Sophomore forward T.J. Warren recorded his second straight double-double as N.C. State eased past Morehouse on Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena.
Warren scored 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, both game-highs, in State’s 87-62 win against the Maroon Tigers. The preseason All-American was efficient on the offensive end, scoring his points on 11-15 shooting.
“I think T.J. can score as well as anyone in the country,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “He doesn’t take bad shots, and he shoots a terrific percentage. But my challenge for him is to become a complete player, not just an offensive scorer, but also a good defender. He knows if we play a small lineup, he’s got to be a key rebounder for us and he’s done that too.”
Warren said that he is putting less emphasis on scoring and more on rebounding.
“I just want to focus on rebounding first and let the offense just come to me,” Warren said. “I don’t want to force the issue. My teammates are going to get me open so I trust them and they trust me.”
“It all starts with defense, that’s our identity. If we’re aggressive on defense, it leads to easy buckets on offense.”
With senior center Jordan Vandenberg out for four to six weeks with a grade three sprain of his left ankle, according to N.C. State Athletics, Gottfried has been forced into fielding a smaller lineup. The 7’ 1” Vandenberg, who was injured in Wednesday’s exhibition against UNC-Pembroke, is State’s only player who stands taller than 6’9”.
Gottfried will lean heavily on freshman forwards Lennard Freeman and Kyle Washington until Vandenberg’s return. Washington came close to recording his first double-double in red and white on Saturday, racking up 10 points and nine rebounds against Morehouse.
Gottfried said that his team will be tough to defend against when using its smaller lineup, but faces an uphill battle on the blocks.
“With a smaller lineup, which means T.J. is at the four, we can be tough to guard,” Gottfried said. “A traditional forward has to guard him [T.J.], a bigger guy has to chase him up and down the floor in the open floor and on the break.”
“But like I said, the challenge is going to be can that group rebound. We can pressure the ball better, we’ve got to find ways to help in the post better when we play against really good interior players. So there’s going to be some challengers for us.
Warren said that playing a small lineup lets the athletic Wolfpack play its preferred style of basketball.
“We’ve got great finishers on this team, so we want to get out in transition as much as possible,” Warren said. “But it all starts on the defensive end to lead to that so we don’t have to be in the half-court as much.”
Freshman point guard Anthony “Cat” Barber looked noticeably more comfortable against Morehouse than he did against UNC-Pembroke on Wednesday. Barber had 11 points, six assists and a steal on Saturday, playing lockdown defense against the Maroon Tigers. Gottfried said he expects the freshman to mature quickly.
“I think Cat is going to get better and better by the game,” Gottfried said. “I said it before, I’d hate for that guy to guard me. If I had the ball, I’d never bounce it if he was playing defense on me. I’d play hot potato and just move it to the next guy.”
Gottfried said that the two exhibition games gave his players a chance to gain experience before the start of the regular season.
“Playing two exhibition games helped our team and helped our young guys,” Gottfried said. “I thought even from the first game to the second, we got a little bit better.”
N.C. State kicks off regular season action on Friday against Appalachian State.
