North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Looks to Bounce Back
1/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 20, 2006
Ilian Evtimov talks about Wake Forest
Coach Herb Sendek discusses Wake Forest
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - Due to the competitive nature of the game, NC State's spirited ACC battle with No. 1 Duke on Wednesday night has created two days worth of postmortem analysis, discussion and second guessing. Such conversation is alright for radio talk shows, Internet blogs and message boards, but for the Wolfpack basketball team itself, the only choice is to move forward. Wake Forest, a talented team that may have healed some wounds by tripping up Georgia Tech on Wednesday, is on its way to Raleigh looking to build on its first conference win of the season. NC State's assignment is to again do what has it already done well this season: bounce back. The Deacs (12-5, 1-3) and the 14th ranked Pack (14-3, 3-2) will face off Saturday at the RBC Center. Tip time is 4:00 p.m.
Among other things, the 10th NC State team under the direction of coach Herb Sendek has shown a capacity to come back with strong performances after defeats. It happened following a November loss at Iowa when, after a 10-day exam break, the Wolfpack was able to iron out the offensive problems that reared their ugly head in the 45-42 setback to the Hawkeyes and go on a seven-game winning streak.
Then, following a disappointing finish and stumble at North Carolina, the Pack rebounded with authority three days later by going on the road and pounding nationally ranked Boston College by 18 points.
The only difference in the current scenario is that NC State clearly played much better in a losing cause at Duke than it did in the earlier defeats to Iowa and North Carolina. For 38 minutes at Cameron Indoor Stadium, the Wolfpack was at a very high level and did nothing to diminish the perception that it could very well be one of the better teams in the country come March.
"The mentality of the team has to be that we're not going to be denied," said NC State forward Ilian Evtimov. "I think we've been doing a good job so far of bouncing back from losses and even good wins like we did after Boston College; we came back and beat Georgia Tech. We've been there and we know how it is; every game in the ACC is a tough game. There are no easy games around here, I don't care what anybody's record is. Our mentality right now has to be that we can go undefeated for the rest of the season."
On Wednesday, the Wolfpack faced the daunting task of having to defend Duke's J.J. Redick, who finished with 28 points and six assists in the Blue Devils' 81-68 victory. The backcourt defensive assignment won't get much easier on Saturday when red hot Justin Gray comes to the RBC Center. The Deacons senior has averaged 30 points over the last three games, a stretch that included a 38-point outburst in Wake's 90-86 loss to Maryland last week. During his torrid stretch, Gray has knocked down 15 3-point baskets and made nearly 58 percent of his tries from the arc.
"I just think he's played incredible," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "Maryland went box and one on him and he was still making four-point plays. He's certainly had a terrific career and he's playing as well as at any point in that career right now. I think he's always had a prominent place in their scheme of things."
The Deacs are also getting plenty of bruising inside production from 6-9, 280-pound center Eric Williams, who has averaged 17 points and 13 rebounds per game in his last three outings. Last weekend at Clemson, Williams hauled down 20 rebounds. For his career against NC State, Williams has hit 71.4 percent of his field goal attempts (40-of-56), although this will mark the first time he'll see an extended match-up with the Wolfpack's improving sophomore Cedric Simmons. After blocking seven shots at Duke on Wednesday, the 6-9 Simmons is averaging 3.2 rejections per game to rank second in the league.
"Eric Williams has a very strong body," said Evtimov, who has been asked to guard Williams at points during his career. "He's always sitting in the middle of the paint, so with him you've got to get around him and out-quick him. He's so strong that you can't out-muscle him."
With Williams leading the way, Wake Forest is once again one of the nation's top rebounding teams. No. 5 in the nation in rebounding margin, the Deacs are out-rebounding their opponents by better than nine per game. Williams averages 8.7 per contest, while senior forward Trent Strickland hauls in an average of 7.6 boards.
"They've always been known for their rebounding," Evtimov said. "Even last year going into the ACC Tournament, it came down to we were going to win if we rebounded the ball. I remember that game some of the guards - Gavin Grant and Cam Bennerman - just made some big rebounds. I think we've put more emphasis on that this year than any other year I've been here. There's no reason why we should let Wake Forest dominate us on the boards. We were plus-1 at Duke and I think we've been getting better in that area."
After experimenting with several different backcourt combinations earlier in the season, Deacons coach Skip Prosser has now apparently settled on freshman Harvey Hale as Gray's backcourt mate. In his 8th start at point guard against Georgia Tech on Wednesday, the 6-2 Hale tallied a career-high 14 points, a performance that included three big baskets late that helped the Deacs stave off a Jackets rally.
As for NC State, the Wolfpack has shot better than 50 percent three straight ACC games, the first time that's happened since the 1991-92 campaign. During that three-game stretch, Simmons has averaged 19.7 points, a figure that was boosted by a career-high 28 points at Duke.
