Technician - RED Basketball 2013

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RED TECHNICIAN


2013-2014 season schedule

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RED • Fall 2013

11/08/13 vs. Appalachian State PNC Arena 7:00 PM ET

11/30/13 vs. Eastern Kentucky PNC Arena TBA

12/28/13 vs. Missouri PNC Arena 8:00 PM ET

01/15/14 at Wake Forest * Winston-Salem, N.C. 9:00 PM ET

02/01/14 at North Carolina Chapel Hill, N.C. 2:00 PM ET

02/22/14 at Virginia Tech * Blacksburg, Va. 2:00 PM ET

11/12/13 at Cincinnati Cincinnati, Ohio 5:00 PM ET

12/04/13 vs. Northwestern PNC Arena 7:30 PM ET

12/30/13 at UNC Greensboro Greensboro, N.C. 7:00 PM ET

01/18/14 at Duke * Durham, N.C. 2:00 PM ET

02/08/14 at Miami Miami, Fla. 2:00 PM ET

02/26/14 vs. North Carolina * PNC Arena 8:00 PM ET

11/16/13 vs. Campbell PNC Arena 7:00 PM ET

12/14/13 vs. Detroit Reynolds Coliseum 6:00 PM ET

01/04/14 vs. Pittsburgh * PNC Arena 12:00 PM ET

01/20/14 vs. Maryland * PNC Arena 9:00 PM ET

02/11/14 vs. Wake Forest * PNC Arena 7:00 PM ET

03/01/14 vs. Miami PNC Arena 12:00 PM ET

11/20/13 vs. North Carolina Central PNC Arena 7:00 PM ET

12/18/13 at Tennessee Knoxville, Tenn. 7:00 PM ET

01/07/14 at Notre Dame * Notre Dame, Ind. 9:00 PM ET

01/26/14 vs. Georgia Tech * PNC Arena 1:00 PM ET

02/15/14 at Syracuse * Syracuse, N.Y. 3:00 PM ET

03/03/14 at Pittsburgh * Pittsburgh, Pa. 9:00 PM ET

11/26/13 vs. Florida Gulf Coast PNC Arena 7:00 PM ET

12/21/13 vs. East Carolina PNC Arena 12:00 PM ET

01/11/14 vs. Virginia * PNC Arena 5:00 PM ET

01/29/14 vs. Florida State * PNC Arena 9:00 PM ET

02/18/14 at Clemson * Clemson, S.C. 7:00 PM ET

03/09/14 vs. Boston College * PNC Arena 6:00 PM ET 03/12/14

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RED • Fall 2013

2013-2014 season brings new challenges for Pack Luke Nadkarni Staff Writer

The N.C. State men’s basketball season begins Friday, and though it isn’t quite as high-profile as a year ago, Wolfpack fans should find themselves plenty entertained by the opposition this season. After opening up against instate foe Appalachian State on Friday night at PNC Arena, the Pack get an early tough test when it travels to Cincinnati, an NCAA Tournament participant from last season, as part of ESPN’s

24-Hours of College Basketball on Nov. 12. The remaining power-conference teams that the Pack will face out of conference are Northwestern, Missouri and Tennessee. Of that group, only Missouri qualified for the NCAA Tournament last season. Those games, combined with the trip to Cincinnati, will go a long way in indicating which direction the Pack’s season will go. The Wolfpack traditionally play many games against schools from North Carolina in the nonconference portion of the season,

and this year is no exception. In addition to the season opener against the Mountaineers, the Wolfpack also have instate opponents Campbell, North Carolina Central, East Carolina and UNC-Greensboro on the schedule. All but the last of those games will be played in Raleigh. The game against the Spartans will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum, which will once again host the ACC Tournament at the end of the season. The annual Heritage Game in Reynolds Coliseum will be on Dec. 14 against Detroit. It will

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cap off a seven-game home stand following the Cincinnati game. Other non-conference opponents include Eastern Kentucky, which won 25 games last year, 2013 Sweet Sixteen participant Florida Gulf Coast and Long Beach State out of the Big West Conference. All of those games will be at PNC Arena. The 18-game ACC schedule features the Wolfpack’s first matchups with Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Syracuse as conference members. State catches a bit of a break with the strength of its ACC schedule. Out of the teams that were picked in the top five of the ACC’s preseason media poll, the Pack will face just one of those teams twice. That team is none other than rival UNC-Chapel Hill, which hosts the Pack on Feb. 1 and visits Raleigh on Feb. 26. Wolfpack Nation will no doubt have both those dates circled on the calendar.

State gets preseason favorite Duke on Jan. 18 at Cameron Indoor Stadium and travels to runner-up Syracuse on Feb. 15. Of the remaining preseason top five, the Wolfpack visits Notre Dame on Jan. 7 and hosts Virginia four days later. The Pack will face Pittsburgh, Miami and Wake Forest under the new conference realignment scheduling arrangement. Other ACC schools that the Pack will only face on the road are Clemson and Virginia Tech, while Maryland, Florida State, Georgia Tech and Boston College will make visits to Raleigh. All of the Wolfpack’s conference games will be televised by one of the ACC’s TV partners. Additionally, the Northwestern, Tennessee and Missouri games will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks. In total, the Wolfpack will make 12 national television appearances this season.

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RED • Fall 2013

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Freshmen look to make an early impact Kyle Washington

Anthony “Cat” Barber

Height/weight/position: 6’9” 225 lbs. Forward High school: Brewster Academy (N.H.) Stats through two exhibitions: 9.0 pts and 6.5 rebs per game What other schools gave offers? “The final schools that I was thinking about were Ohio State, Louisville, Iowa State, Washington and [State].”

Height/weight/position: 6’2” 170 lbs. Guard High school: Hampton High School Stats through two exhibitions: 12.5 pts and 4.0 asts per game What other schools gave offers? “Alabama, Kansas, Louisville, Virginia Tech, Syracuse and State.” “When I came on my visit, I just felt good being here. Coach Gottfried is a good person, and I knew a lot of guys on the team. I knew this was where I wanted to be.”

JOHN JOYNER/TECHNICIAN

BeeJay Anya

“I picked N.C. State because I knew the coaches were being honest with me. They kept it 100 [percent] with me the whole time. They told me what it would be like coming here, and that the opportunity to play is right away. Kyle and Cat came in before me, and I knew and played with both of them. Then Leonard came in, and I’ve known him since eighth grade.”

RYAN PARRY/TECHNICIAN

Height/weight/position: 6’9” 325 lbs. Forward High school: Dematha Catholic High School Stats through two exhibitions: 2.0 pts and 1.5 blks per game What other schools gave offers? “A lot of ACC, Big East and Big Ten schools.”

“Coach G started recruiting me real late in my process, near the end of my junior year. Coach G gave me an offer, but I didn’t know. When he came to my school, he showed me how I would work in the offense, and I decided to take the official [visit] down to State. I went down there and I liked it a lot. I love being down south, with the southern hospitality.” RYAN PARRY/TECHNICIAN


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RED • Fall 2013

Daniel Wilson Staff Writer

Redshirt senior center Jordan Vandenberg, the team’s lone senior, returns for his fifth year on the team at one will prove to be an uphill climb for thirdyear head coach Mark Gottfried. “I think my team is bonding very well,” Vandenberg said. “We have a lot to prove. We’re young, but hopefully we can go out and show everyone what we’re all about.” As a product of the Australian Institution of Sport, Vandenberg was a highly touted prospect and was among the top 10 centers and top 30 overall prospects from Australia in 2009 according to ESPN. “At the end of the day, I chose North Carolina State because it’s a recognized brand, they play strong competition, and it’s in a good conference,” Vandenberg said. The 7-foot-1-inch center is the last remaining player from former head coach Sidney Lowe’s tenure at the helm. “The years under Coach Lowe were pretty good and pretty fun,” Vandenberg said. “I liked the coaching staff since they brought me in. The team has changed a lot since those days. All the players that stayed after Coach Lowe enjoyed their time with Coach Gottfried for the two years they were there. We went to a more fast-paced, college offense.

[Former Wolfpack players] C.J. [Leslie] and Lorenzo [Brown] really thrived in that time.” However, in his first season under Gottfried, Vandenberg was sidelined for the year with a shoulder injury against Stanford on Dec. 4, 2011. “I had a good six-to-nine months of rehab trying to get back,” Vandenberg said. “Over the last year and a half, I have gotten myself into the best shape I have ever been in, so hopefully, I have a really good fifth year.” A f ter averag i ng 0.7 points per game in 20122013, Vandenberg improved his conditioning and made major strides in improving his body and skills, managing to slim down and become more agile. “I used to like playing [with my weight] around 265-270 pounds to have more of a low-post presence, but we decided to change up to a more fastpaced style body,” Vandenberg said. Despite the ups and downs of the program, Vandenberg still acknowledges the team’s loyal fan base and the exciting atmosphere of PNC Arena. “We have some of the loudest, craziest fans that you could ask for,” Vandenberg said. “Even if we’re not at capacity, it feels like it because everybody is there supporting the team. It’s nice

having a good and loyal fan base.” In addition to improving his body, the Melbourne, Australia native has become a leader and role model for the newcomers such as freshman forwards Lennard Freeman, Kyle Washington and BeeJay Anya. “It’s like I have three children,” Vandenberg said. “I have to help them through the offense, explain where they go and yell at them when they mess up. I know they’re not kids, but I have to treat them as such to get my point across. They all want to play basketball, they’re all highly talented, and they’re all motivated to contribute to this team.” State fans will have to wait 4-6 weeks to see Vandenberg take the court as he recovers from a foot injury from the exhibition against UNC-Pembroke. When he returns, the Pack will bring back a large, volatile weapon in its arsenal.

RYAN PARRY/TECHNICIAN


RED • Fall 2013

7

Lewis and Barber to lead the Pack’s transition offense Luke Nadkarni Staff Writer

The N.C. State men’s basketball team returns a grand total of zero regular starters from last season’s team that finished 24-11 and fell to Temple in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Richard Howell, Lorenzo Brown, C.J. Leslie, Scott Wood and Rodney Purvis, who started a combined 158 games for the Pack last season, have all gone their separate ways. Wood and Howell graduated, Leslie and Brown entered the NBA draft and Purvis transferred to the University of Connecticut, where he will sit out the 2013-14 season per NCAA rules. One player who will lead the Wolfpack this season is sophomore guard Tyler Lewis. Lewis, who played in 34 of 35 games last season but started just two, will assume the floor general position for head coach Mark Gottfried’s squad this year. The Statesville native averaged 3.5 points and 1.4 assists last season, but his playing

time was limited due to Brown’s presence. This season, Lewis’ role will be expanded as State tries to outdo its prediction of 10th in the ACC’s preseason media poll. “We don’t have as much hype this year, but we’re trying to prove people wrong,” Lewis said. “We’re aiming at other teams instead of having other teams aim at us.” Lewis will be supplemented at the point guard position by highly-touted recruit Anthony “Cat” Barber. Barber, a native of Newport News, Va., was ranked as the No. 9 overall recruit by Scout.com and Rivals. com and No. 11 by ESPN. In his senior season at Hampton High School, Barber averaged 20.2 points and earned McDonald’s All-American honors. His 2,097 career points rank as a Hampton High record, as well as the record in his school district. Despite the jump from high school to college, Barber takes the same approach each time he steps on the court. “It’s pretty similar, just different people,” Barber said. “The pace is a little faster, and you have to catch on faster. But it’s the

same game.” Lewis goes from being the future of the program behind Brown last season to the spotlight this season. Even though he’s only a sophomore, he will be called upon to set an example for his teammates, not least of all his understudy in the backcourt. “Cat and I know we’re going to play a lot together in the backcourt, so it’s important that we develop chemistry,” Lewis said. Part of that chemistry includes recognizing each other’s strengths. Lewis dished out 19 assists in two exhibition games last week, while Barber attempted 16 shots to Lewis’ nine. “Tyler’s a great passer,” Barber said. “It’s a lot of fun playing with someone who can pass as well as he does.” Lewis will get the bulk of the minutes at point guard in the season opener against Appalachian State and beyond, but don’t be surprised if Barber proves himself as

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worthy of more playing time as the season progresses. “The team is really excited to take the court on Friday,” Lewis said. “We’re just going to have to go out and play hard.”

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