North Carolina State University Athletics
Williams Thankful For NCAA Opportunity
3/15/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 15, 2012
Columbus, Ohio -
The first 16-team pod was revealed. Then the second was shown.
It was already 20 minutes in, and half of the 2012 NCAA Tournament field was filled, and still no mention of the NC State Wolfpack.
The next 16 teams were bracketed on CBS. Followed by what seemed like a 10-minute commercial break, Greg Gumble would reappear with the final 16 spots to be revealed.
“Sunday was the most agonizing day of my life,” said senior C.J. Williams.
Crosstown rival North Carolina was shown as the No. 1 seed in the Midwest Region, but everybody already knew the Tar Heels were in the field.
NC State knew if it were to receive an at-large bid for the first time since the 2005-06 season, the Pack would be a lower seed.
Gumble then announced No. 5 seed Temple would play the winner of a 12 vs. 12 first round match-up in Dayton.
This was it right? This was where the Wolfpack’s NCAA journey would start.
Instead, California and South Florida popped up in what many players thought would be their slot. Some loud moans, and shocked looks were present through the dining room at NC State’s State Club on Centennial Campus.
“Everybody was just sitting there, and we had to watch all these other teams announced,” said Williams. “We knew we were going to be a lower seed, so every time one of those spots we thought we might get slotted into was filled, it just got worse.”
The show then moved down to the final eight teams in. By sheer elimination many in the room figured out the Pack’s chances of making the tournament were in one of only two spots, as the No. 10 seed or No. 11 seed.
Soon Purdue claimed the No. 10 seed, and the anxiety level was at the max.
San Diego State was slotted into the No. 6 seed, and it was down to one spot left in the 68-team field.
When the Pack first opened its campaign in mid-October, going all the way through 34 games this year, this was what the team worked so hard for.
Gumble then said those words every 2011-12 Wolfpack player will remember, “And the fifth team out of the ACC, the Wolfpack of North Carolina State!”
Screams of joy, tears of happiness, overall jubilation filled the room, as seen in this video that has made the internet rounds.
The Wolfpack was going to the ‘Big Dance’ for the 23rd time in school history, and for the first time in six seasons.
“The drama of just being the last pick is something I will never forget,” said Williams. “I actually had my head down and was praying to just get a shot of going to the tournament. I don’t think I have ever jumped any higher in my life. I was so relieved.
“I couldn’t help but cry with everything I have been through during my four years here. It was the greatest feeling in the world.”
This season didn’t begin how Williams thought his senior campaign was going to start. After the Pack finished last year 15-16, NC State athletics director Debbie Yow made a coaching change, and hired Mark Gottfried.
For all the returning NC State players this was a big change. They were no longer playing for the coaching staff that recruited them, but now had to forge new relationships and learn the system of a new staff.
For Williams, he would only have one season to adjust.
“The first thing I told Coach Gottfried was that I only had one year left,” said Williams. “I asked that if he was trying to rebuild for the future let me know now, and I’ll go somewhere that is in position to try to win now.
“He assured me that he was not coming in here to rebuild, he wanted to take this team to where we want to go, and that is the NCAA Tournament. That put confidence in me that I was making the right decision to stay. Looking back, I’m so glad I made the decision to stick with this program.”
Williams’ senior season played out with the Pack’s first winning record in ACC play since 2006, and the senior from Fayetteville, N.C., is averaging a career-best 10.6 points per game while starting all 34 games.
But that doesn’t mean the season was without stress, and not just the stress of Selection Sunday.
NC State was on the bubble for most of the second half of the season, constantly moving from First Four In to First Four Out.
The Pack entered a key stretch of games against No. 5 Duke, No. 20 Florida State, No. 7 North Carolina and Clemson at 18-7 and 7-3 in the ACC in mid-February. But the Pack dropped all four, and was in trouble of once again missing the NCAA Tournament.
“That stretch was tough,” said Williams. “Anytime you lose its tough, but those games were so important and it was tough to swallow.”
The Pack did recover, beating fellow bubble team Miami for the second time this season, and gaining a crucial road win at Virginia Tech. The Pack took its two-game winning streak to Atlanta, and after wins over Boston College and Virginia, fell just two points short of the ACC Championship game to top-seed North Carolina.
“We knew there was pressure on us, but the one thing we always talked about was that it was still just basketball,” said Williams. “We have been playing this game since we were little, and it just comes down who wants it more. We knew we still had an opportunity to make a resume for the NCAA Tournament.”
For the Pack to make a run deep in the NCAA Tournament, Williams and the Pack knows it must produce points.
“We have to execute offensively,” said Williams. “When we do not turn the ball over, we know we will get good shots. Our offense is so good, at putting everybody into the positions for what they do best to score.”
The Pack has shown its ability on the offense end of the floor this season. NC State currently ranks third in the ACC in scoring offense (73.4 ppg). As Williams said, Gottfried’s offense affords players the opportunity to make shots, as the Pack is currently leading the ACC in field goal percentage (.463) and is third in three-point field goal percentage (.355).
The Pack will not have an easy go of it against sixth seeded San Diego State Friday afternoon. The Aztecs are 26-7 and enter the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 22 nationally after winning the Mountain West Conference regular season title.
“I already knew Coach Fisher was the coach of Michigan’s Fab Five, so I know San Diego State will want to get up and down,” said Williams. “I did watch them last year, and I know they are a very, very talented team that has multiple players that can score. It will be a tough task to slow them down.”
The Aztecs are led by the starting guard duo of Jamaal Franklin (17.2 ppg) and Chase Tapley (15.7). Franklin was named the Mountain West Play of the Year, while Tapley earned second-team all-conference honors.
NC State has been successful this season in slowing down the opposition, and not allowing opponents to get an edge on them in fast break points. On the season, the Pack has a 512-219 (15.1-6.4) advantage in fast break points. The Pack has posted more fast break points than its past seven opponents, and in 28 of the 34 games this season.
But it not just the Pack scoring fast break points, it is also the Pack getting back on defense and not allowing them. In the 34 games this season, opponents have been held to single digits in fast break points 27 times (compared to only six for NC State), and the Pack has even held three teams to zero in a contest this year.
“They are a hard team to defend,” said Williams “We need to buckle down and get after them on defense. At this time of year it is all about sheer will, that is what it will take to win this contest.”
For Williams, it will either by six more wins to end his career, or just one more loss.
“I have already admitted, even before we practiced for the first time since coming back from Atlanta, that I’m anxious for it and ready to get to the game,” said Williams.
“One thing I have done is talk to my dad a lot. He has been telling me that I do have to settle down, and just relax. It’s not a normal game, but you have to treat it as one. Just go through the same routine you normally do, treat this as another road game.”
For Williams and the Pack however, this journey to the 2012 NCAA Tournament was anything but normal.
