North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Holds Media Day
10/12/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. - The 2011-12 Wolfpack men's basketball head coach Mark Gottfried, along with his returning players and newcomers, spent two hours meeting with the media on Wednesday afternoon at the Dail Basketball Center.
It was the press' first opportunity to discuss the upcoming campaign with team members before practice begins Friday under the direction of Gottfried, who is in his first-year at NC State.
Gottfried said since being hired, he is still getting to know his players as they are still getting to know him.
"Anytime there's a new coach, there's always a learning curve," Gottfried said. "The players are trying to figure out it. What does he like? How do I get playing time?
"I think day-by-day our guys have done a pretty good job of that. We've tried as a staff to lay it out there very clear for them. If they're not going to play hard, then they aren't going to play."
Gottfried said he was pleased with the Pack's slate of games, saying it was the right schedule for his squad.
"If you look at our first three games, the general fan might say UNC Asheville, Morehead State and Princeton," Gottfried said. "But you've got three NCAA (Tournament) teams and Vanderbilt is a fourth."
NC State opens its season on Nov. 11, when it host UNC Asheville at the RBC Center at 7 p.m. The Wolfpack exhibition schedule starts on Nov. 5 with the Red-White scrimmage at the RBC Center three hours prior to the kick off of the North Carolina game at Carter-Finley Stadium.
