North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Hungry For Another NCAA Tourney Shot
10/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
For someone who has proven himself as a coach by leading his team to three straight NCAA appearances, head coach Mark Gottfried kept describing his 2014-2015 team as “unproven.”
While the goal remains to advance deep into postseason play, Gottfried and his players know a lot has to happen in order for their dreams to stay alive.
In Gottfried’s opinion, it all starts with his young players.
“I’m excited about our young guys,” the fourth-year head coach said. “When you have an unproven team with a lot of players who have potential, it makes it fun, because it’s good to see what this group can become.”
Headlining this young group of Wolfpack freshmen includes Abdul-Malik Abu, a 6-8 forward who comes into this year’s season as one of the top recruits in the nation. NC State has also added nationally-ranked recruits in the Martin twins, Caleb and Cody.
While Abu would love to see his team make the NCAA Tournament as a freshman, he has even bigger goals, starting with taking Gottfried’s job. Abu joked saying, “I want to shoot every single basket. I want to win National Player of the Year, and I want to stay here long enough to take over coaching for (Coach) Gottfried and Coach Lutz.”
In all seriousness, Abu hopes to contribute to his new team. “I just want to help the team win and if we all take on the mentality of being winners, we will have a good season,” Abu said.
While this may be easier said than done, the players have put in a lot of work during the offseason to better their chances of hopefully seeing an NCAA appearance for the fourth year in a row. Specifically, this year’s squad has been focusing on leadership.
Sophomore point guard Anthony ‘Cat’ Barber said that one of his main goals during the summer was to be a better leader.
“I’ve been focusing on running the team and helping everybody get in their spots. I try to coach them on and off the floor so I can be seen as a leader,” said Barber, who started 18 games last season as a freshman.
Also buying into a leadership role is the addition of Trevor Lacey, a combo guard who sat out last season after playing two seasons at Alabama. Lacey is expected to play a crucial role on this year’s Wolfpack squad. Averaging 11.3 points per game at Alabama, Lacey is ready to help the Wolfpack back into the Big Dance in March.
“My goal is to come in and provide leadership with the big picture and with the small things. We have to focus on what our coaches are telling us to do each week to make sure that we are all on the same page,” Lacey said.
Lacey’s teammate, senior guard Desmond Lee, feels like this year’s squad is more goal-oriented in what they it’s looking to accomplish. Lee said he thinks national pundits are starting to realize the potential this Wolfpack team possesses. Lee noted ESPN’s Dick Vitale recently named NC State 30th in his top 40 preseason ranking.
Preseason accolades are nice, but Lee maintains that is not the goal. He said the team wouldn’t be happy until it’s in the NCAA Tournament. Lee noted last year’s NCAA berth helped this year’s team understand what it takes to be dancing in March.
“We are more experienced this year. Last year we were like babies out there. All of us got a taste of the tournament even though it was short-lived, so we now know what we have to do to get back there this year.”
Gottfried seemed to agree, saying that there are plenty of guys who collectively want to step up and prove that they can play at this level.
“We are a team that had to replace maybe the best scorer in all of college basketball, TJ Warren, and even though that’s difficult to do, we have got some guys who want to show us they can as well do some things at this level,” Gottfried said.
Fifth-year senior Ralston Turner has seen the Wolfpack make the NCAA two years in a row - once from the bench as a redshirt and another time as a key contributor. He said balance is one strength the Wolfpack has this season.
“This year’s team is deeper,” Turner said. “That’s the first thing that sticks out. We don’t necessarily have a superstar like we did in the past with guys like TJ Warren or Lorenzo Brown. There will definitely be more balanced scoring.”
With this being said, Turner thinks that this year’s team has a good chance of hearing its name called during Selection Sunday for the fourth year in a row.
“If we keep working hard and staying together, we have a great chance of making the tournament again,” Turner said.
With practice starting Monday, Oct. 6, the young yet talented Wolfpack team has a lot to accomplish before games start. All of the players are hungry for another NCAA appearance, including 6-8 sophomore forward Lennard Freeman.
“After going to the tournament last year and winning our first game then beating ourselves and losing to Saint Louis, we are hungry and want more.”
-- written by Kendra Stowe
