North Carolina State University Athletics
Lacey Brings Leadership, Talent To The Pack
10/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
With former ACC Player Of The Year TJ Warren in the NBA, Wolfpack fans have a respectable reason to question the stability of this year's team. Trevor Lacey may be the answer everyone is hoping for.
The 6-foot-3 transfer from Alabama was a five-star recruit out of Butler High School in Huntsville, where he ended up at University of Alabama. However, Lacey's relationship with head coach Mark Gottfried was established long before his decision to attend Alabama.
"I met Coach Gott in the ninth grade," said Lacey. "He was recruiting me out of high school. I went on a couple of unofficial visits and that's how we met."
Nonetheless, it would be this desire to stay close to home that would steer him away from playing college basketball from anywhere else besides Alabama, despite his talent.
Lacey said, "Having my family be able to come see me at every game was a big factor in choosing Alabama. It just felt like a good fit for me out of high school."
During his two years with the Crimson Tide, Lacey would prove to live up to expectations. In his two years at Alabama, Lacey started in 52 games, averaging 11.3 points per game. As a freshman, he began the year as backup point guard, but his versatility ultimately earned him a starting role as a shooting guard. From there, Lacey never looked back.
"My sophomore year, I was the starting point guard and I led the team in assists and three pointers," said Lacey.
Despite all of his success at Alabama, Lacey felt like something wasn't clicking. Due to a different style of play and feeling as if there was more he could accomplish as a player, the idea of transferring began to surface.
Lacey said, "When I finally decided to transfer, I got calls from Carolina, Miami, UConn, Pittsburgh, and Kansas."
Initially, North Carolina State University wasn't on the talented guard's radar.
Without much knowledge on the school, Lacey said that Gottfried and assistant coach, Orlando Early, started talking to Lacey often about the possibility of playing for NC State.
Lacey joked, "The only thing I knew about NC State was ESPN's 30 for 30 and Coach Gottfried. When I got here on my visit, I actually saw what was going on and that was what really sold me on my decision to come here."
After the papers were signed, reality began to sink in for Lacey. Because of NCAA regulations, Lacey knew he would be sitting out a year before being able to play. Along with this came the fact that Lacey wasn't able to travel with the team during away games. Lacey mentioned that the most difficult part of transferring was by far sitting out, and relied solely on teammates and others to help him with the wait.
"I really didn't know how hard it was going to be sitting out until it came about," Lacey said. "I don't think I would have been able to do it without my own family checking up on me and telling me to fight through it."
Always looking for the good in a situation, Lacey mentioned how there were some positives to having to sit for a year before getting back on the court for playing time.
Lacey said, "The nice thing about it is that you get a year to work on your game and you also get to develop your body and skills to where you want them to be for the next year."
Taking his own advice, that is exactly what Lacey would do in the offseason. With his main goal being to lose weight, Lacey dropped 20 pounds with the help of strength and conditioning coach, Bob Alejo. Lacey attributes a lot of conditioning instead of dieting to his improved physical condition.
"I was never eating that bad," said Lacey.
Beside losing weight, Lacey said him and guards' coach Rob Moxley worked on adding some facets to his game that Lacey didn't possess in high school or at Alabama.
Moxley commented on Lacey saying, "He has really pushed himself this past season to get better and we are very high on his future."
Even though working on his game and getting in shape for this upcoming season seemed to be essential, Lacey knew there was something more important: developing himself as a leader with his new teammates.
Knowing he would most likely play a key role for the Wolfpack's backcourt, Lacey said he made sure to establish himself as a leader early on. As point guard of the scout team, Lacey quickly became familiar with the offense that Gottfried was trying to teach. Because of this, Lacey was able to put in a lot of time to learn the plays on a daily basis.
Lacey said, "I developed that leadership role while I was sitting out, because I could talk to some of the guys and if I recognized one of the plays we ran in practice, I would help them out and tell them what was coming."
Not to confuse being a leader with cockiness, Lacey truly believes that being a leader is a vital role for this talented, but young Wolfpack team. Lacey's goal is to score the ball and help push the team to its full potential.
"I feel as if I do my part and try to lead this team, everything else will fall into place and everybody will be at their best."
Looking forward to putting back on a jersey in a different shade of red, Lacey said he is mostly excited to getting out on the court with his teammates. Counting down the days until the first game, Lacey said NC State basketball fans are comparable to how the Alabama fans treat football- with a lot of pride.
"Sitting out and seeing how passionate State fans are about the game and basketball here makes us want to play harder for them," said Lacey.
Along with a guaranteed Wolfpack nation supporting Lacey and his teammates, Lacey said fans should expect more balanced scoring from this year's team, in light of the loss of TJ Warren to the Phoenix Suns.
Wolfpack fans can look for Lacey to contribute as a vital asset to this year's team- someone who is anxious and ready to play after sitting out for a year.
"I just want to be the best that I can be," said Lacey.
Lacey should prove to be worth the wait after mentally and physically preparing himself in every way possible for the upcoming season.-- Kendra Stowe
