North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Atsur says Wolfpack has higher aspirations
10/22/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
GREENSBORO – Engin Atsur has played in nearly 100 games in his three seasons at NC State. He’s been to three NCAA Tournaments and a major component in the Wolfpack’s recent success.
So he’s not about to look at his coming senior season with any diminished expectations. And the fact that he and his teammates were picked by the media attending the 2006 Operation Basketball to finish 12th in the 12-team ACC is not something that is easy for him to accept.
“We will not be happy with this prediction,” Atsur said. “We are going to prove to ourselves – not to other people, to ourselves – that we can do better than that.”
For Atsur, for anyone to even consider the Wolfpack near the bottom of the league standings is just weird, given the high expectations of years past.
“I have played on great teams here and we have won a lot of games,” said Atsur, who spent the summer honing his point guard skills while playing for the Turkish National team in the FIBA World Championships in Japan. “Every preseason, people had a lot of expectations on us. That is not the case this year. I kind of feel some pressure that I have some responsibility to make sure that doesn’t happen.
“I want to win again. I want to do whatever I can do to help the team with my leadership and my past experience.”
After more than a week of practice, Atsur has reason to be excited about the possibilities for the Wolfpack. He likes the point guard-directed offense and aggressive defense new head coach Sidney Lowe has been busy installing.
“Everything is different, a new offense, a new communication style,” Atsur said. “I really like it so far. I also like the way we play.”
Atsur admits that the Wolfpack will lack some depth, and would benefit from having some of the players who might have been on the roster this coming season, like big men Cedric Simmons and Andrew Brackman. But he also realizes that the Wolfpack has enough personnel to get along without them.
He’s particularly excited about second-year players Brandon Costner, Courtney Fells and Ben McCauley, all of whom are likely to join Atsur and junior Gavin Grant in the starting lineup when the season gets underway on Nov. 10 against Wofford.
Costner missed most of last year with a stress fracture in his leg. McCauley played in 27 games as a freshman, averaging 2.1 points and 1.0 rebounds in his 6.9 minutes per game. He twice scored in double figures, getting 13 against The Citadel and 10 against Appalachian State. Fells played in 17 games, averaging 2.0 points and 1.5 rebounds. His playing time increased at the end of the season, as he scored more than half of his points in the final four games of the season.
“You didn’t get to see much of those three guys last year,” Atsur said. “But they are going to play a lot this year. I think those are the guys to watch this season.”
Lowe thinks his team can compete in the ACC, but he knows it will be tough. The Wolfpack has only 12 players on its roster, two of which (Iowa State-transfer Farnold Degand and Elon-transfer Simon Harris) must sit out all season and another (Trevor Ferguson) who won’t be eligible until early December.
That means freshmen Dennis Horner and Barosz Lewandowski are likely to be expected to provide depth for the Wolfpack, along with senior walk-ons Braxton Albritton and Bryan Nieman.
“We are a very young club, but I think it is a great opportunity for our club to make a statement, for our guys to position themselves,” Lowe said Sunday. “We have a great group of guys. They work extremely hard. So, I think this is an opportunity to show everyone, not just me, that they are going to be a pretty good ball club.
“We are down in numbers, but I think we are going to go out and compete.”
Contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
2006-07 ACC Preseason Predictions
1. North Carolina (59) 741
2. Duke (2) 660
3. Boston College (1) 619
4. Georgia Tech 531
5. Florida State 410
6. Virginia Tech 385
7. Maryland 375
8. Virginia 365
9. Clemson 281
10. Wake Forest 177
11. Miami 173
12. NC State 119
