MCLAMB'S MUSINGS: The Stakes, Queen James, and Coaching Camaraderie
NC State’s basketball programs have much to play for, in the immediate and for beyond. A deeper delve into what the next week means for both teams can be instructive.
THE STAKES (Men)
The Wolfpack will be eager to respond after losing two of three on a road trip that killed most realistic chances of winning a regular season title -- and especially so after Whistle Mania 2023 in Syracuse. NC State has responded to tough losses well in 2022-23, but now have a rugged stretch of games following the road trip. North Carolina, Wake Forest, Clemson, and at Duke complete the regular season slate. Losing some or all of those games is not out of the realm of possibility, even for the resilient, solid team NC State has been during this calendar year.
Forget about the last three, however, which should be easy to do from a Wolfpack perspective. The next one is always the most important, and when it is North Carolina the focus becomes heightened.
The Tar Heels have dominated NC State. There is no running from it for NCSU, but it also means little at the end of the day. It is an uncontrollable aspect from the past, and most of the current Wolfpack players have no background in it. The bottom line for the Pack is twofold: establishing competitiveness in the rivalry moving forward, and earning a double-bye for the upcoming ACC Tournament – while also staking a better claim for the NCAA Tournament.
The focus for the Wolfpack will be to win the next game, which just happens to be against the Tar Heels. But if you are NC State, responding to a tough road trip and establishing relevance in a rivalry are the cherries on top if you do beat UNC. It will not be easy.
This version of NC State can find the perfect balance of creating history while standing on its own, but avoiding a prolonged spell of defeats in February is a must,
QUEEN JAMES
Alleric Freeman once made seven three-pointers in an NC State win over UNC, but if you are a Wolfpack fan reading this you already knew that.
As most saw with the women’s basketball matchup between the Wolfpack and the Tar Heels on Thursday, the rivalry is a chance for NCSU to lift up from lethargy (the men’s team is not quite as down as the women were, as a 10-point deficit with 4:15 remaining seemed to doom the Pack to a losing record in the ACC heading into the weekend).
The rally from NC State’s women’s team was sensational and memorable, and those who contributed to it get that automatic seat in Wolfpack legend which comes from beating UNC. It has not happened enough for the men since 1990, but when it does no one in Wolfpack Nation forgets it.
Aziaha James entered Wolfpack lore on Thursday with her 18 points against the Tar Heels as her team rallied to defeat North Carolina in overtime. Her shots down the stretch were fittingly memorable given the stage. I am no entrepreneur, but I have to think a NC State fan would happily shell out a few bucks for her autograph on a picture of the game-tying layup she made against the Heels.
It is probably just as well that she did not make the walkoff layup in regulation, as she almost did against UNC. If she had, she might already be the Mayor of Raleigh. As it is, Aziaha “Queen” James gets to be NC State’s version of LeBron.
Golden State blew a 3-1 lead to Cleveland despite having two games at home. UNC blew a four-point lead to the Wolfpack, despite having possession of the ball with only 40 seconds left in regulation.
THE STAKES (Women)
NC State currently sits at eighth place in the ACC regular season standings. Pragmatism means the Wolfpack and its fan base accepting the fact that NCSU will not successfully defend the 2021-22 regular season conference title.
Here is a list of schools in the standings ahead of NC State (in order of current standings): Duke, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, and North Carolina.
That is the seven schools ahead that the Wolfpack looks up at. NC State has beaten four of them.
The three schools ahead of NCSU that the Pack has not defeated are (in conference standings order): Duke, Virginia Tech, and Florida State.
Florida State pummeled the Pack in Tallahassee. The two schools do not play in Raleigh.
As for Virginia Tech and Duke, those are the two road games NCSU plays this week -- beginning with the Hokies in Blacksburg on Sunday.
If NC State can pull off the difficult task of winning at Virginia Tech and Duke, the Wolfpack will have then defeated six of the seven teams ahead of them in the league standings.
With the conference tournament being played in Greensboro, practically NCSU’s backyard, and victories over most of the top teams in the league -- along with three straight ACC Tournament crowns -- why would the Pack be hesitant to think it could not win three or four consecutive games for a fourth title in a row?
The value of this week is that it takes away some of the hypothetical. NC State believes it can beat the best teams, but if they win both of the upcoming road games they will not have to wonder “if” as they will then actually know that they have.
Is NC State a significantly better team if they shot average at North Carolina, Georgia Tech, and Virginia, or if they played the type of defense they have shown lately when hosting Boston College last month? Not really, but wins in those games would make NCSU a team that is 22-4 overall and 12-3 in ACC play. The narrative would be completely different.
Consistency has been the Pack’s bugaboo. This week is a great chance for them to find it.
COACHING CAMARADERIE
Dave Doeren and Kevin Keatts were at NC State’s women’s basketball game Sunday. Elliott Avent was at the recent Wolfpack wrestling match against Pittsburgh. Wes Moore receives texts from each of them, and he makes a point to support the others, especially during the offseason when he can be found stalking NC State baseball throughout the country.
The NC State coaches share a bond, and it is showing. The camaraderie between them is strong and it continues to grow.
Moore: “It has kind of been a tough year. Let’s face it, we have created a monster here. We have pretty high expectations… Coach Keatts and coach Doeren have been there for me. After a tough loss, they are reaching out to me, telling me to hang in there. They get it. They know how tough it is.
“Coach Keatts texts me after every game. Coach Doeren being here (Thursday). It means a lot. They are unbelievable guys and NC State is lucky to have (them).
Keatts: “It is great. Those guys -- if you want to use the word, I am the ‘freshman’ coming in. They have done a really, really good job over the years of developing a culture in their program. That is something we wanted coming in.
“Our friendship and respect for each other as coaches has really been special. We are supportive. In coaching, you don’t have a lot of people to talk to when you are a head coach, because a lot of people don’t go through what you go through.
“I am happy for everybody’s success, and each one of them are happy for the success we are having this year.”
Avent: “Wes and I are pretty good friends, we text back and forth… it is just a great support for all of our programs.”