North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Wolfpack In Adjustment Period
11/21/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
By seasons end, Lowe hopes he can look back and say that Sunday night’s stunning 65-63 loss to
“I think it’s just a matter of us having some type of experience either good or bad,” Lowe said. “To me, the last ballgame was bad. It think it’s a matter of having an experience that opens the eyes and let’s them realize that we do have the talent, but we still have to play the right way. You see it often with teams that are loaded, but they don’t win. It’s because those guys don’t make that adjustment; they think that they can roll the ball out and go play. That’s not the way it is. We’re preaching it and it’s going to kick in. When? Hopefully soon, but it will kick in because we have good young men. Now it’s about each individual understanding what we have to do to help the team win. Once we figure that out we’ll be fine.”
Sunday’s unexpected stumble against the Privateers was, perhaps, a wake up call for a team that saw its preseason national rankings vanquish when T.J. Worley banked in a game-winning 3-point basket with 1.7 seconds remaining.
Fortunately, it was only the second game of what will be a long and unpredictable season. This week, the Wolfpack will have a chance to atone in a big way when it plays three games in four days at the Old Spice Classic in
Ultimately, this should be a better team than the depth-challenged, inexperienced club that finished with 20 victories last season. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be bumps and potholes on the road to the NCAA Tournament.
With a new point guard in place and the arrival of dominant freshman J.J. Hickson, the make-up of this team is very different. As such, it may very well take some time for a winning chemistry and cohesiveness to develop.
Each individual not just those who are experiencing reduced minutes on the court will have to adapt to new roles and adjust to the changing teammates around them.
No one player is being affected more than junior Ben McCauley. A sturdy starter at the center position last season, McCauley averaged better than 14 points per game and was a mainstay in the middle. But because he’s much better suited to help NC State at the five spot, McCauley has, for the time being, been relegated to back-up status behind Hickson, who is drawing raves through two games. And why not? The ACC Rookie of the Week averaged 26 points and 10 rebounds in his first two college games.
Last season, NC State’s line-up was often referred to as the iron five’ because the regulars were forced to play virtually the entire game with very little rest. Now that quality depth is available, some members of the old iron five’ are being asked to make some sacrifices that should, in the long run, make the Wolfpack a better team.
Resisting such changes is human nature, but Lowe scoffs at the notion that he’s now dealing with a team beset with dissension.
“Having a guy like J.J. in there is an adjustment for all those guys, for Courtney [Fells], for Brandon [Costner], and for Ben,” Lowe said. “It’s an adjustment just in terms of not where they fit in, but where their shots are going to come from, minutes, the rotation; when they’re coming in and things like that. We’re a different team and there’s a different role for all of them now, especially the big guys.”
Hickson and McCauley bring different strengths to the five position. Quick and athletic, Hickson can score in the post and get to three free throw line. Defensively, he provides NC State with a shot-blocking presence it lacked last season. McCauley is a savvy player in the paint, capable of scoring and making his teammates better with his brilliant passing ability.
Both run the floor well and play hard.
There will be times when they play together, but Costner’s unique inside-outside abilities make him better qualified to occupy most of the minutes at the power forward position.
Once the players on this team develop a comfort level with each other and adapt to their changing roles, everything else will take care of itself. Of course, as a team, NC State must also display more prolonged intensity than it had against
There will be nights when the ball isn’t going in the basket, but Lowe won’t tolerate having to repeat the scene from Sunday night when he was forced to tell the media that
Last year, it was a thrilling upset victory over
“It’s different with each team,” Lowe said. “Sometimes there’s one thing that happens in the season that all of a sudden triggers that mindset or that understanding. With some teams it takes a tough loss, maybe a loss you feel you shouldn’t have had. Maybe it takes a big win. Last year we had a big win and that changed our whole mindset and our confidence. It could be this tournament. It could be that we’ll go down there on the road at a neutral site and we have some great games, play well and start understanding each other a little better on the floor.”
