N.C. State will leave Spain without a loss.
The Wolfpack completed a five-game, 10-day trip with an 86-71 win on Monday against CB Gran Canaria.
Junior forward C.J. Leslie led N.C. State with 19 points and freshman point guard Tyler Lewis added 14 points and eight assists.
State won all of its games against the Spanish pro clubs, with Sunday's game being called at halftime because of unsafe floor conditions.
Lewis and freshman forward T.J. Warren, who had 10 points on Monday, each got a taste of international basketball and a chance to play with their veteran teammates. Point guard Lorenzo Brown returned from minor knee surgery ahead of schedule and played in all of the games, so there were some obvious pluses to the trip, coach Mark Gottfried said Monday after the game on the team's radio broadcast.
"We got a lot accomplished but I also know where we want to be and I know what's staring us down the road here, so we've got to get better, too," Gottfried said.
Gottfried was pleased to get game work for big men Jordan Vandenberg and Thomas de Thaey, who'll be counted on to back up returning starters Leslie and Richard Howell. State lost top reserve forward DeShawn Painter in the offseason and also has to replace guards C.J. Williams and Alex Johnson.
Gottfried said he was impressed with senior guard Scott Wood's play on the trip. Wood had 10 points on Monday after scoring 21 in a half on Sunday.
The second-year coach also noted the poise and decision-making of Leslie, his leading scorer a year ago.
"There were positive things even though we know we have a long way to go," Gottfried said.
N.C. State is scheduled to return to Raleigh on Wednesday.
Comments
Good start
Tue, 08/14/2012 - 13:32 — JPDOhioVery beneficial trip for the Pack. Good chance for Lewis and Warren to get some early experience with the returning players. Both showed flashes of what we can expect, and it is good. Sounded like the veterans having been working on those parts of their games that needed improvement. This trip was an opportunity for the coaching staff to get a progress report on how that was going and it seemed to be positive.
Obviously, there is work to be done and the competition on a trip like this is not comparable to playing in games that matter. And it is unfortunate that Purvis couldn't make the trip. But the start of the preseason practice and the incorporation of the new guys into the rotation should go much more smoothly as a result of this trip.