North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes
12/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 14, 2001
UNC-ASHEVILLE (1-7) at NC STATE (7-2)
DATE: Saturday, December 15, 2001 @ Entertainment & Sports Arena (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 2:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 1:30 p.m. (Click for list of stations carrying game)
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net South (Regional Cable)
OPPONENT-- Former Wolfpack player and assistant coach, Eddie Biedenbach, has a theory. The UNCA head coach believes you get better by playing better competition. Each season he puts the Bulldogs through a meat grinder schedule in November and December. That process has paid dividends. Two years ago, UNCA began the season 0-9 and later earned a trip to the Big South Conference Tournament championship game.
This year, UNCA's lone victory came on December 1st against a Western Carolina team that upset Florida State. The losses were to West Virginia, UNC-Greensboro, Minnesota, Campbell, East Tennessee, Furman and Montreat College. The 91-86 loss to Montreat on December 8th was unexpected and was the most disappointing of the season.
Turnovers and poor free throw shooting are really hurting the Bulldogs. UNCA is averaging 14 assists to 19 turnovers a game. Opponents are stealing the ball an average of eleven times a contest. The Bulldogs are also missing opportunities to score by shooting only 59 percent from the free throw stripe and they're being outrebounded by an average of 36-33 a game.
Overall, UNCA is a decent shooting team at 45 percent from the field and 33 percent from the three-point line. The Bulldogs top two players, Andre Smith and Colin Shaw have both been hobbled by injuries. Shaw has tendenitis in his knee while Smith, the 2000 Big South Player of the Year, had a sore foot and missed two games. One of the players of the future is freshman, Bryan McCullough, who can score in traffic and shoot the three-pointer. This is a team looking for chemistry. It should start finding it by the time it gets into its Big South schedule.
PROBABLE UNCA STARTERS
10 Andre Smith G 6'2 Jr. 14.5ppg. 2.8 rpg. 3.0 apg. 23 Brandon Carter G 6'3 Jr. 6.9 ppg. 3.3 rpg. 3.4 apg. 41 Ben McGonagil C 6'11 Jr. 11.5ppg. 5.5 rpg. 1.1* 20 Colin Shaw F 6'6 Jr. 9.4 ppg. 5.3 rpg. 2.7 apg. 33 Robby Joyner F 6'5 Sr. 8.1 ppg. 3.0 rpg. 0.9*
TOP RESERVES:
11 Alex Kragel G 6'2 Jr. 5.4 ppg. 2.9 rpg. 3.0 apg. 15 Bryan McCullough G/F 6'6 Fr. 6.1 ppg. 2.3 rpg. 1.0 apg. 30 Michael Harper F 6-7 So. 3.1 ppg. 1.5 rpg. 0.9* * Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would give the Wolfpack its first three game winning streak since the start of the season and mark the Pack's seventh victory at home this season against only one loss. NC State would move to 54-8 all-time versus teams from the Big South Conference and to 14-0 over UNCA. The Pack would improve to 55-6 under coach Herb Sendek against non-conference opponents at home including a mark of 26-3 at the ESA.
A LOSS--Would be NC State's first ever to UNCA, stopping the Bulldogs losing streak at 13-straight in the series. The Bulldogs would also halt a 5-game overall losing streak and improve to 2-7. The Wolfpack would drop to 7-3 overall and 6-2 at home.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE --NC State averaged 20.4 points off turnovers in its first eight games this season (163) and is forcing an average of 17 turnovers a contest (155).
THE BOARDS --The Wolfpack outrebounded its last two opponents by a 76-59 margin. For the season, NC State is holding an average edge vs. opponents of 34-33 on the boards. However, NC State ranked last in the ACC in rebounding.
PINE POINTS-- The Wolfpack's young, but deep bench is averaging nearly 17.6 points a game (158) this season. A little more than 40 percent of the total minutes played by Wolfpack players this season have been accounted for by freshmen.
SHOTS AND OPPONENTS ARE FALLING -- The Pack has shot 50 percent or better in six games this season and won all six. In its last two games, NC State is shooting a combined .537 (57-106) from the field and 34 percent from the three-point arc (14-41). The Pack is 1-2 in games when it has shot below 50 percent.
MUCH BETTER AT THE LINE --NC State's free throw shooting has improved this season. The Pack is shooting .737 from the charity stripe (129-175) and .770 in its last five games (87-113). Last season, the Pack shot .673 from the line.
DOWNTURN IN TURNOVERS-- Overall, NC State has done a good job taking care of the ball this season by averaging only 12.7 turnovers a game (115). The Pack has committed only 37 turnovers in its last three games. Last season, the Wolfpack turned the ball over nearly 17 times a contest.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State will host Charleston Southern on Wednesday, December 19, 2001. The game will be carried live on the Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network with an airtime of 7:00 p.m. EST. The game will not be televised.
ARCHIE MILLER-- The Wolfpack captain leads the team in minutes per game (30.6),free throw shooting (.810) and assists with 32 (3.6 apg.). He broke out of a four game shooting slump with an 8-of-16 performance from the field in his last 3 games and a combined 31 points. Miller currently leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 4.0-to-1mark and has only one turnover in his last four games. The fifth-year senior is fifth in the school record book for career three-point field goals made (163) and is fourth in career three-point percentage (fifth in ACC history) at .433 (163-376).
ANTHONY GRUNDY-- The senior guard is coming off possibly his finest game in a Wolfpack uniform. At Syracuse on December 8th, Grundy finished with 26 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals while shooting 10-16 from the field and sinking all five of his foul shots. Currently, he leads the team in scoring (14.3 ppg.), steals (20), and is tied for No. 2 in rebounding (5.4 rpg.). He's also the team's leading backcourt shooter, hitting .491of his shots from the field (53-108), but has slumped at the three-point line in his last three games (4-17). The Louisville, Ky., native ranks fifth in school history with 189 career steals (fifth-best mark in the ACC).
JULIUS HODGE-- The 2001 McDonalds and Parade High School All-American is off to a good start with the Wolfpack. He's averaging 10.3 points and 4.2 rebounds a game and is currently the Pack's leading three-point shooter at .400 (12-30) and is No. 2 in free throw shooting at .778 (21-27). He played 22 minutes at Syracuse and finished with 12 points including 7-10 from the foul line. New York's "Mr. Basketball" as a senior and the New York Daily News High School Player of the Year, Hodge averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his senior year at St. Raymond's High School in Bronx, NY. Rated as the No. 1 shooting guard in the nation by ESPN.com.
MARCUS MELVIN--Played in 25 games last year while learning the Wolfpack system. This season he's started every game and has averaged 30 minutes. He's the team's No. 2 rebounder (5.4 rpg.) and is averaging 9.9 points a game (89). In his last two games, Melvin is averaging 12.5 points while shooting 10-11 from the field.
JOSH POWELL-- The 6-9 freshman won his second ACC Rookie of the Week award this season after combining for 32 points and 16 rebounds in victories over Wofford and Syracuse while shooting 15-18 from the field (.833). Powell pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds vs. Syracuse. He scored a career high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field vs. Wofford on 12/5/01. Powell has started every game this season and leads the team in field goal percentage at .636 (42-66). He's also the Pack's leading offensive rebounder (19) and shot blocker (10), but leads the team in turnovers (20). Powell was named Metro Atlanta Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club following his senior year at Riverdale High School. He averaged 22.7 points and 13 rebounds in his senior year and is the only player in school history to have his jersey retired.
SCOOTER SHERRILL--Has seen action in every game this season after playing in 29 contests a year ago as a reserve guard. He's averaging 5.3 points a game (48). Sherrill scored 10 points in 19 minutes vs. Wofford on 12/5/01 and added 3 rebounds and 3 assists.
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The junior guard played well vs. Wofford and Syracuse combining for with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. He's cut down on his turnovers from last season and has a nearly 2.6-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (18-7). An above average defender, Crawford is No.3 on the team in steals with 11. His top performance this season came in the opener vs. Prairie View when he notched 12 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists and shot 5-of-6 from the field.
ILLIAN EVTIMOV-- A native of Bulgaria, Evtimov lived in France for most of his life before moving to the United States. He averaged 21.5 points, 14 rebounds and 5.2 assists a game as a senior at Bishop McGuiness High School in Winston-Salem, NC. As a freshman at NC State, Evtimov is averaging nearly 13 minutes a game and 2.9 points a contest (26). He's seen action in every game. His best outing of the season was against The Citadel with 6 points and 2 rebounds on 3-of-5 shooting from the field. He's the brother of former UNC forward Vasco Evtimov who is now playing professionally in Greece.
LEVI WATKINS-- A 2001 Parade High School All-American, Watkins averaged 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds a game during his senior year at Montrose Christian in Rockville, MD. He's played in every game for the Wolfpack this season and is shooting 40 percent from the field (8-20) as he continues to learn the NC State system.
JORDAN COLLINS-- The 6-10 freshman has played in 7 games for the Wolfpack this season in limited minutes (6.1mpg.). Collins was a four-year starter at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, MD for legendary coach, Morgan Wooten. He averaged 15 points and 10.3 rebounds as a senior while leading DeMatha to a 27-5 record. His best outing of the season was vs. Prairie View A&M when he scored 2 points and pulled down 4 rebounds.
