Let this slip a bit again...but last season was bad.  1st round PI loss.  We lost only 1, but dropped to B+ prestige.  The ACC did amazingly well and so with 1 opening and a bunch of cash, we'll see how I do.  

This season was an extreme disappointment, losing in the PIT with a bunch of seniors.  We only have 5 coming back next year, so I'm not optimistic, I guess it'll be a time of youth and experimentation with new lineups.  

Recruiting went fairly well despite a sub-par group of recruits, I think.  I signed 5 freshmen and 1 3-year JUCO.  Here they are:

Recruit #1: Ivan Kisielewski



My prize recruit from this class, I'm really hoping Kisielewski shows up.  Already an elite athlete (average pot ath, will reach 100), he's also got average potential in rebounding and shot blocking, which should reach the high 90s.  The best part is that he has high-high LP potential, so that should reach, at worst, a good level of 80 and has the potential to turn into an elite skill.  If Kisielewski shows up, he'll be one of the best bigs I've coached at NC State.

P.S.: He also has high potential in BH and Speed.

Recruit #2: Jeffrey Case



Case is my JUCO signee.  He'll be a monster athletically and defensively, as his athleticism and rebounding should both surpass 90 and his defense should be solid, although he lacks shot blocking.  His LP has a chance to be good, although I have no info on it.  

Recruit #3: Gary Wentworth



A recruit I jumped on late (was considering Tennessee), Wentworth will be a solid contributor.  Despite low starting Ath/Def ratings, his high-high potential in Athleticism, Speed, Defense, and Perimeter convinced me that he had the upside to be a great player for us.  The downside is a starting WE in the 20s, but because we are only returning 5 guys (and only 1 big), I can afford to start him and lose some games this year so he can tap into his enormous potential.  

Recruit #4: Charles Abernethy



The fourth big man in this class (although only Abernethy and Wentworth will end up graduating together), Abernethy was another late add.  After signings began, I threw my hat into the ring along with Texas Tech, Long Island, and Kansas State for this Florida big man.  Although he won't be an offensive threat, Abernethy should end up being a decent defensive presence.  

Recruit #5: Loyd Montgomery



Montgomery was a guy I got cheap and I think he'll end up being pretty good.  With high-high potential in Defense, LP, Per, and BH (and unknown in speed), Montgomery could end up as a good scorer, although his athleticism is a bit low.  He will hopefully be a solid offensive contributor down the line, although I won't expect much until he can tap into his potential.  

Recruit #6: Omar Walters



Walters is an odd prospect, he already has hit his limit in athleticism, LP, per, and passing.  He's never going to be a great defender, and I don't know his speed potential.  At least I know he'll be able to step in and knock down 3s, which is really how I'm building my team- shoot 3s and rebound the ball.  Hopefully this model works out.  

I have also come up with a new grading system for recruits.  I came up with it post-recruiting and I'm not sure how useful it actually is, but here is my first round of grades (they are not equal among positions, it's just Gs, SFs, and Bigs and they all have different maximums.  I will come up with a way to compare across positions at some point, it just hasn't happened yet) for all recruits that I scouted that are going to ACC teams.  

Guards: Max Score of 105


SFs: Max Score of 94


Bigs: Max Score of 92

It was another very disappointing season as we went to the PIT for the 4th straight year.  It wasn't a season without hope, though, as we started two new guys (Case at PF and Wentworth at C).  Steven Alford proved he can be a top-notch SF.  He will probably RS next year, as 2 years from now is when I hope we will be really good.  Case improved 115 points and it looks like he'll be high 90s in Ath, Reb, and LP.  Wentworth is a work in progress and will probably start again this year to get his WE up.  Abernethy is a career backup who will come in and play good D and rebound.  He should get to 80 ath, and be solid all-around, but I'm not too focused on his development.  It will be a nice to have the addition of Kisielewski after he sat out this year.  I think he might start alongside Wentworth so I can accelerate his development (he's also probably going to be one of my 2 best bigs anyway).  Walters failed out and missed the last couple games of the season, but he should be back to shooting 3s.  I think he'll start at the 2, which will hopefully help his speed potential, as a guy with 90+ speed and 90+ per should be a strong offensive player.  I'm not sure where Montgomery will fit in, perhaps he'll start at the 3 to speed up his progression, but I think it really depends on who we bring in with this 2 man class.  Lastly, Atkins is on his way to becoming a monster.  He'll probably be our leading scorer this year.  I'm looking forward to 2 years from now when we can throw out a Atkins (Sr)-Walters (Jr)-Alford (Sr)-Kisielewski (Jr)-Case (Sr) line-up.  I think we'll be very, very good.  

Here's the team from this year:

Well I let this slip, but we went to the PIT for the 5th year straight, but I'm excited for this year.  Randal Collier was our 1 recruit (2 openings).  Out-recruited Charlotte for him. 

What a year it was.  With our 2 star seniors, Atkins and Alford, we were looking to have a standout year.  It started out well, as we went 9-1 out of conference, including a big win against Kansas at home.  However, things did not go as well in conference, where we played against an ACC that ended up sending 9 teams to the NT.  We finished up 7-9 in conference, which does not seem like that great of a record, but it earned us an 8 seed (we were slotted for a 7th on the proj report but got bumped down a line because of ACC 2-seeds).  We won a close one in the first round against Louisville which set up a match-up with 1 seed Wisconsin.  Despite being a 9 point underdog, we were up 10 at half.  Although Wisconsin closed the gap to 3 in the final seconds, we ended up prevailing to pull the upset, 70-65 to move onto the Sweet 16!  There we faced off against Texas Tech, one of six Big 12 teams to make the Sweet 16.  After being down 2 at half, we came roaring out in the 2nd half, took the lead with 10 minutes left and never relinquished it, pulling yet another upset to reach the Elite 8.  There, we faced ACC foe Miami, who had beaten us in our two matchups that season.  Miami was also making its 5th straight Elite 8 appearance.  We battled valiantly, keeping it within a basket until the last quarter of the game.  We did not have that final push to make the final four.  Still, as a team that went sub-.500 in conference and runs zone, I think we had a tremendous season and I look forward to continuing this trend of success after a disappointing couple of seasons (well, 5 straight PITs).  

Here is the squad: 

Recruit #1: Charles Cooper



Cooper is a fun prospect because he's not highly ranked, but he has so much potential.  Unfortunately, he didn't take a RS and he doesn't have high-high def.  However, I still think he can be productive, even if he's a bench player.  We don't need any contribution from him this year and I will be looking to pick up guards next year, so I don't think Cooper will ever be a solid starter, I like him as a strong bench player.