Tonight, the Phoenix Suns will kick off their NBA season, and many NC State fans will watch former Wolfpack forward T.J. Warren with longing eyes. However, silently walking among the ranks of the 2015 State basketball squad is possibly the next great player to wear red and white: junior guard Trevor Lacey.
After sitting out a year due to NCAA transfer regulations, Lacey is ready to lead the Wolfpack to its fourth-straight NCAA tournament appearance. The former Alabama guard said that he is eager to see the court with his new Wolfpack teammates and prove the team’s critics wrong.
“We’re going to be better than what we get credit for,” Lacey said. “Our offense is well-balanced and we’ve got guys that can fill [the roles that need filling].”
Ever since high school, Lacey has been a winner. The Huntsville, Alabama, native led his high school squad to three state championships, and he was named Alabama’s Mr. Basketball twice, making him only one of two players to earn the honor multiple times.
“Winning is important to him,” Pack head coach Mark Gottfried said. “His teams have always won and that’s a great attribute to have as a player.”
Despite receiving offers from powerhouse programs such as Kentucky and Kansas, Lacey decided to stay close to home and play for Alabama. With Lacey at the helm, the Crimson Tide made the NCAA Tournament during his sophomore year. During the season, Lacey played in all 36 games, averaging 11.3 points and 3.2 assists.
When Lacey hinted that he may want to transfer, universities were once again pouncing at the chance to sign him. However, as a former Alabama coach, Gottfried eventually won the recruiting battle, and Lacey was headed to Raleigh.
“I walked into his high school when he was in ninth grade and told him that he was going to play for me one day,” Gottfried said.
Last season, Lacey was benched during all of State’s games, but the Alabama native was a very integral part of the team’s practices. In preparation for upcoming games, Lacey would run the opposing team’s offense.
In most sets, Lacey said that he would pose as the team’s best shooter. However, Lacey described himself as a “pass-first” type of player. Most of Lacey’s teammates agreed.
“Trevor loves passing the ball,” sophomore forward Kyle Washington said. “I don’t even think he likes shooting. He loves getting his teammates involved.”
“[Lacey] is a really good passer,” senior guard Desmond Lee said. “He makes some passes that make me just say, ‘Wow.’”
The experience in practice proved to be very beneficial for Lacey, as the guard said that he was able to get to know his teammates better by playing against them.
“I learned guys’ tendencies for a whole year, seeing what they can and can’t do as players and what they’re working on,” Lacey said. “By my being around and just watching, I learned a lot.”
While his participation was beneficial to the team’s success, Lacey said he fell behind when it came to learning his own team’s system.
“That was the biggest challenge after sitting out a whole year: learning the team’s offense,” Lacey said. “[My teammates] helped me a lot. I know what Coach wants and how the offense runs.”
After Throwback with the Pack, where Lacey went scoreless with two assists, Gottfried said that Lacey had come a long way in the past few months and just needed to shake off some rust.
“He’s done a great job,” Gottfried said. “When you take a year off like he did, playing under the lights helps a guy like him get back in the groove.”
The one thing that didn’t show rust in Lacey’s game is his overwhelming knowledge of the sport. Gottfried said that Lacey’s basketball IQ was the guard’s best feature.
“He’s got a great basketball mind,” Gottfried said. “Because he really understands how to play, it gives the coach a great feeling of trust in him because you really feel like he’s going to make the right decisions.”
One thing is for sure, Lacey will certainly be fun to watch. The NC State basketball team will host Queens University of Charlotte on Nov. 8 at PNC Arena for an exhibition match, following Wolfpack’s homecoming game.
