NC State is definitely going to see some quality teams in the ACC, but the biggest chance to make a statement in non-conference play relies on doing well at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Wolfpack begins play in the tournament Wednesday at 7 p.m. against No. 2-ranked Arizona (the game will be broadcast on WatchESPN).
NCSU head coach Kevin Keatts believes Arizona (3-0) is the best team in the country, rather than current No. 1 Duke. The Wolfpack will need two key areas to go its way to shock the Wildcats.
“If you want to be a pressing team, you have to turn guys over,” Keatts said. “I think in those four games [NC State has played in so far], we’ve had some adversity and been able to overcome some things.
“We get to play, in my opinion, the No. 1 team in the country on Wednesday, which is Arizona. [Head coach] Sean [Miller] does a great job with his team.”
NC State has forced its first four opponents into an average of 23.5 turnovers per game, which is tied for fourth in the country.
Arizona is averaging 12.3 turnovers a game, while only forcing 13.0. Senior point guard Jackson Parker-Cartwright has just six turnovers in three games this season, and 41 in 31 games last year. Though listed at 5-11, 170 pounds, Jackson-Cartwright measured 5-8 3/4 coming out of high school at the LeBron James Camp, and throwing over NC State’s press could be an interesting challenge.
“We’ve got three or four different presses that we play,” Keatts said. “At times, one of them may not work, so we have to go to another one. For the most part, we’ve done a great job with it.
“Certainly, [Jackson-Cartwright] is a guy who is really quick and shooting 5 of 7 from three. We have to do a great job of keeping them in front of us.”
The other area of the game that will be interesting to see who flinches first is in the post. NC State hasn’t played fifth-year senior center Lennard Freeman and sophomore center Omer Yurtseven together yet, but the pure size of freshman power forward Deandre Ayton and senior Dusan Ristic might create the need to have the two on the court at the same time.
Ayton is listed at 7-1 and 250 pounds, and was measured at 6-11 3/4 with his shoes off in the past. He’s a legit big man, who could be in contention for the No. 1 pick next June in the NBA Draft. He also gets to play in front of his friends and family in the Bahamas. Ayton is averaging 18.7 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and has done a good job of staying out of foul trouble thus far.
Ristic is sturdier at 7-0 and 245 pounds, and is averaging 12.7 points and 7.3 rebounds. He’ll likely guard the center, while Ayton will have the task of running around and chasing NCSU redshirt junior Torin Dorn.
“I’ve watched the three games that they’ve played, and they’ve played smaller teams,” Keatts said. “They were able to keep those two 7-foot guys in the game. Ayton is a little different than most 7-footers because he can run the floor and step out and shoot the three. He is agile and can guard multiple positions.”
One NC State player who most assuredly would help against the Arizona twin towers is senior power forward Abdul-Malik Abu, who has missed the last four games with a knee injury. Abu is back practicing with the team and is going through contact, but Keatts painted a pessimistic picture on his return for the game against the Wildcats.
“I don’t know if I am going to play him this week or not,” the coach said. “Right now, if we had to play today, I’d say, ‘No, he’s not ready to play.’ That could change in a couple of days.
“If had to make a decision on playing him Wednesday or Thursday, I’d say ‘No’ right now. Things could change.”
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