The Wolfpack breaks in the newly renamed Lenovo Center, ideally with a comfortable win
When: Wednesday October 30 – 7:00 PM
Where: The Lenovo Center (the venue formerly known as PNC Arena)
Opponent: Lees-McRae College Bobcats, from Banner Elk, NC (D2: Conference Carolinas)
Admission / Parking: Free
TV / Radio: No TV, no streaming / Wolfpack radio
According to the search history on gopack, this will be our first ever meeting with the Bobcats. Last season they finished 19-11 / 11-7. Let’s take a quick look at the Trojans.
This is coach Steve Hardin’s 14th season with the Bobcats. He is the all-time winningest coach in Lees-McRae history. According to his bio on the school website:
“Coach Hardin’s coaching philosophy and brand for the Lees-McRae Bobcat basketball team is “FIRE”, which simply means Fearless Intense Relentless Effort. Fans can expect an up-tempo, in-your-face game from Hardin and his players, as he wants to create consistent confusion in his fusion defense.”
Being unfamiliar with the “fusion defense” scheme, I googled it. Google directed me to a cell phone screen protector. (purchase from Best Buy, only $49.99) Can’t wait to see this mysterious defense.
The Bobcats return their leading scorer from last season, 6’4” senior guard Ja’Quavian Florence. He averaged 12.2 ppg. They only return two other frequent usage players, 6’7” senior forward Nico Ashley and 6’6” sophomore forward Nigel Okwakoi. It appears they too will be a work in progress.
For the Wolfpack, it’s an opportunity for the fans to see the new faces, the team to finally play someone else, and the staff to experiment with lineups. It’s especially interesting to see who starts each half to get an idea of what the coaches are thinking. In last season’s exhibition, the first half starters were O’Connell, Horne, Morsell, Middlebrooks and Burns. Diarra came in with the first group of subs. The second half starters were Pass, Horne, Taylor, Parker, and Burns. Morsell was the first sub.
This will be a game with minimal suspense and normally only intermittent flashes of quality basketball. But admission is free! And the best part is, it’s the only game of the season where you can sit anywhere you want, so hopefully I’ll see you in the front row.