North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Set to Face Duke in Raleigh
2/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC STATE WOLFPACK (15-8, 5-7) vs. #3 DUKE BLUE DEVILS (20-3, 11-1) SaturdayNC STATE VS DUKE: Today'S matchup will be the 211th meeting between NC State and Duke with the Blue Devils holding a 117-93 lead in the series. Duke has won six straight games and 11 of the last 12 games played in the series. NC State'S only win during the stretch was a 66-60 win over the seventh-ranked Blue Devils in the 1997 ACC Tournament quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Wolfpack went on to defeat Maryland to advance to the championship game in coach Herb Sendek'S first season. Duke has won 63 of 116 games played in Raleigh, including four straight and seven of the last eight played on the Pack'S home floor. The Pack'S last win over the Devils on its home floor was an 84-79 victory on Feb. 18, 1995. Duke won all three meetings between the teams last season. In Durham on Dec. 5, Elton Brand finished with 26 points and 10 boards. NC State had 29 turnovers in the game and trailed 42-20 at halftime. NC State fell to the Devils 80-61 in Raleigh on Jan. 30, 1999. The Pack shot just 39.3 percent in the game. Kenny Inge led all scorers with 22 points. In the ACC Tournament semifinals, the top-ranked Blue Devils earned an 83-68 win. The Pack trailed by just eight points with 15:10 left, but Duke went on an 18-3 run over the next 4:50 to pull away. Anthony Grundy led NC State with 19 points and eight rebounds, earning second-team All-ACC Tournament honors.
* Feb. 19, 2000
* 1:30 p.m. Entertainment and Sports Arena (19,722)
* Raleigh, N.C. BROADCASTS TV: ABC - Brent Musburger (play-by-play) and Dick Vitale (color). Radio: Wolfpack-Capitol Sports Radio Network - 36 Stations (WPTF-680 Flagship); Coverage begins 30 minutes prior to tip-off. Gary Hahn (play-by-play) and Tony Haynes (color). On The Internet: www.gopack.com
PACK-DEVILS BATTLE TO OT IN FIRST MEETING: NC State's 92-88 overtime loss at No. 5 Duke in the team'S first meeting this season had 16 lead changes and 15 ties. The Devils took a 79-74 lead after NC State was assessed a technical foul for calling a timeout that the Wolfpack did not have. Freshman Marshall Williams then converted a layup with 3.3 seconds left to cut the Devils lead to three points, then followed Justin Gainey's intentionally missed free throw at the horn to send the game into overtime. The Blue Devils pulled away in OT, but NC State cut the lead to two points with 4.8 seconds left before two free throws from Duke's Nate James sealed the win.
ABOUT THE WOLFPACK: NC State is 15-8 overall, 5-7 in the ACC. The Wolfpack is on a four-game slide having lost games at Virginia, Maryland and Wake Forest and vs. North Carolina. NC State is second in the ACC in scoring defense (64 ppg) and is forcing an average of 19.2 turnovers per game. Sophomore guard Anthony Grundy leads a balanced Wolfpack team in scoring at 12.8 ppg., while Damien Wilkins and Damon Thornton are averaging 10.7 and 10.5 ppg respectively. The Pack'S top two reserves center Ron Kelley and guard Marshall Williams are both sidelined with knee injuries.
A WIN : Would break the Pack'S four-game losing streak and give NC State its first win over Duke since the 1997 ACC Tournament. It would be the NC State'S 15th home victory this season. A win would also be NC State'S sixth conference victory this season, matching last season'S ACC win total. The last time NC State had more than six conference victories was in 1990-91, when the Pack went 8-6 in conference play. NC State has improved its overall and ACC win total in each of Herb Sendek'S four seasons as head coach. A Wolfpack victory would also be NC State'S first over an opponent ranked in the top three nationally since defeating No. 1 North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 86-72, on Feb. 21, 1998.
A LOSS : Would be NC State'S fifth straight conference loss, the Pack'S longest losing streak since dropping six consecutive games from Jan. 12-28, 1997 (to Maryland, UNC, Clemson, Duke, Georgia Tech and UVa).
WOLFPACK INDIVIDUAL HIGHLIGHTS VS DUKE:
* Justin Gainey: Averaging 5.9 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.9 assists versus Duke for his career
* Had 12 points and four assists against Duke in last year'S ACC Tournament.
* Anthony Grundy: Averaged 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds against Duke last season
* Had 11 points and five boards at Duke earlier this year
* Finished with 19 points, season-best eight rebounds, and three assists versus Blue Devils in last season'S ACC Tournament.
* Kenny Inge: Has scored in double figures in five out of six career games versus Duke
* Averaging 13.6 points and 5.6 rebounds against Duke
* Had 11 points in first match-up
* Finished with 12 points and seven rebounds at Duke last season
* Had 22 points versus Blue Devils at home last year
* Had a double-double (16 points and 10 rebounds) at Duke freshman season.
* Ron Kelley: Averaging 7.0 points and 6.5 rebounds against Duke
* Team-high 17 points in first match-up this season
* Had 10 points in 20 minutes versus Duke in last year'S ACC Tournament
* 10 rebounds freshman year against Duke.
* Damon Thornton: Averaging 9.8 points and 6.8 rebounds against Duke
* 11 points and six boards at Duke this season
* Had nine points, seven rebounds, and a career-high three blocks at Duke last season
* Freshman season averaged 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds against Blue Devils
* Had double-double (10 points and 10 rebounds) at Duke freshman season.
* Damien Wilkins: Had 11 points and a team-high eight boards in first match-up this season.
* Marshall Williams: Finished with 12 points at Duke earlier this year
* Tipped in a missed free throw with no time remaining to send the first match-up into overtime.
HOME WINS: NC State sports a 14-1 record in the Entertainment and Sports Arena and won 14 consecutive games in its new home before falling to UNC on Feb. 9. The most home wins in school history was in 1988-89, when the Wolfpack was 16-2 in Reynolds Coliseum.
NC State Home Record 1999-00 14-1 1998-99 15-4 1997-98 12-7 1996-97 12-6 1995-96 9-6 1994-95 11-6 1993-94 8-7 1992-93 7-8 1991-92 7-8 1990-91 13-1 1989-90 10-4
HOME SWEET HOME: NC State returns home to the ESA following back-to-back road games at UVa and Wake Forest. The Pack is 14-1 in the ESA this season, just 1-7 on the road. NC State'S only road win this season was at No. 21 Purdue, 61-59. NC State opponents are scoring just 57.9 ppg in the ESA and 75.4 ppg on their home floors, while shooting 38.1 percent in the ESA and 47.2 percent on their home floors. NC State is committing nearly three more turnovers per game on the road.
Category ESA road Scoring 72.0 67.0 NC State Field Goal % 44.2% 41.7% NC State Three-Point % 34.2% 29.7% Turnovers 15.1 18.0 Opponent Scoring 57.9 75.4 Opponent Field Goal % 38.1% 47.2% Opponent Three-Point % 30.9% 31.5% Opponent Turnovers 20.3 17.0
IF YOU BUILD IT : NC State's attendance has skyrocketed in the 19,722-seat ESA this season. Since moving from 12,400-seat Reynolds Coliseum, the Pack has already set a single-season mark for attendance with 255,104 in 15 homes games (two home games remain). The previous best for season attendance was 188,282 in 18 home games during the 1987-88 season. NC State is averaging 17,007 fans per game this season compared to a previous best of 12,120 fans in 10 home games during the 1974-75 season. For ACC games the average attendance is 19,454. This year'S average attendance has increased 6,207 per game. NC State ranked 30th in the nation last year in Division I attendance, averaging 10,800 spectators per game. Based on last year'S figures, NC State would rank among the top eight schools in the nation in average attendance.
ONE MAN SHOW: Freshman Damien Wilkins scored a team-high 21 points at Wake Forest, all in the second half. Wilkins scored 16 of the Pack'S 20 final points in the game and went 8-of-14 from the field and 3-of-4 from three-point range in the second half. He also grabbed 10 rebounds to finish with his second double-double of the season. He also had 14 points and 10 rebounds vs. Providence on Dec. 4. Wilkins is averaging 20 points and 8.5 rebounds in the last two games.
WILKINS - INSIDE THE NUMBERS: Wilkins' quiet all-around play has snuck up on many. Wilkins is among NC State'S top three in scoring (10.7 ppg, 2nd), rebounding (6.5 rpg, 2nd), assists (52, 3rd), blocks (14, 3rd) and steals (32, 3rd). Wilkins is second in the ACC in offensive rebounding at 3.04 per game and, in ACC play, ranks ninth in free-throw percentage at 75.4 percent.
IMPACT FRESHMAN: Another example of Wilkins' importance in the NC State lineup is his minutes. He leads the Pack in minutes played at 31.1 mpg. In ACC play, Wilkins is averaging 33.8 mpg. An informal e-poll of SIDs showed only 12 freshmen nationally who lead their teams in minutes played. At Michigan, three freshmen are the team'S top three players in terms of minutes Jamal Crawford (33.9), Kevin Gaines (31.9) and LaVell Blanchard (31.3).
FRESHMEN MINUTES Player, Team MPG Sirvaliant Brown, G. Washington 37.0 Chris Davis, North Texas 36.4 Jason Gardner, Arizona 36.0 George Williams, Houston 35.5 Brett Blizzard, UNCW 33.8 Torris Bright, LSU 33.5 Bernard King, Texas A&M 33.7 Julius Jenkins, Ga. Southern 32.8 Tory Bell, Boston College 31.5 Joe Johnson, Arkansas 31.2 Damien Wilkins, NC State 31.1 Casey Jacobson, Stanford 27.3
INJURY BUG BITES AGAIN: NC State has been plagued by injuries over the last four seasons. Two years ago it was foot injuries. This year, four players have missed time with knee problems. Within the last two weeks, junior Ron Kelley and freshman Marshall Williams both had arthroscopic knee surgery. Kelley had the procedure to repair damaged articular cartilage in his left knee on Jan. 30 and was expected to miss 2-3 weeks. Williams had surgery to repair a partial tear of meniscus cartilage on Feb. 10 and was expected to miss at least three weeks. Also, junior Damon Thornton suffered a crack fracture of his right pinky finger prior to the Pack'S game at Wake Forest. Earlier this season, junior forward Kenny Inge suffered a partial tear of his medial collateral ligament in his left knee and missed four games from Nov. 26-Dec. 17. The injury did not require surgery. Senior forward Tim Wells missed much of the preseason due to tendinitis in his left knee, then dislocated his left shoulder shortly after returning to practice. In 1997-98, NC State had seven different players miss a combined 69 games due to injury. Last season, the Wolfpack lost guard Archie Miller for the season due to a back injury. Here is a look at NC State'S injuries over the past four seasons:
Player Injury Season (Games Out) Marshall Williams knee 1999-00 (3) Ron Kelley knee 1999-00 (5) Kenny Inge knee 1999-00 (4) Tim Wells knee, dislocated shoulder 1999-00 (3) Cornelius Williams foot 1998-99 (1) Adam Harrington sprained ankle 1998-99 (1) Damon Thornton hip/groin 1998-99 (0*) Archie Miller back surgery 1998-99 (30) Justin Gainey strained back muscle 1997-98 (3) Damon Thornton broken foot (right) 1997-98 (29) Ron Anderson broken foot (left) 1997-98 (27) Ron Kelley sprained foot (right) 1997-98 (7) Tim Wells stress fracture, shoulder 1997-98 (5) Luke Buffum broken foot 1997-98 (7) Damon Thornton hip 1996-97 (9) 11 different players 134 total games
* did not practice regularly until Jan. 1
KELLEY'S ABSENCE FELT: NC State has felt the absence of center Ron Kelley, who is averaging 9.5 points and 4.3 rebounds this season. NC State has been outrebounded in four of the last six games after being outrebounded just four times before Kelley'S knee injury. Kelley has not played in the Pack'S last five games and saw just three minutes of action against Arizona State due to the injury. Opposing centers (Lonnie Baxter, Brendan Haywood, Travis Watson and Darius Songaila) have averaged 22.5 points and nine rebounds in the last four games. Also over the past four games, NC State opponents have scored an average of 41.3 *Points in the Paint
* compared to just 21.7 *Points in the Paint
* in other games this season. The Pack'S inside scoring has fallen from 29.3 ppg to 27 ppg in the last four contests, pushing the total point swing to -21.9 *Points in the Paint
* for NC State.
Points in Paint NCS OPP with Kelley 29.1 22.6 without Kelley 28 32.2 Total = -10.7 points difference 2nd chance pts NCS OPP with Kelley 15.9 12.5 without Kelley 11.2 14.2 Total = -6.4 points difference REBOUNDS NCS OPP MARGIN with Kelley 38.1 34.1 +4.0 without Kelley 35 39.5 -4.5 OFFENSIVE REBOUNDS NCS OPP MARGIN with Kelley 14.9 11.8 +3.1 without Kelley 11.2 14.2 -3.0INGE BREAKS OUT: After averaging 5.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in the six prior contests, junior forward Kenny Inge has been in double-figures in each of the past two games. Inge had 11 points and nine rebounds vs. Wake Forest after scoring a season-high 25 points vs. UVa. The 25 points vs the Cavaliers was the second-highest total of his career. Over the past two games, Inge is averaging 18 points and 8.5 rebounds.
SEE YA!: NC State's Damon Thornton has fouled out of three of the last four games. Thornton has averaged almost five minutes less of playing time in the last three games than in other ACC contests due to the foul trouble. He has eight disqualifications already this season, more than any Wolfpack player since Craig Watts and Tony Warren each had eight DQ'S in the 1978-79 season. Kenny Carr'S 12 disqualifications in 1975-76 is the most by a Wolfpack player in a single season. Over the past four games, Thornton is averaging a foul once every 5.4 minutes compared to once every 8.0 minutes for the rest of the season.
1999-2000 Most Disqualifications by an ACC Player No. Player, School 9 Chucky Gilmore, C 8 Damon Thornton, NCS 6 Alvin Jones, GT 5 Darius Songaila, WF 4 Donald Hand, UVa 1999-2000 Most Fouls by an ACC Player Fouls Player, School 84 Lonnie Baxter, Md 83 Donald Hand, UVa 82 Travis Watson, UVa 80 Damon Thornton, NCS 79 Darius Songaila, WF
CRAWFORD CHIPS IN: With Ron Kelley and Marshall Williams sidelined with injuries, freshman guard Clifford Crawford has seen more action lately, averaging 19.5 minutes in the last two games. Crawford was averaging just 6.2 minutes per game. He finished with season-highs in points (12) rebounds (8) and assists (3) vs. UVa, higher totals than he had in every other ACC game combined. He also played 23 minutes against the Cavaliers, more than he had played in the previous 11 games combined.
BENCH POINTS: The Wolfpack has played at least nine people in every game this season and is getting an average of 19 ppg off the bench this season. Wolfpack reserves have outscored opponent reserves 438-269. With the absence of its top two reserves (Ron Kelley and Marshall Williams) the Wolfpack bench has been less productive of late, averaging 8 ppg compared to 14 ppg for opponent reserves.
BACKCOURT BLUES: NC State'S starting backcourt of Justin Gainey and Anthony Grundy has struggled over the past two games, averaging just 13 points combined while shooting a combined 10-of-39 (25.6 percent) from the field and 4-of-15 (26.7 percent) from three-point range. The duo has also had just four assists vs. 12 turnovers.
GRUNDY SLUMPING: Grundy'S struggles began against Florida State on Feb. 2. Since then, he is shooting 30.5 percent (18-of-59) from the field and 29.6 percent (8-of-27) from three-point range. In addition, Grundy has missed nine straight free throws dating back to the final three minutes of the Maryland game on Feb. 6. and is shooting 43.5 percent (10-of-23) from the free-throw line in the last five games. Grundy is averaging a team-high 12.8 ppg this season and has been in double figures in 18 of 22 games.
DAMON DOMINATES: Junior Damon Thornton is averaging 10.5 points and 7.6 rebounds this season and ranks among league leaders in rebounding (6th) and blocked shots (1.7, 7th). With Ron Kelley sidelined, Thornton has stepped up over the past six games, averaging 12.3 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.5 blocks per game, while shooting 56.4 percent (31-of-55) from the field. He had a career-best 23 points vs. Arizona State.
DOUBLING UP: Thornton recorded his fourth double-double of the season at Maryland, finishing with 12 points and 11 rebounds. He is sixth in the ACC this season in double-doubles and has 10 career double-doubles. Thornton also had double-doubles vs. Western Carolina (11-13), Yale (16-10) and Old Dominion (16-10). He has had double-digit rebounds in two other games as well vs. Florida State (12 rebs.) and Liberty (10 rebs.). Kenny Inge ranks third in the ACC with 16 career double-doubles but does not have a double-double this season. Inge had 10 boards at Maryland, his first double-digit rebound game this season.
THORNTON AMONG SCHOOL LEADERS IN FG %: Thornton ranks second in school history in career field goal percentage, making 57.5 percent (264-of-459) for his career. This season Thornton has hit 56.2 percent (100-of-178) of his shots from the field. He is also being more aggressive on the offensive end, averaging 7.7 shot attempts per game this season. Prior to this season, Thornton had averaged 4.8 field-goal attempts per game.
SWAT WATCH: NC State had a season-best 11 blocks vs. Maryland on Feb. 6, its highest total since blocking 11 shots vs. UNC-A in a 99-60 win on Jan. 22, 1990. The last time NC State blocked more than 11 shots in a game was on Feb. 8, 1988, when the Pack had 12 swats vs. Baptist. Center Damon Thornton is averaging three blocks over the last four games. With two blocks vs. UNC, he passed Charles Shackleford to move into seventh place all-time in school history with 103 career blocks. He has 36 blocks this season.
GRUNDY NETS CAREER-HIGH 30 POINTS VS DEACS: Grundy scored a career-high 30 points in the Pack's 76-56 win over Wake Forest on Jan. 16. His 30 points was the highest single-game scoring effort by a Wolfpack player since C.C. Harrison scored 31 points at North Carolina on Feb. 21, 1998.
SCORING POINT: Gainey is averaging 12.3 ppg in the last six games. In the Wolfpack'S loss at Clemson on Jan. 26, Gainey failed to score for the first time in 51 starts. He had a season-high 21 points at Maryland, going 6-of-9 from the field, 4-of-5 from three-point range and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line. NC State is 25-7 in the last four years when Gainey scores in double-figures. The Pack is 8-2 when Gainey'S in double figures this season.
FIXTURE: Many ACC followers remember Justin Gainey as the baby-faced freshman who played every minute of the 1997 ACC Tournament as the eighth-seeded Wolfpack made a run to the championship game. Gainey, who earned all-tournament honors, became the first player in ACC history to play all 40 minutes in four tournament games. Now the team's senior captain, Gainey ranks fourth all-time in school history in minutes played (since 1984) with 3,511 minutes logged. Gainey rarely saw the bench last season, averaging 35.9 minutes per game in ACC play, but this year he has gotten more of a break, logging 29.3 mpg. For his career, Gainey has played an average of 30 mpg (117 games).
NC State Career Minutes Played
Player Minutes Years
1. Chris Corchiani 4097 1988-91
2. Rodney Monroe 3989 1988-91
3. Ishua Benjamin 3782 1995-98
4. Justin Gainey 3511 1997-
5. Curtis Marshall 3323 1992-96
NOTE: minutes kept since 1984
GAINEY AMONG SCHOOL ASSIST & STEALS LEADERS: With two steals vs. Wake Forest, Gainey moved into a tie for sixth place all-time in school history with 166 career theft. He also ranks ninth in school history with 311 career assists. Only seven players in NC State history rank among the school'S top 10 in both career assists and steals. Chris Corchiani holds the school record with 1038 career assists and 328 career steals from 1988-91.
GAINEY'S GAME WINNERS: Justin Gainey's 12-footer with 1.8 seconds left against Maryland on Jan. 6 was the senior point guard's third game-winning shot in the last two seasons. Earlier this season, Gainey knocked in a three-pointer with 14 seconds left at Purdue. That shot looked strikingly similar to the senior's game-winner at Georgia Tech last season. Against the Yellow Jackets, Gainey slipped behind a ball screen and drained a three-pointer with 15 seconds left to give Wolfpack a 51-50 lead. Gainey then stole Tech's inbounds pass with two seconds left to seal the win.
BALANCED ATTACK: NC State has used a balanced scoring attack this season. Anthony Grundy is averaging a team-best 12.8 ppg this season, while Damien Wilkins and Damon Thornton are getting 10.7 and 10.5 ppg respectively. Kenny Inge (9.7), Ron Kelley (9.0), Justin Gainey (8.7) are each averaging better than eight points per game. Eight different players have held team scoring honors this season and four different players have had 20 point outings. The last time NC State had more than three players average in double figures for a season was in 1990-91 when Rodney Monroe (27.0 ppg), Chris Corchiani (16.3 ppg), Tom Gugliotta (15.2 ppg) and Bryant Feggins (13.3 ppg) each averaged in double figures.
LONG-RANGE BOMBER: Sophomore guard Archie Miller made his first two two-pointers of the season vs. North Carolina, finishing with four points. Miller is 2-of-15 from inside the arc this season, 30-of-84 (35.7 percent) beyond it. Ninety-one of his 109 career field goal have been from three-point range.
FREE-THROW TURNAROUND: After shooting just 10-of-27 (37 percent) from the free-throw line against UVa on Jan. 12, NC State has made 70.6 percent (149-of-211) from the line in the past nine games. NC State entered the Wake game on Jan. 16 making just 58.3 percent from the stripe, but has lifted its season free-throw shooting to 63.3 percent. Freshman Damien Wilkins, who entered the Wake game on Jan. 16 shooting 48 percent from the line, has gone 38-of-48 (79.2 percent) from the line in the last 10 games and ranks ninth in the league in free-throw percentage (75.4 percent) in ACC play.
GETTING TO THE LINE IMPORTANT: NC State is 13-0 this season when attempting more free throws than its opponents in games, 2-8 when getting to the line fewer times than foes. The Wolfpack is averaging 27.2 FTAs in its 15 wins this season, 16.9 FTAs in it eight losses. NC State matched a season-high with 37 free throw attempts against Wake Forest on Jan. 16, making a season-best 31 (83.8 percent).
DOING IT DEFENSIVELY: Defense has been the catalyst to NC State's 15 wins this season. NC State is holding opponents to just 64 ppg (second in the ACC). Wolfpack opponents are shooting 41.3 percent from the field, while committing an average of 18.8 turnovers per game. 19 of NC State's 23 opponents have committed at least 15 TOs, led by Liberty's 31 turnovers, the most by a Wolfpack opponent since Florida Atlantic had 35 turnovers on Nov. 22, 1996.
SCORELESS STRETCHES: NC State's defense has been able to hold several of its opponents without a field goal for long stretches during games this season. Against Florida State, the 'Noles had three stretches of more than six minutes without a field goal.The Wolfpack held UNC Asheville without a field goal for 11:47. Against Yale, the Pack held the Bulldogs without a field goal for 9:55 in the first half. Eleven of NC State'S opponents have been held without a field goal for stretches of at least five minutes or more.
WILLIAMS MAKES THE BIG PLAYS: With 0.8 seconds left at No. 5 Duke, freshman Marshall Williams made the biggest play of his short Wolfpack career. Point guard Justin Gainey intentionally missed a free throw and Williams tipped the ball into the basket, tying the game at 79 and sending it into overtime. Williams' driving layup with 3.3 seconds left cut the lead to three points. He finished the game with 12 points. He also had 12 points vs. Georgia Tech, going 3-of-4 from the field and 4-of-4 from the free-throw line. Williams made two free throws after the Yellow Jackets had cut the NC State lead to four points, 62-58, with 42 seconds left, sealing the victory.
CHARTING DEFLECTIONS: Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek charts deflections as a barometer for defensive play and the Wolfpack has averaged 47.4 deflections per contest this season. Last year, NC State averaged 40 deflections per game. Center Damon Thornton leads the team in deflections, averaging nearly nine per contest.
PICKPOCKETS: NC State ranks third in the ACC in steals, averaging 9.3 thefts per game. Justin Gainey and Anthony Grundy rank among league leaders in steals at 2.1 (3rd) and 1.8 (6th) respectively. Over the past five games, Gainey is averaging three steals per contest. Grundy had a season-best seven steals vs. Georgia, while Gainey had five steals against FSU and Liberty. Freshman Marshall Williams also had five steals vs. Yale and North Carolina. As a team, NC State had a season-high 19 steals vs. Liberty, matching the second-best total in school history.
SOLID AS A ROCK: Call him the *Prudential Man.
* That's how Herb Sendek refers to point guard Gainey, who he says is *rock solid.
* Gainey may be the poster-child for improvement as he has continued to get better throughout his career. Gainey increased his three-point and free-throw shooting percentages by at least 10 points each last season. He went up an incredible 22 percent at the free-throw line (from 65.4 percent in '98 to 87.4 percent last year), finishing with the third-highest percentage in school history. Gainey also improved his field-goal percentage by five points (from 37.1 percent in '98 to 42.7 percent last year). After shooting a career-best 34.1 percent (28-of-82) from three-point range last season, Gainey is making 39.1 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc this year. As a freshman, Gainey began the year by committing 24 turnovers in the Pack's first 16 games, but had just eight TOs in the final 10 games.
NONCONFERENCE WIN STREAK EXTENDED: With its 79-68 win over Arizona State on Jan. 29, NC State has now won 47 straight regular-season games against nonconference opponents at home. The Wolfpack'S last loss in the regular season to a nonconference opponent at home was Dec. 10, 1994, when the Pack fell 96-91 to third-ranked Kansas. Since Herb Sendek took over as NC State'S head coach in 1996, NC State is 32-0 against nonconference foes at home during the regular season. NC State did drop postseason NIT games against West Virginia (76-73, 3/17/97), Georgia (61-55, 3/17/98) and Princeton (61-58, 3/15/99). In the 90'S, NC State is 70-11 against nonconference foes at home during the regular season.
BACK IN TOP 25: NC State was ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll and No. 25 in the coaches' poll on Jan. 24, marking the first time NC State has been in both polls since Dec. 12, 1989, when the Pack was No. 15 in the UPI poll and No. 16 in the AP. The No. 21 ranking in the AP poll was NC State's highest ranking since being No. 19 in the Jan. 16, 1990 top 20. Earlier this season, NC State was ranked No. 25 in the AP poll on Dec. 20, but fell out of the rankings following its loss to Tulane on Dec. 22. It had been 293 games (3,618 days) since NC State was ranked in the top 25.
WILLIAMS WINS ACC ROOKIE HONORS DEC. 20: While Damien Wilkins has garnered much of the attention handed to NC State's freshman class, newcomers Marshall Williams and Clifford Crawford have also played prominent roles in NC State's early success. Williams was named the ACC Rookie of the Week Dec. 20 after scoring a team-high 17 points off the bench against Liberty. He finished the game 5-of-11 from the field, while adding four rebounds and two steals. He earned his first career start (in Anthony Grundy's absence) against Yale and finished with 10 points.
WILKINS EARNS ROOKIE HONORS DEC. 6: NC State freshman Damien Wilkins was named the ACC's Rookie of the Week on Dec. 6 following two outstanding all-around performances vs. Purdue and Providence. Against the Boilermakers, Wilkins finished with eight points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals. He recorded the first double-double of his career against Providence with 14 points and 10 rebounds. He led NC State in nearly every statistical category against Stetson on Nov. 26, recording team highs in points (22), rebounds (8), assists (5) and steals (3). Against Tulane, Wilkins had a team high 15 points.
HOME-GROWN TALENT IN FALL CLASS: In a year when North Carolina's high school senior class is considered the strongest ever, NC State announced the signing of the state's top three prospects. Michael Bell, 6-9 of Raleigh, Marcus Melvin, 6-9 of Fayetteville, and Scooter Sherrill, 6-3 of Mt. Ulla, each signed a national letter-of-intent to attend NC State next year during the fall signing period. "The signing of these three players is somewhat unprecedented in my memory, as far as getting the top three players in the state of North Carolina," said recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons, who ranks all three players among his national top 50 seniors. Sherrill, who led West Rowan High to the state 2-A title as a freshman and the state 3-A championship game last season, was rated No. 17 nationally by Recruiter's Handbook. He averaged 23 points, six rebounds and four assists last season, making 53 percent of his field-goal attempts and 81 percent from the free-throw line. He finished as the third-leading scorer at last summer's USA Basketball Youth Development Festival in Colorado Springs, Colo., averaging 17.8 points per game. Sherrill had 22 points, nine assists and six rebounds to lead the South team to a 124-108 win in the gold-medal game. Bell also played in the USA Basketball Festival, averaging 12.2 points and 4.6 rebounds while leading all players in field-goal shooting at 63.4 percent. As a junior at Enloe High, he averaged 24 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks per game, An outstanding outside shooter capable of playing either forward position according to Gibbons, who ranks Bell 46th nationally Melvin averaged 21.2 points and 13 rebounds as a junior at Byrd High. He was the most dominant player at the N.C. Scouting Alliance Mid-Summer. Gibbons ranks Melvin No. 42 nationally.
