Sports Handing out midseason awards for NC State men’s basketball

With NC State men’s basketball about midway through the conference slate of the season, it’s time to hand out some awards to the players that have made the biggest impact thus far.

MVP – Terquavion Smith and Jarkel Joiner

It was too tough to pick just one of these guys, so I decided to split the award between the two because both deserve to be acknowledged.

Before the season, everyone expected sophomore guard Terquavion Smith to be the Pack’s best player because of his outstanding freshman season in which he took away All-ACC rookie honors. Smith has lived up to those expectations, leading the team in points and assists, while also making himself known as one of the best players in the ACC.

In addition to Smith, who knows where this team would be without graduate guard Jarkel Joiner after his decision to transfer to NC State. Joiner is second on the team in points and assists and has also been the team’s most clutch player, closing out games and making timely shots in crunch time. But Joiner’s leadership is the main reason he is receiving this hardware as he has stepped up as the leader of the Wolfpack in such a short amount of time.

Most Improved – Casey Morsell

This one was easy as senior guard Casey Morsell has gone from a role player last season to a key contributor for the Wolfpack. Last season, Morsell averaged 7.2 points per game and shot 35% from behind the arc, and he has improved those averages this year to 12.5 points per game and a 43.1% clip from downtown.

The most impressive part of Morsell’s improvement has been his 3-point shooting, going from an average marksman to a deadeye from deep. Opponents cannot leave Morsell open or he will make them pay, which helps the entire team with the junior commanding defensive attention at all times. This drastic improvement has helped the Pack become one of the best offenses in the ACC.

Best Defender – Jarkel Joiner

This is not a name many expected to be here before the season started, but Joiner has proven to be an elite defender for the Wolfpack.

While Joiner does not lead the team in steals or blocks, he is still third on the team in steals, averaging 1.1 per game. But the stats don’t tell the entire story in this situation — the eye test has to be used to see why Joiner is the best defender on this team.

Joiner’s energy and effort on defense is why is here as he is almost always picking up his defender full court and keeping continuous pressure on the ball. He also has the ability to stay in front of his man and won’t shy away from taller players. In basketball, defense is mostly based on effort and Joiner brings that effort on every possession.

Sixth Man – DJ Burns

Although graduate forward DJ Burns has been a starter recently because of injuries in the frontcourt, he is still the sixth man of the team because he started the season on the bench and has played more games outside of the starting rotation.

With that being said, Burns has been an absolute force, putting in work against opposing second units, and even the starters. Burns is fourth on the team in points per game with 11.4 despite playing less minutes, and he has also been solid defensively, averaging a team-leading block per game.

Although Burns is only averaging 1.5 assists per contest, he is a very good passer and always finds the open man when he is getting doubled. Given that Burns has more frequently found himself in the starting lineup as of late, he may not be eligible for sixth man of the year at the end of the season, but for now it’s his spot to lose.