ehyman@newsobserver.com
N.C. State's Mark Gottfried talks with C.J. Williams (21).
RALEIGH -- Out of 338 NCAA Div. I basketball teams, N.C. State ranks 312th in defending the 3-point line.
Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried didn't need to look up that statistic to know his team has to improve its perimeter defense and needs to do so quickly.
N.C. State (12-5, 1-1 ACC) visits Wake Forest today and the Demon Deacons (10-6, 1-1) boast two of the best wing scorers in the ACC in Travis McKie (18.0 points per game) and C.J. Harris (17.7). They rank second and third, respectively, in the ACC in scoring.
"We have to be better than we've been on the perimeter, or those guys will have big nights," Gottfried said Friday.
Closing out perimeter shooters has been a season-long issue for N.C. State, which has allowed opponents to shoot 38.1 percent (114 of 299) from behind the 3-point line. Georgia Tech made 60 percent (9 of 15) of its 3s in Wednesday's 82-71 win over the Wolfpack in the RBC Center.
Harris presents the latest challenge for the Wolfpack's defense. The junior guard has made 51.9 percent of his 3-point shots (27 of 52) this season for the Deacons, who rank fourth as a team in the ACC in 3-point shooting (36.2 percent).
In the first two ACC games, Maryland's Terrell Stoglin scored 25 points against State, and Georgia Tech's Glen Rice had 22, primarily while being defended by guard C.J. Williams.
Williams has been one of the most improved players on the team, as Gottfried correctly predicted before the season started, but the Wolfpack coach said he challenged the senior after the Georgia Tech loss.
"It's time to cut to the chase: he has to be better defensively on the perimeter, period," Gottfried said. "For our team to take a step to become better, we have to have a perimeter shut-down guy, and we think it's him."
Williams said after the Georgia Tech game that State needed to play better defense than it did in giving up 82 points to a Yellow Jackets team that was averaging only 64 points a game before Wednesday night.
"And I need to play better defense individually," Williams said Wednesday night.
Williams has had his share of tough assignments, and that figures to continue against Wake Forest, a team that has already matched its ACC win total from a year ago.
"They're a different team all together," said Gottfried, who worked one of Wake's ACC games last season as an ESPN analyst.
Harris in particular has flourished this season. Moving off the ball, having with Tony Chennault at the point and not having to share shots or minutes with departed guards Gary Clark and J.T. Terrell have helped Harris. The 6-foot-3 guard's scoring average has jumped more than seven points per game.
"He's a really smart and crafty offensive player," Gottfried said. "And he's skilled enough to make a shot on top of that."
Gottfried is hoping his team's perimeter defense is up to the challenge.
