With time to reflect on the past season and a few months to go before the next campaign, N.C. State head basketball coach Mark Gottfried met with the media on July 2 to share his views on the comings and goings of the men’s basketball program.
With the debacle that was the NBA draft still fresh in the minds of many who follow N.C. State basketball the head coach, who is heading into his third season in Raleigh, did not mince words when assessing the precipitous fall from grace of juniors Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie along with outgoing senior Richard Howell.
Brown was picked with the second round, 52nd selection overall, by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Leslie and Howell were not selected and signed as free agents with the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets respectively.
“I was disappointed in the draft,” Gottfried said. “I thought, quite frankly, that Lorenzo would have been picked higher. I was not sure that Richard would be drafted. I actually think Richard is in a better position to be honest.”
With no clear consensus as to when or if he would get picked, Leslie was as much of an enigma in the draft as the mercurial forward was during his collegiate career. Gottfried addressed the concerns of NBA executives.
“Calvin was all over the board,” Gottfried said. “I had some teams show interest and some teams show none. A lot of teams candidly had concerns about how hard he played. Some teams didn’t like him.”
“I do believe Calvin can be a really good NBA player. I believe New York is going to find he is a terrific young person. I think he is going to make their roster and I actually think he is going to play for them this year.”
There are also questions about next year’s team. With the early departures of Brown and Leslie, the graduation of Howell and Scott Wood along with the transfer of freshman guard Rodney Purvis, it is unclear what type of season N.C. State may have in 2013-14. But Gottfried does have something to build with.
“First of all, you’ve got Tyler [Lewis], T.J. [Warren] and Jordan Vandenberg. Ralston Turner did not play last season but he was here,” Gottfried said. “Those are the only four guys on scholarship that we are returning. Those four guys collectively have been asked to be leaders every day, in every aspect of our program. So far, they have done a very good job.”
In terms of team leadership, Gottfried thinks Tyler Lewis may have what it takes.
“I can see Tyler Lewis already beginning to emerge as a guy that is willing to step forward and be out in front,” Gottfried said. “I think it is important to Tyler.”
There will be an abundance of incoming talent for Gottfried to work with next season. With freshmen BeeJay Anya, Cat Barber and Kyle Washington and junior college transfer Desmond Lee, the head coach is excited but uncertain what the future holds.
“I think Desmond will come in ready to go,” Gottfried said. “He is an older person. He brings a maturity from that perspective to our team. As far as how much guys play and who is in what role, it is way too early to tell for that. I would anticipate [Lee] being a big part of what happen this year with our team.”
What is certain to Gottfried is next season’s squad will not have to deal with the lofty expectations that were placed on last year’s team. But he is bullish on what the Pack can do next season.
“I think our guys understand that most people are going to consider us to be pretty bad this year,” Gottfried said. “I think they get that. They hear it. But I think we’ve got a real confident group of guys, too. Even though they’re young and somewhat naive, I believe they are confident.”
