New Years resolutions for NC State basketball in 2023

NC State must get more from their bench

It would be an understatement to say that NC State is struggling to get consistent contributions from its bench players. Ever since the Wolfpack lost Dusan Mahorcic on December 6th against Coppin State and DJ Burns has come off the bench and into the starting lineup they have struggled with bench production.

In the last five games, the NC State bench has been outscored by its opponents’ bench 89-38. That kind of production will not cut it if NC State has postseason aspirations. For reference, the Wolfpacks’ upcoming opponent on Wednesday, the Duke Blue Devils got 46 points from their bench in a win against Florida State on Saturday.

The inability of the bench to provide consistent production is making the margin of error for the Wolfpack razor thin. The bench as a combined unit accounts for only 5.3 points per game and is only playing on average 8.8 minutes per game.

They are having to rely on their starters to give them major minutes which causes fatigue down the stretch. Terquavion Smith, Jarkel Joiner, and Casey Morsell all average over 33 minutes per game, due in large part to backups in the backcourt not providing productive minutes to give these guys a chance to catch their breaths on the bench.

The rotation guys on the bench are young, which could explain their lack of production. Breon Pass and Ernest Ross are Sophomores, while LJ Thomas who has been their best guy off the bench is only a freshman.

But if NC State is going to get big wins in the ACC those guys will need to grow up fast and provide consistent minutes for coach Keatts and prove to him that they can be trusted to play larger roles to take some pressure off of the starting 5 and giving opponents another thing to prepare for.