And where are Coach Wade’s 62-65 shots per game coming from?
Despite the evidence to the contrary, it’s really too soon to be predicting a starting lineup with any degree of certainty after only one team meeting and a golf outing, however …
We often evaluate teams and players based on their ‘floor’ and their ‘ceiling.’ The good news is, this season’s Wolfpack should have a very good ‘floor’ and the potential for their ‘ceiling’ is outstanding.
Floor: This team is built on ‘known commodities’
Darrion Williams, Terrance Arceneaux, Tre Holloman, Quadir Copeland, and Ven-Allen Lubin are solid veterans from quality programs and would probably be your day 1 starting lineup, IF you had to commit to one today. Every other player on the team has ‘yet to be answered’ questions. These five players might see some statistical improvement playing in a new system and with a potential increase in minutes, but minimally we should be guaranteed we will see more of what each has done well previously. And that forms a very good core for next season’s Wolfpack. At it’s floor, this should be a top third ACC team and sniffing around an NCAA tournament bid.
Ceiling: A lot of questions, many will be answered during summer workouts and fall practice but some might take longer. If 2-3 of these 5 players hit their potential by March, the Pack should have a nice, long season.
- Alyn Breed – Breed will be one of the oldest players on the team, he will be in his sixth season of college ball and he played five seasons of high school ball, including a post grad season at IMG Academy. He played three seasons at Providence (one a COVID year), he was required to sit out a transfer season when he transferred to McNeese St, and he played last season. Unfortunately, he was injured after two very solid games last season, so he has played only two games in the last two seasons. Coach Wade says he is healthy again and ready to contribute. Which player will we see in November?
- · Junior -Providence: 4.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg, and 1.5 assists in 18.5 mins per game.
- · Senior -McNeese: 17.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg, and 1.5 assists in 30 mins per game. (two games)
POTENTIAL: If he can come close to replicating last season’s output, with his experience he’ll start the season at shooting guard and has the potential to sub for Holloman at point.
2. Paul “They call me Mobutu, the Dictator of the Paint” Mbiya – Paul is a very large, athletic, high energy basketball player. He’s reported to be 6’11” and 231 pounds with a 7’8” wingspan, and with hands that make a basketball look like a volleyball. He’s 20 years old and only really started playing basketball at 17, so he’s got tremendous potential for improvement. Even with his limited experience, he was a dominant player in the French under 21 league, France-ProA U21. Their league season runs from September to May. During last season he was additionally invited to play 4 games in the top pro league in France, France-Betclic Elite, and another 6 games in the top pro league in Europe, Euroleague. Those 10 games are likely going to result in some type of NCAA mandated sanction.
POTENTIAL: We are going to love this guy! He has experienced pro ball, so may not need too much time to acclimate to the college game but he’s likely to spend some time in the NCAA penalty box. By the end of the season there is a very strong chance he will be starting at center.
3. Zymicah (Mikey) Wilkins – Mikey joins Terquavion Smith as another Wolfpack recruit having received the NC ‘Mr Basketball’ award. He’s a 6’8” (6’10” wingspan) high school center who led his Arden NC team to their league championship last season. In that game, he logged 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and four steals to end his high school career with an exclamation point.
POTENTIAL: Like Mbiya, he’ll take time to get used to the faster, more physical game. But he will be an excellent addition to the center rotation and he is good enough that he will be logging quality minutes by the end of the season. If Mbiya has to sit out some games or doesn’t end up in the red and white at all, Wilkins is a great backup who already has high major size, and who should rapidly improve with playing time.
Paul McNeil and Matt Able are similar size and have similar games. It will be interesting to see how they compare on the court, and potentially compete for playing time.
4. Paul McNeil –After an outstanding performance against UNC in February, 14 points in 14 minutes – including 2-5 from 3PT, he started 3 of the last 5 games of the season. In the first, he exploded for 24 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists against Wake. But against Syracuse he was held to 2 points / 3 rebounds and Georgia Tech was about the same, 5 points and 1 rebound. He did not hit a 3PT shot in any of his three starts. He did score 14 points, including 3-7 from 3PT, in the final game of the season against Miami. He attended a pro shooting camp in May. Will he make that well known sophomore jump?
POTENTIAL: Paul could play either off-ball guard position. He’s a very good player, he rebounds and passes well. If his outside shot becomes more consistent, he could start and be the leading scorer in the back court.
5. Matt Able – There are those that say he’s NBA bound next season. He’s ranked 4-star by the three major recruiting services, and 247 rolled him up to 5-star in their composite ranking.
Matt was the dominant stat stuffer at Sagemont (FL) last season. He averaged 16 shots per game, 7.6 of them 3PT shots.
POTENTIAL: Like McNeil, Matt could play either off ball guard position and (surprise!) in his introductory video, he introduced himself as a point guard. Also like McNeil, he was good at everything in high school, if those skills immediately translate to the ACC, I can see him working his way into the starting lineup.
Prediction: Put your money on McNeil, Mbiya, and Breed having great seasons. Able might blow up as well but it’s hard to bet on a freshman before practice starts. Wilkins should do well, but his minutes will be limited due to the talent he’s playing behind.
Colt, Jayme, and Jerry:
Jerry Deng – Jerry is a very good 3PT shooter, especially for a 6’9” 220 forward. As a freshman at Hampton he shot 39.1% on 110 attempts, and last season at FSU he shot 37% on 119 attempts. He rebounded well at Hampton, averaging 4 rpg and having a season high of 10. However, at FSU, he only averaged 1.9 rpg in 15.4 mins per game. He’s only a junior, plenty of time for improvement. His minutes this season will be determined by how well he defends and rebounds. I expect him in the rotation at forward but Darrion Williams is not going to sit much.
Colt (45) Langdon – Colt was a 3-star prospect coming out of Millbrook in Raleigh, signed with Butler and chose to redshirt. When he is ready, he will slot in at forward. He shot the 3PT well in high school, 35% on 184 attempts as a junior and 42% on 163 attempts as a sophomore. (reclassified and skipped his senior season) He might not see much playing time this season.
Jayme Kontuniemi – This will be a development season for the 6’4” Finnish guard.