NC State looks to bounce back, with or without injured point guard Markell Johnson
N.C. State’s basketball season took a turn the moment Markell Johnson landed on the court against Pittsburgh, injuring his back.
The question now: can the Pack right itself until he’s back and again playing like, well, Markell Johnson?
Not that there’s a lot of time to ponder that question. Clemson will be at PNC Arena on Saturday, looking to right itself after falling to 1-4 in the ACC. That’s followed by the Pack’s games against Virginia, Virginia Tech and then at North Carolina.
It’s a gauntlet but the ACC is that way every season. It’s crunch time every game and there is no sympathy for teams that might be missing a key player or losing some close games.
“It’s going to be challenging,” Pack guard Braxton Beverly said Thursday after the 84-77 loss at Louisville. “It doesn’t matter how much time you have to rest or how quick the game is. Every team is good, every team is talented. You’ve got to be ready to go.”
Johnson’s value to the Pack (15-4, 3-3 ACC) can’t be overstated. Things run a lot more smoothly offensively with the junior point guard, who’s also a threat to slash to the basket or knock down a 3-pointer.
Johnson crashed to the PNC Arena floor during the Pack’s win over Pitt on Jan. 12, landing on his back after rising high attempting to block a shot. He missed the game at Louisville -- State is 1-2 without him -- and probably is questionable at best for the Clemson game.
NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said he would take another look at Johnson in practice Friday, saying Johnson was “65 or 70” percent on Thursday in a morning shootaround at Louisville KFC Yum! Center and not able to go.
“We’ll try to throw him into limited action when we start preparing (for Clemson),” Keatts said.
Even if Johnson were to play Saturday, he has been very limited in practice. With a sore lower back, he hasn’t been able to push himself full-tilt, relegated to taking shots before finally getting in some five-on-five play at the shootaround.
But as senior Torin Dorn said after the game, “He’s one of our better players and it would be good to have him back, whenever he comes back.”
The Tigers (11-7), in their last game, had an eight-point lead early in the second half at Florida State, only to have the Seminoles surge to 77-68 win in Tallahassee, Fla. Aamir Simms had 18 points and Elijah Thomas another double-double for the Tigers with 17 points and 11 boards.
Poor shooting in the second half -- Clemson was 10-26 from the field, 1-for9 on 3s -- was a factor in the game. Tigers coach Brad Brownell also was not happy with the Tigers’ defense down the stretch of the game.
The Pack’s offensive execution degenerated into too much one-on-one play and sloppy ballhandling in the second half Thursday. “We tried to force a lot of things that we need to clean up,” Beverly said.
N.C. State’s 23 turnovers were a season high and accounted for 37 Louisville points. The Pack had 22 against Auburn, but was able to pull out a 78-71 win -- with Johnson scoring 27 points.
The only thing the Pack can do for now is remain competitive, contesting passes, contesting shots, making it a team effort on the boards.
And as Beverly said, “Cleaning up some little mental mistakes that we can easily fix. We’re going to play hard no matter whether we’re down 10, whether we’re down 30 or whether we’re up 15. We’re going to play hard.”
