Mecklenburg
03-18-2014, 06:10 PM
I posted this yesterday on your scout.com board but I guess it doesn't get much action:
NC State breakdown - from a State fan
What's up Xavier people, here is what to look for in the game tomorrow night. And whoever wins I think can beat St. Louis but probably won't get past Louisville. Tough draw for us in the brackets. So here is what's up with the Wolfpack, from an alum who watched all but one game this year:
TJ Warren - He is easily our best player and scorer. ACC Player of the Years this season. He scored 41+ points in the final 2 games of the regular season. He's basically the only reason a team that lost 4/5 starters from last year was able to go 9-9 in the conference this year. He's not a great outside shooter, but is a marksman with mid-range jumpers and floaters, and is very tactful as far as finding openings, and is a great offensive rebounder. He's not a great defender, and often uses his long arms to try and strip balls and steal passes (top-5 in ACC in steals) but doesn't have great lateral movement with his feet. But make no mistake, he is our #1 stunna. Win or lose, he will score 20-30 points or more. In NC State's 34 games this season, Warren only failed to score 20+ points in 4 of them. The easy gameplan to beat NC State is to shut down Warren, but trust me, it's easier said than done. I won't spend nearly as much time talking about other players because our team does as well as Warren does, and the reason we even got into the field over teams like SMU and Green Bay is probably the allure of having TJ Buckets play on a national stage. He is our starting small forward, but could play some PF as well. He's 6'8" and when you see him hit his first floater or contest mid-range shot you'll think he got lucky, but that's what he does
Point Guards - Tyler Lewis is our starter. Little white guy, sophomore. Streaky shooter, but great distributor. Sees the floor well. Actually played AAU ball with Warren. One of the better Assist:Turnover ratios in the ACC, but a defensive liability. But he runs the offense well. He'll have trouble staying with your slashing 1 guards, but will do a good job facilitating the offense
Anthony "Cat" Barber is our backup PG. Quick as a cat, but only a freshman. Broke a lot of Iverson's high school scoring records in Virginia, but still a little rough around the edges. Very good on-ball defender though. He drew lots of legit charges against solid ACC point guards like Ennis of Syracuse and Paige of UNC. And not just flops, but staying close enough with quick feet where they extended their arms to try and shake him off. Decent mid-range shooter, but he'll probably draw an offensive foul at some point in the game and get a layup. Good passer as well, but not a huge offensive threat
Shooting Guards - Ralston Turner is the starting 2 guard. Best, and arguably only 3-point threat on the team. He's our 2nd leading scorer but only averages 10ppg as Warren is obviously our go-to guy. Turner is a transfer from LSU and is shooting 37% from behind the arc this season, same percentage as his last year at LSU. Very streaky but lots of outside threats are. If Turner has a big game, a Wolfpack win is probable. If Turner is off, a Xavier win looks likely. But he's our best chance at a solid second scoring option. Also a pretty good wing defender.
Desmond Lee is our backup SG. Solid FT shooter, but loves to drive the ball and force up contested shots, which often get blocked or miss. Not really someone to worry about overall, but has the ability to knock down the open shot. Energy player.
Small Forwards - Warren is the guy here, but Coach Gottfried will mix up some lineups and move Turner to the 3, or play a couple PFs at the SF spot. But Warren is basically the 3 on this team
Power Forwards - Kyle Washington is our starting PF. He's a freshman, but is a decent scoring option. Left handed guy who can hit the short-mid range jumper, as well as the jump hook. Falls in love with the mid-range jumper too much sometimes, but if he's hitting it he'll continue to shoot it. Arguably our best low-post scorer, but just a youngster. Promising future, but not there yet.
Lenard Freeman - Not as good of an offensive threat as Washington, but a high energy guy who is a pretty good defender and will crash the boards and make some contested put-back shots. Definitely a "hustle player" that Gottfried will put in the game if another guy isn't giving it his all. 2nd leading rebounder on the team (after Warren), but only averages 4ppg
Centers - Jordan Vandenberg - goofy white guy, but he's 7'1". He's our only senior that gets any minutes (and he starts) but will make some bad plays. Helps out on rotation at the top of the key and gets beat when the ball gets fed down low by not being in position. But is a decent passer and might get a dunk or 3 when Warren is double or triple teamed and he gets an open look. The guy basically sucked his first 3 years, but has come into his own a little as a senior
Beejay Anya. 7'9" wingspan (one of the largest ever recorded) on a 6'9" freshman. But he weighs 300 and something pounds and doesn't have his conditioning down that well yet. Only a freshman but will get a good 10 minutes in the game. Can block shots and box out, due to his size, and is a high energy guy. But nobody who is going to scare opposing teams
And those 9 players are who you will see tomorrow night, unless either NC State or Xavier is up by 30 points late and they bring in the scrubs. Warren is THE guy, and we rely on others to play their roles. The team goes as far as Warren carries us, although he's had 30+ point games that we lost. Granted, it was often to teams like Duke and UNC. But that's what to look for
We are not a great defensive team, but do pretty well defending the 3. But from what I hear, Xavier relies a lot on slashing and driving guards, which could be an issue for us if Vandenberg ("Vandy" or "TBDV") or Anya aren't blocking shots.
Ultimately I see this game being won by single digits by the team that makes the most plays in the last 2-3 minutes of the game. I'd be pretty surprised if either team won by more than 6-8 points.
Anyway, that's my synopsis for you guys from a State fan. And if you beat us, I hope you manage to upset Louisville even though I have them going far in my bracket.
NC State breakdown - from a State fan
What's up Xavier people, here is what to look for in the game tomorrow night. And whoever wins I think can beat St. Louis but probably won't get past Louisville. Tough draw for us in the brackets. So here is what's up with the Wolfpack, from an alum who watched all but one game this year:
TJ Warren - He is easily our best player and scorer. ACC Player of the Years this season. He scored 41+ points in the final 2 games of the regular season. He's basically the only reason a team that lost 4/5 starters from last year was able to go 9-9 in the conference this year. He's not a great outside shooter, but is a marksman with mid-range jumpers and floaters, and is very tactful as far as finding openings, and is a great offensive rebounder. He's not a great defender, and often uses his long arms to try and strip balls and steal passes (top-5 in ACC in steals) but doesn't have great lateral movement with his feet. But make no mistake, he is our #1 stunna. Win or lose, he will score 20-30 points or more. In NC State's 34 games this season, Warren only failed to score 20+ points in 4 of them. The easy gameplan to beat NC State is to shut down Warren, but trust me, it's easier said than done. I won't spend nearly as much time talking about other players because our team does as well as Warren does, and the reason we even got into the field over teams like SMU and Green Bay is probably the allure of having TJ Buckets play on a national stage. He is our starting small forward, but could play some PF as well. He's 6'8" and when you see him hit his first floater or contest mid-range shot you'll think he got lucky, but that's what he does
Point Guards - Tyler Lewis is our starter. Little white guy, sophomore. Streaky shooter, but great distributor. Sees the floor well. Actually played AAU ball with Warren. One of the better Assist:Turnover ratios in the ACC, but a defensive liability. But he runs the offense well. He'll have trouble staying with your slashing 1 guards, but will do a good job facilitating the offense
Anthony "Cat" Barber is our backup PG. Quick as a cat, but only a freshman. Broke a lot of Iverson's high school scoring records in Virginia, but still a little rough around the edges. Very good on-ball defender though. He drew lots of legit charges against solid ACC point guards like Ennis of Syracuse and Paige of UNC. And not just flops, but staying close enough with quick feet where they extended their arms to try and shake him off. Decent mid-range shooter, but he'll probably draw an offensive foul at some point in the game and get a layup. Good passer as well, but not a huge offensive threat
Shooting Guards - Ralston Turner is the starting 2 guard. Best, and arguably only 3-point threat on the team. He's our 2nd leading scorer but only averages 10ppg as Warren is obviously our go-to guy. Turner is a transfer from LSU and is shooting 37% from behind the arc this season, same percentage as his last year at LSU. Very streaky but lots of outside threats are. If Turner has a big game, a Wolfpack win is probable. If Turner is off, a Xavier win looks likely. But he's our best chance at a solid second scoring option. Also a pretty good wing defender.
Desmond Lee is our backup SG. Solid FT shooter, but loves to drive the ball and force up contested shots, which often get blocked or miss. Not really someone to worry about overall, but has the ability to knock down the open shot. Energy player.
Small Forwards - Warren is the guy here, but Coach Gottfried will mix up some lineups and move Turner to the 3, or play a couple PFs at the SF spot. But Warren is basically the 3 on this team
Power Forwards - Kyle Washington is our starting PF. He's a freshman, but is a decent scoring option. Left handed guy who can hit the short-mid range jumper, as well as the jump hook. Falls in love with the mid-range jumper too much sometimes, but if he's hitting it he'll continue to shoot it. Arguably our best low-post scorer, but just a youngster. Promising future, but not there yet.
Lenard Freeman - Not as good of an offensive threat as Washington, but a high energy guy who is a pretty good defender and will crash the boards and make some contested put-back shots. Definitely a "hustle player" that Gottfried will put in the game if another guy isn't giving it his all. 2nd leading rebounder on the team (after Warren), but only averages 4ppg
Centers - Jordan Vandenberg - goofy white guy, but he's 7'1". He's our only senior that gets any minutes (and he starts) but will make some bad plays. Helps out on rotation at the top of the key and gets beat when the ball gets fed down low by not being in position. But is a decent passer and might get a dunk or 3 when Warren is double or triple teamed and he gets an open look. The guy basically sucked his first 3 years, but has come into his own a little as a senior
Beejay Anya. 7'9" wingspan (one of the largest ever recorded) on a 6'9" freshman. But he weighs 300 and something pounds and doesn't have his conditioning down that well yet. Only a freshman but will get a good 10 minutes in the game. Can block shots and box out, due to his size, and is a high energy guy. But nobody who is going to scare opposing teams
And those 9 players are who you will see tomorrow night, unless either NC State or Xavier is up by 30 points late and they bring in the scrubs. Warren is THE guy, and we rely on others to play their roles. The team goes as far as Warren carries us, although he's had 30+ point games that we lost. Granted, it was often to teams like Duke and UNC. But that's what to look for
We are not a great defensive team, but do pretty well defending the 3. But from what I hear, Xavier relies a lot on slashing and driving guards, which could be an issue for us if Vandenberg ("Vandy" or "TBDV") or Anya aren't blocking shots.
Ultimately I see this game being won by single digits by the team that makes the most plays in the last 2-3 minutes of the game. I'd be pretty surprised if either team won by more than 6-8 points.
Anyway, that's my synopsis for you guys from a State fan. And if you beat us, I hope you manage to upset Louisville even though I have them going far in my bracket.