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Amazingly — college basketball season is here. NC State tipped the season with a “Red Rally” at Reynolds Coliseum.
Interestingly, seven feet one inch tall Jordan Vandenberg won the dunk contest and looked very versatile in doing so. Pack Pride has a video of his dunks if you are a Premium subscriber.
ACCNow shared the following observations (Link):
Observations from the Red-White scrimmage:
• The lineups: Julius Mays, C.J. Williams, Scott Wood, Dennis Horner and Jordan Vandenberg started for the White while Javi Gonzalez, Farnold Degand, Johnny Thomas, DeShawn Painter and Tracy Smith started for the Red, with Josh Davis subbing for Thomas.
• The White won the 15-minute scrimmage, complete with three officials, 22-21 on Williams’ running jumper at the buzzer.
• As expected, Smith looked strong in the post. He had two good takes, one at the expense of Vandenberg, and will obviously be the focal point of the offense. Where his help will come from is another question.
• Horner’s a little bigger, but is still more of a face-the-basket player. Painter’s got some length, at 6-9, but he’s relatively skinny.
• Lowe insisted Vandenberg wasn’t a “project” during media day but he made some rookie mistakes — bringing the ball low in the post so Gonzalez could steal it, the most glaring — that suggest he’s not going to be a part of the 10-man rotation Lowe talked about.
• Wood’s rep is as a shooter and he didn’t disappoint, hitting a 3-pointer and converting three free throws after getting fouled on a 3-point attempt. His minutes will go up the more zone defense State sees.
• It looks like Degand has made a full-fledged transition to the 2-guard. Whether he stays there, and whether Lowe starts to use Mays and Gonzalez together, remains to be seen.
• Gonzalez looked more assertive and he’ll have to be as a junior and with all the new players in the program.
The following observations were emailed to us and then I saw them on this thread on Pack Pride.
– Kellie Harper was awesome. Crowd really seemed to enjoy her, and she was excited about this season. It was really cool when she pulled that little girl out of the crowd to introduce her to her favorite player. And the Wolfpack player, I think it was Tia, came over and lifted her into a hug.
-Pace was much quicker, they were forcing the ball down the court, and really kicking out to the outlet on rebounds. They definitely have been game planning on this.
-Farnold looks much healthier, and far more aggressive than I have seen him here thus far. Having him in the backcourt at the same time with Javi or Julius will really make this a team that can get up and down the court
-Horner is the leader, in my opinion. Hustle, Hustle, Hustle, Hustle. There were several nice defensive plays and tips he got in on last night, and he blocked Tracy’s shot a couple of times.
-Vandenberg. Legit 7 footer. Can run and jump better than most people thought. I mentioned this in another thread that he is much more athletic than Luke Schenscher. Imagine Ben McCauley 3 to 4 inches taller, faster, and a better leaper. Ben’s basketball coordination was better at this stage, but Jordan’s ceiling is far higher. He needs to gain some weight. He is not a stick, but 25 more pound would help him to not get pushed around in the paint. Teammates really like him, and he plays with a lot of effort. He really is an aggressive rebounder and there is not an ounce of laziness in him last night that I saw. Crowd loved him.
-Javi. He looked to attack more last night. He is the most aggressive of our point guards. I expect him to split time with Mays about evenly.
-Mays. I expect Mays to start. A coach admitted to me the other night that if he was betting on it, Julius would start this season. He is more of a floor general than Javi, and plays a much more controlled game, but I think Javi is better suited to run than Mays is.
-CJ Williams was money last night during the shoot around. I kept watching him and Scott Wood drain threes. He was vocal last night during the huddle, and when he squares, his shot is on target.
-Scott Wood is giong to be a factor this season. His IQ is advanced and he made some very nice plays last night. During a fast break, Scott broke out on the wing and got a feed from Mays and literally caught the ball, stopped and popped in one quick motion and drained the three. He also made a couple of nifty moves to get to the baseline and to the foul line last night. He is not just a set shooter.
-Deshawn Painter has a nice baseline jumper, and is a good rebounder. He is long, and will be a definite help on defense and on the boards ths year. He gets up and down the floor nicely as well.
On Saturday afternoon WolfpackHoops linked their report from the Red Rally. Although they continue to only share positive comments to the point of nausea, I appreciate that they provide a blurb from each player.
I will highlight the one player that I am most excited/interested to see:
Scott Wood – Definitely one of my favorites out there last night, Wood was everywhere. He played with a confidence I haven’t seen from a freshman since Julius Hodge stepped foot on campus years ago. Wood was always hustling and actually was very impressive on defense, staying in front of his man and providing help side defense when he was supposed to. On offense, you can tell, he just gets it. He knows where the ball is supposed to be and what is a good shot. For Scott, any time he’s open it’s a good shot. He showed off a very pretty, very soft shot that is Steph Curry-esque in terms of quick release. He also showed that he isn’t scared of the big boys as he challenge Johnny Thomas one on one, on the break. Wood threw is body into Thomas for the layup attempt, and although he was blocked, he picked up the foul and the respect of all in attendance.
Photo courtesy of News & Observer
Photo courtesy of News & Observer
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