North Carolina State University Athletics
GETTING TO KNOW: Ben McCauley
1/15/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Ben McCauley loves to play golf, the one sport everyone in his family plays. Some day, he would like to design his own golf courses. For now, however, the 6-foot-9 sophomore is having a break-out season for the NC State men's basketball team. McCauley, who averaged just 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds last year, is second on the team in scoring (16.6 points per game), second in rebounding (6.6 per game), first in field-goal percentage (61.4 percent), second in assists (63) and first in steals (23). He sat down recently with GoPack.com managing editor Tim Peeler to talk about growing up in West Newton, Pa., and his future, which does not, at this point in his life, include going into the family business.
GoPack.com: Your dad, Jack, is a third-generation mortician and your family lived on the upper levels of McCauley Funeral Home. What’s the creepiest thing about growing up in a mortuary?
McCauley: Just having to sleep two floors above where he lays the corpses out and three floors above where he does the embalming.
GoPack.com: How do you have fun in a house that doubles as a funeral home and mortuary?
McCauley: We made it fun at times. Whenever I had people sleep over, if there was any kind of noise that happened in the night, I would jump up and say ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s happening again!’ They would all get up and say ‘What do you mean, it’s happening again?’ But I never did anything like crawl in one of the caskets to scare people. You don’t want to get into one of those until you absolutely have to.
GoPack.com: Have you ever watched your dad do his work?
McCauley: When I was a little bit younger, my dad took me down and I saw the whole thing. From that point on, even though I was young, I knew that was not something I ever wanted to do. I don’t think there will be a fourth-generation mortician in our family. My older brother is getting ready to graduate from Penn State and is trying to get into law school. My younger brother, I think, wants to be a coach. My sister is in the ninth grade and just starting to play basketball. I don’t think any of us are going to follow in our dad’s footsteps. My dad doesn’t show it, but I think that is a little bit of a disappointment to him.
GoPack.com: So do many things creep you out?
McCauley: Not so much anymore. I actually am a big fan of scary movies, and that might have something to do with growing up in a funeral home. My favorite is “The Descent.”
GoPack.com: When did you first start playing golf?
McCauley: I actually started playing golf before I ever started playing basketball. It was definitely my first sport. My dad is a big golfer. He played at Alleghany ( Pa.) College. He just kind of got me started with some youth leagues at the country club where he belonged. I grew to like it. It’s a calm, relaxing sport. It’s nice to have someone to play with when I go home. My dad plays, my brothers both play, my mom and my sister play. We all enjoy it.
GoPack.com: What carries over from golf to basketball?
McCauley: I think patience is a big thing with golf, and being able to let the play go. Of course, when it first happens in golf, when you miss a shot, it’s like missing a shot in basketball. You get frustrated, but play goes on. You have to take another shot and go on. Patience is a big thing and being able to let the bad plays go and work on the next shot. If you miss a simple layup, you can get very frustrated, just like if you miss a short putt. But the play is over.You can’t take a mulligan.
GoPack.com: What is your favorite thing about playing basketball?
McCauley: Actually, I like passing and making spectacular plays to give someone a dunk or a wide-open basket. It’s as exciting as anything else. Getting tip-dunks are great, but I like making passes and hearing the crowd go Oooh and Ahh. That was the highlight of this year for me. I reached back. That was pretty awesome. It’s great whenever you make a play like that to hear how loud the crowd gets when something like that happens.
GoPack.com: We didn’t get to see a lot of your passing ability last year. Why are you so much better a passer this year?
McCauley: It kind of goes with the offense and I know that every single guy on the team, when he is on the court, can score for us. In order for them to be able to score, if I can touch the ball and make a move to the basket, it will get them open. I know they are going to knock down their shots. I am confident in anyone who gets that ball that he can knock down the shot.
GoPack.com: You averaged 28 points a game as a senior and scored nearly 2,300 points in high school. There wasn’t a lot of passing going on back then, was there?
McCauley: In high school, I didn’t pass too much. I was more of a scorer. But I learned a lot from the big guys last year. Ilian Evtimov was a great passer and I learned a lot from him. Also, in growing up a little and getting a better feel for the game and wanting to make other players better, I have developed some skills in passing. It gets people more scoring opportunities and makes us a better team.
GoPack.com: Are you used to playing as many minutes as you are this year? As a freshman, you only averaged about seven minutes a game. This year, you are averaging more than 35 minutes a game.
McCauley: In high school, I can hardly remember a time when I was out of the game, without fouling out of a game or being in foul trouble. Now playing in college is completely different, running up and down instead of sitting on the post. It does kind of get tiring after a while, but we all say we are not going to make that an excuse for not playing well. I think you would be a liar if you said you didn’t really want to be out there playing as much as you can.
GoPack.com: What’s the hardest thing about sharing an apartment with a guy from Istanbul, Turkey (Wolfpack senior Engin Atsur)?
McCauley: His parents are in now, so they are sitting around a lot and speaking in Turkish. I am just sitting in my chair, watching television, totally oblivious to what they are talking about.
GoPack.com: Do you ever listen to his music?
McCauley: He does have some Euro-techno stuff that he listens to when we are in his car. I have no idea what they are saying, but he seems like he is really into it. They do have some good beats, but it’s not like I ever get the lyrics stuck in my head.
