Notebook: Eric Lockett finding how to fit in for NC State
NC State fifth-year senior forward Eric Lockett is making his minutes count off the bench.
Lockett has good past experience on knowing how to fit into new situations. He previously played for Florida International, Chipola (Fla.) Junior College and George Mason. He earned his degree at FIU and made the move to NC State last spring.
He scored a season-high nine points and pulled five rebounds in 19 minutes of action to help spark NC State to a 82-63 win over Maine on Saturday. Playing in a Power Five Conference and being a part of a winning program is what drove the 6-foot-5, 193-pounder to transfer to NC State (4-0) and play for head coach Kevin Keatts. He knows he could be playing more minutes elsewhere, but he’s happy with his role due to the culture within the program.
“I can score, definitely on the defensive end come in and heat up the ball and get stops,” Lockett said. “I can rebound, assists and just make plays.
“I wanted to come to a place where I knew we were going to win and it was a good culture, and I’ll be coached really hard. That is what I am getting out of this program.”
Keatts faced the recruiting choice last spring of bringing in a quality veteran such as Lockett or go with an incoming freshman who might not be ready right away. Lockett’s versatility has reminded Keatts of fifth-year senior forward Torin Dorn, which is high praise.
“I didn’t want to have five or six freshmen coming into the year because it’s tough to win with freshmen,” Keatts said. “He was available, and I’ve known Eric a very long time. He can do a little bit of everything.”
Lockett averaged 14.3 points and 6.5 rebounds in 37 minutes per contest last year for a 14-18 Florida International squad, so he definitely knows a heavier workload. He and freshman forward Jericole Hellems have provided quality depth behind wings Dorn, Devon Daniels and C.J. Bryce. Lockett is averaging six points in 19.3 minutes a contest for the Wolfpack.
“[My past] has given me different ways I can help a team because I’ve played many different roles,” Lockett said. “I’m figuring out my role right now and doing what I can do to help us win.
“There are definitely some things that I can do more of as the season goes on. It’s a long season.”
The wings have had their fair share of battles during practice.
“We go at it, and it definitely gets physical,” Lockett said. “You really can’t take a play off against these guys. It is very competitive.”
Bryce has appreciated what Lockett has given the team.
“Eric Lockett is great,” Bryce said. “He’s a great defensive player and does what he is needed to do. He has experience. He is a great addition to the team.”
NC State faces Princeton style offense
Maine was able to give NC State some experience playing against a Princeton offense, and the Black Bears backdoor cuts did cause some issues.
NCSU jumped out to a 15-0 early lead with 16:05 left in the first half and never was challenged. The largest lead grew to 27 points in the second half.
Maine did have a good second half despite what the scoreboard indicated, outscoring the Wolfpack 39-34 after intermission. The Black Bears shot an impressive 16 of 25 after halftime for 64 percent,and finished at 55.3 percent overall.
Keatts expected some breakdowns due to the Wolfpack's aggressive nature on defense.
“They did a great job of moving the ball around and burning the clock in the second half and limiting our possessions,” Keatts said. “When I look at the non-conference, this was a very good game for us.”
What the final shooting numbers don’t reflect is Maine also had 18 turnovers, which led to 27 NC State points.
“I felt we got better by playing the Princeton offense,” Bryce said. “That was something we looked forward to. We definitely got better.
“We got beat [on backdoor cuts], and our help side wasn’t there tonight. It was our first time playing against that this year.”
NC State led 48-24 at halftime, and that lead never got challenged. It also helped that Maine shot just 1 of 7 on three-pointers in the second half to finish 2 of 14 for the game.
“We were up by a big lead going into halftime (48-24) and teams tend to come out not as aggressive and not taking the open shots and not playing as hard on defense," said Bryce. "Coach just tells us coming out the game is 0-0.”
Zone offense gets a workout
NC State shot more three-point shots than the previous three blowouts, due in part to Maine playing a steady dose of zone defense. The Wolfpack finished shooting 11 of 29 from beyond the arc for 37.9 percent, thanks in part to junior point guard Markell Johnson going 4 of 6 on three-pointers, and redshirt junior wing Bryce made both of his attempts.
“It has been really good for us,” said Bryce about facing various zone defenses. “We have played against a zone every day in practice. We know as a team that we can score against man-to-man. Doing it against a zone is an accomplishment.”
Keatts called the Wolfpack’s zone offense solid for the most part.
“I thought our zone offense was fine, and we made more shots in the first half than in the second half,” Keatts said. “I thought it was fine. We got everything we wanted to from it.”
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