N.C. State Basketball Flashcard

The Wolfpack lacks experience at point guard but has talented veterans everywhere else.

Posted 12:01 a.m. Oct 12, 2007 — Updated 6:13 a.m. Oct 22, 2007

J. Mike Blake

Coach: Sidney Lowe

N.C. State: 20-16 (.556)/1 season

Overall: 20-16 (.556)/1 Season

2006-07 season: In Lowe’s first year as head coach, the Wolfpack missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in five years, but did win two games in the NIT, defeating Drexel (63-56) and Marist (69-62), before falling to West Virginia (71-66). Despite winning just five conference games, the Pack got hot toward the end of the season, winning five of its last seven in the ACC and NIT tournaments, and managed to win 20 games for the sixth straight year.

State basically played five players and depth was an issue throughout the season. The Wolfpack made a stunning run to the ACC Tournament final, losing to UNC 89-80 in the championship game. State went on another run in the NIT, winning two games and losing at West Virginia, 71-66.

They'll be celebrating on Hillsborough Street if: 1.) Somebody establishes themselves as the starting point guard and takes care of the ball. Turnovers were the Achilles’ heel for most of the 2006-07 season, and it was never more evident when the now-graduated Engin Atsur was on the bench. Farnold Degand should get the first crack at the job, by default. The transfer from Iowa State should beat out Trevor Ferguson, while Marques Johnson sits out the first semester as part of the NCAA transfer rules and Javi Gonzalez nurses a knee injury. Lowe doesn’t need a superstar to run the show. A solid job at the point will go a long way as the team has the weapons and the offense to put points on the board – it just needs to hold onto the ball long enough to get into the half-court set.

2.) The team keeps the defensive pressure up all year long. After starting the year shaky on defense, State finally got its act together late, and it relayed into upsets of Duke, Virginia, North Carolina, Virginia Tech and others. Courtney Fells displayed the ability to be a lock-down defender against players like Wayne Ellington and Zabian Dowdell. If State can trust Fells to limit the opponent’s best guard, it’ll only help the team come conference play and into March. The added depth should have the team feeling rested instead of wore down in this year’s games and translate into better quality of play. Freshman J.J. Hickson is be the defensive-minded post player that State lacked last year.

3.) Gavin Grant puts it all together. He’s almost impossible to stop in the fast-break offense, but he’s equally as likely to turn the ball over in the half-court sets. If he dribbles more than three times, it often translates into trouble. If Grant can fix his decision-making, or at least put himself in situations where he doesn’t have to think and can just go score – he’ll be the “X” factor that propels State to some nice victories.

4.) The newcomers are as good as advertised and then some. Degand and Johnson handle the point well, Hickson becomes a terror on the low-block in all facets of the game, and freshman Tracy Smith plays solid minutes while giving Costner and McCauley breathers.

5.) Ben McCauley demands the ball more and stays aggressive when the team starts conference play. The Pennsylvania native faded late last year after a hot start, but has to love the idea of getting more rest and more touches as he averaged over 58 percent from the field a year ago. If McCauley becomes an even bigger threat in the post, it should open up others as he finds the open man with excellent court vision for a big man.

They'll be watching the baseball team in March if:

1.) The point guards get the ball taken from them too.

2) The players can’t adjust to being “the targeted.” Expectations are high for a team that many forget won just five conference games during the regular season, and they could prove unrealistic if the Pack doesn’t come out firing in the early portion of the schedule.

3) Fells and the others continue to fall asleep on defense. Last year, if Fells didn’t respect the person he was guarding, his man got open easily. Hickson will be looked to as a freshman to instill a defensive mindset to the team, but what if it works in reverse and the other players’ laziness wears off on him instead?

4) Hickson and Smith don’t add enough rebounding. State was out-rebounded by a larger margin than any other ACC team, and is counting on the freshman to give them better numbers on the boards.

5) Brandon Costner gets hurt. After all, he did receive a medical redshirt after missing almost all of his true freshman year. It didn’t hurt the Pack then, but it’d be crippling if it happened now.

Projected Starters (2006-2007 Stats Per Game):

NameMinPtsRebAstTOA/TStlBlkPFFG%FT%3P%J.J. HicksonNANANANANANANANANANANANABen McCauley34.514.46.93.22.51.281.0.62.7.584.653.000Brandon Costner34.416.87.31.83.1.57.8.72.9.474.721.379Gavin Grant36.514.75.33.84.2.91.5.62.4.473.742.315Farnold DegandNANANANANANANANANANANANA

Reserves:

NameMinPtsRebAstTOA/TStlBlkPFFG%FT%3P%Simon HarrisNANANANANANANANANANANANACourtney Fells33.210.93.81.31.8.761.1.82.6.450.767.331Javier GonzalesNANANANANANANANANANANANAMarques Johnson 11.32.0.51.31.5.83.3.02.0.250.600.333Trevor Ferguson 12.51.8.8.9.91.00.3.01.1.400.667.400Tracy Smith NANANANANANANANANANANANAChad Williams 1.0.0.0.0.0.00.0.0.0.000.000.000Johnny Thomas NANANANANANANANANANANANADennis Horner 17.94.62.3.5.7.72.4.41.8.529.841.458Clayton Beard NANANANANANANANANANANANA

Schedule:

DateOpponentLocationTimeMediaNov. 1Barton CollegeRaleigh7pm Nov. 6UNC PembrokeRaleigh7pm Nov. 15William & MaryRaleigh7pm Nov. 18New OrleansRaleigh6:30FSNS/NESNNov. 22RiderOrlando, FL2pmESPN2Nov. 23Penn State or South CarolinaOrlando, FLTBAESPN2 or ESPNNov. 28at Michigan StateEast Lansing, MI7pmESPNDec. 8at East CarolinaGreenville7pm Dec. 15South Carolina StateRaleigh2:30pm Dec. 21DavidsonRaleigh7pmFSNS/NESNDec. 23CincinnatiRaleigh7:30pmFSNDec. 27at Seton HallSouth Orange, NJ7:30pm Dec. 29Western CarolinaRaleigh2:30pm Jan. 5PresbyterianRaleigh2:30pm Jan. 9North Carolina CentralRaleigh7pm Jan. 12at North CarolinaChapel Hill12pmESPNJan. 15at ClemsonClemson, SC7pmRSNJan. 19MiamiRaleigh8pmRLFJan. 23Georgia TechRaleigh7pmESPN2Jan. 26at Florida StateTallahassee, FL1:30pmRLFJan. 31at DukeDurham9pmRLF/ESPN or ESPN2Feb. 3Wake ForestRaleigh12pmRLFFeb. 5Virginia TechRaleigh7pmESPNUFeb. 9at MarylandCollege Park, MD8pmRLFFeb. 14at Boston CollegeChestnut Hill, MA7pmESPN or ESPN2Feb. 16ClemsonRaleigh3pmRLFFeb. 20North CarolinaRaleigh7pmESPNFeb. 24at VirginiaCharlottesville, VA4:30pmFSNFeb. 27Florida StateRaleigh7pmESPNUMar. 1DukeRaleigh12pmCBSMar. 8at Wake ForestWinston-Salem12pmRLFMar. 13-16ACC TournamentCharlotteTBA

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