North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Two Good Points to Start the Season
11/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Editor’s note: The NC State-New Orleans game will be available for viewing to subscribers to Pack Pass, the premium section of GoPack.com. The University of New Orleans has agreed to share its video broadcast, overlaid with its radio broadcast for the gamet. PackPass subscribers also have the option of listening to the Wolfpack Sports Network broadcast with play-by-play announcer Dave Shore and color analyst Neil Solondz. Tip-off is slated for 8 p.m. EST.
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. Heading into his third season as the NC State men’s basketball coach, Sidney Lowe knew he wanted to make some changes to his team’s style of play.
Lowe, a former college and professional point guard, wanted the Wolfpack to be more aggressive on offense and on defense, pushing the ball up the court when possible and pressing opposing offenses when necessary.
But to do that, Lowe needed strong play at the point, the position that had so many challenges last season. Sure, he had four players capable of playing the position, but three of them (Farnold Degand, Javi Gonzalez and Marques Johnson) didn’t play for the Wolfpack the year before and the fourth, Courtney Fells, was a shooting guard who sometimes helped out at the point.
When Degand suffered a season-ending knee injury 10 games into the year, Lowe lost his only experienced point guard. Gonzalez, a true freshman, was forced into the starting lineup just in time for ACC play and Johnson, who has since left the program, got a late start to the season after becoming eligible in mid-December.
It took time for Gonzalez to grow into his role, but by the end of the season, he was a capable ACC player, who averaged 3.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists a game.
Now that the speedy Degand has recovered from his injury after 10 months of difficult recovery and rehabilitation the Wolfpack heads into Saturday’s 2008-09 season-opener at New Orleans with two seasoned point guards, a veritable luxury for Lowe, who has had to cobble together different options at that position in each of his two seasons with his alma mater.
“Having those two guys allow us to push the ball when we want to,” Lowe said. “We could have done that some at the beginning of last year, but when Farnold got hurt, we were only playing with one point guard, really. We couldn’t have done it then, or we would have worn him out.”
Lowe feels confident that both Degand and Gonzalez can push the tempo when necessary, which is just what the coach wants to happen on nearly every possession. Lowe has mixed them both into different lineups, starting Gonzalez in the first exhibition game and Degand in the second.
Degand, who scored 15 points against Catawba Tuesday night in the final preseason warmup, spent much of the off-season working on his jumpshot, since he was not yet allowed to run full speed. That extra work seems to have paid off with a delicate shooting touch.
“I have been working on my jumpshot all season,” Degand said. “I tweaked my mechanics some. Right now, my confidence is definitely high.”
High enough that he took a quick inside-out pass from Ben McCauley on the first possession of Tuesday night’s game and drained a 3-pointer from the NCAA’s longer distance. It’s a shot Degand says he wouldn’t have taken last year.
“I think I would have pulled it back out and run a different play,” said Degand, who made six of his seven shots against Catawba. “But this is a new year, a new day.”
But both Degand and Lowe admit that he’s not fully recovered from his injury, which generally takes a full 12 months to heal. But he’s getting closer every day.
“I don’t think Farnold is 100 percent,” Lowe said, “but he is getting there.”
Gonzalez has also matured in his role. He’s glad to have someone to share the position with, especially if the Wolfpack is going to continue to run on offense and defense.
“We like to get those easy buckets when we push the ball,” Gonzalez said. “Having two guys like this, we know we can go hard every play and there will be somebody there to back us up. If I get tired, I can ask for a sub and Farnold can come back in and do a great job.
“Last year, I struggled with that a little bit. This year, we will be better.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
