North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Lowe Pointing To Second Season
6/25/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tony Haynes
Twelve months ago, Sidney Lowe was already starting to evaluate what would be his first NC State basketball team. At that time, he figured the one known, reliable commodity would be senior point guard Engin Atsur. One year later, the landscape is as different as
With the return of Gavin Grant, Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley, the Wolfpack will likely feature one of the ACC’s formidable frontlines next season. Also back will be starting shooting guard Courtney Fells and reliable forward Dennis Horner. A nationally ranked recruiting class will add more talent and depth at all positions.
The biggest question mark for Lowe and his staff one year later? The one position that wasn’t in question last June when Atsur was entering his senior campaign.
“There’s no question we’re going to miss Engin,” Lowe said during a mid-summer press conference on Monday morning. “I think we have three young men that will come in and collectively get the job done for us. I’m probably hard on point guards being that I played that position and I demand so much from that position. These guys are going to be young, but with our staff and time, I think they’ll do a good job. The thing about all three of them is that they want to be good. We need to have solid play from them.”
The candidates to replace Atsur are
Although Degand and Johnson weren’t eligible to play for the Wolfpack last season because of NCAA a transfer rules, they did have an opportunity to practice with the Pack and learn the system.
“They’re different players,” Lowe said. “Farnold is more speed and quickness and Marcues more of a run the show’ type of point guard. I’ve seen progress in both of them. Farnold, in particular, because he didn’t have a chance to play at all [at
Gonzalez, who was a highly-touted point guard at
“After watching him play, I liked his demeanor on the court,” Lowe said. “I like his effort; he’s a tough kid. I make no bones about it, I don’t give away positions. That position is up for grabs right now.”
But whether it’s Degand, Johnson or Gonzalez who ultimately earn the right to get the most time running the Lowe show,’ NC State shouldn’t have to resort to the same types of drastic measures Lowe was forced to take after Atsur pulled a hamstring late last November. Among other things, Grant and Fells each took turns playing the point position because the Wolfpack had no other options while Atsur was recovering.
This season, Grant and Fells will relish the opportunity to spend all of their time producing at, what for them, will be more natural positions.
Lowe, who was the point guard on NC State’s 1983 national championship team and still holds the career ACC mark for assist-to-turnover ratio, has developed an offensive system that relies heavily on the point guard’s ability to execute and make solid decisions.
“If your point guard can’t get the ball to the right position to initiate the play, it’s not going to work,” said Lowe. “That’s what Engin did. He was experienced enough and obviously talented enough to get the ball to certain areas of the floor where we needed to initiate the offense. Our point guard is going to have to do that. There’s going to be pressure on them and they’re going to have to be strong enough both physically and mentally in order to get that ball to the position. If you can’t get it started then there’s no chance that it’s going to work.”
The good news is that NC State’s point guards will be surrounded by plenty of skilled talent and firepower at the other four positions. By the end of last season, Grant, Fells, Costner and Horner were playing the best basketball of their careers. The end result was an improbable run to the ACC title game against
“I think it gave us great confidence,” Lowe said. “When we watched our players the few hours we had to work with them a month or so ago, you could tell the confidence factor. I could tell by my conversations with them what they think and how they feel about themselves. They were pleased with the effort last year. They want more. Hopefully, the guys are growing up and starting to see what’s out there and how much fun it can be.”
Future Schedules: While he stopped short of actually saying the Wolfpack had scheduled non-conference games against some of college basketball’s more traditional heavyweights, Lowe did indicate that NC State had made contact with such schools.
“We’re going to always have a pretty good non-conference schedule,” Lowe said. “I think it’s important and Lee [Fowler] and David [Horning] think it’s important that we play some good non-conference teams. We’ve talked to
NC State’s 2007-08 schedule will be released by the ACC in August. NC State has announced that it will play in the Old Spice Classic, to be held in
The Pack is also slated to play at
