We all know what happened in Puerto Rico yesterday. NC State was manhandled on both ends of the floor, and (with a few exceptions) the team did not respond well. I will go ahead and the get the requisite "It isn't even Thanksgiving yet" out of the way now, because while that is a good point, there is much more to this game than that.
The on-court leadership of this team has been challenged. There is a rather unanimous notion that this team will only go as far the leaders (Brown, Leslie, Howell, Wood) take them. No team can expect to win with your four most important players combining for 20 points on 7-31 shooting. Both Howell and Leslie fouling out is a lingering problem from the previous season and getting it under control is of critical importance going forward. Zo Brown was one of the few players (outside of the freshmen) that showed some heart, but it was not going to happen for him on the night. With Scott Wood, we all know to expect hit-or-miss performances. Although, to be fair, yesterday's was up there amongst the worst that I can remember. My point is, all of the worst-case scenarios for the Pack happened yesterday, and I do not anticipate these all happening in the same game very often.
On the bright side of things, TJ Warren and Rodney Purvis continue to impress. Warren is by all means the scorer that he was made out to be coming into this season. Purvis has exceeded expectations as a shooter and is starting to use his strength of driving to the basket more effectively. While Pack fans should not expect quite the results they have seen from the freshmen to last the entire season, it is a very promising sign. Tyler Lewis has not been a standout, but he has not made many mistakes and seemed to be fairly calm despite the large deficit yesterday.
If nothing else, this game gave Mark Gottfried and absolutely clear idea of what needs to be worked on. To my untrained eyes, several things clearly stuck out. One major weak point has been free throw shooting. NC State shot 8-16 from the stripe against Oklahoma State. Through four games this season, the Pack are shooting 60% from the line. That number needs to be in the high 60's to low 70's at least by season's end. Another area that needs major improvement is rebounding. The OSU game is a perfect example, with the Cowboys outrebounding NC State 42-27. That type of performance will not win you basketball games against any respectable teams. Of course, keeping Leslie and Howell in the game for more than 33 combined minutes might help. From a non-statistical standpoint, the Wolfpack need to start taking the ball to the basket with much more emphasis. The Cowboys blocked nine shots in the tournament final, many of which were on soft layup attempts. It might sound strange, but NC State not having a single dunk was an issue. If you take the ball strong to the basket, you become much tougher to defend. I have no doubt that this will be an emphasis in practice this week.
It is not quite make-or-break time just yet, but the following games will be a strong indicator of where the team goes from here. Having a game against a team such as UNC-Asheville on Friday is exactly what this team needs. The Bulldogs are a well-coached team, but do not have the talent level that NC State possesses. This should force the Wolfpack to get back to running their offense and emphasizing whatever points the coaching staff sees necessary. They face a good enough opponent where they can not sleepwalk through the game without getting beat.
Of course, the real test will be in Ann Arbor, Michigan on November 27. This will be a very good measuring stick of what to expect from this team. Playing a team with many similarities (couple returning stars, highly rated freshman class, etc.) will be huge this early in the season.
As a Pack fan myself, I am certainly not pleased with a 20 point loss. However, I am still cautiously optimistic at this point in the year. This bitter dose of reality has certainly grabbed the attention of the players, and I expect this will give them a new desire to prove that this was a fluke. I fully expect the upperclassmen to return to late 2011-2012 form and get this team back on track.
