NC State basketball season review: Markell Johnson edition

Previously on Wolfpack hoops review:

DJ Funderburk
Devon Daniels
Braxton Beverly
Jericole Hellems
CJ Bryce

Markell Johnson has made considerable strides on the court during every year of his college career. While he was more promise than anything as a freshman, he began to show it consistently as a sophomore, as he improved his shooting percentage dramatically while becoming one of the best facilitators in the country.

He built on those breakthroughs as a junior, putting together his best season at NC State as he evolved into a scary matchup problem for opponents.

Markell was more efficient across the board despite significantly upping his offensive workload, which is the sign of a big-time talent coming into his own. He took only 15% of the shots while on the court as a sophomore but that jumped to 22% last season—he was a primary scoring option for the first time in his career and his numbers did not suffer in the least.

He attempted more threes last season than he did in his first two years combined and shot a career-best 42.2% from beyond the arc. He also put up career-bests inside the arc (56.7%) and at the free throw line (74.7%).

The leap forward last year just makes me wonder what he’s capable of doing in his last season here. I don’t think there’s any question he can be a first-team All-ACC player in 2020, especially if he doesn’t endure any injury setbacks.

More games like this one are on the horizon: