After last night’s (or this morning’s… whatever you want to call it) hoops contest in Spain, NC State basketball starts out their trip undefeated with an 83-76 victory over CB Torrejon.  NC State started the game slightly even with CB Torrejon at 23-21 in the first quarter before taking the lead to end the half.

For those of us aching for some sound-bytes, here you go…

Brown’s Recovery From Knee Surgery

Despite Lorenzo Brown’s off-season surgery, it appears he has made a full recovery.  According to the announcer, also NC State’s video coordinator, Brown is back in form and ready to play.  Despite that, a lot of the guard play fell to freshmen Tyler Lewis, at least at the beginning of the game.  By the end of the game, Brown had an impressive 25 points.

Purvis Is In Academic Trouble

How does a recruit enter college and have academic problems on day one?  Your school isn’t cleared by the NCAA for academic eligibility (what I don’t understand is how a high school diploma can be accepted by the academic community and not the NCAA).  Before Purvis is eligible to play, Upper Room Christian Academy must be approved by the NCAA Clearinghouse.  There is no time table on when Purvis will be cleared to play, but Gottfried’s comments indicate he’s hopeful that Purvis will be able to join the team in Spain… which implies a decision could be any day from now.

LSU Transfer Ralston Turner Not In Spain

It’s not a secret to many (most?) but LSU’s former guard Ralston turner is not in Spain.  Due to NCAA rules, he must sit out for the 2012-2013 season which apparently includes exhibition games.  This means that aside from Brown, the only true guard in Spain is Warren.  Scott Wood has also played guard periodically through the off-season.

Gottfried’s Assessment Of Freshmen

The Times News out of Burlington had a good summary of Gottfried’s opinions on his new talent (not necessarily a result of just this trip to Spain).

– On Purvis: “He is great in transition. If I was guarding him myself, I’m worried that he’s going to run me right over and dunk it on my head because he’s coming 100 miles an hour,” Gottfried said.

“I remember watching Herschel Walker in football, and watching Bo Jackson run right over guys, just so powerful. And Rodney’s like that. He’s just so quick and strong. He gets in the open floor and he’s hard to contain. So I think that’s his greatest strength.”

– On the 5-9 Lewis: “He’s as good of an open-floor passer — really, a passer in any aspect — as I’ve had. … He played with (7-1) Jordan (Vandenberg) one day when we were scrimmaging and Jordan ran the floor and boy he gave him three or four layups just like Joe Montana. I mean, it was amazing,” Gottfried said.

“I think he’s got a really good understanding of the game. I think he understands how to play. I think he’s one of those guys that late in the games you’ll feel real comfortable with him on the floor.”

– On Warren: “T.J. as a scorer has phenomenal potential. He can score the ball in a lot of different ways,” Gottfried said. “When it comes to putting the ball in the basket, he’s advanced for most guys his age. He knows how to do that pretty good.”

Howell Still Needs To Learn Restraint/Discipline

In the BC Torrejon game, Howell picked up three fouls in the first half of the game.  Keep in mind this was in an abroad game.  Unless the conspiracy theorists around us want to claim that UNC’s Axis-of-Evil is internationally, Howell may not have learned from last season’s foul troubles.