Omer Yurtseven had shown previous success this season, but nothing like the way he performed against No. 19-ranked Clemson on Thursday.
Yursteven dominated for the first time while playing for NC State. The 7-foot, 245-pounder from Istanbul, Turkey, drained 5 of 6 three-pointers en route to 29 points in 31 minutes of action, and the Wolfpack needed each and every basket in retrospect in the 78-77 win over Clemson.
“Now we know if we share the ball what we can accomplish crazy things,” Yurtseven said. “Everybody is on the same page right now, and I’m glad. I hope we stay on the same page.”
The three-point shooting was a surprise, not because he isn’t capable of making the shots, but that he hadn’t shown the skill since playing Penn State on Nov. 29. He made all three three-pointers against the Nittany Lions when he had 19 points and 11 rebounds, but only tried two ever since during an eight-game stretch.
“To be honest, at the beginning of the game, I didn’t think it was [going to be his night],” Yurtseven said. “In the walk through before the game, I worked on the pick and pops. I worked on it and thank God, they all went in.”
Yurtseven’s ability to play all over the court was a welcome sight. The Wolfpack guards need the boost, after the four perimeter players combined to shoot 8 of 33 from the field.
“I thought Omer Yurtseven was unbelievable,” NCSU head coach Kevin Keatts said. “It was great. He scored the ball inside and out. When you look at our team, we did a tremendous job.”
Clemson coach Brad Brownell said Yurtseven’s emergence during the game altered how he wanted to play defense.
“He was great all night,” Brownell said. “The guy’s a pro. He’s unbelievable down there, the skill level, the poise, finished with both hands, made threes. The man’s a player.”
The hope was Yurtseven would show this kind of prowess a year ago. Yurtseven was playing professional basketball at this time two years ago, and decided he wanted to play collegiately. He arrived with a lot of hype and was considered a near-lock to be a first-round pick. Instead, he missed the first eight games of the season while the NCAA checked into his amateurism.
When he was cleared, he struggled. He averaged 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and the preseason hype for him and the team dissipated, leading to head coach Mark Gottfried getting fired.
He still entered the NBA Draft and entertained overseas offers. Keatts convinced Yurtseven to give him the chance to coach him, and the partnership has worked this season.
“I just put the work in and hope that it works out,” Yurtseven said.
NC State was able to avoid the post-Duke victory hangover and now is a threat to compete with anyone on the schedule. NCSU plays at No. 3-ranked Virginia on Sunday.
“You beat a No. 2 team [Duke] and now it is another challenge,” Yurtseven said. “What are they going to do? Will they relax? You have the No. 19 opponent [Clemson] in the nation. It’s a challenge every day and the team has responded great for now.”
Final 94 Seconds Prove Adventurous
NC State flirted with disaster down the stretch in nearly blowing a 12-point lead.
Redshirt junior Torin Dorn made a layup to give the Wolfpack what appeared to be a commanding 73-61 lead with 1:34 left. What transpired down the stretch was perplexing to the players.
“We have to sharpen some things up,” Dorn said.
Clemson quickly took advantage of what turned out to be a five-point possession, thanks to a pair of David Skara free throws, and an offensive rebound on his missed third free leading to redshirt junior point guard Shelton Mitchell draining a three-pointer.
Fifth-year senior shooting guard Allerik Freeman missed 2 of 3 free throws, that was sandwiched between a Donte Grantham three-pointer that cut the NCSU lead to 74-69. Junior center Elijah Thomas cut the lead to 74-71 with 33 seconds left and Clemson was back in business.
Yurtseven appeared to put the game away with a breakaway dunk to give the Wolfpack a 76-71 lead with 25 seconds left. Instead, a NC State turnover and fifth-year senior shooting guard Sam Hunt fouling Clemson guard Gabe DeVoe with 0.2 seconds left on a three-point attempt while trailing 77-74. The Shelby, N.C., native made the first two free throws, and Keatts called timeout. DeVoe clanked the third free throw, and NC State celebrated its victory.
“I was just praying to God, ‘just please, don’t make this. I don’t want to go to overtime,’” Yurtseven said. “That was my thought process.”
Yurtseven expects some intense practices on how to close out a game while facing pressure defense.
“You can’t really prepare for that,” Yurtseven said. “That is where your instincts and experience kicks in. You just have to do what you can to try and get the win.”
Keatts didn’t want to harp on the team immediately after the game about the mistakes made down the stretch, but they’ll get addressed.
“What I did tell those guys is to get used to winning,” Keatts said. “I feel like it was a team at the end that was so excited being there and not used to finishing the games.
“When you look at us against Duke, we finished the game. We had some breakdowns in the last two minutes that certainly we have to clean up, and it was a team I think was a little surprised that we were winning.”
Markell Johnson Returns To NC State Bench
NC State welcomed back sophomore point guard Markell Johnson to the bench, where he was also joined by new Missouri transfer Blake Harris, a freshman point guard.
Johnson was cleared Thursday to return to the Wolfpack roster after his felony assault charges were dropped. Johnson and three of his friends were arrested for assaulting 37-year-old Michael Blackwell around Oct. 8. Two of the four men are still charged.
“He had maintained to me the whole time that he really didn’t have any involvement, and I’m happy for him,” Keatts said. “It gives us a body."
Johnson’s suspension led him to miss six games, and Keatts held him out from playing against Clemson. His status for the Virginia game Sunday will be determined by how he looks in practice coming up. Johnson had started the first 10 games and averaged 8.7 points and 6.6 assists per game.
“I’ll take a look at him in the next couple of days, and if I feel like he’s ready to go Sunday, I’ll play him,” Keatts said.
In Johnson’s absence, freshman point guard Lavar Batts emerged. He proved to be instrumental in the wins over Duke and Clemson. Batts had four points, three assists and five steals in 27 minutes against the Tigers.
Fellow freshman point guard Braxton Beverly went just 2 of 9 en route to seven points, but he had five assists and just one turnover.
Coverage from last night:
Notebook: http://rvls.co/2mmCw9x .
Quick hits: http://rvls.co/2DpGbLU
($) Video reel: http://rvls.co/2Dqegvd .
NC State audio: http://rvls.co/2D5EhTJ .
Brad Brownell audio: http://rvls.co/2Fse1jY .
Box score/gamer: https://yhoo.it/2mk8mnk .
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