MCLAMB: NC State Seeks To Reclaim Elite Status
It was a common theme last season. NC State, although as talented as anyone, would play to the level of its competition. A team that won at Louisville also lost at Virginia. A team that beat Notre Dame at home saw Boston College waltz into Raleigh and leave with an upset victory.
Wes Moore is a coach who is not equipped to handle that type of failure well, especially when he deems it preventable. He can be tough, but he saves his harshest critiques for himself.
He knew changes needed to be made after last season and players, who had given much to the lifting of the standard around NC State’s women’s basketball program, would probably need to go to make the inconsistency of last season an outlier, and not the norm.
This version of the Wolfpack has done its bit. NC State ascended to as high as No. 2 in the nation and has as many victories over ranked opposition as anyone in the country. It happened with a team knowing and accepting roles, then prospering both within the context of what they needed to do and when chances presented themselves for expanded parts in the journey – such as when River Baldwin and Mimi Collins missed time due to injury.
Now comes the next phase. For NC State, the 2023-24 campaign has been an ‘almost-season.’ The Wolfpack was less than two seconds away from being an ACC regular-season champion and probably four minutes short of being a conference tournament champ.
The NCAA Tournament is a final chance in 2023-24 for the Wolfpack to demonstrate growth or, more specifically, a return to NC State’s status as a top-tier program nationally and a potential national champion.
It is funny that NC State gets Chattanooga and may then host Tennessee. To be in Reynolds Coliseum for the first two rounds should be the standard, and the teams represent a look into the past for Moore and the Wolfpack.
Chattanooga is where Moore coached all those years yet never got his P5 chance until Debbie Yow came calling after jettisoning Kellie Harper, who ultimately landed her dream job at Tennessee. The Mocs are an NCAA Tournament regular while the Volunteers are in a similar position as Moore was in his first six years at NC State – trying to return to championship level while looking up at juggernauts within their conference.
The Wolfpack is two home wins away from returning to the Sweet Sixteen. That is who they were before last season.
The gap between NC State and the best programs has dissipated. The Pack can look at the top 10 and see teams they have beaten either this season or recently in Moore’s tenure with NCSU. The ability to return to form and also experience new frontiers does exist.
This is where programs receive most of their judgment. It is time for NC State to return to its place in women’s basketball, so it can be equipped to do what Moore wants most of all – win a national title.