NC State kicks off its season against South Carolina-Upstate on Nov. 4.
The Wolfpack will play four challenging non-conference games and then open the ACC slate Dec. 7 vs. Florida State, and then resume league action Dec. 31.
Here is a look at some of the top players and newcomers that NC State will face this season.
Top Five Non-Conference Players
1. Hunter Dickinson, Kansas — The listed 7-2, 265-pound Dickinson played his first three years at Michigan and seamlessly made his transition to Kansas last year. He averaged 17.9 points, 10.9 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and shot 54.8 percent from the field.
2. Zeke Mayo, Kansas — The 6-4, 185-pound Mayo played his first three years at South Dakota State, and has transferred back to his hometown school. He averaged 18.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game last year, and shot 39.1 percent from three-point field.
3. Jordan Pope, Texas — The junior point guard played his first two years at Oregon State, and has now arrived at Texas. The 6-2, 175-pounder averaged 17.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game, and he shot 37.1 percent on three-pointers for the Beavers last year.
4. A.J. Storr, Kansas — The 6-7, 205-pounder started his college career at St. John’s, and then after a year, he transferred to Wisconsin. The junior averaged 16.8 points and 3.9 rebounds a contest for the Badgers last year, and averaged 32.0 percent on three-pointers.
5. Braden Smith, Purdue — The 6-0, 175-pound junior point guard will have to adjust to playing without star center Zach Edey. He averaged 12.0 points, 5.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game last year, and shot 37.6 percent on three-pointers.
BYU or Ole Miss standouts
NC State will play either Ole Miss or Brigham Young on Nov. 29 depending on the results of when they play each other and how NCSU does against Purdue on Nov. 28 in San Diego, Calif.
Top Three Players
1. Matthew Murrell, Ole Miss — The 6-4, 205-pound Murrell enters his fifth year with the Rebels. He averaged 16.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game, and shot 39.8 percent on three-pointers.
2. Malik Dia, Ole Miss — The 6-9, 250-pounder played at Vanderbilt his freshman year, and then blossomed at Belmont. He averaged 16.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game last year as a sophomore, and shot 34.1 percent from three-point land.
3. Jaylen Murray, Ole Miss — The former Saint Peter’s standout adjusted smoothly to the SEC. The 5-11, 165-pound senior averaged 13.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game last year, and shot 37.3 percent from the field.
Top Freshman
1. Egor Demin, Brigham Young — The 6-9 native of Moscow, Russia, played 21 games for Real Madrid 2 during the Spain EBA season. He averaged 13.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game, and shot 33.6 percent on three-pointers.
Top Non-BCS Conference Players
1. Chase Lowe, William & Mary — The former Matthews (N.C.) Weddington High standout averaged 12.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game his sophomore year. The 6-5, 201-pounder shot 52.5 percent from the field.
2. Gabe Dorsey, William & Mary — The 6-6, 215-pounder started off at Vanderbilt and then made the move to William & Mary two years ago. He averaged 14.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game last year, and averaged 36.5 percent on three-pointers.
3. T.J. Weeks Jr., Rider — The 6-4, 190-pound wing played his first four years at UMass, and then made the move to Rider last year. He averaged 10.0 points and 6.3 rebounds per game last year, and shot 34.6 percent on three-pointers.
4. Jeff Woodward, Colgate — The 6-11, 270-pound Woodward averaged 7.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 19.3 minutes per game last year, and shot 62.5 percent from the field.
5. Braeden MacVicar, Coastal Carolina — The slender 6-11, 205-pound sophomore from Nova Scotia averaged 6.1 points and 4.0 rebounds in 19.8 minutes per game. He made 31 of 89 from three-point land for 34.8 percent.
Top Five ACC players
1. Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest — The former Gonzaga transfer broke out last year, and improved from 4.5 points per game for the Bulldogs to improving to 18.0 points for the Demon Deacons. The 6-5, 185-pounder added 4.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists a contest, and shot 48.7 percent from the field and 40.5 percent on three-pointers.
2. R.J. Davis, North Carolina — The 6-0, 180-pounder was named the ACC player of the year after averaging 21.2 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists per contest last year. He shot 42.8 percent from the field and 39.8 percent on three-pointers.
3. Maxime Raynaud, Stanford — The 7-1, 250-pounder from Stanford is the top center in the ACC. He averaged 15.5 points, 9.6 rebounds and shot 56.7 percent from the field. He even made 22 of 61 on three-pointers.
4. Terrance Edwards, Louisville — The 6-6, 205-pound Edwards averaged 17.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game last year in helping James Madison reach the NCAA Tournament. He shot 42.7 percent from the field and 34.3 percent on three-pointers.
5. Jamir Watkins, Florida State — The 6-7, 210-pound combo forward fills up the stat sheet with 15.6 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game in his first year at FSU. The VCU transfer shot 45.7 percent from the field and 34.4 percent on three-pointers.
Breakout ACC Players
1. Jaland Lowe, Pittsburgh — The 6-3, 175-pound Lowe stepped in last year at point guard for the Panthers, and averaged 9.6 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists a contest last year.
2. Naithan George, Georgia Tech — The 6-3, 185-pounder from Canada averaged 9.8 points, 2.4 rebounds and 4.7 assists per contest as a freshman last year. He shot 42.1 percent from the field and 31.4 percent on three-pointers.
3. Caleb Foster, Duke — The 6-5, 202-pound Foster can play all three perimeter spots. He averaged 7.7 points and 2.1 assists per game, and he shot 40.6 percent on three-pointers.
4. Elliot Cadeau, North Carolina — Cadeau graduated high school a year early and became a key cog for UNC last year, averaged 7.3 points and 4.1 assists per game. The key will be for him to improve upon his 18.9 percent three-point shooting.
5. Seth Trimble, North Carolina — A month ago, he wouldn’t be on this list, but Trimble has been impressive in the two exhibition games. The 6-3, 195-pound shooting guard boasts impressive athleticism and he averaged 5.2 points and 2.1 rebounds per game last year.
Top Freshman On Schedule
1. Cooper Flagg, Duke — Flagg averaged 16.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 blocks per game for 33-0 Montverde, which won the Chipotle High School Nationals. He earned a spot in both the McDonald All-American Game and Nike USA Hoop Summit team. The Newport, Maine, played for Maine United 16s in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.
Rivals.com ranked the 6-9, 205-pound Flagg the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2024. He graduated a year early from Montverde (Fla.) Academy, and is the consensus choice for the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft.
2. Jalil Bethea, Miami (Fla.) — The 6-5, 190-pound shooting guard was ranked No. 7 in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2024. The Philadelphia (Pa.) Archbishop was named to the McDonald’s All-American Game, and he won the slam dunk contest. He averaged 22.7 points, six rebounds and five assists per game. Bethea played for Team Final in the Nike EYBL.
3. Tre Johnson, Texas — Rivals.com ranked the 6-6 180-pounder the No. 5 overall player in the class of 2024 coming out of Branson (Mo.) Link Academy. The Garland, Texas, native, who played for Houston Hoops, earned a spot in the McDonald’s All-American Game. He averaged 15.5 points, 3.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game and shot 40 percent on three-pointers at Link Academy.
4. Kon Knueppel, Duke — Rivals.com ranked Knueppel at No. 9 in the country coming out of Milwaukee (Wis.) Lutheran. The 6-7, 217-pounder averaged 25.9 points, 8.6 rebound and 5.3 assists per game as a senior, and shot 39.5 percent from the field en route to a 30-0 record and WIAA state title. He played for Phenom University in the Nike EYBL.
5. Ian Jackson, North Carolina — The 6-4, 190-pounder from Bronx (N.Y.) Our Saviour Lutheran was ranked No. 6 in the country by Rivals.com. He averaged 23.9 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game in Overtime Elite for Our Saviour Lutheran. He played his first three years at Bronx (N.Y.) Cardinal Hayes. Jackson was named to the McDonald’s All-American Game and Nike USA Hoop Summit team. Jackson played for Wiz Kids on the adidas circuit.
Different categories
Top shooters:
1. New North Carolina junior forward Cade Tyson shot 80 of 172 on three-pointers for 46.5 percent at Belmont last year. He’s 128 of 287 from beyond the arc for 44.6 percent in two years.
2. Syracuse junior small forward Chris Bell shot 84 of 200 for 42.0 percent last year. He made at least four three-pointers in 10 games last year, including eight against both Louisville and NC State.
3. Miami senior combo guard Nijel Pack dipped to 35.7 percent last year, but he’s 291 of 719 in his career for 40.5 percent.
Top defenders:
1. It remains to be seen how much Duke junior post player Maliq Brown will play this season, but he averaged an impressive 2.2 steals to lead the league in Syracuse’s zone defense and chipped in 29 blocks for the Orange last year.
2. The foundation of Duke freshman Cooper Flagg’s game is his defense and basketball IQ. At a long 6-foot-8, he overwhelms players and has enough foot speed to cover a lot of ground.
3. Flip a coin between a pair of shot-blockers, Kansas freshman Flory Bidunga and Duke freshman Khaman Maluach. The latter is 7-2 and 250 pounds from the South Sudan. The 6-9, 220-pound Bidunga is from the Congo and was ranked No. 19 in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2024 coming out of Kokomo (Ind.) High.
Top passers:
1. NC State has already seen Purdue junior point guard Braden Smith, and frustrated him, holding him to six assists and five turnovers. However, he averaged 7.5 assists per game, and is fresh off an exhibition performance where he had 31 points and four assists and five three-pointers in a 93-87 loss against Creighton.
2. Kansas senior point guard Dajuan Harris is rock-solid on the college levee and was 12th in the country last year with 6.5 assists per game. He had a season-high 11 assists in the loss to Gonzaga in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
3. This will be a big year for Syracuse and senior point guard Jaquan Carlos. He arrives from Hofstra, where he dished out 6.3 assists per game, which was 14th in the country. He had 10 assists in four games last year, and stunningly accumulated 19 in a 82-62 win over Northeastern on Feb. 17.
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