NC State basketball season review: Devon Daniels edition

Previously on Wolfpack hoops review:

DJ Funderburk

Devon Daniels, basketball anarchist! Devon Daniels, perpetual trick-shot practicer! Devon Daniels, professional improvisor!

However you’d like to describe Daniels’ game, it’s definitely unorthodox. Often his field goal attempts came with a high degree of difficulty, and almost just as often, they looked a bit weird. He’s talented enough to make those shots go in at a decent clip, but that style did work against him in the long run. Turns out that shot difficulty has a rather direct impact on one’s efficiency.

Daniels improved his outside shooting in league play, at least, but it was still well below average, and that was where he needed to make up for his poor shooting inside the arc. He has got to be better than a 45% shooter inside the arc if he’s going to be a consistent impact player for NC State in the ACC. Particularly if he’s going to continue turning the ball over at such a high rate.

Perhaps we can blame some of this performance on moving from the Pac-12 to the ACC, but probably moreso it had to do with an expanded role and the bigger expectations that came with that. He was a secondary scorer in one year at Utah and became a primary option in Raleigh, and that shift is not always seamless. Hopefully he’ll feel more comfortable next season and that’ll make a difference.

Because we know he can be an impact player—we’ve seen him take over for stretches, just not as frequently as we’d prefer.