North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack will be looking for collective contribution without Collins
3/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2005
BY TIM PEELER
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The old cliché in college basketball is that by this time of the season there is no such thing as freshmen.
NC State coach Herb Sendek hopes that is true when his seventh-seeded Wolfpack plays 10th-seeded Florida State today at 2:30 p.m. in the first round of the ACC Tournament at the MCI Center.
The Wolfpack (17-12 overall, 7-9 ACC) will have to rely on a pair of first-year players Cedric Simmons and Andrew Brackman to help make up for the probable loss of senior center Jordan Collins, who will likely miss the game because of a separated shoulder he suffered Sunday in the Wolfpack's loss to Wake Forest in the regular-season finale.
Senior Levi Watkins, whose playing time in recent games has been limited by strained knee ligaments, will also be asked to contribute more in Collins' absence.
But it won't just be those three who will have to contribute more.
"We have to collectively make up for his absence," Sendek said. "The three young men who most directly will do that will be Levi, Andrew and Cedric - our other three frontcourt players. But I think other guys have to be ready to step up as well." That means more scoring and rebounding from perimeter players like Julius Hodge, Tony Bethel and Engin Atsur. And it means some adjustments for Ilian Evtimov, perhaps the player most affected by Collins' absence.
"Jordan and I have developed a strong bond on defense and offense where we were so comfortable with each other over the course of the season," Evtimov said. "It's almost like at the end of last year when Marcus [Melvin] and I were almost like we were as one. We knew what the other guy was doing. When you get to that point, and one of the two people is unable to play, it's painful not just for the person who gets hurt, but for the person who he is playing with."
But Evtimov expects that Simmons and Brackman are up for the challenge, now that both have plenty of experience under their belts. Simmons is a strong defensive presence, capable of affecting games with his leaping and shot-blocking abilities. Brackman is a sparkplug, who comes off the bench, hustles and dives on the floor and is capable of burying teams with his outside shooting abilities.
Evtimov believes they have matured during the course of a difficult season, one that included challenging road trips in the ACC.
"The young guys have been practicing really hard," Evtimov said. "I have no question in my mind that they are going to play really hard. They have played in some tough games on the road. I don't think it is going to be any kind of pressure, or the setting will be tough to take in. They have been to some tough places, Chapel Hill, Maryland, Wake Forest."
With a possible matchup with second-seeded Wake Forest looming on Friday, one of the big things the Wolfpack will have to do is not overlook Florida State, which is much more dangerous than its 12-18 overall and 4-12 ACC records might indicate.
"It is imperative that we stay focused on Florida State," Sendek said. "We more than have our hands full with Florida State. To look beyond them in anyway would be utter foolishness on our part.
"I think our players understand that. They are pretty smart guys. They have played Florida State and watched them on TV and on film. They understand how talented this team is. They have some good wins on their resume and some close games that could have gone their way, whether it was the foul with four-tenths of a second left on the clock [against Georgia Tech] or another game here or there. I don't think there is any illusion on our part of how competitive and talented they are and how our complete and total attention must be devoted to doing our best on Thursday."
In fact, Evtimov said, it is the hope of getting to play Wake Forest that will make the Wolfpack remain focused against the Seminoles today.
"Our total focus is on Florida State," Evtimov said. "But I won't lie to you: in the back of my mind, I am excited about the opportunity we have if we beat Florida State to play Wake Forest again. Whatever team we play is going to have to take our best [shot]. We are going to be as prepared as we have ever been and as excited as we have ever been for that game."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
