach Kevin Keatts’ blueprint for NC State will become clearer next year.
Keatts will implement his patented four-guard scheme more often next year thanks to incoming recruits and transfers.
The Pack replaces Al Freeman with redshirt sophomore guard Devon Daniels, a former freshman standout from Utah who shot 57.1 percent from the floor and nearly averaged 10 points per game. Redshirt junior guard C.J. Bryce will also join after sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer regulations after leaving UNC-Wilmington to follow Keatts. Don’t forget freshman guard Blake Harris, who transferred from Missouri midseason.
Daniels and Bryce should make immediate impacts and flourish in Keatts’ system. The 6-foot-5 guards along with redshirt junior Torin Dorn and sophomore Markell Johnson round out the crowded yet talented backcourt.
However, replacing Abu, Lennard Freeman and possibly sophomore center Omer Yurtseven could be challenging.
Derek Funderburk, a former 4-star prospect, freshman from Ohio State and Hargrave Military Academy product, is the most promising big, but recruits like Ian Steere and Immanuel Bates should see time in the paint. Uncertainty in the frontcourt will rise if Yurtseven chooses to declare for the NBA Draft after his considerable development in his second year at NC State.
Though dreaming about what’s in store in the years to come is rousing, this year Keatts and his staff got the most of out a team inherited from former head coach Mark Gottfried just one season prior, especially sophomores Johnson and Yurtseven
Johnson surfaced as the No. 1 facilitator of the Wolfpack’s offense after serving behind Dennis Smith Jr. in his freshman year, and missing seven games due to facing a felonious assault charge this season. The Cleveland, Ohio, native posted five straight games of recording 10-or-more assists, breaking Chris Corchiani’s program record. He also often rose to the occasion against tough opponents, scoring 20 points and dishing 11 assists in an upset of the Heels in Chapel Hill.
Keatts transformed former 5-star recruit and struggling freshman big Yurtseven into a matchup nightmare in conference play.
The Turkish center’s well-rounded offensive game has moved him into professional conversations. Yurtseven looked bewildered and confused on the hardwood in his freshman campaign, and that nervous energy changed into confidence in his sophomore year.
The 7-footer drilled shots from beyond the arc and in the midrange, and held his own in the paint with obviously improved post maneuvers and hook shots on his way to six 20-point outings.
The substantial development of Johnson, Yurtseven and the rest of the Pack yields encouraging signs to what is in store for a team filled with Keatts’ preferable talent, especially considering the milestones he garnered in his first year at the wheel:
-Five top-25 wins
-Made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015
-Finished 4-1 on Tobacco Road. Keatts became the first coach since Tal Stafford in the 1918-19 season to defeat Duke, UNC and Wake Forest in his first attempt
-Won 11 ACC games. Tied for the most regular season conference wins in a coach’s first year since Everrett Case won 11 in the 1946-47 season
-Tied for third in conference standings, the best mark for the Pack since the 2003-04 season
Building on these achievements puts the Wolfpack in good standing as it transitions into a new era. With three transfers, five recruits and counting entering the fold in Keatts’ second season, the future is bright in Raleigh.
