North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Unselfish Wolfpack Spreads the Glory
12/31/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 31, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- In the back halls of the RBC Center is a hockey lockerroom that is sometimes used for post-game interviews for NC State basketball.
There are a couple of dozen cubicles in the room, and when the Wolfpack players come in to meet the media they spread out to various corners to answer questions, especially after big wins against nationally ranked opponents.
Invariably, the star of any particular game will be mobbed by reporters clutching tape recorders and television crews wielding cameras, all anxious to talk about that night's performance. If someone has a particularly good game, getting within three feet of him can be a difficult proposition.
So it was striking Friday night, following the 19th-ranked Wolfpack's 79-58 victory over No. 12 George Washington, that no single player had more than a half-dozen media members surrounding him at any given time.
While some talked to Cameron Bennerman, who was the game's leading scorer with 17 points, just as many were talking to sophomore center Cedric Simmons, who played a monster game against Colonial senior center Pops Mensah-Bonsu.
Mensah-Bonsu struggled all night to make any of his shots, hitting just three of 13 attempts from the field. Meanwhile, Simmons had 14 points and 10 rebounds, further establishing himself as one of the nation's top up-and-coming big men and helping the Wolfpack dominate the boards with a 47-37 rebounding advantage.
There was the same number of people surrounding sophomore Andrew Brackman, who has played better in recent games now that he is coming off the bench that he did when he was a starter. He seems more comfortable in that role, just as he seems more comfortable now that he knows how to play with his bulked-up body after adding about 30 pounds of muscle in the weight-room.
There were just as many around senior Ilian Evtimov, who explained how important the Wolfpack's defense was throughout the game, as it held a team that entered Friday ranked in the nation's top 10 in scoring and field goal percentage to season lows in points (58) and shooting from the field (30.5 percent).
And, finally, when junior Engin Atsur came in the room after a quick trip to the training room, several people drifted over to talk to the Wolfpack's take-charge point guard, who contributed nine assists against only one turnover despite being weakened by a flu-bug.
Each of the five players had scored at least double figures in the contest, the seventh time this season that the Wolfpack (11-1) has had at five players with at least 10 points.
For the season, there are four players averaging in double figures - Evtimov at 12.6, , Simmons at 11.5, and Bennerman and Atsur both at 11.2 - with Brackman and sophomore Gavin Grant both contributing at least nine points a game.
Defensively, the team is similarly well-balanced, with Simmons and Brackman capable of blocking multiple shots because they get excellent perimeter and help-side defense. Simmons had another four blocks on Friday, frustrating Menseh-Bonsu to the point that George Washington's best player had to be taken out of the game.
"I think what makes this a good team is that the chemistry is great," Atsur said. "Everybody shares the ball. Nobody cares how many shots they take. We make the extra pass. We don't have big egos on the team. That's the great thing.
"Everybody does their best to win the game."
Bennerman added: "The key to this team is that we are so unselfish. You don't know who is going to do what in terms of production. Some guys may have a bad game, but I think everybody has each other's back and we can overcome it."
For Sendek, whose team is off to its best start in his 10 years at the Wolfpack helm, it makes for one of the most enjoyable coaching situations he has had here.
"I think we have good chemistry," he said. "I like the character of our team. We have good guys. But it is not something that is a finished product. You have to work on it every day, and we still have a lot of challenges ahead."
This is, indeed, one of the toughest stretches of the season. George Washington is one of five ranked teams the Wolfpack will play in the next three weeks, a stretch that includes games at No. 25 North Carolina, at No. 13 Boston College and at top-ranked Duke.
"We still have a long way to go in the season," Sendek said. "We just want to be able to maintain the evenness that we have."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
