The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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NOVEMBER 2018 ■ 77 20 squad by the three major basketball yearbooks (Lindy's, Athlon and Street & Smith's), with Athlon ranking the Pack as high as No. 11. As gratifying it may be to see the pro- gram "back in the conversation," Moore isn't breaking out the party favors just yet. "Last year, we were picked to finish in the bottom half of the conference," he pointed out (NC State tied for fourth with Duke and was seeded fifth in the ACC Tournament), "so we've already seen how accurate the prognosticators are." The 2017-18 season was supposed to be a major rebuilding year for the Pack after losing four of five starters from a 23-9 team in 2016-17 that earned its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2014, and its first victory in the Big Dance since 2007. NC State was a no-show in all the pre- season polls and was picked to finish 10th in the ACC — a motivation that helped the Pack produce a stunning 26 wins and the chance to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, another first since 2007. The Pack took advantage, beating Elon and upsetting fourth-seeded Maryland to reach the Sweet 16 before losing to even- tual national runner-up Mississippi State. That lack of expectations may have played a part in the team's success, Moore admitted. "It's always good when you're underes- timated a little bit, because then it makes it feel more rewarding when you can ac- complish what that team accomplished," he said. "I didn't lack expectations, though. I felt like even though we lost four starters [in 2017] who represented a good majority of our scoring, we had some good people waiting in the wings and ready for their opportunity. "And we ended up having a lot of people step up, play extremely well and take us a long way." The main motors of that journey to the Sweet 16 were senior forward Chelsea Nel- son, the lone returning starter from 2016- 17, and senior post Akela Maize … two spots that Moore conceded are "big shoes to fill." "Chelsea wound up being first-team All-ACC, our leading scorer [12.9 points per game] and rebounder [9.4 boards per game] and almost averaged a double-dou- ble," Moore pointed out. "Akela made the ACC All-Defense team and was one block away [68] from leading the conference. "Those two made it easy on our young perimeter players because when there was a breakdown, they were back there to clean things up." The addition of Maryland transfer Kiara Leslie, the younger sister of former Pack men's player C.J. Leslie, also proved criti- cal in last year's run. Leslie, inserted into the starting lineup in mid-December, finished as the team's sec- ond-leading scorer (12.7 points per game) and rebounder (5.9 boards per game), and third-best three-point shooter (39 made). She was the Pack's top scorer in its three NCAA Tournament games when she aver- aged 20.0 points per contest, and tallied a career-high 27 against Mississippi State. As a group, the 2017-18 Pack was also the best defensive and rebounding team in Moore's first five years, allowing op- ponents to score only 57.2 points per game while shooting just 37.5-percent from the field — both of which ranked among the top three in the conference. They out- rebounded opponents by an average of 9.6 caroms per contest, the best in the ACC. But with the two stalwarts of his back line of defense and two of the team's top three rebounders gone, the biggest ques- tion facing the Pack as it begins its annual quest for a 20-win season, ACC Tourna- ment success and an NCAA Tournament invite is whether or not it can it duplicate or improve on that defensive and board effort of a year ago. To do so, it may require increased output from its returning trio of perimeter players, while an unproven group of forwards and posts tries to fill the huge defensive void left by Nelson and Maize. "That is a big concern, because we don't really have anyone that's proven they can step in and do the things those two did," Moore said. "We have a lot of options with our perimeter people, but they are going to have to rebound." Two other of Moore's priorities for the Pack — three-point shooting and free throw accuracy — will also have to be raised after a mediocre showing (31.2 per- cent from beyond the arc and 66.4 percent from the charity stripe) last season, espe- cially in light of the defensive strength lost. Pack At A Glance 2017-18 Record: 26-9 ACC Record: 11-5 (5th) Home/Away/Neutral Record: 16-2/7-4/3-3 Postseason Results: Opened the ACC Tourna - ment with wins versus North Carolina (77-64) and Duke (51-45), but fell to No. 1-seeded Louisville (64-59) in the semis; Beat Elon (62-35) and Mary - land (74-60) in the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament, before losing to No. 1-seeded Missis- sippi State (71-57) in the Sweet 16 Starters Lost: 2 (F Chelsea Nelson and F Akela Maize) Others Lost: 2 (G Lucky Rudd and C Nae Nae Cole) Starters Returning: 3 (G Aislinn Konig, G Kaila Ealey and G Kiara Leslie) Others Returning: 7 (F Erika Cassell, F DD Rog - ers, G Armani Hawkins, G Kai Crutchfield, F Kayla Jones, G Grace Hunter and G Katie Wadsworth) Head Coach: Wes Moore (sixth season; John - son Bible College, 1984) Record: 112-52 at NC State (51-29 ACC); 670- 221 overall (.752) Assistants: Lindsay Edmonds (sixth season; Ap - palachian St., 2005); Simon Harris (first season; NC State, 2008); and Erin Batth (first season; Clemson, 2001) BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2018-19