November 17 Emerald Coast Classic Notebook

***Wake Forest guard Cameron Hildreth***

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UPCOMING SCHEDULE

(All times listed are central)

Wednesday, Nov. 17 Games

Charleston Southern at Wake Forest, 6 p.m., ACCNX

Thursday, Nov. 18 Games

Greensboro at North Carolina A&T, 5 p.m.

St. Francis Brooklyn at Penn State, 6 p.m. Big 10 +

McNeese at LSU, 7 p.m., SEC Network

Samford at Oregon State, 8 p.m., PAC-12 Network

Saturday, Nov. 20 Games

North Carolina A&T at Wake Forest, 3 p.m. ACCNX

Sunday, Nov. 21 Games

Princeton at Oregon State, 2 p.m., PAC-12 Network

Monday, Nov. 22 Games

Carver at McNeese State, 6:30 p.m.

Belmont at LSU, 7 p.m., SEC Network

Cornell at Penn State, 7:30 p.m., Big Ten Network

Tuesday, Nov. 23 Games

St. Francis Brooklyn at St. John’s, 6 p.m., FS1

Kennesaw State at Wake Forest, 7 p.m. ACC Network

North Carolina A&T at Stanford, 9 p.m., PAC-12 Network

LSU OFF AND RUNNING: For more than 2,500 days, Will Wade has woken up every morning and run at least a mile.

Perhaps the fastest speed he’s clocked during that streak came Monday night, when he wrapped up his on-court, post-game interview and sprinted directly to LSU’s locker room following the Tigers’ 74-58 win over Liberty.

If there’s a little extra pep in the General’s step, it’s not just because his team is 3-0, with consecutive wins over teams with tournament hopes come March.

It’s how his team is 3-0. On offense, they go. On defense, they guard. On both ends, they grind.

That’s why after three games, the Tigers – like their coach – are off to the races.

“We were all over the place tonight,” Wade said after the game. “I’ve sensed that for months. But you never know until the lights come on. We’ve got a great way about us.”

GREATER EXPECTATIONS FOR BEAVERS: They were the surprise of the Pac-12 last season. Now the Oregon State Beavers must live up to heightened expectations.

The Beavers were selected to finish fourth in the Pac-12’s preseason media poll. It’s the highest they’ve been picked since the 1992-93 season, when they were selected to finish third.

That’s quite a leap from last season, when Oregon State was picked to finish dead last.

The Beavers went 20-13 (10-10 in the Pac-12) before winning the Pac-12 tournament for the first time — rolling through UCLA, Oregon and Colorado in the process.

But they didn’t stop there. Making the NCAA Tournament as the No. 12 seed, Oregon State defeated No. 5 Tennessee and No. 4 Oklahoma State — the team’s first tournament wins since 1982 — before downing Loyola-Chicago to advance to the Elite Eight. The run ended with a loss to Houston.

The Beavers are hoping to build on that success this season.

CREATING STRONG COMMUNITY TIES: The Penn State men’s basketball program is full of new faces this season, and the team is looking to help familiarize the community with the new group. The Nittany Lions have prioritized the idea of ‘showing up’ for their community this past offseason.

In preseason activities the team participated in community-based events that introduced the players while allowing them to form connections with fans.

“I think that it is important that we show up and support people in any way we can,” said new head coach Micah Shrewsberry. “Whether that’s going to sporting events, handing out food, or raising money for THON, we should be helping them as a team. It’s no different than me asking for their support on game day.”

Shrewsberry makes it his goal to take the team to the fans and support Penn State students off the basketball court.

“I went to a Penn State’s men’s club basketball game on Saturday afternoon. The team sent me their schedule and I am going to try to attend the games,” he said. “They said that they are coming to watch us play and I think the supporting effort needs to be both ways. We should go see them too. I want people cheering for their friends, not just a team.”

WAKE FOREST FRESHMAN MAKING ADJUSTMENTS: College decisions are arduous under normal conditions, but the 2021 recruiting class had it even more difficult because official visits weren’t allowed during the early onset of the Covid-19 pandemic. The vast majority of first-year players across all sports never had an opportunity to visit the campus of the school they selected.

That’s a tough proposition for anyone but consider the added impediment for a prospect from the United Kingdom, like Wake Forest basketball’s Cameron Hildreth.

Not only did he not get to visit campus, but he also entered the recruiting process not really knowing all that much about Wake Forest and had just cursory knowledge of the ACC, the premier college basketball conference in the country.

The connections between Hildreth and the Wake Forest basketball staff were all made virtually, largely through Zoom meetings.

“This was one of the more difficult things,” Hildreth said. “We messaged all the time and Zooms had been a major thing for us. We built each other’s trust. It was kind of like a relationship that built quickly, especially with (assistant) Coach (Brooks) Savage. The relationship I built with him over that time allowed me to trust their whole process.”

“Speaking with Coach Forbes, you could tell he’s an amazing guy. He’s experienced and is a great mentor. He will get on you in practice, but then compliment you when you do something well. The relationship we’ve built both on and off the court has been great. He knows he can trust me, and I know I can trust him. That’s great to have as a coach and a player.”

The adjustments have continued for Hildreth since he arrived in Winston-Salem early this summer.

HEADLINES

November 17 Emerald Coast Classic Notebook

UPCOMING SCHEDULE

HEADLINES

LSU

OREGON STATE

PENN STATE

WAKE FOREST

MCNEESE STATE

NORTH CAROLINA A&T

SAMFORD

ST. FRANCIS BROOKLYN