being a 10 point underdog to duke in football may not be the bottom, but i'm guessing if state drops a golf ball, it won't roll very far.
— Coach L Folwer (@Lee_Folwer) November 9, 2013
It was great Friday for an NC State athletics program that needed at little good news! On the day before the Wolfpack football team is a TEN point underdog to Duke, the Wolfpack had three impressive wins in varsity sports and an additional one on the club circuit.
Wes Moore’s mission to bring Wolfpack Women’s Basketball back to glory started with an impressive 70-47 win over St. Bonaventure.
Of course, most of the attention was on Mark Gottfried’s third installment of NC State Basketball – an inexperienced bunch of fresh faces wearing the Red & White.
WOW!! Were fans treated to something fun to watch?! The new look Wolfpack flashed signs of athleticism, balance and even some hustle in thrashing Jason Capel’s Appalachian State Mountaineers, 98-77. The game should’ve provided some extra incentive for Gottfried & Co. after Capel had the gumption to publicly accuse NC State’s coaching staff of ‘tampering’ with Devonte Graham, a basketball player that we didn’t even recruit.
The new Wolfpack was led by strong play from Desmond Lee, TJ Warren, Tyler Lewis and Cat Barber that supplemented by solid performances from Ralston Turner and Lennard Freeman. In the first game of the season, the new Wolfpack’s offense was well spaced and passed/shared the ball with more fluidity than we saw in most games last season.
After taking a hard foul in the first half, Barber led a second-half surge in N.C. State’s 98-77 win over the Mountaineers on Friday at PNC Arena. Barber had 13 points and six assists to spark a new-look Wolfpack lineup, which got 27 points from sophomore forward T.J. Warren and 24 from junior guard Desmond Lee.
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Lewis, who finished with 15 points and six assists, came back in at the 14:07 mark of the second half to put an exclamation point on the run. Lewis twirled the ball around his back and then dished it to Warren for a layup at 12:49 for a 70-46 lead. Warren went coast-to-coast on the next possession to cap the decisive run.
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Lee, a junior-college transfer, showed an aggressiveness that had impressed the Wolfpack coaches in preseason practice. He took the ball to the basket, hit jumpers and scored in transition.
“Desmond’s a finisher, he gets that ball around the rim, he gets it in the basket,” Gottfried said. “He knocked down a 3, he made foul shots, he had a heck of a game.”
Lee finished 10-of-12 from the floor in his first college game, which ended in a blowout; although N.C. State led only 43-38 at the half with 13 points each from Lee and Lewis.
[snip]Barber got back in and got back at the Mountaineers with five of his assists in the second half for the 20th straight season-opening win for the Wolfpack.
PackInsider.com put together a little player by player synopsis of the night that is available by clicking here.
Dez Lee – (24 pts, 4 Reb, 2 Ast, 2 Stl)
Surprise, surprise, look who had his coming out party. Mr. Lee was outstanding all night long. We’ve been trying to tell you that this kid is a gamer and is going to be a star for the Pack, but tonight he showed it. He played with passion, poise and intensity. He drove to the basket with power and knocked down jumpers with ease. Lee’s offense was so good that you may not have noticed his defense, where he was in lockdown mode all night. His defense was strong, physical and gave nothing to the ball handler. Lee proved that he’s ready to not just play at this level but star at this level. He got his 24 points on 10-12 shooting and was outstanding on both ends of the floor. We’re really excited to watch Dez going forward. There’s no doubt he’s going to be a fan favorite this season.Tyler Lewis – (15pts,6 Ast, 1 TO)
Lewis just keeps on impressing. The offense looked great tonight for large chunks of time and it was mostly thanks to him. The kid just gets this game. His vision is unreal and he’s making moves to set up moves 2 steps ahead. I think we’re watching a player that just doesn’t come along very often. Someone who is still this young, yet understands the game this deeply. In transition he is a nightmare for the opposition. There is just no hesitation and it’s as if he has a move or a pass for every situation and that he’s calculated all options as the defender makes his move (which really is happening in 1 or 2 seconds). It’s fun to watch and it’s something Pack fans are going to take for granted. We should all really take this in and be grateful that we get to watch a point guard of this magnitude. Last night App State started out by really laying off Lewis and making sure he didn’t beat them with his penetration and dishing. They were able to do that, but Lewis made them pay with his scoring. He hit a quick 3 and a little runner to get things started. Then when App State started having to get up on him, he began his onslaught of getting in the lane and carving up the D before dropping off a dime to a waiting forward for an easy lay or dunk. It was another amazing performance by the sophomore.Cat Barber – (13pts, 6 Ast, 2 Reb, 2 TOs)
Coming into the game, many were wondering where Barber would fit. With Lewis locking down the PG duties and Dez Lee looking like a perfect fit for the 2, how would they get Barber minutes? Well, Gottfried answered that question by rotating Barber, Lewis and Lee and also deploying a 3 guard lineup that was deadly quick. I think we got to see more of this because Ralston Turner was in foul trouble and there was really no other option. But I think it opened up people’s eyes, including Coach Gott’s. State was playing at a whole different speed when all 3 were in together. Warren was benefiting big time from all the commotion the guards were causing, and defensively they held their own when having to guard bigger players thanks to Lee and Barber’s versatility on the defensive end. What impressed me most with Cat was that he really played within himself. I think that was the concern all along. He was being overshadowed a bit by Lewis and I wondered if that would cause him to try to do too much, but he didn’t. He let the game come to him and he really attacked at the right times. He got into a nice rhythm late in this one and showed how electrifying he can really be. This is going to be a very fun kid to watch.
For an example of how Cat Barber looks you can check out the following Vine that WTVD’s Mark Armstrong posted.
The third varsity win of the day was a well timed men’s soccer victory on the road at #10 ranked UNC-Chapel Hill by a score of 1-0 (Damn, that feels good to write). Link to Gopack.com.
The Wolfpack (8-5-4, 3-5-3 ACC) dominated possession throughout the second half, but had to wait until extra time for Nazmi Albadawi’s game-winner on an assist from Moss Jackson-Atogi. Albadawi’s fifth goal of the year came on a long ball in the 92nd minute. Jackson-Atogi’s pass bounced high in the Tar Heel (8-4-5, 4-2-5) box, allowing Albadawi to hustle for possession and touch the golden goal home.
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NC State turns its attention to the NCAA Selection committee and a possible at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. Fans can follow along with the latest Wolfpack soccer news by following @PackMensSoccer on Twitter.
Oh yes — not to be forgotten —
After last night's 4-2 victory over Georgetown, @NCStateHockey returns to the ice tonight to face James Madison at 9:30. GO STATE #GoPack
— Chris Hathcock (@NCSUMicMan) November 9, 2013
