There was something missing with last year’s men’s basketball team. Although it had talented players such as former forwards C.J. Leslie, Scott Wood and Richard Howell, along with former guard Lorenzo Brown, N.C. State failed to meet its preseason No. 6 ranking. The Pack lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
From a fan’s perspective, it seemed like none of the players genuinely enjoyed playing with each other. State’s mediocre defense, ranking 129th in field goal defense, made the Pack rely on its high-powered offense far too often.
When the offense was in sync, the Wolfpack looked like world-beaters, using its firepower to take out No. 1 Duke at PNC Arena on Feb. 7. But when it wasn’t, State had no defensive rigidity to fall back on, resulting in head-scratching losses on the road to Wake Forest and Maryland.
Last year’s team also lacked a true leader, depriving it of the chemistry the Pack so desperately needed. Howell and Brown both tried admirably to become team leaders, but neither could strike the balance needed to bring the team together.
With Howell, Brown, Leslie and Wood gone, this year’s Wolfpack lineup is almost unrecognizable from last season’s crop. The only recognizable faces from last year are sophomore forward T.J. Warren and sophomore guard Tyler Lewis, both of whom will play key roles this season.
This season, the team seems to work well together, which is a welcomed change from last season.
Players, who last year hardly cracked a smile except on the rarest of occasions, are now joking with each other after games and practices. This seemingly insignificant detail shows a complete reversal in philosophy to the tense, uncomfortable atmosphere that hovered over last year’s team like a dark grey storm cloud.
Third-year head coach Mark Gottfried also seems more relaxed than he was last season.
Gottfried, perhaps unfairly in hindsight, had massive amounts of pressure on him last season. Because of the pressure to succeed, Gottfried often resembled an exasperated figure running thin on patience, knowing his team had large strides to make in a short time frame to justify the pre-season praise his team received.
But this year is a very different story. Gottfried now has his recruits in the program, giving the former Alabama head coach the right tools to succeed in Raleigh.
This year will primarily be used to acclimate and develop future stars, such as freshman guard Anthony “Cat” Barber and freshman center BeeJay Anya. But unlike Lewis and Warren last year, Barber and this year’s freshman class have a group of established leaders to take it into the future.
Warren, Lewis, junior guard Ralston Turner and senior center Jordan Vandenberg have all taken on leadership this season.
With nine of the Pack’s 15 players currently either freshmen or sophomores, State’s leaders must quickly help its less experienced teammates acclimate to collegiate basketball before the grueling ACC season begins against Pittsburgh on Jan. 4, 2014.