North Carolina State University Athletics
ACC Tournament Has Wolfpack's Attention
3/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2006
Herb Sendek Discusses the ACC Tournament
Ilian Evtimov discusses the ACC Tournament
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - After nearly five months, 29 games and a grueling conference schedule, the NC State men's basketball team is starting over. And like the other 11 teams that will be participating in this week's ACC Tournament at the Greensboro Coliseum, the Wolfpack views this segment of its season as a new beginning. This particular squad can feel good about that fact that its 21 regular season wins are the most for an NC State team since 1987-88. Unfortunately, however, momentum will not be an ally as the Pack heads into postseason play. Along with trying to bounce back from a three-game losing streak, NC State continues to deal with an untimely rash of injuries.
It still remains to be seen just how healthy the Wolfpack will be when it opens ACC Tournament play against either Florida State or Wake Forest Friday afternoon at 2:30.
Although he has played in three of four games since spraining his left foot on February 15, forward Ilian Evtimov has not been able to practice. Leading scorer Cameron Bennerman will be trying to return this week after sitting out last Saturday's game at Wake Forest because of a pulled hamstring. A broken nose should not deter sophomore Gavin Grant, who actually went on to play one of his best games (21 points) after taking an inadvertent elbow to the face early in the game against the Deacons.
"I think Ilian's situation is one that we have to manage the best we can for probably the remainder of the season," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "I don't know that there's going to be enough time for us to correct it, but we have to manage it. If anybody can handle the situation it's Ilian because he has such a wealth of experience and he's so tough-minded. He's had to deal with injuries for seemingly his entire career. Not that you would wish that on anybody, but if someone has to endure it, he seems like the person most able to do it."
Since suffering the injury, Evtimov has played in games, but with mixed results. In 15 minutes against North Carolina he had two points and three rebounds. He then played 43 minutes in the double-overtime loss to Boston College, scoring 15 points. Then on Saturday at Wake, Evtimov had two points and three rebounds in 27 minutes.
Of course, should the Wolfpack prevail in its quarterfinal game of the ACC Tourney on Friday, it might be a challenge for Evtimov to come back and play a second straight day.
"It's certainly a concern for me," he said. "I haven't gone back-to-back days in practice since I sprained my foot. But it's the ACC Tournament and the injury is three weeks old now. It's getting better. Hopefully we'll play three days in a row and in that situation, I'm hoping that my foot will feel well enough so that I can play all three games."
Bennerman, who wore street clothes on the bench at Wake Forest, returned to practice on a limited basis on Monday and was expected to be even more involved on Tuesday.
Grant has been fitted for a protective mask, which he may or may not wear on Friday. And once NC State's postseason run is over, he'll have surgery on his nose.
"There will be [a mask] available for him," Sendek said. "I don't know if he necessarily has to wear it."
Beyond its need to get physically healthy, NC State is also working this week to regain the confidence, swagger and efficiency that had many thinking the Wolfpack was at least the ACC's second best team for most of the season. Prior to dropping its last three, the Pack played its first 26 games without suffering back-to-back defeats.
Now, Sendek is hoping that the arrival of the postseason will give his team a new infusion of energy.
"I think if you just take a step back and take a look at college basketball in general, by and large, I don't know that there are too many teams that don't experience a patch of difficulty," Sendek said. "Nobody is undefeated and many of the best teams in the country have multiple losses. Certainly, I don't think anybody predicted that we would be undefeated. The good thing is we're beginning the postseason, and I think that gives everybody kind of a fresh beginning and a new lease. Even if you would have won your last few games, you still would have had a sense that `hey, ok, here we go, we're starting a new season.'"
Said Evtimov: "Obviously, we've lost three in a row and everybody is playing with a sense of urgency in practice. We know we're a very good basketball team; we just haven't played like it. This week gives us time to get everybody healthy. Cam is coming back to practice and that's very good for the psyche of the team."
Although he is from Bulgaria, it took Evtimov very little time to gain a complete understanding of what the ACC Tournament is all about. As a freshman five years ago, Evtimov helped NC State beat Maryland in the tournament semifinals. As it turned out, the Wolfpack would be the last team to knock off the Terps before they went on to win the national title.
"I didn't realize what a big deal the ACC Tournament was until my freshman year," said Evtimov. "It's almost like a season packed into four days and I think that's really exciting. It's certainly my favorite time of the year. February seems like the longest month of the year. There are so many practices, so many trips, so many games and lot of homework. Then comes March; the weather gets better, practice is shorter and you get into the ACC Tournament. It's really hyped up, the best teams in the country play against each other for four days and you get a chance to win a championship. My freshman year I wasn't really aware of all that until we got down to Charlotte. We beat Maryland in the semifinals before they went on to win the national championship that year. From that point on, every year, before the season starts, I'm already thinking about the ACC Tournament."
More Pack Points: No wonder Evtimov likes the ACC Tournament so much: he's often played some of his best basketball in that particular event, averaging 14.1 points and 4.4 rebounds in eight tournament games. Evtimov has been particularly deadly from 3-point range in those games, hitting 23-of-44 for 52 percent. Friday's contest will be NC State's 101st ACC Tourney game overall. The Pack's all-time record is 58-42. Sendek (13-9) and Duke's Mike Krzyzewski are the only two active coaches with winning records in the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack is ranked in the top 25 for the 15th straight week and will carry a ranking in the A.P. Poll into the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1989.
NOTE: The Wolfpack Sports Network will begin its coverage of the ACC Tournament on Friday morning at 11:30. Play-by-play of all four quarterfinal games on Friday, Saturday's semifinals and the championship game on Sunday will be provided. For those fans wishing to listen inside the Greensboro Coliseum, the broadcast will be available on 87.7 FM.
