Despite NC State basketball having a week long break, there has still been plenty of Wolfpack sports news worth keeping up with.
- Tracy Smith will return for his senior season in 2010-2011
- David Thompson has been honored again
- NCSU has a new volleyball coach who will actually look to win
- Willie Young and Ted Larsen will be at the NFL Combine this weekend
- NCSU’s Student Government runs out of things to do
Here’s the links.
Tracy Smith says he will return for his senior season
Tracy Smith wants to play in the NBA when his college career is over but professional basketball will have to wait. Smith, N.C. State’s leading scorer and rebounder, will return for his senior season, he said Wednesday.
“I’ll wait my turn next year,” Smith, a junior, said. “I want to graduate and be ready.”
Smith averages 17.1 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the last-place Wolfpack. Smith called the season “frustrating” for both the Wolfpack’s record, 3-10 in the ACC, and the constant double-teams but said he feels his NBA stock would go up with another college season.
Thompson selected for National Hall of Fame
NC State basketball legend David Thompson is one of eight members of the class of 2010Â for the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Thompson, a three-time ACC Player of the Year and two-time National Player of the Year, led the Wolfpack to back-to-back ACC Championships in 1973 and ’74 and to the 1974 NCAA Championship. He was a 1996 inductee into the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, which automatically makes him a Founding Member of the Collegiate Hall of Fame.
He joins former NC State player and assistant coach Vic Bubas, who was selected for enshrinement in 2007. Former Wolfpack coach Everett Case, who is a member of the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame, is also considered a Founding Member of the collegiate hall, but has not yet been enshrined.
Bunn takes over volleyball program looking to turn things around
On Friday, the NC State Board of Trustees approved the hiring of Bryan Bunn as NC State’s volleyball coach. Bunn spent the last three years as an associate head coach at Baylor, helping the team reach the NCAA Sweet 16 and producing a pair of All-Americans. He is confident that he can turn the fortunes of the Wolfpack’s program around, through his teaching and recruiting skills.
Bunn sat down with GoPack.com managing editor Tim Peeler to talk about his background, his goals and his strategy for building a successful program with the Wolfpack.
Dinich previews the NFL Combine
The annual NFL scouting combine begins today and runs through March 2. A total of 329 draft-eligible players were invited to the event, including 41 ACC players. Each school in the conference will have a representative.
The measurable workout drills include: 40-yard dash, bench press, vertical jump, broad jump, three-cone drill and shuttle run. There are also different drills for each position.
There is a lot of hype surrounding Clemson’s C.J. Spiller, as he has been tabbed the top running back to watch. Here’s a quick breakdown of the ACC’s participants.
NCSU Student Government wants to revive live mascot
In the early days of NC State football, cheerleaders used a live Minnesota timber wolf named “Stateâ€. Problem was, wolves aren’t really people friendly, like a dog or a sleepy looking ram with large testicles. Thinking nobody could tell the difference, the school used a coyote in the 1940’s.
NC State eventually scrapped the use of live animals. But come on, LSU has an actual tiger on the sideline, so what’s the worst that can happen with a wolf? I mean, other than the fact that wolves are creatures of the night and have a taste for human flesh.
