Breaking down NC State

Key player

Terry Henderson, G, jr., 6-5, 195: Mark Gottfried is fairly clear on the West Virginia transfer’s value to this N.C. State team.

“I don’t know that we’re a great team if Terry Henderson averages 5 points a game,” Gottfried said. “He has to step up for us.”

Henderson, who’s from Raleigh, averaged 11.7 points per game for the Mountaineers in 2013-14 and made 47 3-pointers. He sat out last season after transferring, and Gottfried hopes he follows the successful pattern of transfers in the program.

Guards Trevor Lacey (Alabama) and Ralston Turner (LSU) were N.C State’s two best scorers last season, and both were able to use the season they sat out to get better.

N.C. State will need Henderson to make some 3s but also handle the ball when Barber is not in the game.

Key game

Michigan, Dec. 1: N.C. State has survived some potential pitfalls outside the ACC to lesser-known schools, but it usually has a marquee win to balance that out. The Wolverines open the season ranked No. 25 and come to PNC Arena as a part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. They are the only Power 5 team N.C. State will play at home before the conference schedule starts.

Key stat

72.8 percent: Guards Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner combined to make 172 of 236 of N.C. State’s 3-point baskets last season.

Best case

Back to the tournament: Junior point guard Cat Barber follows in the footsteps of T.J. Warren (2014) and Trevor Lacey (2015) and takes control as the primary scorer and leads the Wolfpack back into the NCAA tournament for a fifth straight year.

Barber, who averaged 12.1 points per game last season, and sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu (6.4 points per game) both take a significant jump and carry the Wolfpack offense.

Sophomore forward BeeJay Anya (91 blocks) and the Martin twins, sophomores Cody and Caleb, charge up an improved defense to get the Wolfpack to 12 ACC wins and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament.

Worst case

Wait till next year: If Barber misses any significant amount of time, the entire season will be reduced to a countdown until next year when highly touted point guard Dennis Smith arrives.

Without Barber at his best, N.C. State would be lucky to get a spot in the NIT field, no matter how much the forwards and Martins improve.

Joe Giglio

This story was originally published November 11, 2015 at 12:08 AM with the headline "Breaking down NC State."