The NC State men’s basketball team started off the Kevin Keatts era on a high note, defeating Virginia Military Institute 102-67 and Charleston Southern 78-56. Both teams are certainly not the cream of the crop, but the Wolfpack is 2-0 heading into its second week of play. Here are four takeaways from the first two games:
1. Lennard Freeman is pretty good
After sitting out last season with a leg injury, redshirt senior Lennard Freeman is back for one more season with the Pack. He dropped a career-high 15 points against VMI in the season opener, looking like a force down low for NC State. With senior Abdul-Malik Abu out with a leg injury for now, Freeman has taken the reins as the main guy in the paint, at least until Abu comes back.
While Freeman scored just seven points Sunday against Charleston Southern, he grabbed eight rebounds and provided solid defense. After sophomore center Omer Yurtseven picked up his third foul early on in the second half and fouled out later, Freeman got most of the run late in the game and looked strong down low, picking up just one foul the entire game. His senior leadership and ability to stay in the game will be important for NC State this season.
2. Torin Dorn is also pretty good
Redshirt junior Torin Dorn was just two rebounds shy of a double-double Friday against the Keydets, dropping 16 points and grabbing eight rebounds. On Sunday, he shot five of eight from the field, scoring 14 points to go along with six rebounds. Needless to say, it was a nice start for the former Conference USA Freshman of the Year.
Dorn started off last season solidly, but seemed to find himself in the game less as the season wore on. This season, that’s not likely to be the case. With just three big men in the rotation, Dorn has done a fine job of grabbing rebounds, running the floor and running Keatts’ defense.
3. Defense looking strong
The Keatts defensive scheme was in full force in the first weekend of play. The Wolfpack forced 21 turnovers against VMI and managed 27 points off those takeaways. In the game against Charleston Southern, the Wolfpack forced 24 turnovers while holding the Buccaneers to just 21 field goals and 56 points. In both matchups, the Pack employed full-court pressure fairly often and deep into the game, a different look than previous years. The Wolfpack even forced a 10-second violation in each game.
With freshman Braxton Beverly currently ineligible and Abu out for now, Keatts is working with just eight players mainly in the rotation. Keatts would probably like a few more players to run his defense, but the press was effective nonetheless. Just two games in, it’s looking like defense will be of more emphasis this year.
4. Guards will pace this team
Graduate transfer and former Baylor standout Allerik Freeman led the team with 17 points against the Keydets Friday and scored 18 against Charleston Southern. The athletic wing looks like the leader of the offense so far with his solid shooting and ball handling. Fellow graduate transfer Sam Hunt, from North Carolina A&T, also looked good in his first action with the Wolfpack. He tallied 11 points in each game and will provide a veteran presence around a young core.
Freshman Lavar Batts struggled with his shot, but looked like a capable defender. Sophomore Markell Johnson logged 14 points Friday and 12 Sunday, showing more scoring ability than last season. Johnson did have seven turnovers Sunday, however, and will need to cut down on those, but the early returns are certainly encouraging for NC State on the offensive end.
