Family. It's time for a true look at your world. Let's get hooked up for Pack Therapy. Here's your host, Tim Donnelly and Graham Hill. Welcome back to another edition of the Pack Therapy podcast. Before we bring in our esteemed guests. I want to remind everybody to uh subscribe, like everywhere you can find your podcasts on our youtube channel 99 9 fan. Pass it along to your friends. Uh We greatly appreciate it. Uh I'm Tim Donnelly. Graham Hill hosting the show with me as always and joining us today, we have a, a senior guard for the NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team, Casey Morsel, uh Casey. Thank you very much for, for taking the time. Let's start with the important stuff. Uh What's it like inside the team locker room? Inside the team dynamic. Once your teammate flips the double birds, I mean, it, it was the double bird heard round the world. How do you interact with uh DJ Horn moving forward, man. It was crazy, man. We had no clue. Uh I didn't, I, I didn't see it. Uh It kind of just was something that um built up kind of over time and, um, you know, I remember, you know, one of our, our media guy, Craig, he kind of went up to him. He was like, you know, you know, you just went viral and, uh, it was, we were like, for what, like, you know, what happened and, uh, yeah, we, we saw what happened and, uh, you know, so we're, I mean, uh, DJ, you know, he learned from it and, uh, you know, it won't happen again. I mean, Star Wars Night is fun and all. But I think there could have been a prime opportunity to maybe pass out some foam fingers at the games, this past, this past Saturday. I don't know, Casey. Now that you're halfway through the season and you guys sit at 13, 5 overall, five and two in the AC C. What are some personal goals for you as a player that you're just trying to accomplish to get the team's success going? Uh, well, the personal goal for me, I mean, I'm just thinking championship. I mean, really, I mean, the personal accolades aren't really, uh, something that like, it's not really something I'm really chasing. It's just, you know, for me, I just want to go out on a high note, not just for NC state, but, um, for Raleigh, I mean, you know, the, the school deserves it. The city deserves a championship and that's my main focus. Take us into your mind a little bit here. Right? Because you talk about, you know, team, first team, always team only and, you know, every, every bit of your interaction has been that um but I, you know, to, to call a spade, a spade, you shot over 40% from three last year. You're down around 30 this year. We all know shooters shoot are, is, is that just the mindset, you have to get more shots up to get into a rhythm and eventually that's gonna hit. I mean, yeah. Uh I mean, I think shots will fall. Um Like you said, I mean, uh it was, it's a slump that went through. Um And the season is not over, it's only January. So, I mean, I think a hot streak is coming and, um you know, and now propel us to be very successful heading into March. Now, Casey, you had a good performance against Virginia Tech scoring 19 points but overall, as a team still struggling a little bit from three point shooting six of 19 as a whole, what, what are you guys doing in practice just to work on turning that around for the rest of the season? Yeah, I mean, just you guys gotta rep it out um in terms of our shooting, like we gotta, we gotta rep it out. Um And um for us, I mean, our identity is defense. So, I mean, we, we've placed a huge emphasis on locking teams down and, and, you know, doing the best. We can on the defensive end, but scoring is, you know, just as important, if not more. So we gotta, um, you know, just really just knock down shots, make shots. Um, that's simple. It's, it's, you know, you know, all of our mistakes are, are fixable and, um, that's some of the, the best thing, you know, that's the best position to be in when all your mistakes are fixable. I, I go back to when, when we caught up with each other at AC C tip off and, and in the preseason, so much about your season was, you know, these new faces coming in and, and all of these, the, the, the transfers and, and getting to know each other and you were talking about trying to get the team together, uh, you know, something like defense is so much about like rotations and knowing if, if, if you rotate, somebody's gonna have your back and somebody's gonna have their back and, and, and all those sorts of things are, are you there yet? You mentioned it's only halfway through the season, there's still a lot of basketball left to play MJ Rice Cam Woods or even later editions than, than at the beginning of the year, excuse me, because they came in kind of mid season. Are you to the point where like, you know, you all know each other in, in, you know, that freaky basketball thing where, you know, where each other is gonna be even without seeing them. Uh, well, I mean, we're not completely there yet. I'm gonna be honest, we're not completely there yet. But, um, you know, we're, we're definitely, I mean, that takes time, like that takes time. I mean, the year before we had so many extra practices due to our Bahamas overseas trip, like we were just, you know, we have more, more time to kind of figure it out, but now, you know, we'll get there eventually and, um, we're heading in that direction. I mean, guys are coming in producing, um, especially on the defensive end JT and, um DJ just figuring out, you know, where guys will be and Mo coming in being a, a stretch in terms of finishing the possession cause that's a major part of the defense is finishing the possession and eliminate second chance opportunities. So, um, you know, we're, we're building and we're heading in that direction. How difficult is that to do in AC C play, right? We, we are all aware of the, the meat grinder. That is the AC C where one game finishes you. I mean, there's no time to, to dwell on that. The next game is, is bearing down at you. How difficult is it to kind of continue getting to know people and continuing to learn where they like things while also, right? The scouting report, you gotta be onto the next game right away. Yeah, it's all important. It's all important. It all goes hand in hand essentially like, um, you know, the sound of word knowing, you know, somebody's, you know, if they prefer left or right, just as important as, you know, you know, someone preferring to shoot from the corner three on, on your own team. So, I mean, I, I it all kind of goes hand in hand and you, you need both to be at a very high level in order to win Casey. I want to look ahead to you guys' next game Virginia tomorrow night. Uh, what's this game like for you personally? I know you used to play there. Is it always kind of a little bit of an emotional trip back up to Charlottesville when you play these guys, you know, honestly, you know, it, it's been so long that, you know, I'm three years removed. So, I mean, you know, yes, I, I do have history but, um, you know, it was, you know, I kinda, I don't know, I mean, it doesn't really feel like, um, anything, anything special. I kind of think of it as like a normal game just because I played against them so many times already in a, in a wolf pack uniform. Um, so, I mean, you know, the state, you know, I mean, the, the jitters and everything that's, that was years ago, but talking scouting report, right? You have to know that system better than, than most. You almost turned into an assistant coach this week about, you know, like, hey guys, this is the pack line, this is what they're trying to do to us. Yeah. Yeah. So, I mean, actually, you know, I spent a lot of time on our, on our scout team, um, just trying to, uh, mimic, you know, how they do block a mover and, and how they run their, how they run their offense. But, uh, you know, I, I, it's, it's different um, this year, um from when I was there, um just simply, just because like, um the, I don't know, their dynamic is just different, like the bigs that I play with are different from their bigs. Like, you know, I play with the more traditional, you know, the Mais, um Jay Huff's like Fran, like, they don't, they don't have that type of uh physicality in the front court. Um They got a lot of guys who prefer to shoot the three and play on the wing. Um Even Jay Huff, like he, you know, he could shoot the ball but he was, you know, looking for lobs for the most part and, and stuff around the basket. So, you know, um their, their dynamic is different, but for the most part, their, um found foundation is still the same le le let's talk about your bigs in that same way. Middlebrooks and Diarra to me over the last couple of games have, have really impressed and shown that, you know, they should be dependent upon maybe even more off the bench. What are you seeing out of, out of those two guys? Right. The DJ burns it, it's so unusual. It's so different than what we see from the other guys, but, but from Dr and Middlebrooks, what, what are they developing into for your squad? Yeah, I mean, I, I think it all starts on the defensive and they, they, they had a, a great spark in terms of, you know, being able to guard ball screens and, and, and finish possessions. Um, and, and that's what we need because, you know, especially come, coming down the stretch, a lot of teams just try to, um, a lot of teams just try to go into ball screen actions, um, essentially try to win the game. So the fact that we could, like, you know, have that, um, have that kind of figured out heading into crunch time. I mean, it, it provides a great spot for our team. Ok. So when you guys played these, when you guys played Virginia back on January 6th at PNC Arena, to me, it felt like one of your more balanced games, both on offense and defense. What was working so well for you guys on that win or in that win, you said at PNC arena at PNC are, yeah, back on January 6. Yeah. Uh, well, I mean, we were able to guard at a high level, um, and when we were able to guard, we were able to score, um, and it, it led the easy opportunities on the offensive end for us. Um, and, uh, you know, I think, you know, when we got up a good amount, we were able to kind of keep the lead simply because, you know, U VA doesn't, they don't play fast and, you know, when they're down, they're not used to playing fast and trying to, you know, rush back to get to the league. Like, so that's not really who they are. But, um, so that's pretty much, you know what it takes. I mean, that's pretty much the same strategy head in this game. You gotta get a comfortable lead and be able to run with it because, um, you know, you don't wanna be down the U VA and it's, it's, it's gonna be tough. It's gonna be a long, long grind, trying to come back. I wanna ask you a quick question about coach Keats because I mean, you brought it up. You, you've now been in Raleigh a long time. I, you know, there's transfers and there's transfers that happened a long time ago and you're, you're well established here in Raleigh. So you've seen, you know, Keats over the years and I think this season he's, he's let fans in a little bit more on, on maybe his like edge or his anger or his intensity. Uh, obviously, the Wake Forest game is the, the one where it all came to a, uh, you know, an explosion and the ejection and after the game and everything. But do you see a different coach? Keats when it comes to like, hey, we're not, no one's gonna be able to say we're not a tough team or, uh, you know, practice or games. Like, do, do you see a difference this year based on the years you've been, been, uh, playing for him in the past? Oh, um, no, I mean, I'm be, no, I mean, he, he's, he's kind of been the same, I guess he is showing a little more, uh to the public this year. But, um, he, he's a very passionate guy. Um, and as much as, you know, I guess in his public facade, he, he tries to be very professional and, and, and, you know, just, you have a good image but he, he's a, he's a good guy that's very passionate and, uh he cares about the game and he wants to win, you know, just as much as everybody else in the program. So, um, that's really what we need, man. That's really what, uh you know, makes a big difference, his passion and, and his, uh, you know, his value for, for winning at a high level. Um, it's, it's really what, you know, has propelled us to be who we are. So, so is it coach, is it you, is it, is it one of the other veterans when a game, like the Virginia tech game happens and that in the second half, particularly on the defensive side, some of the things that you, you wanted to do going into the game weren't able to happen, who's the one kind of grabbing the team and, and, you know, letting them know we need to be better than that or, or that's not how we play basketball. Yeah, I mean, um, honestly during the game, I mean, I, I it's one of those things where I guess V tech that they, um, you know, they were making adjustments fast. Um, and a, as a player on the court, you, you're trying to realize, ok, take away one thing and then, you know, they hit the next option, right? So, um, it, it wasn't one of those things that we were playing bad. I mean, they were just hitting shots at a high level. Um, and, um, we were, you know, playing hard, we followed, you know, scouting reports, followed strategies and, um, you know, you know, so they were, they were just still, um, make a shot and this is the AC C is a high level, you know, you people are gonna make, you know, tough shots and, and, you know, and especially coming down to cars time. So, yeah, I guess, you know, I guess on the court, I guess it's me and off the court keeps Sh Coach Gates also mentioned after the Virginia Tech loss that he wanted to see you guys get back to being tougher as a team. Where is that store as a unit for y'all? Um Well, I think we're tough. Um I think we, we can, you can always be tougher. Uh especially, you know, I think, you know, as a player, one of the things that kinda, um got to us in the VT game was definitely fatigue. So fighting through that battle, um, you know, playing full court and al also running fast, uh, on the offensive end. Um, and, you know, that, that played a part but, um, I think one another thing for us is also just, you know, being smart, I mean, toughness is, I mean, I guess that's really what it is. I mean, we just weren't as, um, locked in for a full 40 minutes and, um, like I said, I mean, that, that definitely gave, uh V tech an advantage heading into the second half. I mean, 52 points is never, um, is never acceptable no matter, no matter what it is. Uh, we, we brought up that, that, uh, you know, kind of amongst your personal relationship that, that it's U VA next. But, but taking aside from the fact that you started your career there, how important is this game for, as you mentioned, it's ac C everybody can play U VA may be having a down season, but you thought to be locked in like we just talked about for the, for the full game and, and get things rolling. How important is it for your season, this game on Wednesday? Oh, yeah, it'll be huge. It'll be huge. Um, you know, we let one go against V Tech, um, and that was, you know, a big loss just because, you know, that would have been only one loss for us in conference. Um, but, uh, you know, we, we got lucky with, you know, pretty much all the other teams behind us kind of losing. So, uh, we're still kind of in second place, but, um, just, just locking in on this, this, uh, how can in on this, this Virginia game will definitely give us a more comfortable position. I'm heading into the weekend so everyone matters, um, especially in this league. And I don't know, I mean, I don't know how many bids we'll get head into March. So, uh, you know, winning as many games as possible. It all matters actually, you know, I know we're, we're using a lot of your time here but, uh, when, when you bring up the, uh, the AC C bids, uh, is it, is it weird? I mean, I, I grew up with the AC C, like you're gonna get eight bids you're gonna get like, it's, it's eight or 10. Right. That's how it is this year. I, I don't know how much you pay attention to the bracketologist. I don't know if, I don't know how long you have to go to school to become a bracketologist. But, uh, the bracketologist are saying it could be three, it could be four which makes the regular season so much more cutthroat in the AC C if, if, if you're only getting that many teams in, like, how, how are you guys tracking that? I mean, you brought up how many bids there's gonna be? Is, is that something the team is, is talking about? Yeah. Yeah, I mean, 100%. Um, I mean, you know, every game matters and I'm not gonna lie. This is the most I I've talked about in terms of quads and quad, one, quad 23, fours. Like, you know, you let me know because sometimes makes any sense to me. Oh my God, this is the most. Um, I, I've talked about the net ranking and like all that stuff, I mean, but it, it, it all matters. I'm heading to, um, you know, the postseason. So, like you said, I mean, it is definitely way more cutthroat than, you know, it's ever been throughout my five years of playing in the conference. Ok. So obviously the net, right, kids and bracketologist is never a fun conversation. So let me ask you a fun question. It's just my final question for you when you guys win in Charlottesville tomorrow. What's your first choice of flavor ice cream following a road win since you've been around Keats for a while? We know the, the ice cream celebrations are, are his forte? Yeah. Yeah. Um, ok, so it's a seven o'clock game. We'll probably end around like nine, the detail about 10. So I'm trying to think what's the UB A though? So they're gonna shorten the game. It'll be like 845. They're, but you get out the arena around 10. So, I mean, probably, I mean, I don't know what's open in ice cream places. I mean, probably we'll probably just get some insomnia, insomnia cookie. Ok. Um, that's usually open late, so that'll probably be the go to get that nil deal. Uh, Casey. We appreciate you for taking the time. Good luck the rest of the season. We'll be paying attention. Thank you guys. Thanks for having me.