North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack, Deacons Face Off in Winston-Salem
2/9/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 9, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - Is this the Atlantic Coast Conference or the Atlantic Division of the NBA? That was the question NC State head coach Herb Sendek was asking himself this week as he reviewed game tape of 6th ranked Wake Forest (19-3, 7-2). From inside scoring to perimeter production; from size to quickness; from depth to versatility; the Deacons seemingly have it all. Needless to say, the Wolfpack (13-9, 3-6) will be facing a most formidable challenge when it travels to Winston-Salem for an ACC tilt against Skip Prosser's Deacs at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday night.
"They seem like an NBA team on film," Sendek said. "They're really good. They have great experience and great balance inside and out. They have the capacity to score in every conceivable way. They're tremendous in transition and when they miss, they rebound tenaciously. They're clearly one of the best teams in the country."
The statistics clearly back him up on that. The prolific Deacons are averaging a robust 86.2 points per game, a stat that ranks third nationally. And despite being well-scouted by its ACC opponents, Wake has still managed to score at least 81 points in all nine of its conference games.
Those stunning figures don't sit well with Sendek, whose team has been unusually inconsistent on the defensive end of the floor. Through nine league contests, Wolfpack opponents are hitting 47.6 percent of their field goal attempts, 36.6 percent from 3-point range and are averaging 12.9 turnovers per game.
Those are not NC State-like defensive numbers.
"I'm certainly not prepared to give our offense a clean bill of health because it has started there in at least some cases and has put our defense in a position where we've had to guard at a disadvantage in transition," Sendek said. "But I just don't think those [defensive] numbers are where they need to be. We have to do a better job on the defensive end of the floor. Certainly that's throughout the game, but there have been any number of cases in close losses that we've suffered that we have just not come up with that one big stop or gotten that one big rebound that you need to win instead of lose. We've tried to be honest with ourselves about that, address it and continue to work on becoming a better defensive team."
But Sendek didn't stop with the defensive statistics. Free throw shooting, a big ally last year when the Wolfpack hit 79.9 percent from the line to set a new ACC record, has also become a major obstacle this season.
"I came in on Monday and just curiously got the stat sheet out to see what we were at the foul line in the games that we lost by a combined 10 points," Sendek said. "We are 55 of 90 for 61 percent. I don't think at any point that we've been the kind of team that just has the margin to leave a minimum of 35 points at the foul line and be ok with that."
And there will no margin for error whatsoever on Thursday night. As the Pack saw up close and personal in a 24-point loss at 2nd ranked North Carolina a week ago, it's difficult to even stay close to one of the nation's best teams if you're not clicking on all cylinders.
Along with ringing up the scoreboard like a pinball machine, Wake Forest is shooting almost 50 percent from the field and 41 percent from 3-point range.
And who's the most dangerous Deacon? Take your pick. Guard Justin Gray averages 16.8 points per game. Point guard Chris Paul puts up 15.1 points and 6.6 assists per contest. Burly center Eric Williams comes in at 16.6 points and 7.3 rebounds. And when the big names aren't getting it done, Prosser usually gets tremendous contributions from the likes of Vytas Danelius, Jamaal Levy, Taron Downey and Trent Strickland.
NC State's top scorer continues to be senior Julius Hodge, who leads the team in scoring (17.7), rebounds (7.3) and assists (91). In last Saturday's 64-62 loss to Virginia, Hodge put up only five shots and scored just six points, the first time in 36 consecutive games he hasn't scored in double figures.
The only other Wolfpack player scoring in double figures is Cameron Bennerman (10.3), who will return to action on Thursday after missing four games with a sprained ligament in his left elbow. Bennerman will be wearing a special sleeve on his left arm when he takes the floor against Wake Forest.
"Cameron has been working together with us again," said Sendek. "He has a brace-like structure on his arm. I don't think he has the ability to have full extension yet. It's been great to have him back together with us in practice and he's been working hard. He's an important player for us. When he went out, he was our second leading scorer and shooting the basketball very well. You talk about defense - he does give us another really good athlete."
NC State leads the overall series with Wake Forest 124-90 after winning both regular season games last year. The Wolfpack has also won the last three games dating back to the ACC Tournament semifinals in 2002-03.
