North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Wolfpack Avoids Trap
1/3/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 3, 2006
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH -- It could have been a trap, really, for NC State's basketball team.
Tuesday night's contest against UNC Greensboro was sandwiched between Friday night's win over No. 12 George Washington and Saturday's game against defending national champions North Carolina. It might have been easy for some teams to go to sleep on the Spartans, a team that entered the game one game above .500 for the season.
So the thing that pleased Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek the most about the his team's 83-52 victory at the RBC Center was that it played just as well as it did against the Colonials, a statement of sorts about just how good the 2005-06 edition of the Wolfpack really is.
"In order to be special, we have to treat every opponent the same," said junior point guard Engin Atsur. "That is what we did tonight. We were focused. We know that every opponent on our team is capable of beating a good team. "It was, of course, harder to do against an unranked opponent. When we play a ranked opponent, guys tend to be more focused. We can't be that way. We have to treat every opponent the same."
And, despite a difficult start of the ACC season being just around the corner, the No. 13/12 ranked Wolfpack remained as even-keeled as ever against Tuesday's Southern Conference opponent, spreading the scoring around as usual. Senior guard Tony Bethel led the team with 20 points, followed by 18 from sophomore Cedric Simmons, 16 from Atsur, 14 from senior Cameron Bennerman and 12 from sophomore Andrew Brackman. It was the eighth time in 13 games that the Wolfpack has had at least five double-digit scorers.
The result was the team's 12th win in 13 games, which matches the school's best start since the 1988-89 season. "We talked about the importance of being on our game tonight," Sendek said. "Believe me when I tell you we had the utmost respect for UNC Greensboro. We had to come ready to play. I don't think for even one half of a second that our guys took UNCG lightly."
For the coach, it just emphasized the thing that he likes most about this year's edition of the Wolfpack, which plays without a superstar and relies on consistent performances from every position in the lineup.
"The one thing I like about this team is that they have a steadiness, they have a sureness and any confidence they have is a quiet confidence," Sendek said. "The one thing we have said all along about this group is that most engaging is the kind of young men we have. We don't always play well. Even tonight, we had 18 turnovers.
"But in coaching this group, I don't have to question their heart or their intent. They are trying to do what we ask them to do. Those are good traits. If you do those things, in a lot of ways, no matter what it ends up saying on the scoreboard, you have earned the right to feel good about yourself. If you have guys who are playing unselfish and playing hard, what more can people do? That is what I like most about this team."
Clearly, it is a team that enjoys being with each other and celebrating each other's achievements. That's why there were so many smiles Tuesday night when Simmons hit his first career 3-pointer, an open shot from the top of the key and a nice gift on his 20th birthday.
But it is also a team that is still eager to accomplish more on the court, with steady, deadly play.
"We haven't really proved anything yet," Brackman said. "We have a long road in front of us, 15 ACC games. So I am glad that most of the non-conference games are out of the way and now we can get into some games that really start to mean something, like an ACC Championship."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
