Who returns for NC State basketball?

Alright, we have basketball, sort of, because it's over. State's done. Duke's done. I don't know what Brian Geisinger is going to do with his time now. Pack Pride, Devil's Den. Let's pick up the pieces.

Brian Geisinger joins us at BGeis underscore bird. Let's start with the Wolfpack, Brian. What went wrong there? Well, you know, I thought they played pretty, I thought, I thought state played pretty well over the weekend, actually.

Um, you know, all things considered. I didn't like that matchup with Creighton. I thought it was a pretty tough.

I just saw a lot of, I saw that going bad for state more than I did saw it going well, just the way things are sort of lined up on paper. But, um, man, to Quavion Smith was awesome. Yeah, he was, he was so good in that game. I'm so happy for him to have that moment. Uh, 30, I think 32 points.

Yeah. Um, I know it wasn't like even his most efficient performance of the season, but given his struggles down the back third of the, of the, of the calendar of the season. Um, his mentality was so good in that game going right at Cole Brenner, um, in the drop coverage, just getting downhill finishing at the rim. I thought his patience on with the exception of maybe a couple of plays was really good, and it was matched with his aggression. Um, and the donkey had over called Brenner what is like maybe the signature play of that guy's career at state. Um, which given that he scored over 1000 points in two seasons to pick one of them out, but that kind of half court dunk was was really, really impressive and just unfortunately, like I thought Jarkel Joyner who's been incredible this season, obviously, and they're nowhere, they're not here without him. To be clear, um, you know, I just thought he, it seemed like he was settling a little bit against the drop and really kind of like leaning on the pull up jumper a little bit too much. And in that, that along with DJ burns being in foul trouble, not being able to get the post up game going I mean they were just when they don't have burns in the post up game they're so dependent on Joyner and Smith and the pick and roll. And when one of those guys doesn't have it going like Joyner didn't back on Friday, then it just gets really, really tough. Um, but I thought state guarded well they probably got a little bit of shooting luck with Creighton missing so many shots.

The first, you know, 95% of the game. But for me what I'll remember from that game is, um, is what is how you know took wavy on performed and just looks they got it was a tough matchup that creating team. That's not a normal six seed team, to be clear, right, there's, there's probably four or five NBA players on that roster their top 25 in offense and defense and they're making shots right now, or at least they did in yesterday's game against Baylor so they look, they look formidable at the moment, but it was for state I'll remember to play Beyonce performance. I saw a number of people pick Creighton to go to the final four so obviously they were a good team and they're probably they were playing at a top 10 level. And once they got healthy. You know, much like Duke was whatever their record was when they were, you know, they had their starting lineup intact when they all their, you know, people intact. You know that that's, that's cool that they were, they were really good then, but so was Creighton when Creighton was fully operational.

They were a top 10 team and playing at a very high level so yeah it was. I thought, look, I think, defense is kind of cumulative so even when on possessions when it's not there if you play good defense. It does tend to rush your opponent. So I give a lot of times.

I'll give credit for it. Okay, the defense wasn't there this possession, but it was it has been there the last three possession. So I think especially with it when it comes to jump shooting.

I just think that it's it kind of has a lasting impact. I was, I was surprised that they were as inefficient offensively. I thought to craving Smith was had as one more one of his more efficient games offensively but to get nothing really out of jointer that that way, and not to get enough help from the other places that you normally would get help from more cell Clark things like that and burns foul trouble, and also do want his foul trouble which didn't help.

Yeah, yeah, that's a, that's a great point that like the earnest Ross at five minutes. Yeah, um, it's something that I think state could have maybe experimented more at times with the season but like that that obviously like you know incidentally tournament against, you know, an all Big East center seven foot one guys, you know, obviously that was not experimentation that was them, you know, sort of in desperation. And, um, I think it's it, you can't just like copy and paste a player into the lineup and I think it's, you know, even if do some mortgages available this season like, you know, DJ burn probably doesn't have the year that he does but like that is certainly one of those games when more church with his experience his size physicality would have been helpful and that's not the first NC State loss that I've like thought that way.

Right. This season, um, but you can see they immediately went to the high low against Ross called Brenner scored or got fouled and then state had to start to attack side crate started skipping it over the top. Now all of a sudden Trey Alexander is getting to attack a closeout, not try to work, pick and roll. Um, I think I thought that was a place where Creighton was able to build a little bit of, you know, flow on offense in the second half, and Greg McDermott's a really good coach and you know he'd be able to do stuff like that.

All right, real, real, real quick before we get to Duke. What is state's roster, likely to look at in terms of existing players next year. Yes, it's interesting because a lot of these guys can come back. I mean, charcoal joiner, you know the eligibility is that's it. Right. His last college game and I think my Horchich barring a medical register, I believe his eligibility is exhausted I so but again because they said they're going to try to get it. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

They, they should he should do it. Yeah, I mean, I think it feels in theory other than I mean even like I imagined your client Smith is going to enter the draft again and keep his name in this year but in theory I guess he could be back I just don't expect him to, you know, I do think guys like someone like Jack Clark, I think he came with the plan of being playing for two years here. It makes a lot of sense to come back and be like the face of the program be one of the faces of college basketball, make a bunch of money via NIL. Oh, well, yeah, exactly. Yeah, exactly. And, you know, it's that compared with him, you know, trying to go the G League route or trying to play abroad I mean, you know, he's a talented guy beyond basketball so it's like, but my guess is, it would make a lot of sense financially for him to want to want to come back more cell, he's played four years of college basketball like maybe he thinks it's time to move on but, you know, he still has an extra year of eligibility, via the NCAAs COVID rules so if more cell wanted to play an extra year my guess is he would want to stay at at state. Um, you know, as in lieu of going to his third school, but I suppose there's a program that could maybe offer him a bigger offensive role other than catch and shoot that maybe he'd be in line for and the only other thing I would say is like, just right now the front court looks like it could be a little crowded next year, like if more horses back, it burns is back, you've still got guys like Gant and Ross into wanna that eligibility, what's going to happen with Isaiah Miranda. So just like it does kind of feel like there's gonna have to be some movement, some way, you know somewhere in there, right, um, because it's just the numbers game is, it gets tough quickly.

All right, so we're almost out of time. We spent all that time on that's fine we spent all that time on state we got like two minutes or so left. Was it Duke just got out physical by Tennessee and understanding also that Mark Mitchell was not there to provide great free safety help defensively. Yeah, they really could have used him in this game obviously I think, as you know, I've discussed gold like Mitchell's really come online as a guy that can be impactful as a as a help defender and with a given how they want to use lively guarding ball screens and one on the backside to help put out fires and Mitchell's really good at that at an early age, but I just couldn't believe Tennessee's physicality defensively, like, I mean it really, it really was a, you know, the Pete Carroll style of like not Pete Carroll Pete Carroll the style of like they can't call every foul right i just the amount of physicality on the perimeter was like, kind of astonishing, and it's, it's honestly it's, it's a little unfortunate that like that style is like a viable, like just, just foul every possession. Um, and I think Duke's foul trouble also got them in trouble like I do think the second foul that lively picked up was a ridiculous call where he engages in the handoff and, you know, roaches getting mugged by visco v and then they call it lively for the foul so I don't know it was not like a cleanly officiated game but Tennessee's defense is incredible, even without the like the sort of like overtly physical nature to it their scheme versatile. Very impressive that's the number one defense in the country, and they flex their muscles against Duke over. Yeah, it's a good strategy, because Duke has used it and Georgetown used to play that way all the time to Clemson does it. So, you know, if, if they if they call it. All right, we can't do this, but if they don't, we keep doing it until they start calling it.

And I had no problem with the strategy. You just wish that all games were officiated the same way, because we have seen plenty of games where Tennessee would have either had to back off, or they would have all fouled out and had nobody left to play. Yeah, we just don't see enough of it. Yeah, quick tip of the cap to, you know, I mean tires Proctor played awesome. Yeah, this the shot making the playmaking from him will look pretty special at times he did a lot of NBA stuff in that game, I'll be curious to see if you know Proctor is back in Durham for a second season. I think that was maybe the plan at one point this season I don't know if that's changed the final dozen games of the year but I'm Proctor that was that was really like special basketball from him in terms of creating for others and making his own shots and Filipowski just being a bulldozer and just, you know, playing into contact as he always does. He was pretty awesome in that game to try to figure out who's going to be back for Duke is has to be a fool's a fool's errand.

Whitehead and Lively are almost absolutely gone. Jeremy Roach, I don't know where he's going other than to the portal if he wants to leave, if he's looking behind him and he sees the five star guards coming in. There will be a role for Jeremy Roach on this team.

It'll be a big one regardless of who's here. But Proctor and Mitchell and Filipowski is not a slam dunk next level, you know, high draft pick because he does lack explosiveness and athleticism at this point. And he does. He's not a refined shooter either. So I talked to a scout at the ACC tournament, who basically said that none of the guys except for Whitehead were high draft picks that Whitehead probably because we know what we've seen already, but all the other guys were, you know, back half of the first round at best but more than likely second rounder, including Lively said that I mean I agree with that evaluation. I mean, I do think you know lively plays in theory this like this skill set at center that's supposed to be fungible right like you can find a rim run rim protector guy for you shouldn't use a lottery pick on those guys and I tend to agree with that but like, I think Derek lively is going to play in the NBA and be a starter for a long, long time because of the defense. Yeah. So even if he even if you don't grade that guy out as anything beyond like the 19th pick or whatever he still has like pretty pretty serious value Rudy go back to the next level.

Yeah, he can or, or Nick Claxton with with the Brooklyn Nets like like those, or, you know, there's there are other sort of like facsimiles Tyson Chandler, like these kinds of guys like that offer this discrete set of skills at that possession again lively is shown like truly special traits on the defensive side of the floor. Brian Geisinger Devil's Den packs pack pride everywhere. Appreciate your time, my friend, I'll talk to you later. Wendy's two for $6 lets you mix and match some of our best items. Dave single with a 10 piece crispy nuts medium strawberry lemonade with a spicy chicken sandwich spicy chicken with a Dave single Dave single with a strawberry lemonade strawberry lemonade strawberry lemonade, if you're into that chicken Sam crispy nuts crispy nuts strawberry lemonade Dave's Dave's nugs nugs Sam Sam pick what you want at a price you want choose wisely choose Wendy's two for six for a limited time price participation may vary in US Wendy's on the card only single item at regular price. The Panthers in free agency have been great but all of their moves all of their moves in the last week of free agency are all done, knowing that they had to make the one move first, and that was the trade of number nine to get number one from the Chicago Bears Frank Reich talked to the media today, and this is partially about his direct boss, the general manager Scott fitter, but also the owner, David Tepper in essentially being aggressive and pushing for the move his analysis of those options I thought was spot on kind of help push us to the right decision to get up to number one and to make that decision and be in control so is there more pressure with that I guess so but I don't feel I don't feel it like that I just feel like we're just looking. I feel more freedom. I feel more freedom when we can get we can actually get the guy that we want, we can take the time.

We don't, we're in the driver's seat, so I feel that more than I feel pressure. First of all, he also made some reference to say that he had a high grade on Russell Wilson the year Russell Russell Wilson came out of the draft, it was a question about small quarterbacks. So he said don't read anything into it. I have a hard time believing that they traded from nine to one without in their mind being pretty sure who that number one was going to be. But whoever that is. If you don't draft one, you might not get it. Because I'm sure there's. I'll bet you that depending on the team. I don't know if anybody's got will Levis at number one. But depending on the team going into the draft. You could make an argument for young or Stroud or Richardson, I don't think you can make the argument that will Levis is the best quarterback prospect of the group.

But I think you can make an argument for the other three. And whether it's Bryce young who I think is the best passer in the group CJ Stroud who and we talked about it last week. And this is what I heard over the weekend. He's the safest pick. What does that mean? What is what is the safest pick mean to anybody? I don't know. I mean, is he the best passer? Well, maybe not the best passer. He's big. I don't even understand that. So is he just a game manager? Is he Mac Jones?

I mean, I really don't know. But that's the way it's been phrased. He's the safest pick. And then you've got Anthony Richardson who has the most game-changing athletic ability of the four but is completely raw as a quarterback.

And if you're drafting him one overall, he can't play in we in year one, right? It's not like when Cam Newton came out of Florida came out of Auburn. Cam was already a champion. He had just taken Auburn, put Auburn on his back. Notice how many pros didn't come out of Auburn. He put Auburn on his back and won a national championship because he was that guy. Anthony Richardson isn't that guy, but he's got the most athletic ability of anybody in this class and quarterback.

And he has shown flashes of great. He's going to need a year to kind of figure out the NFL game. So if they draft him number one, they can't really put him on the field. Young could play. Stroud could play. Richardson probably can't. But that doesn't mean that Richardson can't be that guy.

But I have a hard time believing that they would trade from nine to one and not have a pretty good idea over who that of who that guy is going to be. Wendy's two for six dollars lets you mix and match some of our best items. Dave single with a 10 piece crispy nugs, medium strawberry lemonade with a spicy chicken sandwich, spicy chicken with a Dave single Dave single with a strawberry lemonade, strawberry lemonade, strawberry lemonade. If you're into that chicken, Sam, crispy nugs, crispy nugs, strawberry lemonade, Dave's Dave's nugs, nugs, Sam Sam. Pick what you want at a price you want. Choose wisely. Choose Wendy's two for six for a limited time.