In the most recent post, I complained about Williams and Arceneaux, enough said. Paul (47 points!) McNeil is getting the local and national media treatment right now. Let’s look at the rest of the key
players.
Caveat: This is a report card on 13 games, 6 against Q3 / Q4 opponents, compared to full seasons. These are simply indicators, some of which will get better, some will trend in a more southerly direction.
NOTE: Following the pattern of strong offensive performances noted below, it’s also worth a reminder that both Williams and McNeil have set career highs in points.
- Raise your hand if you had Quadir Copeland as the most important player on the Wolfpack team and statistically one of the best point guards in the country (Put your hand down! PS: Your pants are on fire)
- Career highs in scoring, FG% and 3PT%
- Career high in assists
- Turnovers are down. This is his second season playing point full time so improvement makes sense, however it is a small improvement, and much tougher games are ahead.
- Fouls per game is at a career high as well, but trending in the right direction. In the first 7 games, Q had 4 or 5 fouls five times. In the last six, he hasn’t had more than 3.
2. Ven Lubin Google says the biblical definition of Lubin is “Heart of a man.” Totally apropos! No one is saying anything bad about Ven. Only he and ‘Q’ have started every game so far this season. He’s already had 3 double-doubles (including Kansas) and 3 other games with double digit scoring and 9 rebounds. That alone puts him on the Wolfpack’s OOC Mt Rushmore. And let’s not forget that he’s shooting 69%, best in the ACC and 4th in the country.
- Career highs in FG%. 3PT%. rebounding, assists, and scoring
- The one worrisome stat is the fouls. Which leads us to …
3. Musa Sagnia is rising to the challenge of giving Ven Lubin adequate bench time and providing quality defense and rebounding at the center position. Granted, he is still a work in progress, but his athleticism and motor show up every game. He’s played at least 20 minutes in the last two games, and against a talented Ole Miss team, he had a solid box score with 7 rebounds, 3 points, and 1 assist, block and steal. And he hasn’t fouled out since the first game.
- Defense! He’s leading the team in blocked shots and he’s third in steals.
- He’s tied for 4th in rebounding, which doesn’t sound impressive until you realize the guys he is behind are all starters, averaging at least 10 more minutes a game.
- FG% is up dramatically. He’s taken 21 shots – happily only 2 3PT shots – but his scoring is down. He’s had opportunities at the basket when he was unprepared for a pass, the defense slapped the ball away, or he just lost the handle. That will improve.
- Free throw shooting is terrible! He has only attempted 8. Reviewing his international career, he never averaged better than 57.1%. It will be interesting to see what Coach Hamilton can do about that over the course of his career at NC State.
4. Alyn Breed was the biggest question mark coming into the season. He was thought of mostly as a strong defensive player at Providence – but last season he exploded as a scorer. (2 games) He is now a full year removed from his knee surgery, and he’s starting to get his game back. He should only get better.
- Excluding his two games at McNeese, he is close to his career high in FG% and is shooting his career high from 3PT% and FT%.
- Career high in assists per game
- Career high in rebounds per game
- Career low in turnovers
- Scoring is down, but he averaged 4 shots per game at Providence and so far is only taking 2.9 per game with the Pack. As his minutes increase so will his confidence in his shot, that should rise.
5. Tre Holloman was brought to NC State to lead the team at point guard. Surprise! It’s Quadir Copeland’s world, and we’re all just living in it. Tre has moved to shooting guard. Coach Wade said in his summer intro that the goal was to get Tre shooting as well as he did as a sophomore at Mich St. Mission accomplished. Tre scored double digits 16 times in 37 games last season. So far he’s had 8 double digit games in just 13 games.
- He’s just off his career high in FG%, and he is shooting his career high in 3PT% and FT%
- Career high in scoring
- His assists are down, but that is expected since he’s not playing PG full time.
- Fouls and turnovers are up, but he is averaging a career high in minutes which might have something to do with that.
