NC State Recruit Tyler Lewis headed to Oak Hill

N.C. State basketball recruit Tyler Lewis is taking a step up in competition. Lewis, one of the top point guard prospects in the country, will finish his prep career at Oak Hill Academy.

Lewis, who will be a high school senior, averaged 27.2 points and 7.4 assists last season for Forsyth Country Day in Lewisville.

Lewis, who started as an eighth-grader at Forsyth Country Day, dominated the private-school league and leaves as the school's career leading scorer with 1,927 points.

He joins the perennial prep power in Mouth of Wilson, Va., which counts ACC guards Nolan Smith (Duke), Ty Lawson (UNC), Steve Blake (Maryland) among its litany of stars in the past 25 years.

"You want to play against the best competition," Lewis said. "I think it's the best thing for me to get ready for N.C. State."

ESPN's Dave Telep rates Lewis, a 5-11 point guard, as the 73rd-best prospect in the class of 2012. He joins top prospects Jarnell Stokes (ranked No. 18 by ESPN), D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (32) and A.J. Hammons (63) in the Oak Hill lineup.

Lewis, who committed to State last October, was one of the best players at the Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions in Raleigh in May and has seen his stock rise on the recruiting circuit with a strong spring and summer.

"He will go down as arguably the greatest basketball player in [school] history and his efforts on the court will be hard to duplicate," Forsyth coach Craig Dawson said.

-- J.P. Giglio

Read more: http://aboverim.blogspot.com/2011/07/nc-state-basketball-recruit-headed-to.html#ixzz1TEPjacrp

After losing Nate Irving to the NFL, Pack Defense still tough

With Nate Irving, N.C. State's defense made significant improvement last season.

Without Irving, N.C. State doesn't plan to revert to its subpar 2009 form, senior linebacker Audie Cole said.  "I think we'll be all right without him," Cole said Sunday at the ACC Kickoff.

The Wolfpack's revitalized defense created more turnovers and gave up fewer points during 2010, a combination which helped it win nine games. The defense made a significant jump statistically in points allowed (99th in the NCAA to 29th), takeaways (116th to 18th) and sacks (53rd to fourth).

At the heart of the defense, at middle linebacker, was Irving, who led the team in tackles for loss (21.5) and sacks (7.0) and was second in tackles (92). Irving, an All-ACC selection and third-round pick of the Denver Broncos, had missed the previous season because of injuries suffered in a car accident.

N.C. State's defense was young, inexperienced and often out of position during a difficult 5-7 season in 2009.  The group of Cole, linebacker Terrell Manning, safeties Brandan Bishop and Earl Wolff, cornerback C.J. Wilson and defensive tackle J.R. Sweezy learned from its mistakes and grew up last season.  N.C. State's 41 sacks ranked fourth in the country and its 29 takeaways was 18th. The Wolfpack shaved almost 10 points a game off its average down to 21.3.  Irving's return was a catalyst for the improvement but not the only reason.

"Nate was a big playmaker and he always found himself in the right place," Cole said. "He obviously helped us last year, and we probably wouldn't have been as good last year without Nate. But I think this year with our experience, we're going to be just fine." Cole, who third on the team in tackles with 86 last season, is one of eight returning starters on defense. He will slide over from outside linebacker to the middle to replace Irving.

Irving made the same transition last year from the outside slot to the inside. "It's not that big of a change for me," Cole said. "It's not like I had to re-learn everything."  Cole expects his production to improve during his senior season if only because he won't be playing with a cast. He broke his right hand against Florida State last season and then re-broke during the final four games. He had to wear the cast through the bowl win against West Virginia and for more than three months.  Cole now is cast-free and ready to get back to tackling with two good hands.  "It wasn't a fun time," he said.

While not as instinctual as Irving, Cole flourished under linebackers coach Jon Tenuta last season with five sacks. He led the Wolfpack in tackles as a sophomore with 85 during Irving's absence in '09.  "He's going to fill Nate's role perfectly," senior tight end George Bryan said. "I don't think we'll miss a beat."

Report by J.P. Giglio

Read more: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2011/07/24/2479561/nc-state-feels-it-has-the-tools.html#ixzz1T8bAQBWC

Gottfried: "We've got a long way to go"

So much for optimism, Mark Gottfried addressed the media on Tuesday about the prospects for the NC State Basketball team's chances in the upcoming 2011-2012 season.  I have to give it to him, he is a realist which is refreshing and brutally honest. As a State fan, we try to look for any sense of optimism with our struggling sports programs.  Gottfired did his part to squash any sort of of good feelings in the air.

The Wolfpack return four of their top six scorers from last year. With Sidney's last great class down to Leslie and Brown after Ryan Harrow was dismissed for not showing up to spring workouts.  Richard Howell has made great strides this summer by dropping 20 pounds.  Gottfried and his staff added late recruit freshamn forward Thomas de Thaey and transfer guard Alex Johnson.

With the onset of Gottfried's debut season, there are still many questions to be answered.  Will C.J. Leslie live up to his potential? Will Lorenzo prove to be the point guard we've been looking for more than a decade or more?   Will the newcomers come in and immediately produce?  If all these questions are answered, I think the Wolfpack can get back to the top of the heap in the ACC but only time will tell.