NC State head coach Wes Moore met with the media Monday morning at the annual ACC Basketball Tip-Off event in Charlotte, N.C. where he discussed the Wolfpack's upcoming season, team chemistry, and more.
NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to listen to Moore’s interview.
On the questions regarding the team roster…
Obviously, we have a lot of confidence in Zoe [Brooks] and Zamareya [Jones]. We need a third guard to step up. I think also, with the loss of Saniya Rivers — she was a great defensive player — who can maybe step up and guard the other team's best perimeter scorer? Then, [there’s] rebounding and also taking care of the ball. We're slinging it around, and we're going to open up with Tennessee who's going to press probably the whole game. We've got to take care of the ball. We’ve got to rebound and make sure our possessions are up.
On the newcomers meshing with the returning players…
It's going pretty well, but like I said, when you lose two first-round draft picks as well as Madison Hayes, who's playing in Italy right now, you've got a lot of shoes to fill, so we’ve got to have some players step up in a hurry.
On who has him optimistic…
Again, we do have three starters returning with Zamareya, Zoe, and then Tilda Trygger, so we've got a good nucleus there. We were also able [to keep] Maddie Cox and Devyn Quigley, some of the veterans there that have been around a year or two. Then, I like the players we added: two freshmen and two portal players that are really talented, so I think we've got some talent. Again, they've got to mesh and come together, and we've got a brutal schedule to open the season. We’re going to have to, like I said, come together and hurry.
On Rivers’ and Aziaha James’ rookie seasons in the WNBA…
I’m really proud of them. It's fun watching them. Both of their teams kind of struggled a little bit, but I thought those two made an impact and did some great things. It's exciting to watch. I was able to go out and see both of them play in person, but I was also able to watch them on TV. I’m just really proud of what both of them are doing.
On Khamil Pierre…
Khamil is somebody that really fills a need for us. With rebounding again, Saniya and Madison Hayes were both really good rebounders, so it's going to take a team effort, but we feel like Khamil Pierre is somebody that can [help]. I mean, she averaged almost a double-double [at Vanderbilt], so we felt like she's somebody that can hopefully help us inside and on the boards. She also made a lot of plays on defense, so I think she's going to do a lot of things well for us.
On Qadence Samuels…
We recruited her out of high school, as well as Khamil, pretty hard, so we were very familiar with them. I think Qadence is somebody that, at a guard position, can help us on the boards as well. She's long. She’s athletic. We played them a couple of years ago at our place. She had an unbelievable game, hit four out of five threes, so we hope she can provide that three and D that everybody's looking for.
On what he wants to see from the returning players…
Devyn got to play quite a bit. She was one of our first subs off the bench on the perimeter a year ago, and so we're looking for her to take another step. She's somebody who’s long and athletic, and she can score all three levels, so we like that. Tilda Trygger made the All-Freshman team a year ago. She had a great summer with the Swedish national team; she got to play both up on the national team as well as on the under-20 team. I thought she had a great summer, and she looks a little bit stronger, running the floor a little bit better, so we're expecting a lot out of her. Zamareya was having a great freshman year. I think she scored about 17 in the first half against Louisville. The very next practice, she dislocated the thumb on her shooting hand. I think that hindered her all year long from then on. Hopefully, we can get her back out there healthy so she can take another step.
On playing a faster pace…
I mean, we played pretty fast with Saniya, Aziaha, and Zoe out there, so hopefully we can maintain that, more than anything. Like I said, I'm not sure right now who our third guard is going to be. We need somebody to step up and grab a hold of that.
On integrating transfer players…
I think it's going pretty well. I think it’s important that you recruit good people. Our priority was maintaining our roster and holding onto our players, and I think we were fortunate to have seven of them returning. As you mentioned, I think the portal is where you go if you need to fill a need or two, and we really had a need at the forward position, and we needed some more experience at the guard, so Qadence and Khamil kind of fill those roles. So far, it's great. They're fitting in really well. Again, you put good people in the in the mix, you're going to have good chemistry, so hopefully we can keep that.
On Brooks taking an even bigger step in her junior season…
Sure, you always hope to get better. I tried to call her sometimes in the summer in the evening, and she was in the gym every time I called, so that's a good sign. But also [I want her to take] a leadership position which she may not always embrace, being a leader and all that. It's a tough role. It's kind of a fine line you walk between being a teammate and being a leader, but hopefully Zoe can grasp that.
On balancing starter and bench roles…
You just stress to them and make sure they understand how important they are to your team. We had a few years there in a row where we had the Sixth Player of the Year, so that's pretty neat as well. You're not going to win with five players. Zamareya was behind, like said, three pros last year. This will be a breakout year for her. We’re going to have to find a third guard, but we're also going to have to find a fourth and a fifth guard that can play up tempo and can get up and down the court. You’re going to have to have some depth there. You never know when the opportunity is going to come, either, for you to step into a bigger role.
On how he spends his down time…
I enjoy my time. Number one priority is lunch. Some people run during lunch; I run to lunch. I'm going to go to lunch every day for at least an hour and a half, drink my free tea refills. I might be planning practice, watching film, or whatever, but that getting away for hour and a half, maybe even two hours, is good. Then I play golf when I get an opportunity to, so I get outside a little bit and hang out with friends. Those are the main things.
On Pierre…
First of all, we were fortunate. We had a prior relationship. She was somebody we recruited out of high school, and she was in a unique situation. She wasn't in the portal, so she had to actually apply and get accepted before coaches were even allowed to talk to her. She had someone helping her do that, but she went through the normal admissions process, and we were fortunate. Like I said, we did have a little bit of a head start, having recruited her out of high school. There was no visit, no Zoom, just a few phone conversations. I think she always had an interest in NC State, and seeing two of our players drafted in the first round probably didn't hurt, and then the success that the program's had [also helped].
On how the space for Pierre was available for her…
I had messed up the portal so bad [that] I had money left. We got kind of lucky. We had five or six kids in, and it just didn't work out for whatever reason. Part of it is, hey, I understand the portal and NIL, but I want them to want to be at NC State, and I understand there might be a little more money here or there. They got taken care of pretty well, and they wanted to be at NC State.
On the west-coast trip in ACC play…
It was a great trip for us, other than we got our tails kicked at Cal, but we went out a little bit earlier than normal; we went out on a Tuesday and played Cal on Thursday. Cal just jumped on us. Cal played really well and had more energy than us, and we lost that one. Then, we stayed out there, obviously, until we played Stanford on Sunday. We took them to Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, and all of that, even though I was sick that we had lost the night before. We still did it. In-n-Out Burger makes everybody feel better, right? We were able to bounce back and get a really good win against a really good Stanford team. Now, I feel for those two teams because they're doing it five or six times. For us, [it’s just] one time. It was just like going to a tournament or something, almost. It was a good road trip.
If he’d do anything differently logistically for another trip west…
No. Again, we played them on the same trip, and that's the good thing: being able to play Cal and Stanford. Heck, you can bus [between them], so that was great. Then, we went to SMU. I grew up in Dallas. Are you kidding me? I love going there, so no, there's not anything I would do different. Again, Cal played great. We didn't, but like I said, I proud that we were able to bounce back and get a win at Stanford and then a win at SMU to clinch the regular season championship. I’m fine with it.
On what he wants to see hashed out in practice before the start of the season…
Well, we’ve got to take better care of the ball, and we're going to open right up with Tennessee who's going to press you from the tip until the final horn. It doesn't matter if it's a make or a miss. They don't just do it on makes. They're going to double the ball if you get a rebound, and they're going to wreak havoc. Again, the good thing about playing them in our opening game [is that] we've already been able to work on that a little bit in practice, how you want to handle it and try to handle it. We also lost Saniya Rivers, Aziaha James, and even Madison, three kids that have been in our program, Saniya three, the other two four years, so you had that experience, and they're equipped to handle that. Our young players, our newcomers, are going to have to understand how to take care of the ball a little bit better, and hopefully that happens quick.
On having the first six games inside the state of North Carolina…
It's not the same when you're still you're on the road. Again, I hope we have fans. Our fans are really good about even traveling, but when you're playing Tennessee in Greensboro, the fact we're playing the exhibition game with Maryland in Greensboro before that, then we're playing Southern Cal in Charlotte, those aren't the same as playing in Reynolds. At Reynolds last year, we were 18-0, so neutral site's a little bit different. Then, we do get TCU at home, and then we've got to go on the road and play Oklahoma. We’ve got a tough stretch, so we'll find out in a hurry where we are.
On the Triangle’s ACC teams’ success…
Carolina and Duke both have big brands. I think that helps. They've done a good job building their programs. Kara Lawson and [Duke] won the tournament a year ago, and I think they'll probably be picked to win the league this year. Both Carolina and Duke, they're basketball programs, and then NC State, fortunately, we've had success. We're one of only a couple of schools that have finished in the top 10 six out of the last seven years. It's a fun rivalry. You're 30 minutes apart, and I think all three programs right now are thriving.
On Brooks stepping up as a leader…
Well, it's a work in progress. I don't know that Zoe always embraces that. Sometimes, she just wants to be a player, but she's done a really good job. Because again, we have new players — we've got kids from the portal and freshmen — she's done a pretty good job of trying to bring the team together.
If that’s something he’s challenged her with…
It’s something we definitely stressed to her that we're going to need. I think our assistant coaches are doing a good job of reminding her of that. She still needs to be a leader. If nothing else, a leader by example is great, but also to be a vocal leader a little bit.
On the players’ confidence…
Before you can achieve something, you have to believe something. I think our players believe it. Zoe was on the Final Four team and played a big role. The others went to the Sweet Sixteen a year ago. I think you've got to have confidence, but you also have to stay humble and keep working.
On how the newcomers have been fitting in…
So far, so good. We haven't started Devyn out with playing time yet. That always is another hurdle you have to handle. When you bring good people into your program, then you're going to have good chemistry, and so far right now, they're getting along great, having a lot of fun. Like I said, when you start playing games, and roles start getting defined, that's another step you have to take, but hopefully it’s smooth.
More on Pierre…
Khamil, obviously, averaged a double-double, so she’s somebody we we really needed. We felt, especially with the graduation of Madison, like we really had a need there. She's very talented. She can score it and rebound it. Heck, she had a lot of steals, too, last year. She's capable of really changing the game, and we just need her to grasp what we're doing and then buy into showing it every day. You can't afford to take a day off in this league.
On winning at Reynolds Coliseum…
Amazing. Since we [renovated] Reynolds, I think we're 135-15, so a 90 percent win percentage. Our fans have a whole lot to do with that, and then going back to your players being confident, I think they're really confident when they're at home and playing in that atmosphere.
On seeing Reynolds’ renovations…
First of all, they did an unbelievable job in the remodel. I don't know how you think of all the details they did, but it turned out really beautiful. Like I said, it's a great home-court advantage because the fans are right on top of the action, and they play a part. I wish they'd have made it a couple thousand bigger because we sell out every game, and I'd like to pack a few more in there.
On his favorite memories at Reynolds…
There's so many. Obviously, last year with College Game Day and beating Notre Dame was a great atmosphere and a great win, but also being able to host and beating Tennessee there — and that led to us eventually going to the Final Four… There’s a lot of big moments, for sure. I think we beat Syracuse there a few years ago to clinch the regular season as well. There are some really big moments.
On the two halves of his coaching tenure at NC State…
The last six years have been really special, when you look at what these players have accomplished. My first year, the expectations were really low, and we ended up having some kids that were really talented and hungry, and we won 25 games. That first year was fun, and then we had maybe a couple of years where it's a little tougher, a little bit harder, to get the elite players to come, and then after we had a core group come in and win three straight ACC tournaments, that made recruiting [easier]. Those kids that won three straight ACC tournaments weren't highly recruited as they are sometimes now, but they laid the pathway for us to get great players and to be able to take it to another level. Definitely, the last six years have been amazing.
On the team’s culture…
It is different. Last year, we had three seniors that gave us great leadership. The Final Four [run], we had four seniors, three or four, and that played a big part. You prefer to have those seniors have been in your program for four years and can pass that message and culture along, but we're in a situation where Zoe’s our veteran. Again, she has been to a Final Four. She has played on ACC Championship team, but it's a different role for her, and we'll see. I think she's done a good job so far, but hopefully she can continue to grow up in a hurry.
On Cox and Mallory Collier…
I think Mallory's shown great improvement. I’m excited about where she's come in, and I think she's a little more prepared to make an impact. Maddie Cox, I thought she played really well in the Sweet Sixteen game, and I think it's carried over. I see a little bit more confidence in her. Her length, her ability to step out and shoot the three, as well as get to the boards or defend a post player is something we really need. I think both of them are going to make a bigger impact.
