North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Wake Forest
1/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2006
No. 14 NC STATE (14-3, 3-2) vs. WAKE FOREST (12-5, 1-3)
DATE:Saturday, January 21, 2006, at the RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 4:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 3:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom-Jefferson Pilot (ACC Network)
OPPONENT-- Wake Forest, desperate for an ACC victory, surged to an early lead and then held off Georgia Tech to win 86-71on Wednesday night in Winston-Salem. The Deacons snapped a three-game losing streak to open Atlantic Coast Conference play by shooting 52 percent from the field and scoring 27 points off 22 Tech turnovers.
Justin Gray led the way with 25 points while Eric Williams added 21 and 11 rebounds for the Demon Deacons who dominated the first half and led by as many as 27 points shortly after intermission.
Gray continued his torrid scoring following a 27-point effort in a loss to Clemson and a career-high 38 in a loss to Maryland. The senior guard hit his first five 3-point shots and had 18 points at the break.
Anthony Morrow scored 24 of his 29 points after halftime to help Georgia Tech (9-6, 2-2) close to within eight down the stretch. But Wake Forest freshman Harvey Hale scored four straight points to turn away the rally.
The Deacons held a commanding 65-38 lead after Williams scored inside with 15:34 to play and then seemed to lose some intensity. When Morrow hit a 3-pointer off a stolen inbounds pass to cut the margin to 77-69 with 4:03 left, the game was suddenly in doubt.
But Georgia Tech got no closer. Hale hit a pair of free throws to push the margin back to 10, then followed with a jumper for an 81-69 lead with 2:45 left.
The Yellow Jackets were whistled for 28 personal fouls. Wake Forest hit only 21-of-35 free throws, but managed to outscore Tech by 8 at the line (13-of-20). The Deacons, last in the ACC in turnover margin (-3.4) took better care of the ball against the Jackets pressure defense, committing only 13 turnovers.
After losing three starters and a key reserve from a squad that won 27 games, Wake Forest does not have quite the offensive punch it had last season. However, the Deacons continue to seek a high possession game and push the ball up the court at every opportunity.
Wake Forest is No.7 in the ACC in scoring (76.1) and fifth in three-point shooting (.371). Gray takes 44 percent of the Deaks three-point shots and is hitting at a 42 percent clip from the arc. Veterans Trent Strickland and Chris Ellis are also capable from beyond the three-point line, but don't take nearly as many shots as Gray.
Gray is the No.2 scorer in the ACC and has really elevated his game lately. He's averaged 30 points and 6 assists over his last 3 games and is now among the school's top-15 career scorers. In three games against NC State last season, Gray averaged 16.7 points and 5.3 assists.
Williams is one of the top centers in the ACC. He leads the league in field goal percentage (.653) and is the No.3 rebounder. Overall, the Deacons lead the conference with a plus-9.1 rebounding margin and are very hard to handle on the glass.
The Deacons'point guard position has been unsettled since the departure of Chris Paul to the NBA. Gray started the season in that role, but is much more effective as a scorer. Hale is now the point guard allowing Gray to operate off the ball. The back-up point guard is freshman Shamaine Dukes who averages about 9 minutes a game.
Defensively, Deacons coach Skip Prosser has probably been looking for some answers. Wake Forest is surrendering 79 points, 41 percent three-point shooting and an average of 9.5 three-point field goals against ACC opponents this season. The Deacons showed some improvement against Georgia Tech, but still allowed the Yellow Jackets 8-of-18 shooting from beyond the arc (44%).
The only team to blow out Wake Forest this season is top-ranked Duke (82-64). The Deacons other four losses (Florida, DePaul, Clemson and Maryland) have been by five points or less.
The Wolfpack has won four of the last six games in the overall series. Wake Forest swept the regular season series in 2005, but the Pack followed with an 81-65 upset of the Deacons in the ACC Tournament. The two teams will meet again on March 4th at Joel Coliseum.
PROBABLE WAKE FOREST STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG 01 Justin Gray G 6'2 Sr. 19.9 3.7 3.9 04 Harvey Hale G 6'0 Fr. 5.4 3.2 1.9 00 Chris Ellis F 6'8 Sr. 5.8 4.9 1.3* 33 Trent Strickland F 6'5 Sr. 12.5 7.6 1.9 31 Eric Williams C 6'9 Sr. 16.2 8.7 1.1*
TOP RESERVES:
55 Kyle Visser C 6'11 Jr. 6.9 5.3 1.5* 02 Shamaine Dukes G 6'1 Fr. 1.6 0.9 1.4 34 Michael Drum G 6'5 Jr. 4.6 1.1 1.7 23 Kevin Swinton F 6'7 Fr. 2.0 3.5 -- * Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's 10th in its last 12 games, improving State to 15-3 overall and 4-2 in the ACC. The Pack would beat Wake Forest for the second straight time in the series and for the first time in a regular season game since March 6, 2004, in Winston-Salem. The Pack would avoid its first two-game losing streak of the season, remain unbeaten at home (12-0) and send the Deacons to their fourth loss in the last five games. The two teams will meet again on March 4th at Joel Coliseum.
A LOSS--Would be the second straight for the Wolfpack and its first at home this season, dropping State to 14-4 overall and 3-3 in the ACC. The Deacons would beat the Pack for the third straight time in an ACC regular season game and improve to 13-5 overall and 2-3 in the ACC. The outcome would mark the Pack's first back-to-back losses this season and the Deaks first back-to-back ACC wins. The Wolfpack and Deacons will face each other again on March 4th in Winston-Salem.
THE POINTS STOP HERE --The Wolfpack is holding opponents to 62.1 points a game, the third-best number in the ACC. State leads the league in field goal percentage defense (.385) and is 3rd in three-point percentage defense (.311).
THE BONUSPHERE --State is No. 3 in the ACC in three-point percentage (.389) and has made more three-points shots (153) than anyone in the league this season. About 44 percent of the Pack's field goal attempts come from behind the arc (393-of-898).
BETHEL'S BOMBS ON TARGET --Senior guard Tony Bethel leads the team in 3-point field goal percentage (.483) and has made 14 of his last 22shots from the three-point arc (64%). In his last 5 games, he has averaged 12.2 points (61) while shooting 23-of-40 from the field (583%). Bethel is NC State's best perimeter on-the-ball defender and is also a highly skilled playmaker and rebounder.
MR. VALUABLE -- Engin Atsur is more than a deadly 3-point shooter (.465). The native of Istanbul, Turkey, is 5th in the ACC in assists (4.35)while ranking No.3 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.24). The 6-4 junior leads the Pack in assists (74), steals (27) and minutes (32.0). Atsur has only 16 turnovers in his last 11 games. He's scored in double-figures in 9 of his last 10 games while shooting 53 percent from the three-point line (28-53) during that span.
DON'T TURN IT OVER --The Wolfpack had 17 turnovers in its loss at No. 1Duke on Wednesday and the Blue Devils converted them into 28 points. However, for the season the Pack is averaging only 13 turnovers a game.
THE HIGHLIGHT CAM -- Cameron Bennerman has elevated his game. In his last 11 appearances, the senior has averaged 13.9 points a game (153) while shooting 59 percent from the field during that span (65-of-109). The senior had the Pack's only two 3-point field goals versus Duke.
BETTER BOARDWORK-- The Pack outrebounded Duke 34-33 on Wednesday to continue its improvement in that area. State has won the battle of the boards in 5 of its last 7 games and is 3rd in the ACC in defensive rebounds (25.2) per game.
SUPER CED --The most improved player on the NC State team is Cedric Simmons. The sophomore center recorded a career-high 28 points at Duke along with 9 rebounds, 7 blocked shots and 3 steals. Simmons played in 31 games last season and averaged 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. This season, he leads the team in scoring (13.12), rebounding (7.0) and blocked shots (3.2) while shooting a team high .639 from the field. He is No.2 in the ACC in blocked shots and is among the top-20 in scoring and rebounding.
MR. HELPER --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 66 percent of its field goals (290-of-440) this season.
MR. ENERGY --After starting the first 6 games of the season, sophomore, Andrew Brackman, has come off the bench to energize the Pack. The 6-10 sophomore has scored in double-figures in 5 of his last 7 games. During that span, Brackman has averaged 12.1 points (85) while shooting 57 percent from the field (29-of-51).
INJURIES --Freshman forward Brandon Costner could miss his 12th straight game for the Wolfpack with a leg injury. The McDonald's All-American has not played since November 26th against Notre Dame.
