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Film Room: NC State's Offense is Cooking
NC State's offense currently ranks 20th nationally in total efficiency, 17th in effective field goal percentage, and despite some regression, is still shooting almost 40% from three as a team. The offense has done a lot of things right to this point, and the Pack is having fun compressing defenses and zipping the ball around the perimeter to its squadron of shooters. Let's hope it continues into conference play. The pieces have fit together well. Even with Darrion Williams st

AlecLower
10 hours ago4 min read


NC State's Defense is Trending Up
You’d never know it if you simply measured the sentiment around it, but NC State enters conference play with a top 50 defense. Will Wade’s first Wolfpack team, which was rightfully lambasted for its early defensive efforts, has quietly pieced together a nice four-game stretch to wrap up its out-of-conference slate. Three of the team’s four highest-rated defensive games per Torvik have come in the last two weeks (Liberty, Kansas, Ole Miss). Over the four-game stretch since 12

AlecLower
Dec 213 min read


Quadir Copeland Shining Early for NC State
Of all the players I wrote about in the offseason, which was almost every one State added in the portal, Quadir Copeland was the one I really got wrong. The senior Will Wade product has been the team’s best player and its primary drink stirrer. Copeland’s skills as an operator have always been intriguing. He’s an at-the-rim scorer who sparks a lot of ball movement. Playing with ball-dominant foul merchant Judah Mintz at Syracuse didn’t land him in as many on-ball situations,

AlecLower
Dec 124 min read


NC State's Defense Enters Adjustment Mode
NC State is now part of a small group that has traveled to Hawaii and not enjoyed itself. The Pack's pass at the Maui Invitational was less pleasant than expected, and while these aren't catastrophic developments or panic button moments, they did expand on some negative trends. Texas scored 102 points behind a 16/32 effort from beyond the arc. Seton Hall was the reverse, ripping off a 65% effort inside the arc despite not lighting the world on fire from three. The Pack's defe

AlecLower
Nov 284 min read


Learnings from Will Wade's First Three Games
Making shots is very important in basketball. Fortunately, this is something NC State has been excellent at through three games. Wade's first offense has started off blazing, shooting over 44% from three and almost 70% on twos. The three-point percentage is particularly impressive considering the volume. State has shot 102 threes so far while averaging 15 makes per game. This level of shooting is obviously not sustainable, but State is pretty demonstrably a team that you won'

AlecLower
Nov 135 min read


State Fans Wanted a Fighter
Listening to the way Will Wade has talked about the NC State program immediately took me back to an interaction I had with an unnamed national ESPN college basketball personality just before Kevin Keatts was hired. This individual posited that NC State’s way forward in a neighborhood owned by Duke and unc was to take a page out of UVA’s book. Do something different and find a unique way to counter the shadow that looms over them. I found this take to be quite stupid, and I we

AlecLower
Oct 274 min read


How Will Wade's First Roster Fits Together
I think we're done? It would seem that Will Wade's first NC State roster is complete, and if you're a State fan, it's hard to not be...

AlecLower
Jun 109 min read


Meet Ven-Allen Lubin
Will Wade's first roster is approaching completion with the addition of Ven-Allen Lubin, a senior big who played his best basketball at...

AlecLower
Jun 25 min read


Meet Darrion Williams
Here comes that reckoning you've heard about. Will Wade had put together a strong first roster over the past couple of months, and now he...

AlecLower
May 245 min read


Meet Terrance Arceneaux
I have been waiting to write this article since his name first appeared on NC State’s board. I love Terrance Arceneaux. Aside from him...

AlecLower
Apr 274 min read


Meet Jerry Deng
Will Wade is back on the transfer portal scoreboard with the out-of-left-field addition of Jerry Deng. This was, of course, only out of...

AlecLower
Apr 263 min read


Meet Tre Holloman
Will Wade continues to build his first roster in Raleigh with the addition of Tre Holloman, the fourth new face to jump onboard and, at...

AlecLower
Apr 176 min read


Meet Quadir Copeland (Hello Old Friend)
The second member of the McNeese Cowboys has made his way to Raleigh to follow head man Will Wade. Quadir Copeland announced his...

AlecLower
Apr 56 min read


Meet Alyn Breed
Will Wade has his first roster addition in Raleigh, and not surprisingly, it's a McNeese player following him to his new school. You knew...

AlecLower
Apr 33 min read


Get to Know Will Wade Basketball
Will Wade is officially in Raleigh and the head man of NC State Men's Basketball. What an exciting time. Let's meet the man by diving...

AlecLower
Mar 246 min read


Analysis: Corrigan Makes the Tough Call to Fire Kevin Keatts
How do you evaluate a basketball coach who has spent the better part of a decade at a school, won two total postseason games in six years...

AlecLower
Mar 95 min read


What is a Kevin Keatts Four?
In old school basketball terminology, a four was a power forward. As the game has evolved and the single-big lineup has increased in...

AlecLower
Feb 258 min read


PREMIUM: What Difference Would Mike James Have Made?
Louisville transfer Mike James has not played this season, and it's definitely forced some shifting of NC State's halfcourt set...

AlecLower
Feb 101 min read


Trinity Road Tape: Keatts' Final Play at Stanford
Welcome back to another edition of Trinity Road Tape. Today we're looking at the final ATO at Stanford where Trey Parker's game winner...

AlecLower
Feb 101 min read


Film Room: The Law Firm of James, Brooks, and Rivers
NC State's backcourt went crazy on Monday night in a wildly-exciting win over the top 10 Duke Blue Devils. Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers,...

AlecLower
Feb 75 min read
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