North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Florida State
1/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 10, 2004
NC STATE (8-2, 1-0) at FLORIDA STATE (12-2, 1-0)
DATE: Sunday, January 11, 2004 @ Leon County Civic Center, Tallahassee, FL (12,200)
TIME: Tip-off: 4:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.
AIRTIME: 3:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot (ACC Network)
OPPONENT-- Florida State is off to its best start since the 1988-89 season when it won 13 of its first 14 games. After starting the season with a 10-game winning streak, the Seminoles have split their last four games and have not seen action since losing at Florida 87-73 on January 3rd. FSU is only two victories shy of tying its win total for the 2002-03 season.
It's not difficult to see why the Seminoles are the most improved team in the ACC. The 'Noles are No. 4 in the ACC in field goal percentage (.478). That's up from last season's .432 mark that was last in the league. FSU has shot 50 percent of better from the field in six different games this season compared to only five times in 29 games a year ago.
Florida State's three-point accuracy has really taken a turn for the better. The 'Noles lead the ACC with a .415 mark from beyond the arc and sink an average of 9.1 three-pointers a game which also tops the league. At the same time, coach Leonard Hamilton's team has been defending the long-range shot. Opponents are shooting only 29 percent from the bonusphere, good enough for No. 3 in the ACC. FSU has also been tough on the boards, outrebounding opponents by an average of five a game
Hamilton's roster is one of the deepest in the league with eleven players averaging at least 9 minutes a game. The Seminoles leader is senior, Tim Pickett, who is this week's ACC Player of the Week after averaging 18.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.5 steals in two games last week. Against No. 10 Florida, Pickett scored a season high 25 points, including 6 of 10 shooting from three-point range. Heading into Sunday's game, Pickett is 8th in the ACC in scoring, 2nd in three point percentage (.427), leads the league in three-point field goals per game (3.14) and is 4th in steals (2.57).
Raleigh native, Anthony Richardson, another improved player, has always performed well against NC State. In four career games, Richardson has averaged 16.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and nearly one steal a game. Senior guard, Nate Johnson, is No. 7 in the ACC in assists (4.1) and tops the league in assist/turnover ratio (3.62).
Two exciting newcomers have added punch to the FSU attack. Guard Von Wafer leads all ACC freshmen in three-point field goals per game (1.5) and has been playing very well recently, scoring in double figures in three of FSU's last four games. Freshman forward, Alexander Johnson, has played 20 or more minutes in four of the 'Noles last five games. In his last three outings, Johnson has made 10 of 16 shots from the field while averaging 9.3 points and 3.3 rebounds.
FSU is unbeaten at home this season (9-0) and has won 11 straight in Tallahassee dating back to last season.
A WIN--The Wolfpack would improve to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in the ACC in recording its 10th consecutive victory over Florida State, including five straight in Tallahassee. The Wolfpack would extend its overall winning streak to four straight games while winning its first two ACC games for the first time since the 1990-91 season. The victory would also mark the Pack's first on the road this season, following losses at Michigan and South Carolina.
A LOSS--Florida State would snap a three-game Wolfpack winning streak and break a nine-game losing streak to NC State in the series. The Seminoles would earn their first victory over the Pack in Tallahassee since January 23, 1999--snapping a four game home losing streak to NC State. The Wolfpack would drop to 8-3 overall and 1-1 in the ACC while losing its third straight road game. FSU's home winning streak dating back to last season would improve to 11 straight.
ITS BETTER TO GIVE THAN RECEIVE --NC State is averaging an assist on 66% of its field goals, the best mark in the ACC (173-261). In its win over BYU, the Wolfpack had 26 assists on 34 field goals (76%).
IT'S FINE AT THE LINE --NC State has been solid from the free throw line again this season making 76% of its foul shots (146-192). The Pack has made almost as many free throws as its opponents have attempted this season (146-150).
AN "A" GRADE ON "D" --The Pack is holding opponents to a very impressive 58.6 points a game while limiting the opposition to 38% shooting from the field (216-567) and 25% from the three-point arc (46-183). NC State is forcing 17 turnovers a game. In its last 6 games, the Pack has averaged 21.5 points a game off opponents turnovers (129).
DIALING LONG DISTANCE-- In its 8 victories, the Pack is shooting 34% from the three-point arc (67-197) while only 27% in its 2 losses (13-48). NC State is 2nd in the ACC in three-point field goals made per game (8.0), but in eighth in the league in three-point field goal percentage (.327).
WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH
Julius Hodge-- The junior leads the ACC in scoring (19.3) while topping the Wolfpack team in assists (4.7), field goal percentage (.549), minutes (34.2) and steals (1.7). He is the team's No. 2 rebounder (7.2) and three-point shooter (.409). In his last 3 games, Hodge has averaged 22.7 points (68), 6.3 rebounds (19) and 5.7 assists (17) while shooting .649 from the field (24-37) and sinking all 17 of his free throws. A first-team All-ACC selection last season, Hodge was voted first-team All ACC Tournamnent after averaging 19.3 points (58) and 9 rebounds (27) --including a career high 31 points against Wake Forest in the semifinals.
Marcus Melvin--In his 3 two games the versatile senior forward has averaged 17.0 points (51), 7.3 rebounds (22) and 2.3 assists (7) while shooting .486 from the field (18-37). Melvin is NC State's No. 2 scorer (14.3) and leads the Wolfpack in rebounding (7.6) and blocked shots (1.2). Notched a career high 27 points and 13 rebounds in a win over UW-Milwaukee on 12/7/03. Last season, Melvin was named first-team All-ACC Tournament after averaging 17.3 points (52), 6 rebounds (18) and shooting .515 from the field (17-33) and .473 from the arc (9-19).
Scooter Sherrill--The Pack's No. 3 scorer (11.4) is shooting 49% from the field this season but has struggled at times offensively. The senior guard has been one of the Pack's top three-point shooters throughout his career, but in his last 7games has made just 3-28 shots from bsyond the arc (11%). Sherrill played well in the Pack's win over Virginia on 12/28 with 19 points on 8-14 shooting. Last season, he was named to the second-unit of the All-ACC Tournament team after averaging 11.6 points (35) and shooting .500 from the three-point line.
Levi Watkins--The Wolfpack's sixth man is also the team's most improved player. He's shooting 46% from the field and 40% from three point-range this season which represent the best marks of his career. The junior leads the Wolfpack in three-point field goals made (15). Watkins did not play vs. UNC-Wilmington on 1/3/04 due to injury, but was a spark in the win over BYU with 7 points, 4 rebounds and career-high 5 assists in only 17 minutes.
Ilian Evtimov--The redshirt sophomore from Bulgaria enjoyed his best overall performance of the season against BYU with 13 points and 5 assists while holding his own defensively against the Cougars 6-11 center Rafael Araujo. No. 2 on the NC State team in assists (3.2), Evtimov has been averaging about 26 minutes a game as he continues to work his way back from a season-ending knee injury suffered early last season. In his last 3 games, Evtimov has averaged 10.3 points (31) and 3.0 rebounds (9) while shooting .550 from the field (11-20).
