North Carolina State and Alabama both earned bids to the NCAA tournament each year from 2002 to 2006, but neither has been back since those streaks ended. This year in Raleigh, those two programs join forces, as ex-Alabama head coach Mark Gottfried brings his expertise to the Wolfpack.
His biggest challenge this year will be developing an inexperienced backcourt. After point guard Ryan Harrow transferred to Kentucky, N.C. State will turn to sophomore Lorenzo Brown. Brown averaged 9.3 points per game last year and led the team in assists with 3.7 per game. Junior wing and two-year starter, Scott Wood, will be the team’s leader and also a threat to shoot 40 percent from long range.
N.C. State will rely heavily on its frontcourt, especially 6-foot-9 sophomore C.J. Leslie, who averaged 11 points per game and led the team in rebounding at 7.2 per game. The Raleigh native struggled with off-the-court issues and inconsistency during his freshman season, but he has all the physical tools to be one of the top power forwards in the ACC.
Junior power forward Richard Howell will be a force on interior as well, after averaging 6.5 rebounds in only 18.7 minutes of action. Freshman wing Tyler Harris will contribute on offense and fellow rookie Kevin Thomas will join junior center DeShawn Painter in giving N.C. State reliable rebounding and interior defense.
With only two seniors, N.C. State will have to grow up quickly, but their relatively easy ACC schedule will allow opportunities for that. If Gottfried can coax the most out of the talent on hand, the Wolfpack could find themselves in the upper half of the ACC and possibly even in the NCAA tournament.
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