NC State is back at Lenovo Center on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m. matchup with East Tennessee State, and it comes with a clear backdrop: this is the second game in a crucial four-game stretch before the Wolfpack heads to the Bahamas.
The Pack opened that stretch with a win over Campbell, and Ven Lubin was the difference. Now NC State turns to ETSU, with KenPom projecting an 86-71 Wolfpack win and Bart Torvik forecasting 89-68. The next few games get tougher in a hurry, so these early chances matter.
That’s especially true because this roster is still sorting itself out. NC State is asking a lot of players who are adjusting to new teammates, new jobs, and new systems all at once.
Preston Edmead is handling full-time point guard duties for the first time in college after playing shooting guard at Hofstra, where he and Cruz shared the ball-handling load in a setup similar to what he’s doing now with Adams. Lubin is also in a new spot as a full-time forward for the first time in his career, and he’s already settled in quickly.
The frontcourt is changing too. Kyle Evans has never had to play this kind of center role before, with more movement demanded of him, and Robert Jurkovic is learning the same type of role while also adjusting to American college basketball. Musa Sagnia needed time to get comfortable last season, and the same kind of adjustment has been part of the process here as well.
There are other roles shifting around the lineup. Eemeli Yalaho and Christian Hammond were early signees who likely did not expect to come off the bench after being full-time starters a year ago, with Yalaho averaging 28.4 minutes per game and Hammond 30.4 last season.
Paul McNeil is also dealing with a different kind of spotlight now, since opposing scouting reports are built around him and he’s become the face of the Wolfpack for the first time. Campbell made him work for everything, and he finished with 11 points, including only one 3-pointer and six points from the free-throw line.
Hall, Whitty, and Wilkins are all adjusting to P4 basketball as well.
None of that is being framed as a problem at this point. Lubin, in particular, has already adapted well, and quickly. The bigger story is that this team is still evolving, and Friday offers another chance to see that growth in real time.
ETSU comes in with its own storylines. The Buccaneers are coached by Brooks Savage (!), a name that stands out on its own.
Savage (!) worked on Steve Forbes’ staff at ETSU, followed Forbes to Wake Forest, and then returned to ETSU for his first head coaching job in 2023.
He made an immediate impact, guiding ETSU to the SoCon regular-season title last year and earning conference coach of the year honors. The Bucs have reached the SoCon championship game in two of his three seasons, though they haven’t won it yet.
This season, ETSU was picked second in the SoCon coaches’ poll and received one first-place vote. NC State will be the highest-ranked opponent the Bucs face all year.
ETSU is coming off a 75-65 loss at Arizona State on Monday. The Bucs briefly led early, but the Sun Devils controlled the game from there. ETSU got within six with 2:33 left, but never got any closer.
On the personnel side, BJ Ward was voted to the SoCon preseason All-Conference team. The biggest injury note for ETSU is Jordan McCullum, the team’s leading returning scorer and only returning starter, who was expected to be an all-conference type player before tearing his ACL in practice in September. He is expected to miss the season.
In Other News...
NC State Lands A Visit That Could Test Its Recruiting Ceiling
A major international prospect is making the rounds, and NC State has secured a stop on a recruiting trip that says plenty about the level of player involved. Matija Luki, a Serbian wing with a professional background in Spain and a track record of success with his national team, is visiting Raleigh as college programs jockey for position with one of the most intriguing young talents on the board.
Lukis appeal is easy to understand from the Wolfpacks perspective. He brings size, shooting touch and experience against high-level competition, and his rsum already includes medals with Serbia at FIBA youth events. For NC State, getting him on campus is the first step in a process that could tell the staff a lot about how far its recruiting reach can go in a battle for an elite international prospect. [Read more 🡒]
NC State Heads Into Duke With Major Lineup Questions
NC States first availability report for the Duke game arrived with the kind of uncertainty that tends to hang over a rivalry week in November. Several players are dealing with injuries from recent games, and the Wolfpack now has to sort through a depth chart that could look different by kickoff. Jojo Trader is not on the report after seeing limited action in the previous game, which at least gives NC State one more healthy piece to work with as it heads into a tough matchup.
The bigger concern is how many key names are still in limbo. Teague Andersen, Preston Douglas and Duke Scott are among the players listed as questionable, while Ronnie Royal III and Harvey Dyson III are on the probable side of the ledger. NC State will keep monitoring those statuses as the week goes on, and the final shape of the lineup could go a long way toward determining how much flexibility the Wolfpack has when it gets to Durham. [Read more 🡒]
No. 25 NC State Is Building Real Momentum Before Its First Test
No. 25 NC State kept rolling with an 80-45 win over Campbell, and the early-season signs are starting to look more and more real. The Wolfpack were in control by halftime, stretched the margin further in the third quarter and then coasted through the final period, with Khamil Pierre again setting the tone inside as NC State continued to look like a team that is settling in quickly.
Pierre has now put together two straight double-doubles, giving NC State a reliable anchor as the competition is about to jump sharply. The next step is a much better measuring stick, with a ranked opponent waiting on the schedule and a chance for the Wolfpack to see how much of this early momentum holds up when the stakes rise. [Read more 🡒]