© 2011 NCSU Student Media
Senior guard C.J. Williams puts a shot up over freshman guard Staats Battle during the team's Red and White scrimmage at the RBC Center Saturday, Nov. 5. Photo by Brent Kitchen
Following the conclusion of football’s domination over Carolina, the fans got a glimpse of the men’s basketball team for the first time this season with the Red & White scrimmage game.
The Pack played three 12-minute periods in which the score was reset and the teams tipped off after each period. The White Team won each of the three games, 26-22, 30-25, and 30-29.
According to coach Mark Gottfried , this game served as measuring stick for where the team is now.
“You turn the lights on, put people in the stands and you want to see how people respond,” Gottfried said. “Especially for some young guys, it’s their first time to get into this environment and also for the older players it’s the first time in this environment with a new system.
“Overall, I thought the answer to that question was just okay. The cream always rises to the top and in environments like this you want to see who plays well.”
Some of the players also got to display the strides they’ve made in the offseason and the new elements they’ll bring to the Wolfpack this season.
Sophomore forward C.J . Leslie has shown improvement in his jump shot from midrange as well as the ability to start the fast break off of a rebound.
According to Leslie, he has placed emphasis on his midrange game this offseason and Gottfried has given him the vote of confidence when it comes to handling the ball.
“I’ve been working on this a lot and just continuing to improve on it,” Leslie said. Coach wants a fast-pace game and he believes in me in starting his fast break. He trusts me and I’m just doing it.”
Alex Johnson, a graduate student who transferred to State from CSU Bakersfield, has also brought a new dimension to the Pack on the offensive end. Johnson took an aggressive approach to running Gottfried’s UCLA offense.
While Johnson ran with the White Team, he scored 18 points and dished out four assists.
According to Johnson, Gottfried brought him into the program to be a scoring force for the team.
“Coach Gottfried and his staff brought me in to be aggressive,” Johnson said. “It’s my last year so I’m just trying to bring some aggressiveness and some attention to this program.”
When he switched over to the Red Team, he played the off guard with sophomore Lorenzo Brown staying as the lead guard. During that period, he added another five points to his total, bringing it to 23 for the game.
According to Johnson, him and Brown have already had experience playing off of each other, so this game was another opportunity to build on this chemistry.
“During the summer time we played on the same Pro-Am team and we have this thing where if he gets it he’ll go and if he gets it I’ll go, so we’re just trying things out right now,” Johnson said.
According to Gottfried , the most important aspect of the Red & White game was to get his team to learn from the experience of playing under the lights.
“We have to get a lot better,” Gottfried said. “The most important thing today was to turn this into a learning environment for our players today.”