The Observations from Reynolds immediately after NC State thrashed UNCW by 35 still hold the next morning. What looked like flashes against High Point stayed on the floor longer against UNCW, and both the numbers and the words from the postgame point the same way.

Qadence Samuels is playing with with reckless abandon, and the box score backs the eye. She finished with eight points and a team-high 10 rebounds in 31 minutes, which is exactly the kind of complementary night Moore has been looking for from someone who does not need the ball to matter. She gets to the glass and she plays in-your-face defense. After the game she said, “I did get rebounds last year, but I feel like I barely did. So one of my goals is to get every rebound, every game.” Against a team that finished with only 15 made field goals, she did her part of that, and she is not waiting for someone else to set the tone.

Pierre has turned it up with even more heat on both ends. She scored 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting with six boards in 25 minutes. She is the perfect NC State prototype right now, the one who gets little respect and an I will show you attitude. When she was asked if she already felt in mid-season form, she said, “Yeah, I would say I’m just focused on playing my game. I think just doing all the little things. I’m sure my game will come and be better and better.” The little things looked like the constant, and she was the reason the Pack can play with a different versions of the starting five and still control the game from the jump.

Moore’s defense is gonna travel. The first-quarter version from High Point lasted longer tonight, long enough that UNCW could come out pressing the ball and jumping passing lanes and the Pack still built a 38-13 halftime lead. Fast and furious is the right description for the pieces who can get after people. Leye, Samuels, and Lunan can close space without needing a scheme to hide them. Moore said, “We have spurts, we have flashes. We’ve got to try to put 40 minutes together, and that’s what it’s going to take when we start playing some of the ranked teams we have on the schedule and we get into ACC play.” That is the next test. Kentucky will tell them if the version that showed up for more than 10 minutes against a mid-major is real.

Pruitt has a sweet shot from three, and the first public look confirmed it. She finished with five points, including one of three from beyond the arc, in 20 minutes. A 6-3 wing who can fill it up is a problem for the league at some point. Moore said, “Again, we have struggled shooting the ball, and that’s something that she’s very capable of knocking down threes. But there’s so much, and again, I get it with these young players, new players. I’ve said before, it’s like taking a sip of water out of a fire hose.” The shot is already there. The rest has to catch up if she is going to be part of the answer this year instead of next.

I like the new look Pack. Moore has the pieces to create havoc on defense, and if they can build wins around that fact, they are going to be fine. The shorter, harder version he has been describing is not a theory anymore. The Pack scored 54 points in the paint and 20 off turnovers. The defense created the numbers, and the offense finished them inside. That is the outline of the identity he wants, and it was visible for more than one quarter.

The effort was more consistent, even with the things that still need work. They went 2-of-10 from three. Brooks was limited to 9:31 after tweaking her hip earlier in the week. Wooten was 1-of-10. Moore said, “Like I said, we got to shoot the ball better, take care of the ball better. We gave up some offensive rebounds. I think at halftime, over half their points had come off second-chance opportunities.” But the effort stayed with them past the first ten minutes. The second quarter against High Point was the gap. Tonight the gap was smaller, and that is progress even if the final margin was inflated by the opponent.

This team is a legit 9 deep. Trivette and Pruitt help in creating that depth. Trivette had four points and six assists in 15 minutes. Pierre said, “I think they’re both very talented. Annsley works out with me every morning. She works extremely hard and she’s just eager to be better each and every day. I think it’s really cool to not only see her get good minutes, but see her show her work. And same with KP.” Pierre continued, “I definitely would say they’ve gotten real comfortable early, just them going with the flow and playing with me and the seniors. I feel like they’ve gotten really comfortable really fast.” Moore said he is rotating who starts because he has several guards who could make an argument, and because he has people nicked up. Nine or ten who can give him minutes is the number he is working with before the season begins. He has a week to see if that holds when the games start counting.