Analyzing Dereon Seabron’s outstanding start to the season for NC State Basketball and why his leap is perfectly timed for Kevin Keatts and the Wolfpack.
NC State Basketball was hit hard in the first minute of its season opener when star center Manny Bates suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Thankfully for Head Coach Kevin Keatts and Wolfpack fans, sophomore G Dereon Seabron quickly made his significant improvement known, putting up 18 points and 11 boards in that opening win over Bucknell.
As a freshman in the 2020-21 season, Seabron averaged 5.2 PPG and 3.5 RPG in 17.4 MPG on an NC State team that finished 14-11 and ninth in the ACC. He scored in double-digits only three times and grabbed double-digit boards just once, although his production did increase towards the end of the regular season and through the team’s NIT run which ended at the hands of Colorado State.
I was able to see Seabron up-close in NC State’s home win over Bethune-Cookman—his size and length as a guard and primary ball-handler were evident. Offensively, he has a deadly first step and has the size to finish over other guards and wings at a high clip at the rim (53.3% eFG).
Seabron’s defensive impact is often overlooked because of his leap as a scorer this season. His length and lateral quickness make him a nightmare on-ball matchup for most guards. He leads NC State in adjusted defensive rating and ranks nationally in steal percentage. Perhaps most importantly, he is an elite rebounder, averaging 10.5 per game which puts him in the top 10 nationally.
Seabron leads the ACC in double-doubles with six and is tied with Utah Valley’s Fardaws Aimaq and Utah State’s Justin Bean for the most 15+ point/10+ rebound games in the nation with six. He also ranks No. 25 nationally in scoring at 19.5 PPG and has the second most KenPom Game MVP awards in the country.
Although his impact was noticeable over the team’s first six games, Seabron jumped into the national spotlight in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge with a 39 point, 18 rebound performance in 57 minutes in a 4OT win over Nebraska.
A bit over a month into the season, Seabron has put together a First-Team All-ACC campaign with a strong argument to be an All-American if NC State can continue winning and finish towards the top of the ACC. This should be possible considering the league’s early struggles in non-conference play—the opening is there for the Wolfpack to fill.
Most importantly, Seabron has led NC State to a 7-3 start without Manny Bates. His scoring has certainly been a key part of that, but his rebounding and defensive versatility and impact help directly fill the void left by Bates’ absence.
The Wolfpack are coming off of a frustrating but somewhat hopeful loss in which they took No. 1 Purdue to overtime before eventually coming up short. The temptation to look ahead to conference play will almost certainly be there, but for now, NC State needs its focus on its last two non-conference matchups with a talented and experienced Richmond team and perhaps the favorites in the Horizon League in Wright State.