MCLAMB: All Hands On Deck For The Wolfpack

To be truly elite, the Wolfpack must be an all-hands-on-deck outfit that can beat you with whatever it takes. Since the middle of December that is essentially what NC State has been.

Teams with a strong frontcourt will give NC State problems, but the Wolfpack also has plenty of grief that it can dish out.

At the guard and wing slots, NC State is dynamic. It gets most of the points, defensive pressure, and leadership that it needs from Zoe Brooks, Aziaha James, and Saniya Rivers, while being supplemented nicely by Madison Hayes, a wing playing the four position.

It is easy to lament the loss of Caitlin Weimar – a massive offseason addition for the Wolfpack that seemed to shore up the biggest area of need – but NC State still has what it takes to be highly effective and position itself for shots at titles.

The Wolfpack of November was good. Since then, the surging Pack of Wolves has been near perfect.

The near-perfection does not come from some flawless style of play that has NC State dominating the opposition. In fact, it is more about finding ways to win when perhaps they were not the best team on the court that day. 

At Syracuse, it was freshman Lorena Awou who provided critical play to help NC State avoid an upset.

At Stanford it was a trio of sophomores, Mallory Collier, Maddie Cox, and Laci Steele, who lifted the Wolfpack after a lethargic opening quarter.

In the ACC opener at Louisville, a different freshman, Zamareya Jones, came off the bench to lead NCSU in its destruction of a solid Louisville team.

Davidson, Clemson, Virginia, and Syracuse each could have defeated NC State. They did not. The Wolfpack is merely a few plays away from fighting for its life in terms of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

Yet, it is NC State that controls its own destiny heading into a brutal stretch in February. The Wolfpack needs no help from others at the moment.

But they will need help within. The Wolfpack is in a terrific position with the starting talent it has, but it is the outlying talent that can help them climb the ladder to cut down a net.

There are games remaining where NC State will have to have Collier, Jones, Steele, Tilda Trygger, Devin Quigley, or others performing at their best. It is coming.

The good news for NC State is that each of them is talented. They have skills that translated into great success at the high school level and then being heavily recruited by colleges. They picked NC State to be among the best.

Here they are among the best. NC State is a legitimate threat for deep runs in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments. It is not always easy, but the frontcourt and reserves are going to factor into how well the Wolfpack does.

Collier’s footwork is getting better. Steele and Quigley can shoot. Jones can already do most things at a high level. Awou seems to have a ceiling higher than the Sistine Chapel.

There are games out there for them to help their team win. The task at hand is to be ready when they are called and give what is needed to cross the finish line.

It has gotten the Wolfpack this far. Now let’s see what NC State can do in March by watching what they do in February.