NC State wrapped up a season that ran the spectrum from thrilling to tumultuous. A 22-10 record, the Wolfpack's best since 1988-89, was capped with a fifth-consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. But convincing victories over nationally ranked opponents George Washington and Boston College were countered with crushing defeats at the hands of North Carolina, Wake Forest and in the end Texas.

Even though late-season shooting slumps, a four-game losing streak and an NCAA Tournament loss are fresh in the mind of players, coaches and fans alike, there were still plenty of highlights to discuss from the 2005-06 campaign. Here's a look back at some of the best moments provided by both individual Wolfpack players and the entire team.

Most Valuable Player: Perhaps NC State's biggest question heading into the season was who would step up and replace Julius Hodge as the Wolfpack's go-to guy. By mid-season Cameron Bennerman had provided the answer.

Bennerman's rise from a little-used freshman guard to a third team All-ACC player as a senior provided NC State with its most reliable offensive weapon.

The super-athletic Greensboro native averaged 14.1 points per game, including 19 points a contest in March. A reliable 3-point shooter who nailed more than his share of clutch buckets during the season, Bennerman's biggest contribution might have been his ability to get to the lane and score. His defense was also a key for NC State. He often drew the opposing team's best scorer, limiting stars such as Wake Forest's Justin Gray to sub-par games.

Of course we'd be remiss to write about Bennerman without mentioning the highlight-reel dunks and acrobatic layups. RBC Center crowds will likely miss that entertainment next season.

Most Improved Player: Could it be anyone other than Cedric Simmons?

In one year Simmons' scoring average nearly quadrupled to 11.8 points per game, his minutes nearly tripled, his blocked shots more than doubled, he averaged almost five times as many rebounds, he dished out 40 more assists, he…well you get the idea.

The sophomore from Supply, N.C., became the Wolfpack's No. 1 option in the post this season after taking a backseat to senior Jordan Collins and classmate Andrew Brackman as a freshman and scored in double figures 22 times, 20 more than in 2004-05. His improvement was good enough to earn honorable mention All-ACC and make the conference's All-Defense team, largely on the strength of his 80 blocked shots.

As solid as Simmons was the entire season, it only took one game for the 6-9 center to make a name for himself on the national scene. Going up against Duke All-American Shelden Williams in a nationally televised game on January 18, Simmons scored 28 points on 11-of-18 shooting and pulled down nine rebounds. Defensively he blocked seven shots and had a career-high three steals.

Biggest Shot, Regular Season: With the Pack on the verge of a disappointing loss at Clemson on January 29, Bennerman came to the rescue.

The Tigers' Cliff Hammonds went to the line with 9.9 seconds remaining in regulation and made his first free throw to give Clemson a 72=69 lead. Fortunately for NC State, Hammonds blew his opportunity to put the Wolfpack away and Bennerman made him pay. NC State pushed the ball down the floor and Bennerman nailed a 3-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.

The Tigers were able to drag NC State into a second overtime before Bennerman hit another long-range jumper to help secure the 94-85 victory, but it was the 3-pointer at the end of regulation that saved NC State from dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season.

Biggest Shot, Postseason: Another clutch 3-pointer by Bennerman kept the Wolfpack season alive when NC State took on California in the first round of the NCAA Tournament March 17 in Dallas.

With the game tied 52-all, two seconds left on the shot clock and 32.3 seconds showing on the game clock, Bennerman calmly nailed a shot to extend his NC State career. The senior took the ball on the right wing, appearing to be open momentarily as the seconds ticked away. After he caught the ball, Bennerman pumped and fooled approaching Cal senior Rod Benson, who leaped to block the shot Bennerman faked. The NC State guard then calmly stepped to the left and drained a wide-open 3-pointer to make it a 55-52 Wolfpack lead. Cal never scored again and NC State won 58-52 to advance to the round of 32.

Best Dunk: Once again, the award goes to Cameron Bennerman. During the annual "Heritage Game" in Reynolds Coliseum, Nov. 10 against Appalachian State, Bennerman sparked memories of the 1970's and David Thompson's high-flying acrobatics in the old on-campus arena.

Bennerman took the ball on the left baseline and began to casually dribble to his right, toward the lane. Once a path to the basket opened up though, there was nothing casual about Bennerman's explosion to the rim. The 6-4 shooting guard rose high above Appalachian State forward Tyler Webb and threw it down emphatically with one hand.

Unsung Hero Award: Senior guard Tony Bethel didn't get many accolades over the course of his NC State career, but since transferring to NC State after his sophomore year at Georgetown he has made a major impact on the Wolfpack when healthy.

Though a strange illness and a groin injury hampered him most of last season, Bethel was quite durable as a senior, playing in 31-of-32 games and not missing a contest since November. Twice he played more than 45 minutes, including 47 in a double-overtime victory at Miami.

Despite his stature – at 6-1, 185 pounds he was the smallest player on the team – Bethel was one of the Pack's most aggressive rebounders. He averaged 3.4 boards a game from the point guard position to go along with his 9.4 points and 2.6 assists a contest.

Though he scored just six points in the game, Bethel hit a clutch 3-pointer with just over six minutes left against California in the NCAA Tournament. The basket neutralized a lucky, off-balance 3-pointer by Cal's Omar Wilkes just when it appeared the Bears might be taking back the momentum.

Best Defensive Performance: It's hard to top Simmons' game against Cal when it comes rising to a tough challenge at the most important time.

The sophomore center was charged with the task of guarding the Golden Bear's Leon Powe, the Pac-10's leading scorer and rebounder. The sophomore Powe is usually unstoppable and averaged 20.5 points and 10.1 rebounds per game this season. But Simmons, with some help from his double-teaming teammates, held him to 14 points in 38 minutes. Powe was able to pull down 14 rebounds, but shot just 5-13 from the floor, 11 percentage points below his average of 49-percent on field goals. Powe also committed three turnovers.

Most Complete Game: Blowout victories on the road in the ACC are hard to come by, especially against good teams. That's why it's hard to top NC State's 78-60 win at then No. 15 Boston College on Jan. 10.

Ilian Evtimov didn't score. He didn't have to. Five Wolfpack players reached double figures, led by Cedric Simmons with 17, and NC State limited the Eagles potent forward duo, Craig Smith and Jared Dudley, to 14 and 16 points respectively. Most importantly the Pack didn't allow any of the other Eagles to hurt them. Andrew Brackman had one of his best games of the season, scoring 13 points and pulling down four rebounds in 24 minutes.

It was the largest margin of victory for NC State against a ranked team on the road since 1954 and the Pack's 63.4 percent shooting was the program's highest field goal percentage against an ACC team since 1997.