North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Debuts With Exhibition Victory
11/6/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. – Not surprisingly, junior Tracy Smith was NC State's biggest scorer in Thursday night's preseason exhibition game against St. Paul's at Reynolds Coliseum. The 6-foot-9 forward was, after all, the tallest starter on the court.
He had 21 points in 21 minutes of action to lead all scorers in the 84-42 Wolfpack victory.
Ten of Smith's points came in the first 10 minutes of the second half, when he completely out-sized and out-classed the smaller Division II opponent, which did not have a player taller than 6-foo-4 on its roster.
"I came in the game knowing they were small, but you can't doubt anybody," said Smith, who made nine of his 11 field goal attempts. "It was good to be able to put down some shots."
But the thing most Wolfpack fans took from the game was a positive first look at the four of the five scholarship freshmen, particularly shooter Scott Wood, who started the game along with Smith, sophomore C.J. Williams, junior Javi Gonzalez and senior Dennis Horner.
Wood had a dazzling debut, making all four of his 3-point shots in the first half to lead all scorers in the opening period with 12 points.
"It helps to get out in transition and for your teammates to be looking for you," Wood said. "When there is no one within about 10 feet of you, it's pretty easy to make shots. I probably won't have that many easy shots, but if I do, I will probably hit quite a few of them in my career."
Wood saw limited action after halftime because of back spasms and did not score in the second half.
"I think it is because of the dead-lifts I have been doing in the weight room," Wood said. "I don't usually cramp up. I might have to ease off the dead lifts for a while, but with these arms, I have to be in [the weightroom] more than everybody else."
Wood started over freshman Josh Davis and junior Johnny Thomas, both of whom are still options to start at that position, said head coach Sidney Lowe. But the coach is wise enough to go with the player who has the hot hand, and Wood's shooting skills have been impressive ever since he arrived on campus this summer.
"It is such a big boost when you have a guy who can knock down shots like that and give you a nice little lead," Lowe said. "It's impressive for him to come out in his first game, in front of a pretty good crowd, and knock down shots like that."
Davis, forward DeShawn Painter and center Jordan Vandenberg also saw action in the contest. Painter had eight points, while Vanderberg made his presence known defensively by blocking shots against the smaller opponent.
Richard Howell, who has missed the entire preseason with a knee injury, was the only scholarship newcomer who did not participate.
All 13 players who saw action, including walk-ons Kaycee Obi-Gwacham and Enrico Kufuor, scored in the game.
While Lowe was impressed with the teamwork - his players dished out 24 assists on 33 baskets - and his team's active defense, he was concerned about its lack of offensive rebounding against a much smaller opponent.
"When you are playing against a smaller, quicker team, they are not going to come over you and get the ball, they are going to come around you and take it from you," Lowe said. "I think we will spend some time working on rebounding between now and next week. We will have a lot of box out drills."
The Wolfpack opens its regular season next Thursday night against Georgia State in the RBC Center.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
