Ben Middlebrooks’ inspired play helped key NC State basketball to first-round victory
N.C. State’s Ben Middlebrooks has a small tattoo on his chest over his heart that says “Joshua 1:9.”
Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.
It’s an inspirational verse to Middlebrooks, a reminder of who he is and who he wants to always be, of how he wants to spend his life.
In terms of his basketball, the 6-10 junior forward is a strong guy. He’s a 240-pound battler in the paint. Afraid or dismayed? That’s not in Middlebrooks’ DNA.
In the Pack’s 80-67 NCAA Tournament win Thursday over Texas Tech, Middlebrooks had a career-high 21 points. With Mo Diarra getting 17 points and 12 rebounds and D.J. Burns coming on late for 16 points, the Wolfpack (23-14) had its way over the shorter Red Raiders, the No. 6 seed in the South Region.
“Middlebrooks was the one who really hurt us the most,” Texas Tech coach Grant McCasland said. “He’s been scoring but not scoring like this.”
Middlebrooks had one point in the Pack’s ACC Tournament championship game last week, although he did hurt Virginia in the semifinals with a solid 12-point, six-rebound game. His season high was 14 points in the Wolfpack’s win over Wake Forest at home in mid-January.
“But this is a bigger stage, here in March Madness,” Middlebrooks said.
Middlebrooks had 14 points by halftime Thursday. When taken out of the game in the second half, the transfer from Clemson received a rousing ovation from the N.C. State contingent at PPG Paints Arena.
“I think he brings a little more athleticism than I can give our guys,” Burns said Thursday. “His defensive ability is really what’s made a name for him and got him here. Now he’s able to showcase his offense, you really get to see how hard he’s working.”
Bedtime in France
While it was a late-night start for the Wolfpack on Thursday, the NCAA game resulted in an all-nighter for Mohamed Diarra’s mother in France, he said.
The game ended at 12:22 a.m. Eastern time. That was 5:22 a.m. at the Diarra home outside Paris.
“She texted me after the game saying, ‘I can finally go to bed!’” Diarra said, laughing.
Justin Gainey: ‘It’s hard’
Among those who have been watching the Pack’s postseason run from afar has been former point guard Justin Gainey, now the associate head coach under Rick Barnes at Tennessee.
As a freshman in 1997, Gainey played all 160 minutes in four games as the Wolfpack reached the title game before losing to UNC. A decade later, he was on Sidney Lowe’s staff when the Pack again played four games and again lost to UNC in the championship game in Tampa, Florida.
This year, the Wolfpack went five games and beat North Carolina for its first ACC title since 1987.
“And so now to see those guys back at it, it’s like, the third time’s got to be the charm,” Gainey said Wednesday. “It was fun to watch. I was excited for those guys to finally get that breakthrough.
“I thought Coach Keatts and his staff did an amazing job. The players showed a connectedness and a toughness to persevere through five. I mean, it’s hard.”
Quotable
“Kentucky had three 7-footers and even Tre Mitchell is 6-9. I think we got a good taste of what we will see (Saturday). Although D.J. Burns is a little bigger than them.”
— Trey Townsend, Oakland senior forward
More on Oakland
For those wondering about Oakland University, it’s a school of 20,000 students in Rochester, Michigan, a northern suburb of Detroit.
Oakland’s sports teams were called the Pioneers before being renamed the Golden Grizzlies in 1998. Greg Kampe has been the men’s basketball coach since 1984, and has 699 career wins.
Among the Oakland alums: Tony Award winner and Broadway actress Jayne Houdyshell, jazz master Hank Jones and actor David Hasselhoff.
“We put Oakland on the map last night,” Townsend said. “Everybody is talking about us.”
