The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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78 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BASKETBALL PREVIEW 2018-19 Experienced Backcourt Will Shoulder Leadership Roles Along with the departure of two starters and the arrival of three incoming freshmen, the program also experienced a turnover in staff this past summer when five-year as- sistants Nikki West and Gene Hill departed. Simon Harris, a 2008 NC State graduate who played for the Pack and then went on to a seven-year tenure as an assistant with the Dayton men's and women's programs, takes over as the team's backcourt coach. "The main thing I've found is that this group is very similar to the group I had in Dayton in that their work ethic is at the next level," Harris said. "They're very businesslike in their ap- proach, and they're very good players be- cause they're all willing to work at it." Leslie, a fifth-year senior, leads the ex- perienced trio of returners on the perimeter — and is very familiar to Harris. "My dad [former NC State assistant Larry Harris] recruited C.J., so I've known Kiara since she was little," he said. "You can't really use the word 'weakness' for any part of her game. "She uses her athleticism, knows when, where and how to score, and is just very, very consistent — she just knows how to play." Redshirt junior Kaila Ealey is back at the point after a breakout season in which she hiked her scoring per game from 2.9 points as a freshman to 8.9, and proved to be an exceptionally efficient rebounder, averaging 5.3 boards a game, fourth best on the team. "She does a great job of attacking de- fenses, getting in the gaps and creating things for her teammates," Moore noted. "And she can make plays on defense that lead to offense. "We want her to continue to work on her three-point shooting [22 of 72 last year, 30.6 percent]. With our young people in- side it's going to be important for all of our perimeter people to be able to hit threes and keep defenses honest." Helping to achieve that goal is returning junior shooting guard Aislinn "Ace" Konig, who's 91 made threes set a new single- season school record last year. "She's one of the best three-point shoot- ers I've ever seen — men's, women's, col- lege, high school, it doesn't matter," Harris said. Konig also showed her capabilities as a defensive player in the Pack's second- round NCAA win over Maryland, holding the Terps' top three-point shooter, Kristen Confroy, to a total of two attempts — none from beyond the arc — and zero points. "We need her to do that on a consistent basis," Moore said, "and we'll also need her to help more on the boards this season [her 2.4 boards per game average was the lowest of the starters]. "She's also an excellent passer and dis- tributor [Konig had a better than two-to- one assist-to-turnover ratio last season]. "It's a luxury having someone like that out there with Kaila." Arizona State transfer Armani Hawkins saw her first full season of action last year as the primary backup on the perimeter and had the second-best shooting percentage from three-point range (33.3, 11 of 33). "She's a fantastic post feeder," Harris noted. "She's also able to get the ball back, get open quickly and get a shot up." A more aggressive approach, especially on defense, is what Moore and the staff are hoping to see from the fifth-year senior this season. Sophomore Kai Crutchfield led all fresh- men last year with an average of 9.1 min- utes per game. She posted only 2.0 points and 1.0 board per contest, but a strong finish to last season has both Harris and Moore hoping for bigger contributions — especially at the defensive end. Junior Katie Wadsworth, a walk-on last season, is on scholarship this year after playing a mostly mop-up role. "She's someone who does a lot of things that you can take and show others how it should be done," Harris said. The X factor in the backcourt this sea- son is redshirt junior Grace Hunter, a 5-9 transfer from Charlotte who led the 49ers in scoring (17.2 points per game) and re- bounding (8.6 boards per outing) during the 2016-17 season. "She can shoot the deep three and has the quickness to get to the rim," Moore said. "She needs to be a little more disci- plined and play within the framework of what we're trying to do. "She definitely has the potential to be a big-time scorer. She's someone we have high hopes for." NC State's veteran perimeter returners are well aware of the mantle of responsi- bility they'll be wearing this year — and the added pressure of living up to the pre- season ratings. "The rankings do raise the bar a little," Ealey admitted, "but we can't let it get to our heads. We still have to grind and work." "It just motivates us," Konig added. "We took a lot of experience from going to the Sweet 16 last year. We know what it takes and can hopefully translate that into more wins. Freshman Newcomer Could Be Key To The Frontcourt Rebuild Unlike her assistant coaching counterpart who inherited an experienced trio of returners for his debut season in Raleigh, new assistant Erin Batth, a former Clemson standout (and teammate of West's during their time with the Tigers) who works with the Packs forwards and posts, faces the challenge of replacing two of the Pack's more accomplished bigs in recent years. She will have a six-player group whose most experienced returners played a little more than 10 minutes per game last season. Still, the former Liberty assistant coach and WNBA executive believes her young group has the ingredients to be important contributors this season. "We have total athletes with good phy- siques," Batth said. "They've really blown me away because they're running, shooting threes, doing things it normally takes awhile for bigs to learn to do. "What I'd like them to focus on is setting good screens, making the good pass, making layups — just keeping things simple and old school." Senior DD Rogers is the lone four-year returner on the team and one of the two most experienced frontcourt veterans, along with junior Erika Cassell. Both saw an identical Last season, junior Aislinn Konig set a single- season school record with 91 made three- pointers. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN