North Carolina State University Athletics
No. 19 NC State Opens Against Towe, New Orleans
11/16/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 16, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - In his eight years as NC State's head basketball coach, Herb Sendek has always displayed a deep respect and affection for the Wolfpack's deep-rooted basketball tradition. Among other things, he has consistently made sure the program always honors and recognizes the players and coaches who came before him. Ironically, one of the players Sendek brought back to honor a few years ago will be trying to beat him when the 19th ranked Wolfpack tips off its 2004-05 season on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m..
Best remembered as the diminutive point guard who helped to guide the Pack to the 1974 national title, Monte Towe is currently the head coach at New Orleans, the team NC State will meet in the first round of the BCA Invitational Wednesday night at the RBC Center.
"It's certainly an honor for our team to be invited to play in the BCA Invitational, and it makes it doubly special being an NC State alumnus and bringing a team to that event," said Towe, who is starting his fourth season with the Privateers. "I associate tournament basketball with Raleigh, North Carolina with the history of the Dixie Classic. Certainly NC State is as good as anybody in the country, so it's going to be a very difficult task to open up with them."
The old Dixie Classic was long gone by the time Towe arrived at NC State in the early 1970s, but when his career was over, he and teammates like David Thompson and Tommy Burleson more than left their marks in two other major events: The ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament.
Towe's program at New Orleans appears to be gaining momentum. Behind Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Bo McCalebb, the Privateers went 17-14 last season and finished second only to Louisiana-Lafayette in league play. McCallebb, a 6-0 guard, averaged 13.1 points per game in his rookie campaign.
"Bo McCalebb I think can play for anybody in the country," Towe said. "He's the preseason pick for Sun Belt Conference player of the year as a sophomore."
Towe, however, says New Orleans will have only 10 players available for the three-day tournament since junior forwards Kenny Simelton and Nathaniel Parker will be out of action with leg injuries.
With the return of Ilian Evtimov, the Wolfpack is in good health heading into its opener. After undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery about a month ago, the redshirt junior showed very little rust in a 14-minute stint on the court during NC State's 96-58 exhibition victory over St. Augustine's last week.
"The last exhibition game we got Ilian back and it was a pleasure to play with him," said junior guard Tony Bethel, a Georgetown transfer who will play in his first official game with NC State on Wednesday. "He's the point guard at the five position. He gets everybody set and balanced. Things do get a little smoother when he's in the game."
Bethel's impressive skills in the backcourt should also give NC State a boost on both ends of the floor. Of course, the center of attention for the Wolfpack this season will be the ACC's reigning player of the year, Julius Hodge. A 6-7 senior, Hodge is one of the main reasons NC State is coming off a second place finish in the ACC, its best showing in league play since 1989.
Backing up Hodge will be a seasoned cast of performers, along with an impressive first-year group. Freshmen Andrew Brackman, Cedric Simmons and Gavin Grant have already turned heads during preseason workouts.
"They've come very far," said Bethel, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds in last week's exhibition tilt. "They know the whole offense now. They may not know the timing of the passes and the timing of the cuts, but they know the whole offense for the most part. That was a big surprise to me because this time last year, I didn't really know every single play. They've done a good job of focusing and learning the offense."
Sendek appears to have a flexible roster that will allow him to give opponents a variety of looks and there's no doubt that this will be the tallest and deepest team he has put together at NC State.
"I don't think there are a lot of surprises for us yet," said last season's ACC Coach of the Year. "We still haven't played our first game yet, so we still have a lot to find out about ourselves."
On Wednesday night, they'll try to learn a little more, while trying to beat a coach who will be able to see a replica of the No. 25 jersey he wore at NC State some 30 years ago hanging in the rafers.
"I've never had a greater honor than to have my jersey placed at the top of that facility," Towe said. "NC State is one of the greatest places in the world as far as I'm concerned. I'm just looking forward to coming up there and getting a chance for our kids to play in that great environment. Hopefully, we'll play well and give ourselves a chance to compete."
