The NC State men’s basketball team is on the home stretch of the season, with just four regular-season games remaining. After a huge win over Georgia Tech, the Wolfpack will look to build on some fantastic individual performances heading into the postseason. Before the Pack closes out its regular season, let’s go over some takeaways from the last couple weeks of play.
Casey Morsell is underrated
Out of all the players on the men’s basketball roster, junior guard Casey Morsell is perhaps the most underrated of them all. He isn’t a double-digit scorer like senior forward Jericole Hellems or a constant highlight reel like freshman guard Terquavion Smith and redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron, but he’s effective and that’s valuable.
On the season, Morsell is averaging 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds while shooting 37.5% on 3.2 attempts per game, making him the fourth-leading scorer on the team and the third-best 3-point shooter in terms of volume to efficiency.
While those numbers don’t jump off the page, Morsell was the victim of an injury and then sporadic playing time upon his return. In the seven starts before his injury, Morsell averaged 12.3 points, 4.6 rebounds and one steal while shooting 37.9% on 4.1 3-point attempts per game.
Now Morsell is back, and he’s making a positive impact in his most recent stretch. Between the Virginia and first Notre Dame games, Morsell shot a scorching 55% from 3. Morsell isn’t the most emphatic player of all time, but he deserves his due.
With a full offseason on the horizon in NC State’s program, along with potential shakeups in the backcourt between Seabron and Smith, Morsell could be a 15-point-per-game guy as soon as next season.
Terquavion Smith getting national recognition
Everyone knows that Terquavion Smith is a bucket. He’s fearless, confident and, most of all, loves playing for the Wolfpack. But what is of note over the last few weeks is how often he’s appearing in the national media. Like Seabron, Smith has burst onto the national scene in recent weeks.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie hosts the Game Theory Podcast, where he goes over countless NBA Draft prospects and college players alongside his co-host Matt Pennie. Just two weeks ago, Smith was Pennie’s weekly pick for the show’s Prospect of the Week.
Shortly after, Smith caught the attention of Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman, who pointed to Smith’s 26-point outing against Georgia Tech. ESPN’s draft expert Jonathan Givony has also highlighted Smith’s play in recent weeks.
The Athletic, Bleacher Report and ESPN are arguably the three top media outlets in terms of covering college basketball, especially in terms of following, so seeing Smith earn these nods is fantastic news for head coach Kevin Keatts and his chances of getting a player into the NBA. Between Seabron and Smith, the odds are high that Keatts will be able to add that to his resume.
But the recognition doesn’t stop there. Smith was named the ACC’s Freshman of the Week for the third time this season after his great Georgia Tech game. His scoring isn’t the only thing worth attention, he’s improved significantly as a defender, and at 6-foot-4, he’s a surprisingly adequate rebounder, and he saw his season-high against ACC opponents in that regard with nine.
If Duke forward Paolo Banchero didn’t exist, Smith would undoubtedly be the ACC Freshman of the Year. And even still, he has a decent case for that award. Smith will almost certainly be on the ACC All-Freshman Team, which would make him NC State’s first freshman since Dennis Smith Jr. to earn that award.
Can Cam Hayes turn it around?
Saying this season has been frustrating for sophomore guard Cam Hayes is an understatement. Hayes is averaging 7.4 points and 2.3 assists on a terrible 33% from the floor and 21.7% clip from deep. Those shooting numbers are vastly worse than his 38.6% field-goal percentage and 36.4% 3-point clip from last season.
Hayes is in and out of the rotation for the Wolfpack and has failed to make much of an impression beyond a few flashes. However, against Georgia Tech, Hayes popped off with 14 points, five boards and no turnovers. It remains to be seen if he can continue that production, but this team has a different feel when Hayes gets going.
In the first 11 games of the season, Hayes was averaging 12 points and 2.7 assists per game on poor shooting numbers, but the team felt more composed in those matchups, including a close game against then-No. 1 Purdue.
In theory, this backcourt should be one of the most stacked in the ACC between Morsell, Hayes, Seabron and Smith, but that hasn’t panned out due to a lack of set plays, injuries and unforeseen regressions. If Hayes can snap out of his sophomore slump in the last couple weeks of the season, it would bode well for his future with the Pack.
Potential roster switch-ups
Looking to the offseason, there are several uncertainties with the roster’s composition. The first question to be answered is if Keatts will remain as the school’s coach. I’ve talked about that possible decision in a previous column so I won’t mention it here, but even if he remains on board, several players could be transferring in and out of the program.
One of Seabron and Smith is likely to leave the program one way or another. If either player decides they have a shot at getting drafted into the NBA, they will need to take that chance. In accordance with mock drafts and big boards, Seabron seems like a late-second-round pick and could very well be drafted this season. Smith on the other hand would need to bulk up tremendously before going pro, as he stands at 6-foot-4 but weighs just 160 pounds.
Beyond that, it’s possible that someone like Hayes transfers out of the program if he doesn’t see a pathway to more minutes next season. Between Hayes, Morsell and redshirt senior guard Thomas Allen, minutes have constantly been in flux between the backcourt and Hayes is not a guarantee to stay, just as we saw with his former backcourt partner in Shakeel Moore, who transferred to Mississippi State last year.
Redshirt junior forward Manny Bates was rumored to be thinking about transferring before this season, though it’s important to note that both he and Keatts shot down those rumors early. But with his injury, there is still an aura of uncertainty surrounding whether or not he will be on the roster next season, especially if he had real doubts last year.
