North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Florida State
2/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC STATE (14-12, 4-9) at FLORIDA STATE (17-11, 5-9)
DATE: Saturday, February 24, 2007 @ Donald Tucker Center, Tallahassee, FL (12,100)
TIME: Tip-off: 1:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 12:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom /Lincoln Financial Sports (ACC Network)
OPPONENT—For Maryland, Wednesday night’s home game against Florida State was a tale of two halves. Three Terps starters, Ekene Ibekwe, D.J. Strawberry and Mike Jones each had two fouls and totaled only 23 minutes before halftime.
After playing only eight minutes with no points in the first half, Strawberry came out after the intermission with three straight baskets, sparking a 16-2 run that carried the Terrapins to a 73-55 win.
Strawberry finished with 10 points in 20 minutes on 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Bambale Osby came off the bench to spark Maryland with a team-high 15 points, while Jones added 14 and James Gist 13. The Terps shot 57 percent in the second half.
While Maryland was heating up, Florida State went cold. The ‘Noles, who went to the locker room with a 31-31 tie at the break, missed their first 11 shots of the second half and never recovered.
Following two free throws by Isaiah Swann, FSU trailed 43-33. However, Maryland answered with a basket by Ibekwe and Strawberry’s short jumper for a 14-point cushion. Florida State cut the deficit to 9 points with 9:23 to play, but could get no closer.
The Seminoles shot only 27 percent in the second half, including 1-of-10 from the arc and finished at 34 percent for the game (17-50). Al Thornton had 23 points and 15 rebounds for the ‘Noles who dropped to
1-and-6 on the road in the ACC.
If the Seminoles don’t end their nine-year NCAA Tournament drought this year it will probably be because they failed to win enough close conference games. Five of FSU’s nine ACC losses have been by six points or less.
Thornton is the engine that powers FSU and he’s strictly high-octane. An All-America and ACC Player of the Year candidate, Thornton is the league’s No.2 scorer. He has the talent to take control of a game and has done so on several occasions this season.
The high-scoring senior’s latest big explosion was on February 17 when he torched Virginia with 30 points and 16 rebounds in a 73-70 road loss. He leads the ACC in scoring in conference games (22.4) and seems to elevate his level of play against the league’s best teams.
Thornton has averaged 25.4 points and 11.6 rebounds in five games against North Carolina, Boston College, Virginia and Virginia Tech. At UNC, he had 29 points and 12 rebounds.
The 6-7 senior can also score in bunches. Thornton recorded 15 consecutive points in the loss at Virginia, nine straight against UNC and 10 of FSU’s last 12 points in a December upset of then No. 4 Florida.
It seems the longer the season goes the better Thornton gets. He has recorded 20 or more points in 10 of his last 13 games. Thornton also ranks in the league’s top-10 in field goal percentage (.518), free throw percentage (.813), rebounding and offensive rebounding (3.1). Plus, he has scored in double figures in every game this season.
Swann has also elevated his play lately. The veteran is averaging 15.3 points and nearly 3 rebounds over his last 4 games.
Lately, FSU has been hurt by the absence of point-guard Toney Douglas. The 6-1 sophomore suffered a fracture of the fourth metacarpal bone in his right hand in the second half of a loss at Clemson on Feb. 7 and probably won’t return until the ACC Tournament.
At the time of his departure, Douglas, who had started 24 straight games, was the ‘Noles No.2 scorer (13.1). He was shooting 49 percent from the field and 42 percent from the 3-point arc.
Counting the loss at Clemson, FSU has dropped five straight games since Douglas was forced to the sidelines. Reserve guard, Ralph Mimms, the backup for Douglas all season, is now running the offense, but it has not been the same.
In the last four games, Mimms has averaged 6.3 points, 3.0 assists while shooting only 27 percent from the field (6-of-22). FSU coach Leonard Hamilton has also called upon freshman Josue Soto and Swann to play at point guard, but none of them have been able to completely fill the void. Swann leads the team in assists.
Offensively, Florida State can be dangerous from 3-point range. Against ACC opponents, the ‘Noles lead the league in 3-point shooting (.388) and they trail only Virginia in 3-point field goals per game (6.9). The In addition to Thornton, the Seminoles top long range gunners are Jason Rich (.424) and Swann who leads the team in 3-point attempts and makes (43-119).
Defending the 3-point shot is also an area where the ‘Noles excel. Florida State is holding ACC opponents to a below-average 35 percent from the bonusphere. Overall FSU gives up 73 points and 47 percent shooting to ACC opponents.
Keeping the Seminoles off the foul line makes a big difference. Florida State is among the nation’s top free throw shooting teams (.771) and is shooting an incredible (.783) from the foul line in ACC games.
Hamilton does not appear to be substituting as liberally as he has in the past, but uses a nine-man rotation.
Only Thornton averages more than 30 minutes a game.
The Wolfpack beat FSU at home last season 86-64. The Seminoles have beaten the Pack only once in the last 15 games of the series. State is 2-4 this season in ACC road games, dropping its last three.
PROBABLE FLORIDA STATE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
10 Ralph Mims G 6’2 Jr. 5.1 2.3 2.4
03 Isaiah Swann G 6'1 Jr. 9.6 2.9 3.2
25 Jason Rich G 6’3 Jr. 10.5 3.3 1.7
41 Uche Echefu F 6’9 So. 7.0 4.4 --
12 Al Thornton F 6'7 Sr. 19.3 7.3 1.0*
TOP RESERVES:
15 Casaan Breeden F 6’8 So. 3.0 1.1 --
42 Ryan Reid F 6’8 Fr. 2.8 3.4 --
11 Jerel Allen G 6’4 Sr. 4.8 2.2 1.2
05 Josue Soto G 6’0 Fr. 0.3 0.5 --
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack’s second in its last 3 games, improving NC State to 15-12 overall and
5-9 in the ACC. The Wolfpack would beat the Seminoles for the sixth straight time in Tallahassee and for the 15th time in the last 16 games of the series. State would break a streak of three straight ACC road losses and improve to 3-4 in ACC road games this season. FSU would drop its sixth straight game to stand at 17-12 overall and 5-10 in the ACC with only one regular season game remaining –next Saturday at Miami.
The ‘Noles home record would dip to 13-4 and 4-4 in the ACC.
A LOSS--Would be the second straight and fifth in the last six games for Wolfpack, sending State to 14-13 overall and 4-10 in the ACC with two regular season games remaining. The Pack’s ACC road losing streak would stretch to four straight games. FSU wins for only the second time in the last 16 games of the series and breaks a five game-losing streak to the Wolfpack at home. The Seminoles improve to 18-11 overall, 6-9 in the ACC and snap a five game overall losing steak. Florida State records its first win since upsetting Duke on Feb. 4 in Durham and improves to 14-3 at home ( 5-3 ACC).
A PACK OF SHOOTERS –The Wolfpack is tied with Duke for No.2 in ACC games in field goal percentage at .477. Only North Carolina has a better shooting percentage against league competition (.486).
State shot 66.7 percent in its win over Virginia Tech on Feb. 18—its best shooting performance in an ACC game since 1982. Ben McCauley is the Pack’s leading shooter at .598—second-best in the ACC.
THE BOMBADIER –State has three players shooting 40 percent or better from three point range this season. Although he’s played in only 14 games, Engin Atsur is hitting at a .403 clip from the bonusphere while Dennis Horton stands at .463 and Trevor Ferguson at .400. Brandon Costner, who leads the Pack in 3-point attempts and field goals shoots 37 percent (45-122).
THE LINE HAS BEEN KIND-- The Wolfpack is shooting .731 from the foul line in ACC games (171-234). That’s third-best in the league behind FSU and Miami.
IT’S ALL ABOUT DEFENSE –In State’s upset of No. 25 Virginia Tech on Feb. 18., the Pack held the Hokies to a season-low 56 points and 38.5 percent second-half shooting. The same formula worked earlier this season in back-to-back wins over No. 16 Virginia Tech and No. 3 UNC. In those two games, the Pack surrendered an average of 69 points, .418 shooting from the field and .280 from 3-point range. Following that pair of wins, the Pack dropped three straight games and the common factor was a LACK of defense. In the three losses, opponents averaged 79.6 points (239) and nearly 50 percent shooting (.86-173) from the field, including 46 percent from the 3-point range (17-37).
WITH DEFENSE COMES THE REST –The three best defensive games State has played this year were its two wins over Virginia Tech and its victory over North Carolina. However, they were also excellent shooting and rebounding games for the Pack. In the three wins, State shot a combined .600 from the field (84-140) and .500 from the 3-point arc (24-48) while outrebounding its opponents 101-75. The Pack has tied or outrebounded its opponents 12 times and has a 9-3 record. When State has been outrebounded, the Pack is 5-9.
IRON MEN MINUTES – Four NC State players rank among the ACC’s top seven in minutes played. Gavin Grant has played every minute of six games this season. Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner have gone the distance in three games each with Courtney Fells never coming out in two games.
TERRIFIC TURK—Engin Atsur has made a big difference in the Wolfpack since his return from a hamstring injury. State is 8-6 this season with Atsur in the lineup and no doubt that record would be even more impressive if the Pack’s only point guard had not suffered an injury in November. What kind of difference has the native of Turkey made? He scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and added 7 assists in the Wolfpack’s upset of No. 25 Virginia Tech Feb. 18. In the upset of No. 3 North Carolina on Feb. 3, Atsur recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 assists in 38 minutes. The likable senior continues to recover from a serious hamstring injury that forced him to miss 12 games this season. In his last 3 games, Atsur has averaged 16.7 points (50) and 5.0 assists (15) while shooting 16-of-28 from the field (57%).
MR. POSTMAN--The most improved player on the NC State team is its top post player, Ben McCauley. How far has he come? Last season, the sophomore center averaged 5.5 minutes in 13 ACC games. This season, he’s playing 35 minutes a contest and he’s responded in a big way. McCauley is the team’s No.2 scorer (15.6) and leads the Pack in shooting while running second in rebounding (6.7) and total assists (89). In his last 7 games, McCauley is shooting .651(43-of-66) from the field. He’s No.2 in the ACC in field goal percentage (.598). McCauley recorded a double-double against Maryland with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Against Virginia Tech on Feb. 18, McCauley recorded 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in 35 minutes.
GREAT YEAR FOR GRANT –Junior Gavin Grant was forced into a difficult spot when Engin Atsur was injured. The slashing shooting guard was forced to play the point and it was a tough transition, especially against higher-level competition. With Atsur back, Grant has benefited. In the last 7 games, Grant is shooting .507 from the field (36-of-71). The junior is the team’s No.2 scorer in ACC games (15.5) and has shot .507 against league opponents (73-144), including 38 percent from 3-point range (14-37).
SHARE AND SHOOT --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 59 percent of its field goals (396-671) this season. The Pack had 23 assists on 29 field goals in its loss to Alabama in December.
ACC ROOKIE OF YEAR ?--Redshirt freshman Brandon Costner is the ACC’s top freshman scorer and rebounder. That’s quite an improvement from last season which was cut short by injury after playing in only five games. The former Parade and McDonalds High School All-American leads the Pack in scoring (16.2), rebounding (7.8) and 3-point field goals (45). Costner recorded his 7th double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds against No.25 Virginia Tech on Feb. 18.
MR. VERSATILE—Courtney Fells is the best athlete on the Wolfpack team and he has contributed in several ways this season. The sophomore not only leads the team in steals (26) and blocked shots (31), but he’s been an occasional defensive stopper. In two games against Virginia Tech’s Zabian Dowdell, Fells held the ACC’s best one-on-one player to a combined 25 points. He also played solid defense in the Pack’s win over North Carolina on Feb 3rd while scoring a career-high 21 points. Offensively, in his last 10 games, Fells is averaging 12.6 points (126), 3.7 rebounds (37) while shooting .485 from the field (48-99).
HORNER CAN HIT ‘EM –Dennis Horner does not shoot much, but when he does the ball usually goes in the basket. In his last 9 games, Horner has made 14-of-22 field goal attempts, including 8-of-12 from 3-point range. The freshman forward recorded a career-high 14 points vs. Clemson on Jan. 9th. However, he’s scored only 10-points in his last 8 games.
INSIDE JOB --State no longer relies as much on three-point shooting as in past seasons, but that does not mean the Wolfpack can’t shoot 3-pointers. In its last 11 games, State is shooting .411 from 3-point range (80-192). Under Sidney Lowe, the Pack is an inside-out team. Only 33 percent of State’s shots come from the arc compared to 46 percent last season.
