Bates, Andree Questionable For Georgia Tech
NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts is hopeful, but not confident that his NC State basketball team will have at least one, if not both Manny Bates and Pat Andree back in the lineup for Saturday’s road game at Georgia Tech.
Both players missed Monday’s win at Virginia with injuries and had not yet returned to the court before Keatts met with the media Thursday afternoon before practice.
“Both of them will be questionable for the game on Saturday,” the Wolfpack coach said. “I don’t have a timetable for when each of them will return. There’s a possibility, and I say a small possibility, that they play Saturday. I’m very hopeful. But we’re looking beyond Saturday if they can’t and see if they’ll be available for Monday” for a home matchup with rival North Carolina.
Bates, a 6-foot-11 redshirt freshman who leads the ACC in blocked shots, was injured early in last Saturday’s win against Clemson when he took a direct blow to the back of his neck while trying to defend the Tigers’ Aamir Sims.
He was placed in concussion protocol and did not make the trip to Charlottesville with the team two days later.
Keatts said Thursday that Bates, who averages 5.7 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game,. is no longer in the protocol and is showing signs of being close to a return. It is not known whether he participated in practice on Thursday.
“I think he is symptom-free as of either (Wednesday) evening or this morning,” Keatts said. “But when I say that, obviously, he hasn’t practiced with us.”
Andree injured his right ankle later in that game against Clemson when he came down on another player’s foot while battling for a rebound.
While he made the trip to Virginia, his foot was still in a walking boot. He is averaging 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds while shooting 35 percent from 3-point range.
Without Bates and Andree, State is down to only seven available scholarship players.
That didn't prevent the Wolfpack from going to Virginia and beating the defending national champions on Monday, rallying from behind in the final four minutes despite having one of its remaining players -- big man D.J. Funderburk -- fouling out early.
While redshirt senior wing C.J. Bryce is confident that he and his shorthanded team have the ability to pull out another victory at Georgia Tech if necessary, he said he'd much rather have everyone healthy and in uniform.
"Not having Pat Andree, who's one of our sharpshooters, and Manny Bates, who can block shots like anyone else in the nation ... for us to still go to Virginia and get that big road win for us was a huge statement for us," Bryce said. "Hopefully we'll get them back within a week or so. With us being full strength, I feel like we can matchup up with anyone on the country."
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