NC State is starting to know what its players do best, which could lead to consistency.
The 83-81 overtime victory over Miami (Fla.) helped showcase redshirt junior center D.J. Burns’ passing abilities, sophomore power forward Ernest Ross’ ability to be athletic around the rim and continued the defensive grit that has sparked a three-game winning streak in the ACC.
The meshing of the old and new players, plus new assistant coaches has started to take hold.
“It shows a little bit about the roster that we put together,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “These guys [the players] have stepped up in a major way.
“Our coaches are working. They are doing a really good job. When you are coming in new, you are trying to build a relationship with every player. Getting them to trust you, I think our guys are doing a good job of getting the trust of the players.”
NC State plays at Georgia Tech at 7 p.m. Tuesday, with the Yellow Jackets struggling at 8-9 overall and 1-6 in the ACC. The lone league win was against Miami on Jan. 4, which helped get Keatts’ and the Wolfpack’s attention.
“You’ll see a couple of different zones and some man-to-man, and any time you run the Princeton offense, it keeps you in the game,” said Keatts on GT this season. “We want to stay focused and locked in. We aren’t good enough where we can say and look at anybody and think because of their record, that’s an automatic win.”
Keatts said the ability of the players to step up have helped the Wolfpack overcome the injuries to senior center Dusan Mahorcic and redshirt junior power forward Jack Clark. He knows last year’s Wolfpack team wasn’t in a position to overcome their injuries.
Ross had never scored more than eight points in a college game before Saturday’s 17-point, 9-rebound outburst against Miami.
“His 17 points were really good and here is why they were good,” Keatts said. “All year long, he has settled for taking corner 3-pointers, and he’s always open — but then he is open for a reason.
“This time he decided to play around the rim. Give D.J. credit, he found him on a lot of those.”
Burns is a good and willing passer, but didn’t have a game with more than four assists in four years of college prior to the Hurricanes game, where he had a career-high seven.
“What makes him really good is his ability to find other guys,” Keatts said. “I think that is a little underrated part of his game. He always makes the right play. That makes him really tough to guard.”
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