North Carolina State University Athletics
TIM PEELER: Hickson, McCauley Shine in Red & White
10/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
In fact, the Wolfpack had enough depth to make every position competitive in the intra-squad workout in front of about 11,000 fans Saturday afternoon, which was won by the Red team, 53-47.
It was quite unlike last year when the Wolfpack rarely had more than six or seven players in the boxscore. But the battle between McCauley and Hickson, who combined for 35 points and 13 rebounds, received most of the attention.
Hickson had a couple of thunderous dunks for the Red team and then added a couple of soft-touch jumpers, finishing the contest with 21 points and six rebounds. McCauley answered for the White team, scoring 14 points and adding seven rebounds.
“We see a lot of Ben versus J.J. in practice, and that has been great for us,” Lowe said. “They may each other better. They are similar in their work ethic they go hard all of the time. It’s fun to watch those two go.”
The crowd certainly appreciated what they saw as the two inside players went at each other. They also paid attention to sophomore point guard Farnold Degand, who had two assists and eight points in a time-modified game that went for 16 minutes in the first half and 20 minutes of continuous clock in the second half.
Senior Gavin Grant had 11 points for the Red team, while sophomore Brandon Costner added 12 for the White team.
At halftime of the game, former Wolfpack standout Todd Fuller had his jersey honored by the school. The No. 52 jersey, with Fuller’s name stitched on it, now hangs in the rafters along 21 other legendary Wolfpack players, as well as coaches Everett Case, Norm Sloan and Jim Valvano and public address announcer C.A. Dillon.
Fuller, who played from 1992-96, led the ACC in scoring as a senior in 1995-96, averaging 20.9 points and 9.9 rebounds per game. He was a first-team All-ACC selection that year and a first-round selection of the Golden State Warriors in the 1996 NBA draft, the 11th overall selection. He played five seasons in the NBA for four different franchises, before heading overseas to play professionally.
Fuller, standing at mid-court with his wife Libby and Lowe, received a lengthy ovation from the crowd.
“I’ve played on every continent on earth except Anarctica, and I still believe NC State has some of the best, if not the best fans in the world,” Fuller said after the presentation ceremony. “I was overwhelmed to be blessed with an honor like this.”
Fuller, who last played professional basketball in
He also considered running for Charlotte City Council last year and has been volunteering for several local political candidates.
“Right now, I am trying to figure out what is best for me to do in life,” Fuller said.
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
