North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes
12/6/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2001
NC STATE (6-2) at No. 9 SYRACUSE (9-0)
DATE: Saturday, December 8, 2001 @ Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY (33,000)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 7:00 p.m.
TELEVISION: ESPN2
OPPONENT-- Syracuse owns a 2-0 edge in the all-time series with North Carolina State. The Orangemen won 86-79 in a December 1990 matchup with the Wolfpack and then came back from an 11-point deficit in the second half to defeat NC State, 54-43, last season in Raleigh.
Associate head coach Bernie Fine, who owns the longest-running tenure at one school of any Division I assistant (26 years), is running the Orangemen, while head coach Jim Boeheim is on medical leave for an enlarged prostate gland.
Senior forward Preston Shumpert scored 26 points and junior guard DeShaun Williams added 23 to lead Syracuse to a 91-65 victory against Hofstra on Tuesday night in the Carrier Dome. Shumpert's 26 points moved him into 23rd place on SU's all-time scorers list with 1,368 points. With his four three-pointers on the night, Shumpert also moved into second place at Syracuse with 191 career three-pointers. He needs six more baskets from behind the arc to tie Lawrence Moten who owns the record.
Williams tied a season high with his 23 points. He also dished out a season-high seven assists and pulled down a personal-best seven rebounds. Williams sat out the previous three games for violating the school's code of conduct following his conviction on a DWI charge earlier this year.
Shumpert, Williams and Kueth Duany are the main offensive weapons for SU, but the Orangemen are deep and have better than average size. The Wolfpack will have to solve a Syracuse 2-3 zone defense that is very good and will have to overcome defensive pressure that has forced opponents into an average of 21 turnovers a game. The Orangemen have held opponents to an average of 59.8 points , 36 percent shooting from the field and 25 percent from the three point arc. SU is not an outstanding rebounding team and is giving up an average of 16 offensive boards a game.
Earlier this season, Syracuse won the Preseason NIT Championship with a come-from-behind 74-67 victory over Wake Forest.
PROBABLE SYRACUSE STARTERS
03 Preston Shumpert F 6'6 Sr. 22.8ppg. 5.8 rpg. 2.2apg.
01 Hakim Warrick F 6'7 Fr. 7.9 ppg. 5.3 rpg. 0.8apg.
51 Craig Forth C 7'0 Fr. 4.3 ppg. 4.0 rpg. 3.1*
21 DeShaun Williams G 6'3 Jr. 21.8ppg. 4.3 rpg. 4.1apg.
13 Kueth Duany F 6'6 Jr. 14.9ppg. 5.4 rpg. 2.0apg.
TOP RESERVES:
05 Josh Pace G/F 6'5 Fr. 5.1 ppg. 1.9 rpg. 1.3apg.
15 James Thues G 5'10 So. 4.1 ppg. 2.6 rpg. 5.4apg.
34 Jeremy McNeil F 6-8 So. 3.6 ppg. 3.6 rpg. 1.9*
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would mark the first for the Wolfpack over a team ranked in the nation's Top-10 since February 7, 2001 when NC State upset No. 6 Virginia 90-80 at home and the sixth over a Top-10 team in the Herb Sendek era. NC State would win for the first time ever at the Carrier Dome and for the first time vs. Syracuse in the series. NC State would move into exam week with a two-game winning streak.
A LOSS--Would be the third in the last four games for the Wolfpack and second straight on the road this season. NC State would fall to 0-3 in its series with Syracuse with two of those defeats coming at the Carrier Dome.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE --NC State has averaged 20.4 points off turnovers this season (163) and is forcing an average of 17 turnovers a game (138).
THE BOARDS --The Wolfpack outrebounded Wofford by a 42-29 margin. For the season, NC State is holding an average edge vs. opponents of 34-33 on the boards.
PINE POINTS-- The Wolfpack's young, but deep bench is averaging nearly 17.6 points a game (141) this season. However, in its last five games the Pack's bench is averaging 13.6 points a game (68).
SHOTS FELL...TERRIERS FELL -- The Pack broke out of a three game shooting slump against Wofford by connecting on 54 percent of its shots from the field and 35 percent from the three-point line. In the three games prior to the Wofford contest, NC State shot only 32 percent from the field and 19 percent from the arc.
MUCH BETTER AT THE LINE --NC State's free throw shooting has improved this season. The Pack is shooting .738 from the charity stripe (110-149) and .780 in its last four games (68-87). 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 12.3 turnovers a game. The Pack has committed only 20 turnovers in its last two games. Last season, the Wolfpack turned the ball over nearly 17 times a contest.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State will host UNC-Asheville on Saturday, December 15, 2001. The game will be carried live on the Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network with an airtime of 1:30 p.m. EST. The game will be televised on Fox Sports Net.
ARCHIE MILLER-- The Wolfpack captain leads the team in minutes per game (31.0),free throw shooting (.824) and assists (3.9 apg.). He broke out of a four game shooting slump with a 6-of-9 performance from the field in his last two games (U-Mass & Wofford) and a combined 23 points. In four consecutive games prior to the U-Mass contest, Miller shot only .269 from the field (7-26) and .227 from the three-point line (5-22). Miller currently leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio with a 4.4-to-1mark. The fifth-year senior is fifth in the school record book for career three-point field goals made (162) and is fourth in career three-point percentage at .437 (162-370).
ANTHONY GRUNDY-- The senior guard has led the Wolfpack in scoring in both of his full seasons in an NC State uniform (he joined the team in December of his freshman year). This season he leads the team in scoring (12.9 ppg.), steals (16), and is No. 2 in rebounding (5.6 rpg.). He's also the team's leading backcourt shooter, hitting .467of his shots from the field (43-92). However, in his last two games he's shooting only .368 from the field (14-38) and .230 from the three-point line (3-13). Grundy ranked 15th in ACC history with 1.93 steals per game and fifth in NC State career steals (185).
JULIUS HODGE-- The 2001 McDonalds and Parade High School All-American is off to a good start with the Wolfpack. He's averaging 10.1 points and 4.8 rebounds a game and is currently the Pack's leading three-point shooter at .393 (11-28) and is tied for the lead in free throw shooting at .824 (14-17). 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. 1 rebounder (5.9 rpg.) and is averaging 10.5 points a game. He is coming off a career high 20 points vs. Wofford on 12/5/01 in which he shot 8-of-8 from the field.
JOSH POWELL-- The 6-9 freshman 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 ..614 (35-57). He's also the Pack's leading offensive rebounder (16) and shot blocker (9), but leads the team in turnovers (19). 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 5.8 points a game (46). 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 on 12/5/01 with 5 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He's cut down on his turnovers from last season and has a nearly 3-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio (17-6). An above average defender, Crawford is No.2 on the team in steals with 10. 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 14 minutes a game and 3.3 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 41 percent from the field (7-17) as he continues to learn the NC State system.
JORDAN COLLINS-- The 6-10 freshman has played in 6 games for the Wolfpack this season in limited minutes (6.5 mpg.). 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.
