Wolfpack might be shorthanded Friday

[IE]

3-16-05


RALEIGH -- N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said the status of guard Tony Bethel and center Jordan Collins "remains indefinite" for the Wolfpack's first-round game Friday against UNC Charlotte in the NCAA tournament .

Bethel has a groin injury and Collins a separated shoulder. Both are receiving treatment, but neither had been cleared for practice as of Tuesday afternoon.

"We remain hopeful," Sendek said, "but we can't plan on them being able to play. Jordan is probably a little ahead of Tony (in recovery)."

When healthy, Bethel is a ball-handling guard with 3-point shooting range who plays good defense. Collins is a senior who scored well in some games late in the season and would be playing in his fourth NCAA tournament.

BENNERMAN BACK: Greensboro's Cameron Bennerman. whose playing time plummeted at the end of the regular season, apparently has worked his way back into the rotation. The swingman scored 38 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in three ACC Tournament games, hitting half of his 28 shots.

"Cameron's role has changed several times and he has had to adjust," Sendek said. "He got hurt and was out for a couple of weeks, riding a stationary bike during practice. He couldn't pick up where he left off.

"The way he played in the ACC Tournament is the way I think he's capable of playing. He gave us some great play, and we'll need him to play well."

LONG RANGE: Sendek has gotten familiar with Charlotte through game tapes since the pairings were revealed Sunday night. He also caught the 49ers briefly on TV when they beat Cincinnati.

"I was thnking I was glad we didn't have to play them," he said. "And now we do."

Three Charlotte players who have stood out are 6-foot-5 forward Eddie Basden, 6-2 guard Brendan Plavich and 6-8 forward Curtis Withers.

"Basden has been Defensive Player of the Year two straight seasons in Conference USA," Sendek said, "and this year he was Player of the Year. He averages three-plus steals a game, and that's a gift you can't teach. He anticipates and gets his hands on a lot of balls.

"Plavich is a remarkable shooter with truly unlimited range. He hit one shot from the center jump circle (against Louisville) and it was effortless. He only needs a split second to get if off."

Withers, whom Sendek said "plays everywhere," leads the 49ers in scoring (18.3) and is second in rebounding (8.3 rpg). Basden averages 15.3 points and 8.4 rebounds and Plavich 13.7 points.

 

[Turfgrass]

Gary Hahn's NCAA Scouting Report: Charlotte
Wolfpack and 49rs meet Friday afternoon in Worcester, Mass.


March 16, 2005

NC STATE (19-13, 7-9) vs. CHARLOTTE (21-7, 12-4)

DATE:Friday, March 18, 2005, at the DCU Center, Worcester, Mass.

TIME: Tip-off: 12:15 p.m. EST

RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.

AIRTIME: 11:30 a.m. EST

TELEVISION: CBS

OPPONENT--Overall, Charlotte had a strong season but did not finish very well. The 49ers lost their last three games by double-digit margins, including their opener in the Conference USA Tournament to Memphis 83-69.

The Tigers used strong rebounding, a 20 point performance from Rodney Carney and benefited from a poor shooting night for second-seeded Charlotte. Memphis outrebounded the 49ers 45-33, including 22 offensive rebounds that led to 28 second-chance points.

Charlotte shot just 35 percent and made only 8 of 32 shots in the second half. Curtis Withers led the 49ers with 32 points, while C-USA Player of the Year, Eddie Basden, was held to 13. Memphis led 39-37 at halftime, but opened the second half with an 8-2 run as Charlotte missed eight of its first nine shots. The 49ers never recovered and never got closer than 12 until the closing seconds.


The 49ers are a balanced, experienced team with two seniors and two juniors in the starting lineup. Plus, post-season play is nothing new to this group. They reached the NCAA Tournament last season, losing to Texas Tech in the first round.

Charlotte averages 78 points a game and while its shooting percentage from the field is not impressive (.433), it can be a dangerous team from the three-point arc (.368). The 49ers have five players capable of sinking long-range shots, including guard Brendan Plavich. He ranks second in the nation by averaging four, 3-point field goals a game. Plavich has scored 20 or more points eight times this year with seven of those performances coming away from home.

Basden took his game to a new level this season and became league's top player. He finished the regular campaign ranked in the conference's top-10 in points (10th), rebounds (5th), assists (10th) while leading the league in steals (3.3). He and was also named the C-USADefensive Player of the Year for the second straight season. However, Basden has not been at his best on the offensive end the past two weeks, scoring seven, eight and 13 points in his last three games on 9 of 29 shooting from the field.

While Basden struggled offensively, Withers stepped up with 20 points against Louisville, 19 against USF and 32 against Memphis. Withers averaged a league leading 19.1 points per game against C-USA teams and is a good rebounder. League coaches included him on the first-team all-conference squad.

Point guard Mitchell Baldwin is solid. His 2.8 assist-to-turnover ratio led the conference in C-USA games. Baldwin was tough down the stretch with 3.7 assists to every turnover over the final 10 regular-season games.

The size and shot blocking ability of center Martin Iti create a problem for opposing teams. Iti entered the 2004 NBA Draft, but later returned to school.

Two key players off the bench for Charlotte are junior college transfers E.J. Drayton and Chris Nance. Drayton is the team's sixth man and has filled multiple roles in the frontcourt. Freshman guard Leemire Goldwire has speed and quickness and ranks second on the team in three-point attempts behind Plavich.

The 49ers hang their hats on rebounding and defense and let the offense take care of itself. Charlotte averages nearly 9 steals and 15 offensive rebounds a game while forcing opponents into an average of 16 turnovers a contest. Opponents average only 44 percent shooting against the 49ers, including 32 percent from the three-point line. Charlotte is at its best when its defense and rebounding are dominant.

 

[Turfgrass]

A WIN--Would advance the Wolfpack to the second-round of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in four years under coach Herb Sendek. State would improve to 20-13 marking the fourth season of 20 or more wins under Sendek. The Wolfpack would advance to meet the winner of the UConn-UCF game on Sunday at 12:10 p.m. in Worcester, Mass. The victory would mark the seventh for the Wolfpack in its last 10 games. State's all-time NCAA Tournament record would improve to 30-19.

A LOSS--Would be the second straight for the Wolfpack and would end NC State's season. The Wolfpack would finish with a 19-14 record, but its NCAA Tournament run would end in the first round for the second time in the last three years. State's all-time record in the NCAA Tournament would drop to 29-20. Charlotte would gain its second straight win over the Pack after beating State during the 2000 regular season.

SENIOR SWEEP--NC State's senior class has led the Pack to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Ilian Evtimov, a redshirt junior, along with Julius Hodge, Jordan Collins, Levi Watkins and Will Roach join only five other players in NC State history to advance to four straight trips to the Big Dance.

BIG TIME COMPANY--Herb Sendek is only the second coach in NC State history to take the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament four straight years. Jim Valvano had a five year run from 1985-89. State is one of only 21 teams to have earned NCAA bids in each of the last four seasons.

BIG TIME OPPONENTS--NC State and Wake Forest are the only teams to have played three of the four No.1 seeds in this years NCAA Tournament field. However, the Pack played more games against those top-seeded teams. State faced No.1 seeded teams five times this season (once against Washington, twice against Duke and twice against North Carolina).

GOING OUT ON TOP --Julius Hodge is the leading active scorer in the ACC with 1,990 career points. The 2004 ACC Player of the Year earned second team All-ACC honors this season.

HISTORY MAKING HODGE --With 20 points and 5 assists in the Pack's loss to UNC on Feb. 22, Julius Hodge became only the fourth player in ACC history to record 1,900 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists and 150 steals in a career. The other players are Duke's Danny Ferry and Grant Hill and Bob Sura of Florida State.

POST SEASON HONORS --Julius Hodge was voted second-team All-ACC Tournament along with teammate Ilian Evtimov. In three games in Washington, D.C., Hodge averaged 15.7 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.3 assists while Evtimov averaged 15.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4 assists while shooting 50 percent from the 3-point line (13-26).

THE BETHEL FACTOR --When he is healthy guard Tony Bethel, who missed an extended period this season due to illness, has made a huge difference. The redshirt junior hit the game-winning basket at Georgia Tech on 2/13, dished out a game-high 6 assists in the win over Virginia Tech on 2/26 and tallied 16 points and 6 rebounds at Virginia on 3/2. This season, the Wolfpack is 4-7 when Bethel has been either out or severely limited. Bethel injured a groin muscle in the second half of the Pack's win over Florida State in the ACC Tournanent and missed the final two games.

DOMINANT DEFENSE --The Wolfpack's defense, a problem in mid-season, is improving. State has held its last 9 opponents to an average of 63.4 points (571) and .430 shooting from the field (199-463). During the regular season, ACC teams averaged only 71.2 points a game.

BULGARIAN BOMBER --Ilian Evtimov, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, has been heating up from the three-point line lately. In his last 10 games, he's 33-of-62 from the arc (.532). During the regular season, Evtimov was the Pack's top three-point shooter in ACC games (38-75) at .506. He was 13-of-26 from the bonusphere in the ACC Tournament and was voted to the second unit of the all tournament team.

JUST PLAIN SOLID -- Engin Atsur has had a solid ACC season. The sophomore led the Pack with 18 points in the win over Virginia Tech on Feb. 26 and shot 5-6 from the field. Even more impressive has been his ballhandling and decision-making. Atsur has committed only 19 turnovers all season in 16 ACC regular season games. In the win over Maryland on 2/16, Atsur played 38 minutes with no turnovers. He can also shoot. In his last 14 games, Atsur is 32-80 from the 3-point arc (40%). Atsur has also played some tough defense this season, holding Duke's J.J. Redick to 8 points, Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack to 16, Maryland's John Gilchrist to 13 and Zabian Dowdell of Virginia Tech to 12 points.

THE LINE ON THE FOUL LINE --The Wolfpack's free throw shooting has been inconsistent. However, in the last 11 games, State is shooting 72 percent, sinking 164 of its last 229 foul shots. Last season, State led the nation in foul shooting.

ARC ACCURACY --In its last 10 games, State has made an average of 9.3 three-point field goals a game while shooting ..417 from the arc during that span (93-233).

HEARTBREAK HOTEL -- Five of State's ACC regular season losses were by a combined 12 points.

THE B & B TEAM --With Tony Bethel and Jordan Collins either out or limited with injuries during the ACC Tournament, Cam Bennerman and freshman Andrew Brackman stepped up. Bennerman averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in 3 games and was terrific against Wake Forest in the semi-finals with 17 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Brackman had 16 points and 4 rebounds in the win over Wake Forest and averaged 9.7 points and 3.3 rebounds in his three tourney appearances.