North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Hopes To Regain Shooting Touch Against Wofford
12/4/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2001
By Tony Haynes
Where is the NC State basketball team that shot better than 50 percent in its first four games of the season? If anyone knows the whereabouts of these people, please give Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek a call.
Since its early season marksmanship, the Pack (5-2) has fallen on hard times, especially in back-to-back defeats to Ohio State and Massachusetts. Those two games have produced a frigid shooting percentage of 30 percent from the floor. And from the three-point ark, the Wolfpack converted on just 19 percent (9-of-53). Incredibly, NC State could have won either game by simply making around 40 percent of its shots.
"That's what makes it frustrating," said senior guard Anthony Grundy, who was 6-for-20 in Saturday's seven-point loss to U-Mass. "It's hard to accept these teams beating us because of the way we've been shooting. What it boils down to is that we have to make shots. Once we do, we'll get it back rolling again."
Even though the shooting percentage has taken a nosedive over the last three games, the Wolfpack has shown some signs of offensive improvement. Assists are up and turnovers are down-especially compared to where they have been in recent years. Other than a 21-turnover eruption at Ohio State, the Wolfpack's turnover numbers have remained relatively low. NC State has also posted more assists than turnovers in six of its seven games to this point. The Pack also looks better at the free throw line, where it has converted on 72 percent of its attempts this year.
Speaking of shooting, Wofford will be looking to fire up plenty of long-range bombs when it visits the Entertainment and Sports Arena on Wednesday night. The Terriers (3-4) are putting up an average of more than 22 three-pointers per game. Junior guard Mike Lenzly, a 39 percent shooter from the arc, is averaging 14.7 points per game to lead Wofford. Lee Nixon, a 6-4 junior, is right behind at 14.6 points per contest.
In their most recent outing, the Terriers shot just 35 percent and were outrebounded 45-31 in a 65-46 loss to Nebraska on Sunday.
Richard Johnson is in his 17th-and final-year as the head coach at Wofford. On Monday, Johnson took over as the school's athletics director. He'll be replaced on the bench next season by associate head coach Mike Young. Before coming to Wofford, Johnson played for and coached under Les Robinson, who spent time as a player, coach and athletics director at NC State.
