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Omer Yurtseven wasn’t supposed to be the guy setting the pace for NC State’s offense this season, but here we are, fresh off a 22-point performance from the big man that rescued the Wolfpack from defeat against Wake Forest. Yurtseven has been outstanding in two of his last three games.
In ACC games, he’s been the dude; with Al Freeman’s prolonged slump—is slump the right way of framing this?—someone’s had to step into the void, and lately that’s been Yurtseven. Here are the shooting totals for each player through six games:
Sphere-heavin’
| Shooting in ACC games | eFG% | 2FG | 3FG | FT |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shooting in ACC games | eFG% | 2FG | 3FG | FT |
| Omer Yurtseven | 57.2 | 33-60 (.550) | 7-16 (.438) | 2-4 (.500) |
| Torin Dorn | 50.9 | 21-42 (.500) | 4-11 (.364) | 14-19 (.737) |
| Lennard Freeman | 50 | 18-36 (.500) | n/a | 10-16 (.625) |
| Braxton Beverly | 50 | 9-22 (.409) | 10-26 (.385) | 10-10 |
| Abdul-Malik Abu | 46.7 | 14-29 (.483) | 0-1 | 2-5 (.400) |
| Sam Hunt | 40.9 | 0-1 | 3-10 (.300) | 3-4 (.750) |
| Lavar Batts | 36.8 | 11-24 (.458) | 2-14 (.143) | 12-17 (.706) |
| Al Freeman | 31.3 | 13-43 (.302) | 7-32 (.219) | 14-18 (.778) |
(Markell Johnson is excluded since he’s only played in two games.)
Yurt’s workload is up substantially since ACC play began—he’s now taking a little over 29% of the Pack’s shots while he is on the floor, which is a substantial burden. So far so good.
Torin Dorn is off to a solid start, turnovers aside, and Braxton Beverly has been more accurate from three in ACC games, which is extremely necessary. This team needs Abdul-Malik Abu to step up his effort over the next six weeks if it wants to make a serious run at an at-large bid. Right now he’s not even justifying much playing time.
As for Al ... I dunno anymore, man. Maybe there is no end to the bad shooting.