Brett Friedlander says N.C. State poised to become ACC’s new leader of the pack in 2012/13.
You might want to sit down for this one, Wolfpack fans. It’s not an April Fool’s joke.
The moment Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Kendall Marshall announced their intention to leave the Tar Heels for the NBA draft on Thursday, State suddenly became the team to beat in the ACC next year.
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But while coaches Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski are Hall of Famers who always find a way to do their best work when times seem the worst, neither will be blessed with a team stocked with at least three returning starters and a trio of incoming McDonald’s All-Americas.
The Wolfpack will.
It’s a diverse lineup fueled by the playmaking and leadership of Lorenzo Brown, a third-team All-ACC selection and the best returning point guard in the league. Scott Wood is a veteran perimeter threat who has added elements to his game on both ends of the floor since Gottfried’s arrival while Richard Howell and DeShawn Painter have proven themselves to be a formidable tandem down low.
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Now all the Wolfpack has to do is go out on the court and turn all that talent and potential into wins – something that hasn’t always been easy for it, especially when expectations are at their highest.
This, however, is a different breed of Wolfpack, one with a new coach, a new attitude and a small taste of success to feed its hunger. And this is an ACC in which teams other than UNC and Duke can dare to dream of winning championships and tournament titles, the way Florida State did even before Barnes, Henson and Marshall cashed out and entered the draft.
There will be plenty of competition from the newly empowered Seminoles, as well as a healthy Miami, an improved Maryland and those traditional powers that always seem to find their way to the top of the standings, regardless of the circumstances. And a lot can happen over the course of a long, hot summer. But when the dominoes have fallen and the pieces of the puzzle are finally in place, N.C. State is the team they’ll all be trying to beat when practice begins next October.
Believe it or not.
