North Carolina State University Athletics
Ralston Turner Shines in a big way
11/17/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
After scoring his 1,000th career point against Jackson State on Friday night, senior Ralston Turner decided he could once again do what he does best, putting up 24 points in a 76-64 Wolfpack win over Hofstra.
Before Turner, NC State's Scott Wood was known for always being reliable to hit the 3-pointer. After four years of Wood lighting up PNC Arena, Turner has been able to step into that role. Even with the season barely underway after only two games, Turner looked like the player NC State fans had been used to last season.
"The first game, I think I took good shots. They just didn't fall," Turner said. "Today I was more relaxed. I still shot the same shots."
During the exhibition game against Queens and season opener vs. Jackson State, Turner contributed quietly without making his presence known. On Monday night, it seemed to be a different story as Turner saw his ACC-leading 20th straight game with a 3-pointer at PNC Arena.
On Monday night, he seemed to find his rhythm both defensively and offensively. His teammates were quick to pass him the ball after seeing Turner hit from some difficult spots late in the first half. During the second half, he got two big blocks on the same possession with Hofstra at a time when the Pride had cut into NC State's lead.
"My teammates did a good job of finding me. I just try to play off guys," Turner said. "Trevor (Lacey) and Cat (Anthony Barber) did a good job of getting in the lane, finding places for me to get open."
Overcoming adversity in the first two games, Turner seemed to be a lot more alert. Possessing a natural ball-handling ability, Turner made sure to find the best possible way for himself or his teammates to score whether it was passing the ball off under the basket or finding a way to get open when surrounded by defenders.
Turner continued: "In the zone, I'm a shooter, so I kind of sensed that we needed to get something going."
Freeman Brings Intensity Early On
While most power forwards seem to sit back and wait for their opportunity to make an impactful block or dunk, sophomore Lennard Freeman was proactive and created plays for himself.
Setting the pace early on during the game with a steal and layup, Freeman showed that he came ready to play. The final result was a 9-point, 13-rebound effort.
Hitting the mid-range jumper, Freeman seemed to find a nice tempo, putting up eight points during the first half alone. While one point shy of a double-double, Freeman joked about being mad that he missed the last point during his last free throw with only 3:51 left to play.
"I was trying to hit that free throw, but we got the win so I was cool with it," said Freeman after the game.
It was his aggressiveness underneath the basket that seemed to pay off tonight. Staying in the game for the majority of the time, Freeman looked extremely comfortable during all 30 minutes of his playing time.
On his 13 rebounds, Freeman said that rebounding is the easy part for him. Focusing on attacking the glass, Freeman said that head coach Mark Gottfried is constantly reminding him and the other "bigs" that they are on scholarship to do just that.
"If you want the ball, you just have to go get it. I feel like rebounding is easy," Freeman said.
While rebounding may come off as simple to Freeman, he said that scoring is a little different. Saying that offensive rebounds are nice due to already being at the rim, Freeman mentioned how scoring has to be taken one step at a time.
"Nine times out of ten, you're at the rim (during an offensive rebound), so you just put it back in," Freeman said. "Scoring, you have to take it one step at a time and hopefully it goes in."
While Freeman brought certain intensity tonight in NC State's win over Hofstra, he made sure to give credit to his teammates as well.
"We all contribute different things," he said. "I'm proud of everyone. We all can play."
By: Kendra Stowe
