NC State junior point guard Markell Johnson erupted for five three-pointers in the first half, causing some to scramble to the record books if he kept it going.
Johnson could have challenged Rodney Monroe’s school record of nine three-pointers, set against UNC Asheville on Dec. 21, 1989. Johnson did cool off, but he finished going 6 of 9 on three-pointers en route to a game-high 25 points in the Wolfpack’s 94-74 win over Wake Forest on Sunday. The victory at PNC Arena was a little bit personal for NC State, which lost 71-67 to WFU on Jan. 15. NCSU played without Johnson that game, who was out with a hip/lower back injury.
“Markell Johnson was special tonight, especially in the first half,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “It’s a career high for him in ACC play.”
Johnson said he wasn’t overly concerned about setting any new school records, he just wanted to NC State to win. The Wolfpack improved to 20-8 overall and 8-7 in the ACC.
“We couldn’t go 0-2 against them,” Johnson said. “I didn’t play the first game. I already had a chip on the shoulder. They have a good point guard over there in [Brandon] Childress. He is good and I wanted to step up to the challenge.”
The performance was the fourth time Johnson had scored at least 20 points in a game, and the first time since having 20 in helping NC State rally for a win over Miami on Jan. 3. He was two points shy of tying his career high of scoring 27 points against Auburn on Dec. 19.
Johnson could tell he was rolling, to the point where he reached the stage of trying a heat check three-pointer, which he made for his fifth jumper from beyond the arc in the contest.
“I was just feeling confident,” Johnson said. “I just had energy, which was from the whole team and the whole staff coming into this game. It started in practice.”
Johnson took a nasty fall during the Pittsburgh win Jan. 12, and then missed three straight contests. He has been uneven in the nine games he has played since returning, shooting 24 of 63 from the field for 38.1 percent over the last eight games prior to Sunday.
“He was locked in,” Keatts said. “The good sign is that he’s playing longer stretches. He’s probably still a little bit sore, but the tell-tale sign for me is he can play a lot longer.”
Jericole Hellems back on track
NC State freshman forward Jericole Hellems had his best ACC game in a Wolfpack uniform.
Hellems erupted for 14 points in just 19 minutes off the bench, showcasing a nice half hook in the lane, then a floater and he drained one three-pointer from the right corner. Scoring from different parts of the court is important for the 6-7, 221-pounder from St. Louis.
“I work on all types of my game,” Hellems said. “I work with the bigs, and I emphasize on working on three levels of scoring.
“Everybody has their sweet spot, so I try to get to the corner when everybody drives and my teammates find me. I try and knock it down.”
Hellems was two points shy of his career high, set when he had 16 points against Loyola Maryland on Dec. 28. That was also the last time he has reached double figures. His previous career high in the ACC was nine points against Duke on Feb. 16.
Most freshman hit the wall at some point, and for Hellems, it could have been when he went scoreless against Pittsburgh on Jan. 12, and then had just two points in six minutes in the previous loss at Wake Forest. That started a 10-game stretch where he didn’t score more than four points in a game.
“For me, just going through some things in my life and hitting the wall, I just had off the court things,” Hellems said. “Basketball is a game of ups and downs. I think for me, it was important to keep working and the coaches helped my confidence.”
Keatts half-joked that he showed Hellems his turnovers to try and get him out of his freshman slump.
“Freshman hit the wall, peaks and valleys,” Keatts said. “He is no different than anybody else, but I think he’s back to playing good basketball now.”
Hellems has proven during his freshman year that he is as skillful at taking a charge as anybody on the roster.
“I’ve paid attention to different players in the NBA and how they play defense,” Hellems said. “For me, it’s perfecting the craft.”
Players motivated by presence of T.J. Warren
NC State had added motivation to want to win on the night that former star player T.J. Warren had his jersey honored, prior to the game.
Warren, who is with the Phoenix Suns but is injured, was able to celebrate the achievement with his parents. His father, Tony Warren Sr., also played for the Wolfpack. Keatts remembers seeing Warren play at Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy his senior year of high school.
“I told these guys what a special night,” Keatts said. “We talked about it before the game that T.J. was going to get his jersey lifted into the rafters."
Keatts’ pointed to Warren’s ability to work on his game as a good example for his players. Warren was ranked No. 17 overall in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2012, but by his sophomore year, was named ACC Player of the Year, and went on to become the No. 14 overall draft pick to the Suns.
“He is a self-made guy,” Keatts said. “When T.J. Warren comes back to town, every time he gets a break, I look out at the gym at the Dail Center and it’s T.J. Warren. He loves to play. You never hear about him having any problems off the court.”
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