North Carolina State University Athletics
PEELER: Lowe Is Excited About the Coming Possibilities
6/18/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. If there was one word that was repeated more than any other by NC State men’s basketball coach Sidney Lowe, it was some variation of “excited.”
Heading into his fourth season, Lowe will welcome six new players this fall to replace the four who departed from last year’s team. The influx of newcomers consists of 6-4 shooting guard Lorenzo Brown and 6-7 power forward Richard Howell of Atlanta, 6-5 Scott Wood of Marion, Ind.; 6-9 power forward DeShawn Painter of Hargrave Military Academy; 7-0 center Jordan Vandenberg of Canberra, Australia; and 6-6 small forward Josh Davis of Raleigh.
He will have one of the league’s more experienced big men in junior forward Tracy Smith.
He will have a rotation of players in the backcourt that he expects to thrive, with three viable candidates at point guard: senior Farnold Degand, junior Javi Gonzalez and sophomore Julius Mays.
He likes the leadership he will get from seniors Dennis Horner and Degand, as well as the leadership he has already seen from some of his younger players like sophomores Mays, C.J. Williams and Johnny Thomas.
“I see us definitely going in the right direction,” Lowe said. “I’m excited about the players that we have coming back, the players we have coming in, and then going forward the players that we were able to get in on early in the recruiting process.”
The Wolfpack roster will have only one player Horner, one of Lowe’s favorites who was not recruited by the current staff.
The influx of new talent also has Lowe excited, even though he knows there could be a transition time for them as they go from high school to college basketball.
“This is like a lot of coaches in their second year, when they bring in a big recruiting class,” Lowe said. “Most of them are our guys, or at least guys that you’ve had the opportunity to watch as high school players. So instead of being young in our second year, we are going to be young in our fourth year. I think the thing to watch with this team right now is its progress.
“We obviously have six freshmen and a few sophomores on this team that are going to play major minutes.”
And quickly Lowe expects to rely on his newcomers immediately.
“They are going to play they have to,” he said. “But I feel comfortable with them. I think they all have a certain thing right now that they do well, from Lorenzo’s ability to handle the ball at the two-guard position to Scott Wood’s ability to shoot the ball.
“I think what I feel most comfortable with is the basketball IQ of these guys is pretty good, and that is important.”
But off-setting some of his team’s youth will be a more versatile lineup that will allow the coach to play three smaller, quicker guards or fill the lane with bigger players.
“It will give us the opportunity to play a little different style at times,” Lowe said.
Lowe expects to have better guard play than last year, when his inexperienced corps of backcourt players was going against some of the nation’s top guards game after game in the ACC. With the league losing most of its top point guards Ty Lawson of North Carolina, Jack McClinton of Miami, Tyrese Rice of Boston College and Toney Douglas of Florida State the competition might not be quite as rigorous for the trio of Degand, Gonzalez and Mays.
“When you come in as a freshman or sometimes as a sophomore, you’re playing against guys that are juniors and seniors and guys that are experienced and talented,” Lowe said. “That’s a tough haul for them.
“If there is ever a good time to be young, this is it. When you are young and playing against experienced guards, it’s hard to beat them unless you have a lot of help behind you. I think this is a great time for us.”
There will be challenges of course. With so few proven three-point shooters on the Wolfpack, Smith is likely to be crowded on defense by opposing teams. Unlike last year, when he scored easily at times, he will be surrounded.
“He’ll have to continue to improve and get better,” Lowe said. “I think he’ll get through it because, one, we will teach him to get through it, and, two, his teammates will help him out. They will understand that they are keying on him. They are either going to have to make shots or get him the ball where he is in a position to go up and score.”
With non-conference games against Florida, Arizona, Marquette and perhaps Auburn, the Wolfpack will have a difficult schedule again next season (the full schedule will be released by the ACC in August or September).
“The main thing we are looking for with our young players right now is progress and development,” Lowe said. “Sometimes that can translate into wins. I feel very comfortable, very confident in our guys. I think the guys that are coming back have great experience. I think they feel better.
“This is the first time really we’ve got guys in the gym, in the weight room at 6:30 in the morning doing their own thing, doing what they need to get better. To hear the conversations we are hearing now, it’s encouraging.”
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
