Rush The Court

Mark Gottfried made himself very clear both before and after NC State‘s ACC opener against Maryland: his goal is to make the NCAA tournament. He knows 11-5 in conference play should lock up an at-large bid (the Wolfpack would be 22-9), so he wants 11 conference wins. His team is one game closer after beating the Terrapins 79-74. The score doesn’t really reflect the game, which NC State led nearly the whole way.

The one thing that was clear watching Gottfried’s squad is they have the talent to make the Big Dance. They are long and athletic up front–especially with the offseason transformation undergone by Richard Howell. CJ Leslie looks much better than when I saw him last season. He is still dominant in transition, but now he is much more comfortable around the basket. Where last year, he settled far too often for the 15-foot jump shot, against Maryland Leslie attacked the basket and boards to earn 19 points and ten boards. Leslie still needs to work on taking care of the basketball, finishing with five turnovers for the game.

As for the rest of the frontcourt, Howell struggled in the first half because of foul trouble, but came out swinging in the second to finish with 10 points. Maryland frosh Alex Len clearly struggled to keep pace with the athletic frontcourt late in the game, which allowed DeShawn Painter a couple of open transition lay-ups.

Two more factors play into Gottfried’s hands: a down ACC and his team’s schedule. It is very clear that the fourth (and maybe third, as it’s tough to evaluate Virginia because of its soft schedule) spots in the ACC are up for grabs this season. Combine that turmoil with a schedule that includes two games against each of the conference’s projected cellar-dwellers (Boston College, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech) and the Wolfpack are in business. Oh, and they play Virginia and Florida State at home. None of those games are gimmes by any means (OK, home against Boston College should be), but they are all very winnable.

Still I do have concerns. First and foremost, NC State almost gave this game up. A 14-point lead with five minutes to play plummeted to a five-point lead with two minutes left. An eight-point lead with under a minute to play dropped to three after Terrell Stoglin buried a three with four seconds left. The primary reason is because NC State struggles to create in the halfcourt. Nearly the whole team is phenomenal in transition, but trying to use the whole shot clock really took the team out of its element. One of the more promising signs going forward is Scott Wood‘s progression from a spot-up shooter to a more complete offensive player (oh, and he hasn’t missed a free throw this year), but the team will need to learn to hold onto leads. On the road this game could have been up for grabs several times in the second half. It will be the Wolfpack’s ability to deal with those runs going forward that dictates their ceiling.