Prospect Matchup Game Reviews: Miami (FL) vs NC State

Breaking down the single-game performance from NBA Draft prospects from Sunday afternoon.

On Saturday in Raleigh, NC we got ourselves an Atlantic Coast Conference overtime thriller that was led by two high scoring 2023 NBA Draft prospects. NC State was outscored by Miami in the second half of the game, but was able to respond and pull out a two point victory in overtime.

The Hurricanes were led by their 6-foot-4 senior guard, Isaiah Wong, who dropped 25 points on just nine attempts from the field and knocked down two 3-pointers.

The Wolfpack were paced by their do-it-all sophomore guard, Terquavion Smith, who surprised everyone by returning to school for the 2022-2023 college basketball season but again has his name entrenched in the first round discussion.

Isaiah Wong (Guard | Miami)

Jaylynn Nash-USA TODAY Sports

The 21-year-old (22 in two weeks) guard had an extremely efficient game scoring the basketball, and although he did have three uncharacteristic turnovers (averages under two per game), it was easy to like the pace that Wong played with.

He really took over offensively early in the second half after having to sit at the end of the first due to committing his second foul.

While he was not able to create much in true isolation situations, surprising for someone with his athleticism and explosiveness, he did show nice ability to operate in ball screens and did an incredible job getting himself to the free throw line for 10 attempts.

It would have been nice to see the New Jersey native take over a little bit more in overtime has he ended the extra five minutes with just two free throw attempts and no made field goals.

Overall, this game put on full display the story that Cerebro Sports metrics also tell. He has an overall C-RAM score of 10.3 and is better than 70 in point scoring prowess (PSP), 3-point efficiency (3PE), and floor general skills (FGS).

Perhaps the most impressive part of his offensive performance was the fact that he also took the matchup of guarding Smith on the other end of the court. While Smith was able to score 20 points, he needed 20 shots to get there and many of those were in transition or not while being guarded by Wong.

The Cerebro Sports metrics again back this up as Wong comes in with his best score in his defensive stats impact (DSI) of 89.

Terquavion Smith (Guard | NC State)

Bob Donnan / USA TODAY Sports

While Wong was extremely efficient from the floor, the 20-year-old Smith was quite different with those 20 points on 20 attempts and a rough 2-for-9 from behind the 3-point line.

The most likely first round pick, and potential lottery pick, still put on full display his complete scoring package at all 3-levels.

The constant pressure he puts on the defense always stands out when watching him play. While he does tend to take many difficult shots throughout a game, he is not selfish, and consistently uses his on ball gravity to create open looks for his teammates.

And it should be noted that while Smith takes plenty of difficult shots, he also makes his fair share of those shots whether from behind the arc or of the mid range pull up variety.

Much like Wong’s lack of late game offensive contribution, it was frustrating to not see Smith get a chance to win the game on the last possession of regulation and he only got one bucket during overtime.

It is worth mentioning that the North Carolina native did seem to be overly frustrated with the lack of calls throughout the game. On more than one occasion he seemed to be looking to draw a foul that was not called, as opposed to finishing the attempt and then would very emphatically show his displeasure.

There are some defensive concerns with Smith in terms of his size and awareness but he did have multiple possessions that showcased his willingness to compete and possible disruption at the next level.

His DSI score of 83 is an improvement from last year as is every other metric and his overall C-RAM of 9.4. This is even more impressive when you consider Smith most likely would have been a first-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft.

---

Want to join the discussion? Like Draft Digest on Facebook and follow us on Twitter to stay up to date on all the latest NBA Draft news. You can also meet the team behind the coverage.