Bates Shows Offensive Potential Just When Wolfpack Needs It

Redshirt freshman big man Manny Bates posted career highs of 15 points and 10 rebounds Saturday to help pull NC State through to a 77-73 win against Pittsburgh

NC State basketball coach Kevin Keatts has said from Day One that it's only a matter of time before Manny Bates adds an effective offensive element to his already elite shot-blocking skills.

Saturday against Pittsburgh at PNC Arena, the redshirt freshman picked a great time to provide a glimpse of his shot-making potential.

Bates scored a career-high 15 points, going 5 of 6 from the floor and making three of his five free throw attempts. He also had a personal best 10 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end, and five blocks to help pull the Wolfpack through to a hard-fought 77-73 victory. 

His surprise performance couldn't have come at a better time with stars Markell Johnson, C.J. Bryce and Devon Daniels all shooting poorly and State in desperate need of a win to keep its NCAA tournament hopes alive.

“That kid played really good basketball and I want you to think about one thing, he’s a freshman and has gotten better," Keatts said after the victory that improved his team to 18-11 overall (9-9 ACC). "If he starts scoring the ball offensively, then he could be a really good basketball player for NC State."

Bates has already made more of a contribution to the Wolfpack that some thought possible, considering that he missed both his senior year of high school and a redshirt season with the Wolfpack because of multiple surgeries to repair a shoulder problem.

He still wears a brace under his uniform in an effort to prevent another injury.

The 6-foot-11 Fayetteville native is averaging 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds per game while leading the ACC -- and ranking sixth nationally -- with 81 blocked shots.

Although Saturday's performance was his fourth double-figure scoring effort of the season, this one is different in that he appeared to be making a much more conscious effort to be involved on the offensive end than ever before.

As rewarding as his first career double-double was, Bates said that the motivating factor behind his sudden burst of aggressivness was the the success of his team as a whole.

"What allowed me to play so well is that I just wanted to win," Bates said afterward. "I'm here to do whatever Coach wants me to do. If he says rebound, I'm going to rebound. I just had the mentality to get every rebound today. I'm definitely feeling more confident every day."

Bates made one of the most significant plays of the game in the final seconds of the first half when he was able to save a lob from Johnson from going out of bounds, collected himself and scored as he was fouled.

He made the free throw to narrow a four-point deficit to just one heading into the intermission.

The young big man also played a major role in State's decisive 22-12 run to close out the game over the final 7 1/2 minutes and was especially important his team's other inside presence, D.J. Funderburk, picked up his fourth foul and eventually fouled out.

Bates' finish off a feed from a driving Johnson was the basket that extended the Wolfpack's lead to 68-63 with 4:30 left and finally gave it the separation it needed to get to the finish line.

"Coach always tells us he needs everybody," Bates said. "If somebody goes out, somebody has to step up. So when D.J. went out, I tried to step up and get more rebounds."

Funderburk said he wasn't surprised to see Bates come through in such a key situation.

"We just try to give him the confidence," Funderburk said. "Lately we've been telling him just to keep working. When he gets the ball at practice a lot of the time, he might pass it out. So what Markell will do sometimes is give it right back to him. So now you don't have an option but to work on your game a little bit.

"I'm happy for him. He came out with the most energy of anybody on the team at the beginning of the game and it showed all the way through."

On at least one occasion, Bates had a little too much energy for Keatts' liking.

It came midway through the first half when he found himself open on the baseline and with no one else open to pass the ball to, he fired up a 12 foot jumper that missed badly.

“I was wondering why he took that jump shot," the State coach said. "I was really mad at him. I was like 'why did you take that jump shot?'"

The momentary lapse in judgement was one of the few negatives of an otherwise breakout performance.

"He did some good things today," Keatts said. "But he did two things that gave me a chance to coach him about. He took that jump shot in the first half and then he got a great rebound and instead of kicking it out at the end of the game, he tried to go up and he lost it. 

"But that is what freshmen do. He's going to be a good player for us. My coaches have done a tremendous job in developing him, If he gets confidence on the offensive end, he could be really dangerous.”