North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Georgia Tech
1/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2006
#18/18 NC STATE (13-2, 2-1) vs. GEORGIA TECH (9-4, 2-0)
DATE: Saturday, January 14, 2005 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 12:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.
AIRTIME: 11:30 a.m.. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom-Jeffersion Pilot (ACC Network)
OPPONENT-- Georgia Tech extended its winning streak to four in a row with Tuesday's 85-69 win at Centenary. Jeremis Smith led four Tech players in double-figure scoring with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Ra'Sean Dickey also added 19 points. The Yellow Jackets built a big lead, but had to fight off a second-half rally by the Gents.
Tech opened with a 12-0 run and used 53 percent shooting to take a 52-35 lead at halftime. However, the Jackets committed eight turnovers in the first nine minutes of the second half, allowing Centenary (2-12) to cut the deficit to 67-61 with 7:34 remaining. That's when Smith stepped up.
The 6-6 sophomore followed with five straight points, including a slam dunk, and Anthony Morrow sank a 3-pointer with 5:50 left as the Yellow Jackets made an 8-0 run to pull away. The victory was Tech's first on the road this season.
The Jackets committed 19 turnovers, but outrebounded the Gents 46-29 and held a commanding 14-5 edge on the offensive glass. Over the last seven games, the Yellow Jackets have out-rebounded their opponents by 14.7 rebounds per game. For the season, Tech is getting back an impressive 47 percent of its missed shots.
As the Tech tried to recover from the loss of five seniors and a junior from last year's squad, it started slowly, losing 4 of its first nine games. It was the first time since the 1980-81 campaign that the Yellow Jackets began a season with five first-time starters.
Coach Paul Hewitt has also had to deal with injury and academic problems. One of the team's few veterans, Mario West, has missed the last four games with a sprained big toe while freshman guard Lewis Clinch was out five games with a stress fracture of his leg. Clinch returned for the January 8th game against Boston College. Oddly enough that was the final game for the team's only senior, Theodis Tarver. The 6-9 forward saw his career end when he was ruled academically ineligible this week.
Make no mistake, Tech remains a talented team. Morrow has scored in double figures in 11 straight games and is one of the top percentage three-point shooters in the ACC (.429). He has taken more shots than anyone on the Georgia Tech team (166) and leads the squad in scoring, 3-point attempts and makes (36-of-84), free throw percentage (.857) and minutes played (32.2).
Smith has had eight or more rebounds 10 times and is second in the ACC in rebounding. He also leads the Jackets in steals (2.2) as well as free throw attempts and makes, but shoots only 54 percent from the line (50-93). Dickey tops Tech in blocked shots (1.8) and field goal percentage (.569) and has great upside potential.
Of all the players departing Tech after last season, point guard Jarrett Jack was probably the biggest loss. Jack is now with the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. His replacement, sophomore, Zam Frederick, has nearly as many turnovers as assists (52-to-53) and leads the team in fouls as he continues to adjust to his new role.
Tech's defense has shown steady improvement. The Jackets have allowed an average of only 60 points a game over their last 6 outings (including wins over Vanderbilt and Boston College). Opponents are shooting only 41 percent from the field and 30 percent from the three-point line this season against Tech.
State has won the last six meetings in the series. The Wolfpack downed the Yellow Jackets 53-51in Atlanta on February 13, 2005, as Tony Bethel drove around Jarrett Jack for the winning basket with 9.8 seconds to play. The must-win helped spark the Pack to its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
PROBABLE GEORGIA TECH STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG 23 Anthony Morrow G 6'5 So. 16.9 5.0 1.7 35 Zam Frederick G 6'0 So. 10.2 3.2 4.1 04 Ra'Sean Dickey F 6'9 So. 10.8 6.2 1.8* 32 Jeremis Smith F 6'6 So. 13.7 9.0 2.0 01 D'Andre Bell G/F 6'5 Fr. 4.3 1.8 1.0
TOP RESERVES:
05 Mario West G 6'4 RJr. 7.4 4.0 3.0 33 Lewis Clinch G 6'5 Fr. 6.5 2.3 1.1 12 Paco Diaw G 6'6 Fr. 1.5 1.4 1.8 41 Alade Aminu F/C 6'9 Fr. 2.8 2.3 -- * Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would give the Wolfpack's 9 victories in its last 10 games and its second straight ACC victory. State would improve to 14-2 overall and 3-1 in the ACC while sending Tech to its first ACC loss and snapping a 4-game Yellow Jackets' winning streak. State would remain unbeaten at home this season and beat Tech for the seventh straight time in the series and the 10th time in-a-row in Raleigh. (State has not lost to Tech in Raleigh since 1/24/96). The Jackets would drop to 9-5 overall and 2-1 in the ACC. The Pack will try for a regular season sweep of Tech when the two teams meet in Atlanta on February 11th.
A LOSS--Would be the first to Georgia Tech since January 11, 2003, breaking a streak of six straight wins over the Yellow Jackets in the series. The Yellow Jackets would get their first win in Raleigh since January 24, 1996, breaking a 9-game road losing streak in the series. The Wolfpack would drop to 13-3 overall, 2-2 in the ACC and lose for the first time at home this season. Tech would win its fifth straight game overall and improve to 10-4 overall and 3-0 in the ACC. The two teams will meet again on Feb. 11th in Atlanta.
IT ALL STARTS BY STOPPING `EM --The Wolfpack is holding opponents to an ACC best 59.7 points a game. State also leads the league in field goal percentage defense (.371) and is 3rd in three-point percentage defense (.297).
BETHEL'S BOMBING AWAY --Senior guard Tony Bethel has made 10 of his last 15 shots from the three-point arc. In his last 3 games, he has averaged 15.0 points while shooting 17-of-26 from the field (65%). Bethel is NC State's best on-the-ball defender and is also a highly skilled playmaker and impressive rebounder.
TERRIFIC TURK -- Engin Atsur, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, leads the Pack in assists (69), steals (25), 3-point percentage (.480) and minutes (31.6). The junior has only 14 turnovers in his last 9 games. He's scored in double-figures in his last 8 games, averaging 14.3 (114) points and 5.1 assists (41) while shooting 57 percent from the three-point line (24-42).
LONG DISTANCE ASSISTANCE --State is No. 2 in the ACC in three-point percentage (.389) and has made more three-points shots (138) than anyone in the league this season. Almost 45 percent of the Pack's field goal attempts come from behind the arc (355-of-792). During its recent seven-game winning streak, the Pack shot 42 percent from the three-point arc (74-177).
TURNOVER TALK --The Wolfpack turned the ball only 5 times in the second half at Boston College on Tuesday and for the season is averaging only 13 turnovers a game. State had a season-low 5 turnovers against New Hampshire on Dec. 30th.
CONSISTENT CAM -- Cameron Bennerman has elevated his game. In his last 9 appearances, the senior has averaged 13.9 points a game (125) while shooting 59 percent during that span (55-93). The senior led the Pack with 17 points in the win over then 12th-ranked George Washington.
SUPER SIMMONS --The most improved player on the NC State team is Cedrick Simmons. The sophomore center played in 31 games last season and averaged 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. This season, Simmons leads the team in scoring (12.1),rebounding (6.9) and blocked shots (2.8) while shooting a team high .642 from the field.
SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 67 percent of its field goals (256-of-384) this season.
BRACKMAN'S BUSTING OUT --Sophomore, Andrew Brackman, has come off the bench to score in double-figures in 4 of his last 5 games. During that span, Brackman has averaged 12.4 points (62) while shooting 53 percent from the field (22-38).
A CLEANER WINDOW-- The Pack's rebounding margin of +1.1 may be 10th in the ACC, but it is a big improvement from earlier this season. State is 4th in the ACC in defensive rebounds (25.3) per game.
INJURIES --Freshman forward Brandon Costner could miss his 10th straight game with a leg injury. Tech's Mario West could miss his 5th straight game with a sprained left big toe.
