In the most anticipated recruiting battle the Pack had been involved in since C.J. Leslie was in decision mode, State fell just short on big time recruit Amile Jefferson. The Philadelphia native had narrowed his final five down to State, Kentucky, hometown Villanova, and ACC-rival Duke.
The five-star power forward chose Duke in the absolute worst-case scenario for NC State. Not only did the Pack miss out on a huge target, but now they’ll have to play against him about ten times over the next four years.
At 6-9 and 200 pounds, Jefferson is rated as the third best power forward and the No. 21 player overall in the 2012 class. He will be a big part of the post rotation for the Blue Devils this season. His strengths include “attack mode, competitiveness, and upside/potential” – and apparently, screen setting.
The decision means that State will need a bench player to step up down low. Seven-footer Jordan Vandenberg red-shirted last season and has two years of eligibility left, and rising sophomore Thomas De Thaey will be called upon to give Leslie and Richard Howell breaks off the bench. Freshman T.J. Warren could also be utilized at power forward, but is more of a natural small forward.
I still believe State is in good shape for next season, but it is imperative now that the Pack sign a big-time forward in the 2013 class.
Ralston Turner Commits!
Lost among the Amile discussion was a huge get for the Pack. Ralston Turner, a sophomore wing at LSU has chosen NC State as his new school.
The 6-foot-6 and 205 pound shooting guard/small forward led the Tigers in scoring as a freshman (12.3 points), but regressed in the category as a sophomore to 9.1 points per game. Turner’s efficiency from beyond the arc and at the free-throw line improved from year one to year two, though.
Turner will have to sit out the upcoming season due to NCAA transfer rules, but will then have two years to play left two seasons. With his sharp shooting ability he will play big minutes following the departure of Scott Wood.
“I felt very comfortable on the visit and with the direction of the program. I’m expecting big things at NC State, and I wanted to be a part of it,” said Turner of his decision.
Turner will add depth to an already talented backcourt for the Pack in 2013.
ACC/Big 10 Challenge
The pairings for the fourteenth annual ACC/Big 10 Challenge were announced Monday, and NC State will face a tough road test at Michigan Tuesday, November 27. The Wolfpack and Wolverines have met twice before in the Challenge, splitting the two meetings (Michigan win in 2003 and NC State in 2006). Both teams should enter the season ranked in the pre-season top-10. Here is the complete list of pairings for the event; the Big 10 has won the last three challenges after the ACC started out 10-0.
Tuesday, Nov. 27
UNC at Indiana
N.C. State at Michigan
Minnesota at Florida State
Maryland at Northwestern
Iowa at Virginia Tech
Nebraska at Wake Forest
Wednesday, Nov. 28
Ohio State at Duke
Virginia at Wisconsin
Michigan State at Miami
Purdue at Clemson
Georgia Tech at Illinois
Boston College at Penn State
That’s all the news for now. As always, for up to date news about Wolfpack athletics, follow me on Twitter @TheJJGreenstein.
With a change in the ACC map, is coming even more that aren't sitting well with some ACC fans (Pic per OrangeandWhite.com).
Boom – the ACC is going to a 9-game football conference schedule when Pittsburgh and Syracuse join on a date TBD.
It’s an interesting move, following in the footsteps of the PAC-12, and in the end, it’s probably the right one.
If you’re adding teams, adding conference games makes sense – cutting the OOC down to three games.
Obviously, it’ll limit the amount of prime non-conference games, but let’s be honest, that can only help the ACC.
I’ve said for a while that Syracuse to the Atlantic and Pitt to the Coastal makes the most sense. The Orange rekindles the yearly matchup with regional neighbor Boston College, and plays Pitt in cross-divisional action.
It appears that was the main idea from what commish John Swofford told David Teel of the Daily Press:
Swofford said the “overriding factors” in the division assignments were keeping Virginia Tech and Boston College as partners, and rekindling the Boston College-Syracuse and Virginia Tech-Pitt rivalries that waned when the Hokies and Eagles left the Big East for the ACC.
In my estimation, there just wasn’t a way to feasibly blow up the divisional structure and piece it back together North-South or otherwise. They made the right call here.
The other main point of contention from the ACC announcement was the structure of the new 18-game basketball conference schedule, having just one guaranteed home-and-home series and a 14-team ACC Tourney. From the release:
The scheduling model will be based on a three-year cycle during which teams will play every league opponent at least once with the primary partners playing home and away annually while the other 12 rotate in groups of four: one year both home and away; one year at home only; and one year away only. Over the course of the three-year cycle primary partners play a total of six times and all other conference opponents play four times.
This is where most folks are freaking out, mostly in one particular state. How else can you really do it when throwing the ‘Cuse and Pitt into the mix? It’s not Tobacco Road-friendly from a historical standpoint, but there’s 10 other conference schools now.
From Teel again, Swofford says the new basketball-schedule style passed with majority support:
“The (basketball) coaches were very supportive of the one-partner scheduling,” Swofford said, “and as it turned out, so were the athletic directors.”
So, the plan is finally in place – when does this all go down? Looks like we’re not any closer to knowing.
ACC commissioner John Swofford wouldn’t speculate on Pittsburgh and Syracuse joining the ACC before 2014. “First of all, (that decision) is between Pitt and Syracuse and the Big East,” Swofford said.
However, if the Panthers and Orange can leave before 2014, the ACC will be ready.
“The fact we made our decision how we will schedule and compete certainly helps us (when they join),” Swofford said. “In terms of when that time may come, I don’t want to get into a hypothetical of this or that. Our position continues to be that we want to prepare ourselves when they’re ready and it’s appropriate for them to join us.”
The Big East won’t really still hold Pitt and Syracuse until 2014, right? (Right??) Who knows, but it’s not happening in 2012, and beyond that, the courts and whatever precedent West Virginia sets in its departure to Big XII will determine if there can be epic clashes like Clemson-Syracuse in 2013.
The sooner this will all go down the better, but probably by then, the ACC will get raided or add 10 more teams just to mess with us.
As we ring in a new year, here’s a look back at some of the best moments from the year that was for the NC State Wolfpack.
Honorable Mention. November 9: Pack Hoops inks three big-time recruits
Coach Mark Gottfried’s first recruiting class at NC State will be a big one. On National Signing Day he received hard commitments from three of the nation’s best seniors- and all three of them are from the state of North Carolina.
Tyler Lewis of Oak Hill Academy is a four-star prospect rated as the eighth best point guard in the 2012 class. He is joined by Brewster Academy’s T.J. Warren, a five star small forward who is ranked as the fifth best player at his position, and Rodney Purvis, a five star recruit rated as the fifth best shooting guard in this year’s class.
ESPNU 100 ranked Gottfried’s class as the No. 2 class in the country, while Rivals.com has rated the Wolfpack’s incoming class as the nation’s No. 3 class.
5. November 21: State basketball rallies from 18 down to beat Texas, 77-74
The Pack used an incredible 28-2 run to erase an 18-point second half deficit to outlast Texas at the final horn 77-74 in the TicketCity Legends Classic consolation game in Newark, New Jersey.
The Pack was led by C.J. Leslie’s 17 points, Scott Wood’s 16, and Lorenzo Brown’s 11 points and four assists. The Longhorns’ Julien Lewis saw his buzzer beater fall three feet short to send the Pack home with their first win of the season over a power conference team.
4. November 5: State shuts out Carolina, 13-0
After tons of trash talk between players and coaches the week leading up to the highly anticipated rivalry match-up between the Wolfpack and Tar Heels, the Pack’s defense spoke last. They recorded four sacks and three interceptions, knocking out Tar Heel quarterback Bryn Renner at the end of the third quarter and shutting out “the Flagship” 13-0 at Carter-Finley Stadium.
Senior receiver T.J. Graham scored the game’s only touchdown on a 12-yard pass from quarterback Mike Glennon. Freshman kicker Niklas Sade converted on two field-goal attempts to round out the scoring for the Pack.
The win marked the first time the Wolfpack had beaten the Tar Heels five straight times since 1988-92.
3. December 27: State wins Belk Bowl, 31-24 over Louisville
After barely qualifying for a bowl game, the Pack headed a few hours down the road to Charlotte to play Louisville in the Belk Bowl. In front of a favorable crowd, the Pack put on a show. Quarterback Mike Glennon took home MVP honors after throwing for 264 yards and three touchdowns. Receiver Tobais Palmer made a remarkable catch for a 35 yard touchdown in the first half, and senior T.J. Graham followed it by making multiple Cardinal defenders miss as he took a pass from Glennon 68 yards for a score.
But it was State’s defense that won the game for the Pack late, as they got two interceptions by the nation’s leader, David Amerson. He returned one 65 yards for a touchdown, which ended up as the deciding score in the ballgame. The Pack sacked Louisville quarterback Teddy Bridgewater five times on the night, and picked him off three times. It was fitting that the game ended with Amerson’s 13th interception of the year, a new ACC single-season record.
2. November 26: State comes back from 27 down against Maryland to win 56-41
Needing to win their final game of the season to reach bowl eligibility, State trailed 41-14 with six minutes left in the third quarter to a Maryland team that had nothing to play for. With many fans already headed for the exits, the Pack scored 42 unanswered points (35 in the fourth quarter) to stun the Terrapins.
State needed just 13 minutes of game time to erase the deficit, as James Washington scored on a one yard run to put the Pack ahead with just over seven minutes to play in the game. Quarterback Mike Glennon threw for 306 yards and became the second Wolfpack player to account for six touchdowns in a single game, joining Philip Rivers in that exclusive club.
It was the biggest comeback in NC State’s history, and the second-largest comeback in the history of the ACC.
1. November 19: State destroys No. 7 Clemson, 37-13
The Pack hadn’t defeated Clemson since 2003, and many expected this would not be the year that they ended the streak against the Tigers. Coming off an embarrassing loss at Boston College, State dominated then No. 7 Clemson, who came into the game with a record of 9-1, in every phase of the game. The Wolfpack defense caused four turnovers, and sacked All-ACC quarterback Tahj Boyd five times.
Quarterback Mike Glennon completed 19 of his 29 passing attempts for 253 yards, tossing three touchdowns, one each to Tobais Palmer, George Bryan, and Jay Smith. Freshman Tony Creecy added a score on the ground for the Wolfpack.
It was the first victory at home for the Pack over a top ten team since 1998.
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