The NC State men’s basketball team is off to a solid start to the season, winning its first two games by a combined 47 points.
Though the Pack is 2-0, it is important to remember that it is still very early in the season, and the results so far are just a small sample of a long year to come.
So far the team has been very good, but not everything is perfect in PNC Arena, as the Wolfpack still has some issues to resolve before ACC play tips off in January.
One of the biggest concerns for State has been the lack of production in the post. In the Pack’s first two regular season games, the team has averaged only 16 points per game from the four big men in the State rotation: freshman Abdul-Malik Abu and sophomores BeeJay Anya, Kyle Washington and Lennard Freeman.
“We need to get more out of our bigs,” Head Coach Mark Gottfried said. “The ball’s got to go in there more, and the guys have to learn how to post up more.”
Some of the interior problems have come from foul trouble. Anya and Washington sat for the majority of the second half in Monday’s game with four personals each, while Freeman fouled out in the team’s opening game against Jackson State. Gottfried said players needed to be smart and avoid the unnecessary contact.
“They’re going to get some fouls,” Gottfried said. “But we can’t afford those types of fouls. We need them to be more active, but they’ve got to help themselves too.”
Free throws have also been an area of trouble for the Pack, as the team has made only 41 of 63 attempts in the two games this season.
Make no mistake, this season has provided a multitude of positives for the Pack, the most notable being the emergence of redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey. Despite struggling in the team’s exhibition against Queens, the transfer from Alabama has scored at least 16 points in each of the Pack’s two contests so far.
Gottfried said Lacey has become a true leader of the team.
“He’s like a coach on the floor,” Gottfried said. “He’s got to be able to direct traffic, and he’s stepped forward.”
Lacey hasn’t even been the Pack’s biggest scoring threat. Taking a complete 180 from last season, sophomore guard Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber went from an undisciplined freshman to a reliable starting point guard for State.
In the first two games this season, Barber has averaged a team-high 20 points and six assists per game, all while turning the ball over just once. Last season, Barber averaged just over two assists per turnover, and Gottfried said ball security was something that he had been working on specifically.
“He’s really making the effort,” Gottfried said. “He’s a good scorer, but he’s also a good passer, and he’s trying to find ways to run his team and take control.”
Defense has been much improved from a season ago. Before the season began, Gottfried said defense would be an emphasis for the team this year.
Through the first two games, the Pack has forced 25 total turnovers and held both opponents to under 31 percent shooting. Lacey said the players of the State team challenge one another to play their best on the defensive side of the ball.
“I challenge Des[mond Lee] and Cat [Barber] every day to be the best defender of the court,” Lacey said. “They challenge me as much as I challenge them. That’s Coach Gottfried’s biggest issue; we’re going to score points, but it’s about how many stops we can get.”
With matches against Jacksonville and South Florida coming up Thursday and Sunday, the team will have plenty of time to sort out its issues before taking on stiffer competition in December.
