The NC State men’s basketball team opens the season and the Kevin Keatts era on Friday night at PNC Arena against the VMI Keydets.
The Keydets were 6-24 last year, including a 3-15 record in the Southern Conference. Head coach Dan Earl is in his third season leading the team. Unfortunately for the Keydets, they also lost their top three scorers to graduation.
Senior forward Armani Branch is the top returning scorer, and he averaged 7.8 points per game and 3.5 rebounds. Sophomore guard Keith Smith averaged 4.8 points and 30 percent shooting from 3-point range. He had an up-and-down, yet promising freshman year, and will be counted on to be a consistent 3-point threat.
It will be trial by fire for the Keydets, with seven freshmen and four sophomores but only two seniors. Two or three freshmen will need to step up and replace the production lost to graduation if the Keydets want to improve upon last year’s six wins.
The first test will be the most difficult all season for VMI, taking on the Wolfpack and its brand-new pressure-oriented defense. The Pack unofficially debuted last Friday in an exhibition game against Mars Hill University in a 109-66 win.
For now, senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu is sidelined with an MCL sprain. Abu averaged 11.8 points per game and seven rebounds per game last year. Redshirt senior forward Lennard Freeman, who redshirted last year while recovering from leg surgery, and sophomore center Omer Yurtseven will fill the gap Abu leaves until his return. Yurtseven showed flashes of talent last year, but will need to improve on his consistency for the Pack to be an NCAA tournament team.
The backcourt will be led by sophomore Markell Johnson and graduate Al Freeman. Johnson seems to be a perfect fit in Keatts’ system, and will look to have a breakout season leading NC State’s offense after Dennis Smith Jr. departed to the NBA. Al Freeman joins the Pack from Baylor, where he averaged 9.7 points per game and shot 39 percent from beyond the arc. The Pack will need Al Freeman to be a lethal 3-point threat all season long.
Other players to watch are redshirt junior guard Torin Dorn and freshman guard Lavar Batts. The Pack will rely on Dorn’s versatility and rebounding, especially when Keatts goes small and only has one forward on the floor. He averaged 9.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last year. Batts is a freshman from Concord, North Carolina. He was the top-rated recruit in North Carolina and earned the start in the exhibition against Mars Hill.
The game tips off at 7 p.m. Friday at PNC Arena and can be seen on ACC Network Extra.
