North Carolina State University Athletics
`Position-less' Pack Is Ready For New Era
10/17/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 17, 2001
By Tony Haynes
As the NC State basketball team strolled onto the Reynolds Coliseum floor to meet the media on Wednesday, there was a striking difference in body shapes, faces and numbers. Also striking was the absence of players like Kenny Inge, Damon Thornton and Ron Kelley, three guys who had played a lot of basketball for the Wolfpack during the five-year coaching tenure of Herb Sendek.
The departure of last year's seniors combined with the arrival of five talented freshmen has certainly changed the face of NC State basketball this season. Not only is the personnel different, the style of play will also undergo some major changes. Size, strength and bulk have been exchanged for skill, quickness and versatility. As a result, NC State now has the parts in place to employ the baseline to baseline, up-tempo strategy its fans have been craving.
The Pack's rookies aren't the only ones who are learning something new. So are the returning players.
"As much as things are new for them (the freshmen), we're going through the same things with learning new schemes on offense and defense," said sophomore forward Marcus Melvin. "Some of us pick it up faster than others so we're able to help each other out."
Said senior guard Anthony Grundy: "It's very different from me coming in as a freshman and seeing a lot of big guys to now being a team that's not so big, but actually getting quicker and faster. It's a different look that has brought a different personality to our group."
The group is noticeably different in every way. Even the coaching staff is different. Veteran coach Larry Hunter has taken over the No.1 assistant position that had been held down by Sean Miller since 1997
The freshness of it all has obviously reinvigorated Sendek, who seems excited about coaching a team that will feature many more interchangeable parts than in the past.
"One of the most engaging aspects of our team right now is our position-less nature," Sendek said. "We have a lot of guys who are interchangeable and versatile. We've been able to construct a motion-type offense that really takes advantage of that interchangeability. I think any number of guys can bring the ball up the floor for us, and at times we might even have our forwards do that."
Sendek and staff conducted their first official practices last Saturday, but the familiarization process actually began at the start of first semester classes when players would come in three days a week for individual skill workouts. One thing Sendek has already learned: it won't take any special motivational speeches to light a fire under this group.
"I don't know if I've ever been around a team that we've had to kick out of the gym as much as this group," Sendek said. "Even some of our best teams at Kentucky, I don't know if we had as many players as we do now where you have to say hey, tomorrow's another day. Or you get a call late at night from security saying that 'you've got someone over here at 11 o'clock shooting in the gym. We're trying to close down.' I think we have an assembly of guys who really love the game."
Already notorious for his late-night workouts is freshman Julius Hodge, the most heralded member of the Wolfpack's five-man recruiting class.
"The latest I've been in here is probably 1:15 (am)," Hodge said. "Usually the janitor will come in here at 11:30. When I'm in here shooting by myself, I'll turn the lights off."
Hodge and the other first-year players won't be brought along slowly, more than likely, they'll be asked to contribute right away. How quickly they adapt to the very challenging transition from high school to major college basketball will have a lot to say about what kind of season the Pack will have.
The No. 1 goal, of course, is to get NC State back in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1991. Making the field of 64 next March would help a lot of people forget about last year's disappointing 13-16 campaign.
"I think everybody who follows the Wolfpack is anxious for us to go to the NCAA Tournament," Sendek said. "Right now that is being held as the threshold measure of success for our basketball program. Nobody wants to accomplish that more than the players and coaches on the staff. That's a goal for us and we're going to strive with everything we have to make that a reality. If this team can have some early success and gain confidence and continue to make improvements, that's certainly a realistic goal for us."
