North Carolina State University Athletics
"Big" Test Awaits NC State on Wednesday Night
1/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 6, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-NC State's 7-2 basketball team will be facing a big challenge on Wednesday night. The operative word in the previous sentence is "big." Anchored by massive 6-11, 280-pound senior Rafael Araujo, Brigham Young will bring a 10-2 record to the RBC Center in a game that will get underway at 8:00 p.m. Araujo, who is averaging 20.7 points and 10.8 rebounds per game, is in the midst of an All-American-caliber season. His size and power is complimented by a productive supporting cast that has also been putting up some impressive numbers this season.
The Cougars, whose most impressive win to date was a 76-71 triumph over then 25th ranked Oklahoma State back on December 6th, are shooting 51.3 percent from the floor and nearly 39 percent from the 3-point line. But the centerpiece of the BYU attack is clearly Araujo, a tall, wide-bodied Brazilian who has reached double-figure points and rebounds in eight of his last nine games.
"It starts with Araujo," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "He's averaging a double-double and shooting 64 percent from the field. Certainly, that's cause for concern. They're able to put around him some very skilled players and some good shooters. With an inside anchor like that as well as a team that shoots the ball with range as well as they do, it's a difficult combination to deal with."
How NC State chooses to deal with Araujo will be interesting. Not blessed with tremendous size inside, the Wolfpack will certainly have a difficult time handling such an interior force with just one player. But by electing to trap the post with multiple defenders, the Pack's defensive rotations would be tested by players like four-year starter Mark Bigelow and Mike Hall. The 6-7 Bigelow averages 12.7 points per game and is the 10th leading scorer in school history. Hall, a 6-3 guard, puts up 13.4 points per contest.
Some of the coaches who have tried to contain Araujo already this season have come away shaking their heads.
Following his team's 85-61 loss to BYU last month, Southern California coach Henry Bibby said, "We haven't seen a player like Araujo. He's the best big guy I've seen since I've been in the Pac-10 in nine years. We had no answer for him. He draws so much attention and scores in so many ways; it's incredible. You can't stop him one-on-one."
Those comments came after Araujo tallied 28 points and 11 rebounds against the Trojans, hitting 10-of-15 shots.
"We tried to button him down from behind near the basket, but once he got the ball and position, he's just too big to get around and he had his way," said Oklahoma State coach Eddie Sutton, whose Cowboys "held" Araujo to 32 points and 11 boards.
On the flip side, of course, versatile players like Ilian Evtimov and Marcus Melvin will test Araujo's ability to play defense away from the basket if the Cougars choose to play man-to-man against the Wolfpack.
It will indeed be an interesting cat-and-mouse game between a pair of teams who go about scoring in very different ways. BYU, which has been picked as the team to beat in the Mountain West Conference this year, received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament after posting a 23-9 mark in 2002-2003.
Now the ACC's top scorer, NC State's Julius Hodge is averaging 18.9 points per game. Hodge is also No.3 in the league in field goal percentage (.542), sixth in free throw percentage (77.6), sixth in rebounding (7.6) and sixth in assists (4.56 per game).
Wednesday's game is part of a home and home series that will be continued when NC State travels to Provo to play BYU on its home floor next December. A date has not yet been finalized.
Wolfpack forward Levi Watkins, who missed Saturday night's game against UNC Wilmington because of a pulled muscle in his shin, remains questionable for Wednesday night's contest.
"We expected him to play against Wilmington when it first happened, but it just didn't respond as quickly as we would have hoped," Sendek said. "I think at best we can say he's questionable. Hopefully, we'll make some progress over the next few days. I don't see it as being a long-term injury."
