North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Pack Goes on Without Degand
12/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
Beginning with an ACL tear that claimed most of forward Levi Watkins’ freshman season, a seemingly endless succession of critical injuries have become an annual event for the Wolfpack over the last several years. The latest setback came Sunday night when starting point guard Farnold Degand went down late in the Pack’s 85-77 victory over
So once again, as has been the case so many times, NC State (7-3) must adjust and play on without a key contributor. The Wolfpack opens the post-Degand portion of its season against Seton Hall Thursday night (7:30) in
“It’s really going to hurt our team because Farnold was a big part of what we were doing,” said forward Brandon Costner. “We had just started to hit our stride. I feel bad for him, but we just have to move on and make the best of our situation.”
Watkins had flashbacks when he saw Degand take a tumble on the same end of the
Since Watkins’ misfortune, the steady stream of bad news has come in waves. Ilian Evtimov (knee), Scooter Sherrill (ankle), Tony Bethel (groin), Jordan Collins (knee), Costner (leg) and Engin Atsur are some of the headliners on a rather forgettable list. This year’s curse actually started before the start of preseason practice when a pair of incoming freshmen sustained injuries. Forward Johnny Thomas never got started after undergoing a knee reconstruction, while point guard Javier Gonzalez missed most of the preseason with a broken hand.
Now a redshirt sophomore, Costner received a medical redshirt after being sidelined for all but a few games in his freshman season with a rare stress facture in his upper leg. And of course, a year ago, the Wolfpack’s campaign was somewhat sabotaged my an early season hamstring pull that took Atsur, a senior point guard, away for about six weeks. Atsur eventually returned and fought gamely through daily discomfort to lead the Pack to a strong finish.
NC State was never the same when Atsur wasn’t on the floor, especially since it didn’t really have a back-up at his position. Forward Gavin Grant and two-guard Courtney Fells took turns trying to man the ship, but were forced to play away from their natural positions.
If there’s a silver lining this season, the Wolfpack does at least have back-ups at the point guard spot, although most of the onus falls on the shoulders of an inexperienced freshman in Gonzalez. After missing the Pack’s first few exhibition games because of the hand injury, he had only a few days of practice under his belt when he saw his first college action against William & Mary in the season opener on November 15.
And although the freshman from
“Javier will come in and get the job done,” Costner said. “We’re not really worried.”
If Gonzalez has done one thing well thus far, it has been to take care of the basketball. In 10 games, he has only 12 turnovers. In perhaps his most impressive outing to date, Gonzalez played turnover-free basketball in 17 minutes against
Against Seton Hall, the Pack will be facing more of the same, but this time on the road.
“It’s going to be very similar,” Costner said. “I think they’re going to press the whole game and try to speed us up. They’ll try to make it a real rugged, ugly game.”
Off to an 8-2 start, the Pirates have done a good job of imposing their will against most of their opponents this season. Fresh off a come-from-behind 112-110 overtime victory over James Madison on Saturday, Seton Hall averages a Big East best 86 points per game and forces more than 18 turnovers per contest.
Swingman Brian Laing is putting up 20 points per outing, while point guard Eugene Harvey averages 18 points and nearly four assists.
In the triumph over
In a familiar refrain, NC State now must reshuffle the deck well into the season after losing a key starter.
A tradition like no other.
