North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Gonzalez to Start at PG; Degand Out
11/21/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Editor’s note: Tickets are available for the NC State-High Point men’s basketball game on the GoPack.com Ticket Center and will be sold (cash only) at the gate. Tickets are $20. Fans can get a half-price ticket by bringing four cans of food to support the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee’s drive for the North Carolina Food Bank.
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. The good thing, NC State men’s basketball coach Sidney Lowe says, is that sophomore point guard Javi Gonzalez has been in this position before. He’s already replaced an injured Farnold Degan in the Wolfpack’s starting lineup for much of last season.
The difference, the coach believes, is that the maturing Gonzalez is a little more ready to handle all his responsibilities in running the Wolfpack offense.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, Javi has been in this situation before,” Lowe said. “I think he is certainly more and better prepared for it at this time.”
Last year, as a freshman who missed much of preseason practice with a broken hand, Gonzalez was thrown into the fire early when Degand suffered a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 23. Now, however, Gonzalez has almost a full season of running the Pack’s offense under his belt, and capable assistance from freshman Julius Mays.
So Saturday night, when the Wolfpack (1-0 overall) faces High Point at Reynolds Coliseum, Lowe has faith that Gonzalez will continue to improve and Mays will see more quality playing time while Degand recovers from some tendinitis in his surgically repaired knee.
The junior from Boston could be out for as long as two weeks, Lowe said.
The tendinitis has bothered Degand throughout the preseason and prevented him from playing in the second half of the 65-59 season-opening win at New Orleans last Saturday night.
“We are hoping he will be out just a week,” said Lowe, whose team also has a game Tuesday against Winthrop and a game next Sunday against UNC-Greensboro in the next nine days. “But on the conservative side, the doctors say it could be maybe two weeks.”
This is another sidetrack for Degand, a Boston native whose career began with a redshirt season at Iowa State, followed by a mandatory sit-out season under NCAA transfer rules at NC State and a shortened 10-game season before his injury last year.
“It’s a little frustrating for him,” Lowe said. “But he understands that it is important that he stay healthy for us. He is doing his therapy and coming to practices and learning all the new things we are doing.
“He’s in really good spirits.”
Gonzalez, who made the most starts of any Wolfpack point guard last season, had a team-high four assists in 23 minutes against the Privateers, while filling in for Degand. He was also hobbled with a knee injury in the final moments of the game, but is expected to be fine for Saturday’s game.
“I liked the way he ran the show and the way he pushed the ball down the floor,” Lowe said. “He was active on the defensive end, especially in the second half. He really got after it pretty good. I would like for him to be a little more aggressive offensively. He is such an unselfish player that he is coming off wide open for a shot and he is still hesitant to take it.
“He is a pretty good shooter.”
Lowe said his team spent the last seven days improving since the road win at New Orleans. They have scrimmaged much of the time to enhance conditioning and to get Gonzalez more experience running a more up-tempo offense.
“We tried to continue to do some of the things we have been doing, in terms changing defenses and running as much as we can on offense,” Lowe said. “We played a lot. Not only did we reiterate what we are doing pushing the ball, we were doing it for conditioning.”
Gonzalez, Mays and freshman C.J. Williams will face a test with High Point’s more experienced backcourt, Lowe said. But that is what the coaching is looking for in the early season.
“They are strong in guard play,” Lowe said. “They have a very good player in Eugene Harris. He can score the ball. We are going to have our work cut out for our guards, because they are going to push it.”
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. The good thing, NC State men’s basketball coach Sidney Lowe says, is that sophomore point guard Javi Gonzalez has been in this position before. He’s already replaced an injured Farnold Degan in the Wolfpack’s starting lineup for much of last season.
The difference, the coach believes, is that the maturing Gonzalez is a little more ready to handle all his responsibilities in running the Wolfpack offense.
“Fortunately or unfortunately, Javi has been in this situation before,” Lowe said. “I think he is certainly more and better prepared for it at this time.”
Last year, as a freshman who missed much of preseason practice with a broken hand, Gonzalez was thrown into the fire early when Degand suffered a season-ending knee injury on Dec. 23. Now, however, Gonzalez has almost a full season of running the Pack’s offense under his belt, and capable assistance from freshman Julius Mays.
So Saturday night, when the Wolfpack (1-0 overall) faces High Point at Reynolds Coliseum, Lowe has faith that Gonzalez will continue to improve and Mays will see more quality playing time while Degand recovers from some tendinitis in his surgically repaired knee.
The junior from Boston could be out for as long as two weeks, Lowe said.
The tendinitis has bothered Degand throughout the preseason and prevented him from playing in the second half of the 65-59 season-opening win at New Orleans last Saturday night.
“We are hoping he will be out just a week,” said Lowe, whose team also has a game Tuesday against Winthrop and a game next Sunday against UNC-Greensboro in the next nine days. “But on the conservative side, the doctors say it could be maybe two weeks.”
This is another sidetrack for Degand, a Boston native whose career began with a redshirt season at Iowa State, followed by a mandatory sit-out season under NCAA transfer rules at NC State and a shortened 10-game season before his injury last year.
“It’s a little frustrating for him,” Lowe said. “But he understands that it is important that he stay healthy for us. He is doing his therapy and coming to practices and learning all the new things we are doing.
“He’s in really good spirits.”
Gonzalez, who made the most starts of any Wolfpack point guard last season, had a team-high four assists in 23 minutes against the Privateers, while filling in for Degand. He was also hobbled with a knee injury in the final moments of the game, but is expected to be fine for Saturday’s game.
“I liked the way he ran the show and the way he pushed the ball down the floor,” Lowe said. “He was active on the defensive end, especially in the second half. He really got after it pretty good. I would like for him to be a little more aggressive offensively. He is such an unselfish player that he is coming off wide open for a shot and he is still hesitant to take it.
“He is a pretty good shooter.”
Lowe said his team spent the last seven days improving since the road win at New Orleans. They have scrimmaged much of the time to enhance conditioning and to get Gonzalez more experience running a more up-tempo offense.
“We tried to continue to do some of the things we have been doing, in terms changing defenses and running as much as we can on offense,” Lowe said. “We played a lot. Not only did we reiterate what we are doing pushing the ball, we were doing it for conditioning.”
Gonzalez, Mays and freshman C.J. Williams will face a test with High Point’s more experienced backcourt, Lowe said. But that is what the coaching is looking for in the early season.
“They are strong in guard play,” Lowe said. “They have a very good player in Eugene Harris. He can score the ball. We are going to have our work cut out for our guards, because they are going to push it.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
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