RALEIGH — A mere six minutes into the N.C. State basketball season, and already things looked bleak.
Some team named Prairie View A&M marched into the Entertainment and Sports Arena, hit its first few shots and forced Wolfpack turnovers.
Fans remembering last year’s unimpressive 13-16 record began stirring in their seats. They needed someone to enter the game and right the ship, to make that awful 14-10 A&M lead go away.
The sparse crowd welcomed Scooter Sherrill for the first time this season with 13:26 remaining in the half. Sherrill drained a 3-pointer to tie the score at 14-all. Prairie View didn’t score for the next 10 minutes as State embarked on a 24-0 run.
All thanks to Scooter’s stellar play, right?
Perhaps, he allowed, flashing that trademark grin.
“I don’t know. Hopefully Coach realizes that: ‘Maybe Scooter Sherrill can play some defense after all,’” Sherrill said, putting some thoughts into Herb Sendek’s head. “I just went in and tried to play real hard, especially on defense. I go in every night trying to get better at that.”
Obviously, the Wolfpack sophomore from West Rowan High School didn’t single-handedly guide his team to Wednesday night’s 95-51 win. But Sherrill played a bigger role in the first-round victory of the Black Coaches Association Invitational than he did at any time last season.
The 13 points Sherrill scored marked a career high. So did the five assists and four made shots. His two steals tied last year’s top number, as did the nine field-goal attempts.
The primary number Scooter didn’t eclipse fell in the minutes played column, but good news could be found on that front, too. Sherrill only played 19 minutes because he left with more than 4 minutes to go in the blowout.
Scooter Time and Garbage Time didn’t share the same minutes on this night.
“To come in, play a little more tonight, help the team a little more tonight, it feels real good,”Sherrill said. “Last year was tough, not playing a lot, losing.
“I don’t really care about that (the career highs). We got a win.”
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Sherrill’s travails as a freshman are well known to his fans —and doubters — in Rowan County. The McDonald’s All-American arrived at N.C. State last season with high hopes and averaged just 13 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.7 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game.
A determined Sherrill enrolled for classes in both summer sessions at N.C. State. When he wasn’t working in the classroom, he was working on the court:3-point shooting, ball-handling, defensive drills.
“I told Coach I wanted to be here all summer. I could’ve gone home, but I wanted to stay,”Sherrill said. “My 3-pointer’s a lot better. I’m more consistent this year. Last year I was a very streaky shooter. A lot of teams don’t know anything about me, so they’re going to leave me open.”
Sherrill’s first shot as a sophomore came from the left corner with a Prairie View defender rushing at him. He elevated, stroked the shot and it swished home.
He missed his next 3-pointer, then led a fast break in which he sent a lob pass from half court to the skying Josh Powell, who converted the alley-oop layin for a 23-14 lead.
Sherrill exited minutes later. He hardly had a chance to sit down before the Panthers ended their 0-for-14 shooting drought.
Coincidence?Perhaps, but State still led 48-29 at the half.
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Sherrill stepped back onto the court four minutes into the final period. He faked a shot from the 3-point line, drove and hit a layup for his fourth and fifth points of the night.
A 3-pointer from the wing fell minutes later, and following three successful foul shots in four attempts, Sherrill picked up a pair of assists on a Jordan Collins jumper and a handoff to Levi Watkins, who cut through the lane for a monster jam.
The Wolfpack, somewhat lacking at the point guard position, played a guard-heavy lineup at times, and Sherrill occasionally found himself with the ball at the top of the key, barking out orders like a seasoned veteran.
“We’ve got a young team, so we’ve got to have leadership from everybody on the team,”said Sherrill, one of five returning contributors from last year. “Everybody’s got to communicate with each other, let them know where they’re supposed to be when guys are in the wrong place. That’s what I’m trying to do, be a little more vocal.”
Sherrill picked up one last assist, then finished off his scoring with a great cut through the lane and pretty reverse layup. He headed to the bench 4-for-9 from the field and 2-for-5 from the 3-point arc. Only one turnover — on too tight a pass in traffic in the paint — showed in the column next to his five assists.
Sendek sounded pleased when asked to assess Sherrill’s opener.
“I think we’re finally getting through to Scooter on trying to get him to play to his strengths,”Sendek explained. “I think he’s finally realizing the things he does well and scratching his head and saying, ‘You know what, I’m going to do the things I do well.’
“If he can do that, he’s going to be in position to help us more.”
Sendek touched on one key improvement in Sherrill’s game.
“One thing is, take the open shot — if you can believe that I have to tell anybody that in this day and age,”Sendek said. “He’s a good shooter and sometimes when he catches it, he thinks ‘shot’ second or third. If he’s open, I want him to shoot the ball.”
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Freshman sensation Julius Hodge, the latest State All-American, lived up to early expectations in his first start. He led the Pack with 16 points on 6-of-10 shooting and grabbed a game high 11 boards.
Fellow newcomer Powell added 13 points in a solid performance, and Collins dominated the boards at times, although he finished with just four rebounds. Another freshman, Ilian Evtimov, showed some opening-night jitters, failing to score and turning the ball over twice.
“At the beginning they were kind of nervous, but after they got into it they played real well,”said Sherrill of the freshmen, who have been asking for his input on handling the burdens of ACC basketball. “They’ve got to bring a lot (to the team). Josh Powell on the boards, Julius can do a lot of different things, Ilian, Levi, Jordan —all of them can play real well.”
On this night, so could Scooter Sherrill.
“It’s a confidence booster,”he said. “We’ve got a young team, so any win right now is a good step in the right direction.”
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Contact Steve Hanf at 704-797-4256 or shanf@salisburypost.com
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