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Summer Hoops Preview '14: Wolfpack hit the reset button

jgiglio — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:58:40 -0400

Coach: Mark Gottfried (third season, 48-24 at N.C. State; 327-178 overall)

2012-13 record: 24-11 (11-7 ACC, fifth)

Postseason: NCAA tournament, 0-1 (lost to Temple)

Projected starting lineup: PG Cat Barber, G Desmond Lee, G Ralston Turner, F T.J. Warren, F Kyle Washington

Plus

• A fresh start. Mark Gottfried gets to start over in Year 3 at N.C. State and he does so with two NCAA tournament appearances under his belt and a trip to the Sweet 16.

Gottfried said after the NCAA tournament loss to Temple he could never get all the players to buy in last season. With a new season, new roster, he gets to push the reset button and try again with a group of players he recruited.

• Sophomore forward T.J. Warren averaged 12.1 points in a supporting role as a freshman. He has the ability, and offensive efficiency, to parlay his bigger role this season into an ACC scoring title. He will need to consistently rebound better, and shoot better from the free-throw line (54.2 percent), but the opportunity is there for Warren to put together an All-ACC season.

• N.C. State will miss both forwards C.J. Leslie, the team's leading scorer the past two seasons, and Richard Howell, who led the ACC in rebounding, but both were undersized for their positions.

In freshman bigs Kyle Washington (6-9, 215 pounds) and BeeJay Anya (6-9, 275), Gottfried is getting bigger, taller bodies to play the interior. Senior 7-footer Jordan Vandenberg also fits the criteria and figures to get more minutes (5.4) than he did last season.

Minus

• There are two point guards on the roster, in sophomore Tyler Lewis and freshman Cat Barber, but neither is as talented as Lorenzo Brown, who left for the NBA after his junior season. Brown led the ACC with 7.2 assists and averaged 12.4 points per game, his production will be difficult to consistently match. Not to mention, neither Lewis nor Barber will have as many proven scoring options to feed as Brown did.

• Warren started 14 games last season, Lewis started two and Vandenberg started one. That's all the Wolfpack has back from last season's roster, which lost two productive seniors in Howell and shooting guard Scott Wood, two talented juniors in Leslie and Brown, and guard Rodney Purvis decided to transfer to Connecticut.

That doesn't leave a lot of experience or scoring (78.9 percent of it needs to be replaced) from a team that won 24 games and made the NCAA tournament.

Plus, while Washington and Anya are bigger than either Leslie or Howell, they don't have any college experience. Gottfried brought in junior college guard Desmond Lee to offset the loss of Purvis, and Lee's maturity will help, but Gottfried couldn't find a veteran big man to plug into the rotation.

Bottom Line

N.C. State missed an opportunity last season. There are only so many seasons when you're going to be on equal footing with Duke and UNC and the Wolfpack had one of those chances last season and couldn't turn it into anything more than a fifth-place ACC finish.

There were internal issues with the team last season, ones Gottfried tried to but couldn't fix. With basically a whole new roster, he has a chance this season to start over. State will be looking up at UNC and Duke in the process, but there are also no expectations to handle.

The conference schedule, with trips to Duke, UNC, Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pitt, will keep the Wolfpack in the middle third of the conference, and probably outside of the NCAA conversation, but there's also a welcomed chance for the Pack to exceed expectations.

###

Returning	PPG	RPG	APG
F T.J. Warren, So.	12.1	4.2	0.8
PG Tyler Lewis, So.	3.5	1.1	1.4
F Jordan Vandenberg, Sr.	0.7	0.7	0.0
Gone	PPG	RPG	APG
F C.J. Leslie (NBA)	15.1	7.4	1.5
F Richard Howell	12.7	10.9	1.7
G Scott Wood	12.6	2.9	1.1
PG Lorenzo Brown (NBA)	12.4	4.3	7.2
G Rodney Purvis (transfer)	8.3	2.4	1.3
New	Ht.	Wt.	Rank
G Ralston Turner (LSU), Jr.	6-5	209	—
G Desmond Lee, Jr.	6-3	185	—
PG Cat Barber, Fr.	6-2	165	26
F BeeJay Anya, Fr.	6-9	275	67
F Kyle Washington, Fr.	6-9	215	97
F Lennard Freeman, Fr.	6-8	215	NR

###

Recruiting analysis by ESPN's Dave Telep:

Barber: "He's a speed merchant. His first instinct is to step on the gas and get to the rim and he's willing to take people with him. He has to work on his shot but he can spread it around and he's exceptionally fast. He's going to be difficult to guard.
"It will be an interesting dynamic with him and Tyler Lewis because they can both play at the same time."

Washington: "He has the best chance of being of power forward. I've liked him best when he can shoot a 15-foot jump shot. He has really undervalued length and he can extend at the rim. The biggest thing for Kyle is replicating the effort every single time. "

Anya: "He's very close to being where he needs to be physically and if you took at all the measurables, he's in the top 1 or 2 in the entire class in reach and wingspan. He can play through the rim and be a fantastic back-to-the-basket play. His effort and results have been sporadic. At his highest point, during his junior year, he was a dominant post player. He will benefit from a defined role."

Freeman: "Lennard adds depth in front court. He's not going to be ready to play major minutes as a freshman. He's almost a member of the class of 2014 in that way. He's young and will be in more of an apprentice role as a freshman."

Summer Hoops Preview '14: History points to Duke in new ACC

jgiglio — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:06:19 -0400

Summer Hoops Preview '14
Today: The Picks; Duke, UNC, N.C. State
Monday: Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Boston College, Florida State
Tuesday: Clemson, Maryland, Miami, Pittsburgh
Wednesday: Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech

If Duke's history is the precedent, the rest of the newly expanded ACC is in trouble.

The Blue Devils have a chance to be historically good in 2013-14. Mike Krzyzewski has taken Duke to the NCAA tournament 29 times in his 33 seasons. He has lost in the round of eight only twice: last season to Louisville (the eventual champion) and in 1998 to Kentucky (the eventual champion).

The season following their only other Final Eight loss, the Blue Devils rolled through the ACC to the tune of 19-0, including the conference tournament.

With the addition of Syracuse, Notre Dame and Pittsburgh — three former Big East teams who made the NCAA tournament last season — the ACC will be considerably tougher than it was 15 years ago, especially with both North Carolina and Virginia with strong teams for next season.

Perfection, while unlikely for this Duke group, is not out of the question. With the return of five regular contributors and the addition of freshman Jabari Parker and Mississippi State transfer Rodney Hood, Duke is poised to make kindling of the 15-team ACC in 2014.

Guards Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon will have to elevate their games another step from last season's growth and Parker and Hood will have to be as good as advertised but there's no doubt the Blue Devils, (14-4 in the ACC last season) are the team to beat in the conference.

UNC, led by P.J. Hairston, and Virginia, which could go 11-deep, will be the best of the returning ACC schools. The Big East combination of Syracuse, a Final Four team in '13, and Notre Dame will be Duke's main competition for the regular-season title.

Maryland, in its 61st and final ACC season, has the potential to return to the NCAA tournament, after a three-year hiatus. Jamie Dixon has led Pittsburgh to the NCAA tournament nine times in 10 seasons. Despite some personnel turnover, the Panthers should give the ACC seven entrants in the 68-team field.

Miami, which won both the regular season and tournament titles in '13, and N.C. State are in rebuilding mode as both Jim Larranaga and Mark Gottfried enter their third seasons in the league.

The hopes for Florida State's season turned when super recruit Andrew Wiggins chose Kansas over the Seminoles. Wake Forest, Boston College and Georgia Tech are hoping recent rebuilding efforts pay off.

And then there's Virginia Tech and Clemson, who are both in for very long seasons. About the only good news for either the Hokies or Tigers is neither has to play Duke, UNC, Syracuse or Notre Dame twice in their 18-game schedules.

Staying out of Duke's way will be a key for the rest of the ACC. Going back to '99, Duke lost a first-team All-ACC player (Roshown McLeod) and 37 percent of its offense from '98, a team that went 15-1 in the ACC.

The Blue Devils got exponentially better in '99 with the health of forward Elton Brand and the emergence of Shane Battier and Corey Maggette, two athletic forwards who excelled on the perimeter.

This Duke group loses a first-team All-ACC player (Mason Plumlee) and 62 percent of its offense. There's no commensurate post component on this team like Brand but with the addition of Parker and Hood the Blue Devils will be more dynamic and athletic, especially on defense.

Before Duke's 85-63 loss to Louisville in the NCAA tournament, Krzyzewski talked about the potential of the new ACC with its new configuration.

"I want ACC basketball to be the best," Krzyzewski said then. "And we have a chance to do that again."

Krzyzewski's team has the same opportunity to be the best this season.

###

Predicted order of finish:

1. Duke (30-6, 14-4 ACC in 2012-13): Jabari Parker, Rodney Hood, Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon give the Blue Devils the best, most athletic lineup in the league.

2. Notre Dame (25-10, 11-7 Big East): The Fighting Irish return four starters from a 25-win team and add two strong recruits.

3. UNC (25-11, 12-6): A full season with junior guard P.J. Hairston in the lineup will make the Tar Heels national contenders.

4. Syracuse (30-10, 11-7 Big East): The Orange, a Final Four team a year ago, need to improve on offense but they'll continue to win with their defense.

5. Virginia (23-12, 11-7): All-ACC guard Joe Harris is one of six regulars back from a 23-win team, which should be Tony Bennett's best in Charlottesville.

6. Maryland (25-13, 8-10): The Terrapins' last hurrah in the ACC promises to be entertaining and behind junior Dez Wells, should include a return to the NCAA tournament.

7. Pittsburgh (24-9, 12-6 Big East): The Panthers had some personnel turnover (two transfers and forward Steven Adams left early for the NBA) but Jamie Dixon's program exudes toughness.

8. Boston College (16-17, 7-11): Fourth-year coach Steve Donahue has hitched his wagon to sophomore guard Olivier Hanlan, who has the program on the cusp of a breakthrough.

9. N.C. State (24-11, 11-7): The Wolfpack starts over, without five of its top six scorers from last reason, but a chance to reset is not necessarily a bad thing.

10. Georgia Tech (16-15, 6-12): Brian Gregory's rebuilding project won't take off until a few more guards are added to the Robert Carter Jr./Marcus Georges-Hunt foundation.

11. Wake Forest (13-18, 6-12): Jeff Bzdelik unearthed a keeper in sophomore forward Devin Thomas. Will he be around long enough to develop him after a 11-39 three-year ACC record?

12. Florida State (18-16, 9-9): Disappointing NIT season followed by the disappointing recruiting loss of Andrew Wiggins and do-everything Michael Snaer needs to be replaced.

13. Miami (29-7, 15-3): The Canes will always have 2013, and the ACC title to prove it, but they are in a complete rebuilding mode after losing 90.2 percent of their offense.

14. Clemson (13-18, 5-13): There's more talent leaving the program than coming in, that's a problem for Brad Brownell's fourth season.

15. Virginia Tech (13-19, 4-14): Picture last year's last-place team without Erick Green, the nation's leading scorer. It's that grim.

Holt, Burleson headline Pack hall-of-fame class

jgiglio — Mon, 13 May 2013 15:16:01 -0400

Torry Holt and Tommy Burleson headline the second class of the N.C. State Athletic Hall of Fame, which was announced on Monday.

Holt, one of the best football players in ACC history, and Burleson, who helped the Wolfpack win the 1974 national title in basketball, are two of the 10 new members of the hall, which was created by the school last year.

Ronnie Shavlik (basketball), Andrea Stinson (women's basketball), Mike Caldwell (baseball), Betty Springs Geiger (distance runner), Steve Gregg (swimming) and Sylvester Terkay (wrestling) were also elected in the class.

A pair of coaches, Norm Sloan (basketball) and Earle Edwards (football) round out the group, which will be honored in an induction ceremony on Nov. 22 at Reynolds Coliseum.

San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was also selected in the class but deferred his induction until he's able to attend the ceremony.

Holt rewrote the Wolfpack and ACC receiving records in his four-year career from 1995 to '98. He was the '98 ACC player of the year and his 1,604 receiving yards from that season stands as the ACC single-season record. He's third in the ACC in career yards (3,379) and first in school history in career catches (191) and touchdown catches (31).

Holt, who's from Gibsonville, went on to a prolific, 11-year NFL career, which included seven trips to the Pro Bowl and a Super Bowl title with the St. Louis Rams.

Burleson and Sloan are the third members from the '74 title team to make the hall of fame, joining David Thompson from the inaugural class.

Burleson, a 7-2 center, is second in school history in career rebounds (to Shavlik), and twice was the MVP of the ACC tournament, in '73 and '74. He scored 38 points in the Wolfpack's 103-100 win over Maryland in '74 ACC title game.

Sloan won the NCAA title and three ACC titles in 14 seasons at his alma mater. His 266 wins trails only Everett Case, his former coach, in school history.

Stinson is the second women's basketball player to join the hall. Her career scoring average, 22.7 from 1989 to '91, is tops in school history and she was the ACC player of the year in 1990.

Edwards is the first football coach to be honored. He led N.C. State to five ACC titles in 17 seasons, including three straight from 1963 to '65, and the highest ranking in school history (No. 2 in 1967).

Duke trio among ACC alumni invited to NBA Combine

laura_keeley — Fri, 10 May 2013 13:45:17 -0400

Mason Plumlee is one of several local players who will participate in the NBA Combine. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

All three Duke players eligible for this year's draft—seniors Mason Plumlee , Seth Curry and Ryan Kelly —have received invitations to the NBA Combine, the league announced Thursday night. Curry and Kelly, both recovering from offseason surgeries, will not participate in workouts.

Here is a list of all the ACC alumni headed to the May 15-19 workout in Chicago:

Shane Larkin, 5-11, 186, PG, Miami, So.
*Alex Len, 7-1, 240, C, Maryland, So.
Lorenzo Brown 6-4, 190, PG, N.C. State, Jr.
Reggie Bullock 6-7, 19,0 SG, North Carolina, Jr.
CJ Leslie, 6-8, 200, SF/PF, N.C. State, Jr.
*Seth Curry, 6-2, 180, PG/SG, Duke, Sr.
Erick Green, 6-3, 190, PG/SG, Virginia Tech, Sr.
Richard Howell, 6-8, 257, PF, N.C. State, Sr.
Kenny Kadji, 6-10, 240, PF, Miami, Sr.
*Ryan Kelly, 6-10, 220, PF, Duke, Sr.
Mason Plumlee, 6-1,1 240, PF/C, Duke, Sr.

*Will not participate due to injury

And here are a few ACC notables that were not invited:

C Reggie Johnson, Miami, Sr.
SG Durand Scott, Miami, Sr.
SG Michael Snaer, Florida State, Sr.
SG Dexter Strickland, North Carolina, Sr.
SG Scott Wood, N.C. State, Sr.

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Midnight Madness moves to September

laura_keeley — Sat, 04 May 2013 16:59:05 -0400

Midnight Madness will come two weeks earlier this year.

The NCAA announced Friday that teams now have 42 days (six weeks) to hold their 30 preseason practices, starting this fall. Previously, teams only had four weeks to schedule in those 30 practices. The college basketball season begins Nov. 8, so practices can start on Sept. 27.

The NCAA also decided at the Division I Board of Directors meeting Thursday to eliminate the requirement that practices must start after 5 p.m. on the first day, paving the way for Midnight Madness to return to its namesake and have practices actually start at midnight.

Previously, the NCAA had considered giving teams 40 days to fit in their 30 preseason practices, but by changing the maximum to 42 days, Midnight Madness events can be held on Friday instead of Sunday.

The 2013-14 season, with its mix of proven returning talent nationwide and influx of highly touted newcomers, was already drawing hype. Now, we will be able to see the actual product sooner.

Pack adds Oak Hill forward to hoops class

jgiglio — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 20:51:11 -0400

N.C. State basketball coach Mark Gottfried said he wanted more options in the frontcourt next season. The Wolfpack added another big man to its recruiting class on Monday with the commitment of forward Lennard Freeman.

Freeman, a 6-8, 215 pound power forward from Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, joins fellow forwards BeeJay Anya and Kyle Washington in the 2013 class and will be the fifth newcomer for Gottfried's third team. Freeman confirmed the decision on his Twitter account on Monday.

N.C. State has to replace its top two forwards from last season's NCAA tournament team. C.J. Leslie, the team's leading scorer, and Richard Howell, the ACC's leading rebounder, both averaged more than 31 minutes per game. Gottfried used T.J. Warren as the third forward but Warren spent the majority of the time on the perimeter.

The addition of Freeman, rated a three-star recruit by ESPN, gives Gottfried more options in what will be a young rotation, save for senior 7-footer Jordan Vandenberg. Gottfried said earlier this month he would prefer to use at least three bigs, like he did during the 2011-12 season with Leslie, Howell and DeShawn Painter.

"We rotated those three guys around, hopefully we'll find ourselves back in that situation," Gottfried said. "We feel more comfortable that way than we did this year."

Freeman, who's originally from Washington, chose N.C. State over Pittsburgh, Villanova and Rutgers. He made a name for himself at Oak Hill with his work ethic and rebounding.

Guards Anthony Barber and Desmond Lee, a junior college transfer, join the three forwards in the class. With five of the top six scorers from last year's team exiting the program, N.C. State still has four available scholarships.

Pack hoops will visit all three ACC newcomers in '14

jgiglio — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 17:24:29 -0400

N.C. State will visit all three ACC newcomers next basketball season. The Wolfpack will have to travel to Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame, according to the schedule information released by the ACC on Tuesday.

The league announced the conference opponents for the 2013-14 basketball season, but not the dates or the order of the games, and the Wolfpack will face North Carolina, Wake Forest, Miami and Pitt twice.

Mark Gottfried's third team will get Boston College, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland and Virginia at PNC Arena, where it went 16-1 last season. The Wolfpack will have to travel to Clemson, Duke, Notre Dame, Syracuse and Virginia Tech.

The absence of a trip to Maryland, which is leaving for the Big Ten in the summer of 2014, means N.C. State has made its last trip to College Park for either football or basketball.

N.C. State went 11-7 in the ACC last season, the first under the 18-game format. UNC and Wake are the Pack's regular home-and-home partners. The other two slots, occupied by Miami and Pitt next season, will be rotated on an annual basis.

Red tops White in Wolfpack's spring game

jgiglio — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 17:09:08 -0400

RALEIGH — There was more thinking than doing on Saturday and more mistakes than big plays, but after his first Kay Yow spring game, new N.C. State coach Dave Doeren kept his wits about him.

"Well, we won," Doeren said on the field in his post-game interview.

Officially, the Red beat the White, 20-10 in a game played at Carter-Finley Stadium before a crowd of 27,500.

The sun shone and the cause was worthy, more than $20,000 was raised for the Kay Yow cancer fund, but the game was like watching someone learn how to ride a bike.

The offense wasn't quite sharp enough to pick up Doeren's new tempo and schemes, not with so many new parts and the natural learning curve that comes with any coaching transition.

The Wolfpack offense did play faster, and rarely huddled, but the defense was also clearly a mile or two in front of them.

"We are ahead defensively and that's not a bad thing," Doeren said. "I would rather be ahead on the defensive side than the offense. I think we'll catch up."

Pete Thomas, who started for the Red, which was comprised of the first-teamers on both sides of the ball, finished 15 of 26 for 168 yards. He didn't throw a touchdown pass or an interception.

Manny Stocker ran the second-team offense and completed 11 of 20 passes for 96 yards, with 36 coming on a fourth-quarter touchdown to freshman receiver Bra'Lon Cherry.

Senior receiver Rashard Smith led the Red offense with eight catches for 84 yards. Running back Tony Creecy added 75 rushing yards, on 20 carries. Bryan Underwood caught a 39-yard touchdown for the Red, thrown by Florida transfer Jacoby Brissett, who has to sit out next season under NCAA rules.

Three Points: A spring game primer

jgiglio — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 10:43:14 -0400

Three points to watch in today's Kay Yow Spring Game, the first under coach Dave Doeren:

1) Tempo and variety

N.C. State will move faster between plays and huddle less. The actual plays will also develop more quickly, to get the ball out of quarterback's hands and give the offensive line a break.

Doeren and coordinator Matt Canada have been clear that they won't always go fast, but they want the ability to push tempo and take advantage of a tired defense (and limit personnel substitutions.)

There will be multiple formations and looks, not just one set offense. Doeren and Canada are not married to one form of the spread. There will be traditional two-back sets and they'll use two tight ends, like you would see in a pro-style set.

2) More running

N.C. State actually ran more plays (1,040) than Doeren's Northern Illinois team (1,023) did last season, according to cfbstats.com.

So the Wolfpack wasn't moving in slow motion last season but those numbers are not necessarily reflective of tempo.

N.C. State attempted 471 running plays, compared to 613 for NIU. Conversely, State had 569 passing plays, to 410 for the Huskies.

Obviously, running plays take up more clock time and there's more time for passing plays, especially when you factor incompletions.

There's also the matter that N.C. State trailed in the second half in seven regular-season games last season, compared to four for NIU.

To put those numbers more succinctly.

"We're going to run the ball downhill," Canada said. "We're going to find ways to run it and be a physical team."

Of course, Canada spent last season at Wisconsin, which ran the ball 635 times, compared to only 291 passes. N.C. State's not going to turn into Wisconsin, nor are the coaches going to attempt to do that, but there will definitely be more action for both running backs Shadrach Thornton and Tony Creecy.

3) Subtle changes on defense

The schematic differences on defense will be more difficult to discern. If you recognize gap assignments and zone responsibilities, you're in luck. (And huzzah for you).

Coordinator Dave Huxtable will use a 4-3 alignment, same as the previous regime, and there will be many familiar faces, especially on the defensive line. Tackles Thomas Teal, T.Y. McGill and A.J. Ferguson return in the middle, with ends Darryl Cato-Bishop, Art Norman and Forrest West.

No one blitzes as much as former coach Jon Tenuta, so there will be a difference there. The linebackers and secondary will have the most personnel turnover.

Huxtable has to replace two linebackers, two safeties and one cornerback from last year's defense. Given some of the Wolfpack's problems against the pass (83rd in the NCAA), that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The defense will greatly benefit from the return of linebacker D.J. Green. Green missed the 2012 season with an NCAA suspension for testing positive for a banned nutritional supplement.

Corners Dontae Johnson and Juston Burris will also be a strength for the defense.

Notre Dame's ACC football schedule set

jgiglio — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 16:32:00 -0400

Notre Dame's unique partnership with the ACC won't bring the Fighting Irish's football team to the state of North Carolina until 2016.

North Carolina and Wake Forest will both go to South Bend, Ind., in 2014, the first year of Notre Dame's abbreviated ACC schedule.

The Fighting Irish will be in the ACC in all sports, except football, starting this fall. The traditional national power will remain independent in football but will play five ACC teams each year.

The Irish, which finished 12-1 in 2012 and lost to Alabama in the BCS title game, will host UNC, Wake and ACC newcomer Louisville and go to Florida State and Syracuse in 2014.

The Irish will not play an in-state teams in 2015, but will play at Clemson, and will host Duke in 2016 and make its first trip to N.C. State's Carter-Finley Stadium that season.

UNC and Notre Dame split a home-and-home series in 2006 and '08, with each team winning at home.

The Irish swept a home-and-home with the Demon Deacons in 2011 and '12 and won its last meeting with Duke, 28-7, in 2007.

N.C. State and Notre Dame have only met once, a 28-6 Wolfpack win in the 2003 Gator Bowl.

Notre Dame plays every team in the ACC once in the three-year cycle. Syracuse, which previously scheduled games when it was in the Big East, is the only ACC team the Irish will play twice.

Notre Dame's ACC opponents:

2014: Home: Louisville, UNC, Wake; Road: FSU, Syracuse

2015: Home: BC, Georgia Tech; Road: Clemson, Pitt, Virginia

2016: Home: Duke, Miami, Virginia Tech; Road: N.C. State, Syracuse

New names populate Wolfpack depth chart

jgiglio — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:39:37 -0400

There are wholesale changes on the first depth chart of the spring released by new coach Dave Doeren. In all, the Wolfpack needs to replace seven regular starters on both offense and defense.

With a new coaching staff, and new players coming in the fall, the depth chart promises to be fluid after Saturday's Kay Yow Spring Game and up to the Aug. 31 opener against Louisiana Tech.

There are few surprises, most notably at linebacker. Sophomore M.J. Salahuddin, who played on special teams last season, is listed as the starter in the middle with senior D.J. Green on the strongside and junior Brandon Pittman on the weakside. Junior Rodman Noel, who started five games last season, is listed as Green's backup at the "Sam."

Green missed the entire 2012 season due to an NCAA suspension for testing positive for a banned nutritional supplement and Pittman started two games last season.

Inexperience and pass coverage were issues at linebacker last season, Green, a starter in 2011, should help on both fronts and Salahuddin has impressed Doeren in the spring with his ability to tackle.

As for the rest of the depth chart, as expected there is no decision at quarterback. Pete Thomas and Manny Stocker are both listed as the starter, although Doeren has said during the spring that Thomas, because of his experience at Colorado State, is ahead of Stocker, who played sparingly as a true freshman last season behind Mike Glennon.

Junior Tony Creecy is listed as the starter at tailback, ahead of sophomore Shadrach Thornton, but both are expected to be integral cogs in the offense next season. Thornton led the team with 694 rushing yards despite not taking a snap in the first three games of the season. Creecy added 476 yards and missed two games with injuries.

There are two new starters at safety, with sophomore Hakim Jones stepping in at strong safety for Earl Wolff and senior Jarvis Byrd replacing Brandan Bishop at free safety. Wolff and Bishop started together the past three seasons. Byrd started three games as a freshman in 2009 at corner but was moved to safety this spring.

Receiver Bra'Lon Cherry and left guard Cole Blankenship are a pair of true freshmen who cracked the two-deep. Both Cherry and Blankenship enrolled in the spring.

The spring depth chart, updated Wednesday:

OFFENSE
WR 88 Quintin Payton (Sr.)
84 Charlie Hegedus (So.)

WR 2 Rashard Smith (Sr.)
13 Bra'Lon Cherry (Fr.)

WR 80 Bryan Underwood (Jr.)
19 Maurice Morgan (So.)

LT 78 Rob Crisp (Sr.)
67 Quincy McKinney (So.)

LG 62 Duran Christophe (Sr.)
52 Cole Blankenship (Fr.)

C 54 Joe Thuney (So.)
59 John Tu'uta (r-Fr.)

RG 71 Alex Barr (So.)
50 Cam Fordham (Jr.)

RT 74 Tyson Chandler (Jr.)
73 Andy Jomantas (Jr.)

TE 82 Asa Watson (Sr.)
83 Anthony Talbert (Sr.)

QB 4 Pete Thomas (Jr.)
OR 15 Manny Stocker (So.)

RB 26 Tony Creecy (Jr.)
10 Shadrach Thornton (So.)

DEFENSE
DE 95 Art Norman (Jr.)
OR 97 Forrest West (Sr.)

DT 69 Thomas Teal (Jr.)
98 A.J. Ferguson (Sr.)

DT 75 T.Y. McGill (Jr.)
91 K'Hadree Hooker (r-Fr.)

DE 90 Mike Rose (So.)
OR 92 Darryl Cato-Bishop (Sr.)

LB 31 D.J. Green (Sr.)
5 Rodman Noel (Jr.)

LB 42 M.J. Salahuddin (So.)
49 Zach Gentry (Sr.)

LB 39 Brandon Pittman (Jr.)
46 Drew Davis (Fr.)

CB 11 Juston Burris (So.)
3 Marchez Coates (r-Fr.)

CB 25 Dontae Johnson (Sr.)
21 Niles Clark (r-Fr.)

SS 20 Hakim Jones (So.)
6 Tim Buckley (So.)

FS 14 Jarvis Byrd (Sr.)
24 Josh Stanley (So.)

K 32 Niklas Sade (Jr.)
P 36 Wil Baumann (Jr.)
KR/PR 2 Rashard Smith (Sr.)

Purvis to transfer to Connecticut

jgiglio — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:28:26 -0400

Rodney Purvis has decided to transfer to Connecticut, he said Friday.

Purvis, a McDonald's All-American from Raleigh, averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds this past season at N.C. State. He made the decision to leave N.C. State on Monday.

UConn is coming off of a 20-10 season in coach Kevin Ollie's first season. The Huskies were banned from postseason play by the NCAA for previous academic issues under former coach Jim Calhoun.

"I really trust coach Ollie," Purvis said Friday. "They have a great tradition of producing NBA guards and that's where I want to be someday."

Purvis, a 6-3 guard, started 23 games and averaged 25.5 minutes per game as a freshman. He had seven points in N.C. State's 69-65 win over the Huskies in the Jimmy V Classic in December.

Under NCAA rules, Purvis will have to sit out next season. The Huskie are moving to the newly minted American Athletic Conference. Purvis will have a chance to play in his home state when East Carolina joins the league in 2014.

Warren puts NBA on hold, will return for N.C. State

jgiglio — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:33:47 -0400

T.J. Warren considered a jump to the NBA after one season at N.C. State. The way his dad figures, Warren's pro stock will be even better after two seasons.

"He's coming back," Tony Warren said Wednesday. "He'll be able to show what he can do."

Warren, a versatile 6-8 forward, will be the Wolfpack's leading returning scorer, after averaging 12.1 points as a freshman. His role will expand next season with N.C. State losing five of its top six scorers from a 24-11 team.

Warren, who started 14 games and averaged 27 minutes per game, will have a chance to significantly improve his numbers in a reconfigured Wolfpack lineup built around him.

DraftExpress.com had rated Warren as the 31st-best prospect, ahead of former teammates Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie, who have both already declared for the draft.

But Warren's father said if his son makes the type of improvement expected in his second season, he could potentially move up into the draft lottery.

"This is what's best for him," his father said.

Purvis to transfer from N.C. State

jgiglio — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 14:37:52 -0400

Updated: 4:07 p.m.

Freshman guard Rodney Purvis has decided to transfer from N.C. State. Read more about his decision and C.J. Leslie's departure for the NBA here.

Purvis, a McDonald's All-American from Raleigh, averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds this season and started 23 games. He provided scoring in transition and often an emotional lift for the Wolfpack with his dunks and energy.

He confirmed the decision on his Twitter account on Monday afternoon.

"Tears won't stop falling," Purvis wrote. "I enjoyed every moment here. I still love you guys, no matter how you may feel towards me. Thank y'all !"

Purvis is the ninth player to transfer from the program since the end of the 2009-10 season and sixth since coach Mark Gottfried was hired in April 2011.

Gottfried thanked Purvis on Twitter Monday afternoon and wished him luck in the future.

Purvis started 23 of the first 25 games and then his role changed in mid-February. Freshman T.J. Warren took Purvis' spot in the starting lineup before an 84-66 home win over Florida State on Feb. 19.

Purvis came off the bench for the last 10 games of the season, and scored a season-best 21 points in a home win over Boston College during that span.

His minutes were also reduced as a reserve. He averaged 17.9 minutes in the final 10 games of the season, compared to 28.6 over the first 25 games

Purvis almost missed his freshman season at N.C. State. He was initially ruled ineligible by the NCAA in August for academic issues connected with his former high school.

Purvis missed the team's trip to Spain in August but won his appeal with the NCAA in September.

Purvis originally committed to Louisville but ended up staying closer to home when Gottfried and his staff were hired. With Louisville set to join the ACC in 2015, it's unlikely N.C. State will release Purvis to another conference school.

Brown leaving N.C State for the NBA

jgiglio — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:22:56 -0400

With a stamp of approval from his coach and his mom, N.C. State junior Lorenzo Brown is headed to the NBA.

Brown, who led the ACC in assists, will skip his final college season and enter the NBA draft, Kim Banks, Brown's mother, said Thursday. Banks said she spoke with her son and Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried on Wednesday.

"Coach said he's ready for the NBA," Banks said. See photos from Brown's career at N.C. State.

DraftExpress.com projects Brown, a 6-5 point guard, to be a late first-round pick.

Brown averaged 7.2 assists per game and was the first N.C. State player to lead the ACC in that category in 22 years. He also averaged 12.4 points and 4.3 rebounds in 33 games.

Brown missed three ACC games with an ankle injury. He turned his left ankle in the first half of a 58-55 loss at Virginia on Jan. 29. He missed the next two games, also both losses.

His two best games of the season coincided with N.C. State's two best wins: against Duke and North Carolina.

Brown had all 13 of N.C. State's assists in an 84-76 home win over Duke on Jan. 12, which prompted Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski to call him "magical" with the ball. Krzyzewski also said he was the best guard in transition in the country.

Brown was even better against UNC in a 91-83 home win on Jan. 26. He scored 20 points and finished with 11 assists to help the Wolfpack break a 13-game losing streak to the Tar Heels.

Brown also had his struggles this season. The two point guards rated ahead of him by DraftExpress.com, Oklahoma State's Marcus Smart and Michigan's Trey Burke, both got the best of him in November.

Smart had 20 points and seven assists in a 20-point Oklahoma State win and Burke had 18 points and 11 assists in a 79-72 Michigan win.

Brown's college career was delayed by a year after an academic problem with the NCAA. He ended up coming to State in the same class with point guard Ryan Harrow and forward C.J. Leslie in former coach Sidney Lowe's last season.

He played off the ball with Harrow on the point in 2010-11 but still led the team with 116 assists. When Mark Gottfried was hired, Harrow transferred to Kentucky and Brown moved to the point.

He averaged 12.7 points and 6.3 assists as a sophomore and helped N.C. State reach the Sweet 16.

"He has been through a lot," Banks said. "I'm really proud of him and the way he has stuck with everything."

Brown's the first N.C. State underclassman to leave early for the draft since J.J. Hickson in 2008. Leslie, a junior, is also expected to join Brown declare for the draft.

Before the season, and during, Gottfried said he expected to lose both Brown and Leslie. Freshman T.J. Warren is also considering jumping early to the draft. Warren's dad said earlier this week his son hasn't made a decision yet.

The NCAA and NBA have different withdrawal deadlines. The deadline for underclassmen to submit their names to an advisory committee for an evaluation is April 10. The NCAA deadline to come back to school is April 16, but the NBA allows underclassmen until April 28 to withdraw.

Gottfried committed to N.C. State

jgiglio — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 08:22:08 -0400

Mark Gottfried spent eight seasons at UCLA but apparently that's not enough to get him to leave N.C. State.

Gottfried, who has led N.C. State to the NCAA tournament in each of his first two seasons, confirmed his commitment to the Wolfpack on Wednesday night on Twitter.

"#WPN I am committed to being at @NCState for a long time Still as dedicated to rebuilding the program as I was 2 yrs ago when I arrived," Gottfried wrote on his account.

UCLA fired coach Ben Howland on Sunday and there was a logical connection to Gottfried, who spent eight seasons as an assistant at UCLA, including during the 1994-95 national title season. UCLA went after bigger targets before Gottfried's name surfaced in the past few days in connection with the Pac-12 job.

Gottfried has taken three different schools, nine times to the NCAA tournament in 16 seasons as a college head coach. He has a 48-24 in two seasons at N.C. State with a 20-14 ACC record. He's the third ACC coach to lead a team to the NCAA tournament in his first two seasons and first from N.C. State.

The Wolfpack had a five-year NCAA tournament drought when Gottfried was hired in April 2011 and his first team went 24-13 and reached the Sweet 16.

Gottfried's second season ended in disappointment, after being picked in the preseason to win the ACC, with a fifth-place ACC finish and a round of 64 loss to Temple in the NCAA tournament.

N.C. State (24-11) did finish the season as one of the best scoring teams in the country, which was one of the criteria UCLA AD Dan Guerrero had outlined in his search.

Gottfried, 49, has five seasons left on his contract, which pays him $1.95 million annually, with N.C. State, and it was renegotiated and extended last year. He has a $3.75 million buyout in his contract.

UCLA has reportedly pursued and been turned down by Virginia Commonwealth's Shaka Smart and Butler's Brad Stevens and is still searching for Howland's replacement.

Brown, Warren still undecided on NBA future

jgiglio — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 17:53:28 -0400

N.C. State could lose as many as three starters early to the NBA draft. The Wolfpack could also get C.J. Leslie, Lorenzo Brown or T.J. Warren back for another season.

The parents of Brown and Warren said Tuesday that no decision has been made about their sons' respective futures.

CBSSports.com reported Tuesday that both Brown and Leslie, both juniors, were expected to leave for the NBA.

Back in October, N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said he expected to lose both juniors after the season. N.C. State went 24-11 this season and lost to Temple in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Brown, a 6-5 point guard, led the ACC in assists, with 7.2 per game, and Leslie, a 6-8 forward, led the Wolfpack in scoring (15.1 points per game) for the second straight season.

Kim Banks, Brown's mom, said she would be in Raleigh this week to talk to her son about his future. She also refuted the CBS report.

"I've seen the rumors," Banks said. "I don't know where they get that from. He hasn't made a decision yet."

Leslie, who almost left for the NBA last April, also seemed to deny the report on his Twitter account on Tuesday afternoon.

"Who said I was leaving," Leslie tweeted.

Gottfried has previously said he expects to lose both Leslie and Brown, and has recruited accordingly, but Warren's departure would be a surprise.

The 6-8 forward from Durham averaged 12.1 points and 4.2 rebounds as a freshman and led the ACC in field goal percentage (62.2).

DraftExpress.com ranks Warren, who started the final 10 games of the season and improved his draft stock in the process, as the best prospect of the three Wolfpack underclassmen.

Warren's dad, Tony, said he has paid attention to the draft projections but that he hasn't talked to his son about the decision.

"If he's a first-round pick, I think it would be a good decision," said Warren, a former Wolfpack player who was an eighth-round pick of the Chicago Bulls in 1979.

But Warren also said he felt his son could be a lottery pick next year after a big sophomore season as the centerpiece of N.C. State's offense.

"It's too early to tell," Warren said. "I want to see what he wants to do. It's up to him but he knows he can play at the next level."

Pursuit of Gottfried would cost UCLA

jgiglio — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:47:15 -0400

If UCLA is interested in N.C. State's Mark Gottfried to replace Ben Howland, it would cost the Bruins.

Gottfried, who led N.C. State to the NCAA tournament in each of his first two seasons, has a $3.75 million buyout in his contract.

UCLA is expected to pursue Virginia Commonwealth's Shaka Smart and Butler's Brad Stevens, according to the Los Angeles Times, but Gottfried has multiple connections to the Pac-12 power.

Gottfried spent eight seasons as an assistant to Jim Harrick at UCLA, including the 1994-95 season, when the Bruins won their last national title — and only one since the legendary John Wooden retired in 1975.

Gottfried also had a student-mentor relationship with Wooden, while Gottfried was an assistant to the Bruins, and has implemented the principles of Wooden's "Pyramid of Success" at N.C. State.

UCLA fired Howland on Sunday, a move that will cost the school $3.5 million in a buyout, according to the Times. Howland went 233-107 in 10 seasons at UCLA with three trips to the Final Four.

There have been problems inside the program, as detailed in a Sports Illustrated story last February, and also with attendance. The financial reasons are one of the primary motives UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero made the decision to dismiss Howland.

UCLA spent $138 million to renovate Pauley Pavilion and the average attendance this season was 9,549, about 4,200 less than capacity. Only five of the 18 homes games attracted more than 10,000 fans.

Howland brought in one of the top recruiting classes last season, and played a more up-tempo style in going 25-10 and winning the Pac-12 regular-season title, but his best teams were known for a grinding, defensive style.

"We will look for someone who plays a fun brand of basketball," Guerrero said, according to the Times. "We don't want to bring in a coach who averages 50 points per game."

Under Gottfried, N.C. State had one of the best offensive teams in the country this season, 10th in the country in scoring average (77.4 points per game) and ninth in offensive efficiency, according to Ken Pomeroy's advanced metrics.

The Wolfpack's season ended in disappointment, a round of 64 loss to Temple in the NCAA tournament, but Gottfried has won 48 games in two seasons and ended a five-year NCAA drought for the Wolfpack. He has also signed, or gotten commitments, from seven top-100 prospects in three recruiting classes, including four McDonald's All-Americans.

It's unclear if UCLA will pursue Gottfried or if his connections to Harrick will be viewed as a positive or a negative. Harrick's the only UCLA coach, other than Wooden, to win a national title but he was fired before the start of the 1996-97 season after setting off an NCAA investigation that concluded his program provided improper benefits to players, recruits and a club team coach.

Gottfried still has a close relationship with Harrick, who lives in California but attended a handful of N.C. State games the past two seasons, including last Friday's loss to Temple in Dayton, Ohio.

Two members of Gottfried's N.C. State staff, Larry Farmer and Jeff Dunlap, also have UCLA connections. Farmer, Gottfried's director of player development, was a star player for Wooden in the early 1970s and was UCLA's head coach for three seasons in the early 1980s. Dunlap, N.C. State's director of operations, played for Farmer at UCLA.

Gottfried's contract with N.C. State was reworked last September and extended through the 2017-18 season. The buyout calls for the amount of his base salary ($750,000) for each of the five seasons remaining on his contract.

Gottfried: Defense, immaturity issues contribute to Wolfpack's demise

jgiglio — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 18:30:31 -0400

DAYTON, Ohio — Mark Gottfried was as honest about N.C. State's problems after Friday's loss to Temple in the NCAA tournament as a coach could be.

Gottfried explained the issues with the Wolfpack, who closed out the 2012-13 season on Friday with a 76-72 loss to Temple.

N.C. State finished 24-11 and Friday's loss was symbolic of many of the same, reoccurring problems that derailed a season full of promise for the Wolfpack.

First and foremost of the problems was the team's defense. N.C. State, one of the best offensive teams in the country, would have lapses this season where it didn't defend. It lacked the intensity to contest shots or produce turnovers.

"This particular team never seemed to get to a point where we could sustain and maintain great defensive effort," Gottfried said on Friday. "That's on me, I didn't do a very good job of that.

"That's something that hurt our team this year, no question."

Gottfried also said the team was at times immature and selfish. Personal goals were put before the team's greater good, Gottfried said.

"Putting the team first and then personal success and glory comes later," Gottfried said. "It always does, but you have to trust that."

Gottfried had been asked multiple times about the team's maturity, specifically after the Virginia loss on Jan. 29, but he never expanded on the topic like he did on Friday.

"I think this team struggled with a lot of things," Gottfried said. "We had some immaturity at times. It just seemed hard at times to have everybody buy in all the way. For us to get better in the future, everybody needs to. Our young guys need to learn that lesson."

Gottfried said the team had a good season but not a great one. He pointed out the team has won 48 games the past two seasons and made the tournament in consecutive years, after not going for five years.

He also talked about how finish to the 2011-12 season changed the expectations for this season but the Sweet 16 run in 2012 was not indicative of where the program really was.

"The whole year became this struggle to reach higher than we were," Gottfried said. "We kept reaching and we couldn't get there and we just seemed to always be falling short."

Temple sends N.C. State packing

jgiglio — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 14:34:25 -0400

DAYTON, Ohio — This is where it ends for N.C. State, on the corner of disappointment and despair in Dayton.

A season that started with so much hope lasted only one NCAA tournament game. Temple, with 31 points from Khalif Wyatt, turned out the lights on N.C. State's season with a 76-72 win in the round of 64 on Friday afternoon.

There was no ACC title, as was predicted before the season started, nor was there another NCAA run for the Wolfpack (24-11), only season of missed opportunities.

The Sweet 16 finish from last March never seemed so far away on Friday while Temple was creating turnovers, burying shots and building a 16-point halftime lead.

N.C. State got 20 points from junior forward C.J. Leslie, in perhaps his last college game, but not enough help from its other veterans.

Senior Scott Wood came alive at the end of the game, hitting consecutive 3-pointers, to get as close as three points in the final minute, but Temple made just enough free throws to advance to the next round.

The first half was a mixed bag of problems for N.C. State — indifference on defense, careless ballhandling and poor free-throw shooting.

The Owls (24-9) did just about everything right with Wyatt and forward Jake O'Brien (18 points) turning the Wolfpack mistakes into points.

Temple led by as many as 18 points in the second half. N.C. State cut the Owls' margin to three points, but could not complete the comeback.