Tuesday provided the first “on the court” look at the pieces of the ’13-’14 edition of Wolfpack Basketball as it was the first day for summer workouts.
NC State trying to solidify ‘program in transition’ (WRALSportsFan.com)
Tuesday marked the first day of on-court workouts as freshmen and transfers joined returnees Tyler Lewis, TJ Warren and Jordan Vandenburg on-campus.
Step one for Gottfried and the Wolfpack: find almost an entirely new starting five.
“There’s a ton of questions about our team,” Gottfried said. “It’s kind of a blank slate as far as having all these new guys, and we’re not really sure who can do what.”
It will be trial-by-fire for Gottfried’s self-described “program in transition” come November when W’s and L’s will be determined by how quickly his team grows up.
N.C. State basketball: Gottfried has hopes, not expectations (CharlotteObserver.com)
RALEIGH When Mark Gottfried goes to the grocery store, he sometimes gets unsolicited advice from fellow shoppers.
“ ‘Hang in there coach, I know it’s going to be a long year for you,’ †Gottfried said, relaying a conversation. “I hear it everywhere I go.â€
Expectations will be a little different for the 2013-14 Wolfpack than they were last year, when N.C. State was ranked No. 6 in the preseason poll and picked to win the ACC. That group, which returned four starters, failed to meet expectations in its 24-11 season, finishing fifth in the league and losing to Temple in its first NCAA tournament game.
This year’s team returns just four scholarship players, one of whom is guard Ralston Turner, who sat out last year after transferring from LSU. Rising sophomore guard Tyler Lewis, forward T.J. Warren and redshirt senior center Jordan Vandenberg complete the rest of the quartet, which Gottfried has asked to fill the leadership void.
Gottfried, in his summer press conference Tuesday, called this team a “blank slate,†with questions pretty much across the board. That has resulted in low-to-nonexistent expectations for those outside the program.
“If I had to walk in my mind through the league and who has what coming back, we’re going to be near the bottom, probably, to start off with,†Gottfried said. “Now for me, personally, I hope to find a way to get in the NCAA tournament every year. Some years, that may be a lot more difficult than others.
DeCock: Wolfpack still looking for leaders (CharlotteObserver.com)
Instead of returning starters or high expectations, N.C. State has questions. Who will play inside? Who will shoot from outside? Who, exactly, is going to score points other than T.J. Warren?
All of those legitimate questions will be answered in one way or another. Someone will have to score. Someone will have to play inside. Someone will have to take some 3-pointers. They may not be as good at it as they were last year, or as good as they would like to be, but someone will have to do it.
There’s one question, however, that is just as urgent but without an answer, necessarily. Who is going to step up and fill the leadership void that has existed since C.J. Williams and Alex Johnson left the program last summer?
A year ago at this time, N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried was asking the same question. No one ever did, and that’s one reason why the Wolfpack never met the expectations it set for itself last season.
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