More Fun With Wolfpack Numbers

In light of acc_10k's excellent fan post detailing how some of N. C. State's current stars stack up in terms of career numbers, I decided to take a look at a handful of individual statistics from this season to see how they compared to great individual campaigns of year's past.

Richard Howell's rebounding numbers perhaps stand out the most, as he has a chance to do something no Pack player has done in nearly 60 years. Howell is averaging 11.1 rebounds per game; the last Pack player to grab as many boards per game was Bobby Speight in 1953. Howell has always been a beast on the boards--his 20.3% total rebound percentage this season is up just a tick from his career number of 19.6%--but his newfound ability to stay out of foul trouble has allowed him to stay on the floor and jack up his per game averages. With a career-high 12.8 points per game average, Howell is averaging a double double. College Basketball Reference tabs him as the Pack's MVP so far, crediting him with a team-high 2.9 win shares. It's hard to disagree.

Lorenzo Brown is making the show go with an ACC-leading 7.2 assists per game. No Pack player has averaged over seven assists a game since Chris Corchiani led the nation with 9.6 assists per game in 1991. The last time someone not named Corchiani accomplished the feat was the championship year of 1983 when Sidney Lowe contributed 7.5 assists per game.

Should he maintain his en fuegoness, T. J. Warren will post the highest field goal percentage for a Pack player since EVER (minimum 100 field goals made). Warren is shooting 65.3% from the field. The best mark in Pack history, for now, belongs to Kevin Thompson, who shot 62.4% in 1992. If Warren were to finish the season at 65.3% it would be the highest mark in the ACC since Carlos Boozer dropped ‘em down at a 66.5% clip in 2002.

Of course all of these individual efforts combine to form a formidable offense; the Pack averages 79.8 points per game, the best mark in the ACC and the team's highest output since averaging 81.2 points per game in 1996, which was mercifully the last season of the Les Robinson fun and gun era. Despite all the scoring, the Pack finished 15-16 that year. It was a considerably higher scoring era for the ACC; that, and that pesky losing record, make the 1996 numbers ring hollow.

Hopefully this year's high scoring unit is on the way to more than just individual accolades, but something special as a team as well.