T.J. Warren's Transition To Go-To Guy Is Going Well

With so many significant contributors gone, we knew that T.J. Warren was going to become the focal point of the offense this season. There were a couple of questions I had: just how much would his workload increase? How would that affect his efficiency? The early returns are pretty good.

When Mr. Buckets is on the floor, he is taking more than a third of the Pack's shots. Last season, that 34.5% mark would have ranked 13th among all D-I players. It's a huge number.

The impressive thing about this, considering the drastic increase in responsibility it represents, is that it really hasn't hurt his efficiency that much. Producing like this during the non-conference portion of the slate is obviously much different than doing it in ACC play, but it's remarkable nonetheless.

His ability to manage a massive workload is particularly valuable for this NC State team, because it alleviates pressure on a roster full of guys who are still finding their footing. In a sense, Warren is handling the workload of 1.5 players. That prevents the other players on the floor from feeling like they need to press their way into a primary scoring role. Instead they can be more selective and opportunistic, just kinda make it a collective effort, take what comes. They don't feel like they're carrying a piano on their backs, because Warren has that handled.