Fresh off its first trip to the Final Four since 1983, NC State men’s basketball hoped to build off its success. The Wolfpack brought in five transfers this offseason to retool and continue to build consistency. However, despite having talented individual players, the Wolfpack failed to bring in the two things that helped it make the tournament the past two seasons: shooting and rebounding.
This season the Wolfpack is doing many of the little things right. The team is playing great defense and leads the ACC in turnover margin. However, the Wolfpack has the 14th-ranked scoring offense in the ACC, struggling to create separation in games. Additionally, the Pack has the second-worst rebounding margin in the conference, only ahead of Virginia. Despite playing excellent defense, the inability to finish defensive possessions with a rebound is crushing the red-and-white. Scoring and rebounding are very clearly keeping NC State out of the NCAA Tournament right now, despite the Pack excelling in most other areas.
Almost every great team has multiple go-to scorers that can create their own shots. Last season it was DJ Burns and DJ Horne. Whether it was Burns spinning around centers for layups or Horne swishing long 3s, the Pack could score from anywhere on the floor when the duo was on the court. The year before, Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith proved to be dangerous scoring guards who could stretch the floor and finish in the paint. However, this year’s squad is much more limited and doesn’t appear to have a main scoring option.
NC State’s leading scorer this season is senior guard Marcus Hill. The Bowling Green transfer dominated the MAC last season, scoring over 20 points per game. Hill plays hard every possession and gives the red-and-white everything he has, but simply doesn’t space the floor well. Shooting just 25% from deep, Hill depends heavily on his ability to drive to the basket. Once teams take that away, Hill’s ability to be a top scoring option is severely limited which is not ideal for a leading scorer.
Outside of Hill, there’s one other player who entered the season with a known scoring pedigree. Redshirt junior guard Mike James, who’s missed the entirety of the season to this point due to injury, averaged at least 10 points per game during the last two seasons. Unlike Hill, James is a known threat from deep, opening up the ability to stretch the defense. However, James’ injury shows the importance of having multiple lead-scoring options. Whether James would unlock the Wolfpack offense is unknown, but without him, it’s clear that there isn’t a dependable option to take over the offense.
NC State also failed to bring in a quality rebounder, something the Wolfpack had no trouble with last season. Mohamed Diarra was a rebounding monster during the Wolfpack’s postseason run last year. After transferring from Missouri, Diarra brought impressive intensity and athleticism to the red-and-white, making him the perfect rebounder. The year before, NC State brought in a pair of quality rebounders in Dusan Mahorcic and Jack Clark, each averaging over six boards per game. This year, however, NC State swung and missed in its search for rebounding.
Senior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield transferred to NC State from Louisville and appeared to be a quality pickup. After averaging 8.4 rebounds per game last season, Huntley-Hatfield’s production has dipped significantly on the boards. While his minutes have also decreased, dropping 3.3 rebounds per game from last season’s averages is a concern. As the team’s leading rebounder, Huntley-Hatfield simply isn’t getting it done on the glass.
With major issues scoring and rebounding, there doesn’t appear to be much NC State can do to fix its issues this year. However, after missing on arguably the two most important skills in the transfer portal this past cycle, it is critical for the Wolfpack to avoid making the same mistake again. College basketball is one of the most year-to-year sports, and there’s never been more opportunity than now to quickly enhance a roster in college athletics.
