ACC/Big 11 Challenge - NC State 74 Michigan 67

The 8th annual ACC/Big 11 Challenge kicked off on Monday night with Sidney Lowe's first nationally televised game as coach of the Wolfpack. Things looked bad in the beginning, and then about 6 minutes into the game Engin Atsur went down with an apparent hamstring injury. At that point State was down 14 - 4. Fast forward to the end of the half, and we would see a 35 - 28 Wolfpack lead. Kudos to Gavin Grant for doing an excellent job running the point for the middle section of the game. State would push the lead as high as 21 points in the second half, but in the final 10 minutes (or the fourth quarter as Sid says) Michigan's pressure on the ball, and fatigue set in for the Pack. The Wolverines were able to scratch to within 4 at one point, but that would be as close as they would get. With a final score of 74 - 67, the Pack handed Michigan it's first loss of the season. The Wolfpack improved to 5 - 0.

My game ball goes to Ben McCauley and his 19 points and 8 boards to go with his 0 turnovers and only 2 personal fouls. At times he looked like an emerging star for the Pack. Another bright sign was Brandon Costner. He poured in 17 points and grabbed a game high 11 rebounds. It is beginning to look like the top 6 players for the Pack will be able to compete. The problem is that we can not expect them to compete for 40 minutes a game, especially when they start playing on short rest.

J.J. Hickson - The Saga Continues

On April 19, 2006 Scout.com had the following to say about JJ Hickson:

Ohio State is showing interest in this highly ranked prospect from Georgia. Considered the #20 prospect overall in the 2007 class. Alabama, Auburn, Clemson, Florida State, Georgetown, Kentucky, Michigan State, Purdue, South Carolina, South Florida, Virginia Tech, Wake and New Mexico State have offered. He is also listing Arizona, Georgia Tech, Miami (FL), North Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia.

Notice anythings missing from that statement? That is right, NC State was not even on his long list. Fast forward to August 17th, and that very same profile listed the following:

Hickson has a final 7 of Florida, Tennessee, Georgetown, North Carolina State, Arizona, Kentucky and Illinois.

So in a matter of four months, NC State had gone from not even being in the same tournament as the big guy, to sitting at the final table for all the marbles. There is a lot of speculation on just how Hickson got hooked up with Sidney Lowe, and this is what I have read about it.

Now this is an unconfirmed rumor, and all of the details are not clear, but there appears to be the possibility that Shareef Abdur-Rahim had something to do with this recruitment. It's not uncommon for recruits to get calls from NBA players in hopes of swaying their college choice. It is rumored that Shareef did just that, or spoke with JJ in person about playing for Sidney Lowe. When Sidney Lowe was the head coach of the Vancouver Grizzlies, Shareef was one of his players. It just so happens that Shareef went to the same high school that JJ Hickson now attends. Whether or not there was an actual contact between the two, and as to who sparked the interest is unknown at this point. It could be that Hickson liked State but had not been recruited yet by the Pack, and Shareef found out about it and gave Sid a call. It could be the exact opposite. I really don't know, but it is still a fun story to wonder about. Could Sid's NBA experience already be paying off?

No matter what happened, one thing we know for sure is that on October 12th, JJ made his decision public, and he announced that he would be attending NC State University. The fact that a kid this high on all of the recruiting boards would pick State is simply unbelievable. I want to once again point out that he was offered scholarships to Georgetown (infamous for it's success with big men), Florida (the defending national champs), Arizona and Kentucky.

Here is some more insight into JJ Hickson:

Scout.com lists Hickson as the 3rd best center in the 2007 class. He is also listed as a 5 star recruit, and will likely be a McDonalds All American this year.

Rivals.com also has Hickson listed as the 3rd best player in his position, only this time it is at power forward.

JJ is rated as the number 1 player in Georgia. Last season he averaged 21 points, 12 boards and 6 blocks. It will be interesting to see the numbers he posts this year, as he has set his sights high and wants to be known as the best player in the country.

Needless to say, Wolfpack Nation is ecstatic about JJ Hickson putting his faith in Coach Lowe and the future of the program. He mentioned that the style of play that Sidney is selling to recruits was one of the major factors in his decision. When coupled with Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner next year, the Pack actually looks to be forming a presence in the post.

Chris Wright to Georgetown - The Saga Continues

One of the raps on Herb Sendek was that he could not recruit a top flight point guard to come play in his program. All of that chatter died down when he managed to get a verbal commitment from Chris Wright. Chris is ranked as the 6th best point guard in his class (2007) by Scout.com, and as the 18th best shooting guard by Rivals.com. Unfortunately for the Pack, Chris was not impressed with the departure of Herb Sendek, and the state of the program that he left. While I can't blame him for opening his recruitment back up, I was a little disappointed that he did so before even speaking with Sidney Lowe.

Living in Washington, DC, Chris obviously was generating a lot of attention from Georgetown, who he eventually committed to on October 10th. This decision was a little shocking to some of Wolfpack Nation, as on the 6th of October all signs were pointing towards Wright re-committing to NC State. What happened over the weekend to change his mind (if his mind did indeed change) we can only speculate on. One of the factors that it came down to, however, was style of play.

Apparently the thing that attracted him to State in the first place was the style of offense that Herb Sendek was running. My take on this is that if he is in fact a Princeton style point guard, then he isn't a good fit for the program to begin with. It's the very thing that led me to want a change in the coaching staff. Personally, I wish Chris nothing but success at Georgetown, as long as he isn't playing the Pack.

Johnny Thomas - The Saga Continues

On June 15th word got out that Johnny Thomas, a 6'5" 210 lb small forward out of Greensboro Day, had decided to play basketball for Coach Lowe and NC State. Thomas, who is in the midst of a position change from the 2 to the 3 is not ranked at either Rivals.com or Scout.com. He has been mentioned as the best player in his class (2007) for NC, but that is debatable as Tracy Smith has been called that as well.

Thomas is an athletic wing player who is not afraid, or incapable, of going down low and competeing for rebounds and post points. What kind of range he has remains to be seen, but he is known to go on hot streaks in which he drains threes consistently. As the least heralded member of the 2007 class, he has a lot of upside and will likely turn out to be a "Tim Wells" like player.

Unfortunately, there just does not seem to be a lot out there on Thomas to provide more information. I'll update as I come across things. That being said, I think he is a nice addition to the program, and at 6'5" he brings some size to the wing that is greatly needed. His potential to fill in at the 2 is a major positive, especially if he proves to be good defensively.

NC State Recruiting Saga - Preview

When I originally sat down to try to tackle the recruiting saga that has been the past month and a half, I was going to put together one large post on the issue. After compiling more and more information on what has transpired, I feel that it is better served if presented as a series. I am now planning on a three episode attack, but that could turn into a four or five entry set before this is finished. I want to once again stress that I am in no way a journalist, and I am merely putting out the facts and then giving my opinions on those facts. As always, please take my comments to be what they are, the ramblings of an out of place sports fan who is an admitted idiot (unlike the rest of you who simply can not seem to come to grips with it).

In order to be able to put this recruiting class into the proper perspective, it is necessary to reset the hiring of Sidney Lowe and the steps that have been taken to get to where we now sit. The official announcement that Sidney Lowe would be the next head coach of mens basketball at NC State took place at 5:30 in the afternoon, on May 6th. At the time, Sid was working as an assistant coach with the Detroit Pistons, who were the current favorites in the NBA Playoffs.

A July 1 start date was set for Sid to take over the reigns at State. This was because he was not only obligated to complete the post season with Detroit, but also because he had to finish the final steps of his college degree. It should be pointed out that Sid was already working on finishing his degree prior to Herb Sendek leaving for ASU, so it is not like he stutter stepped his way into it once the job was open. Before July 1 even hit, Sid got started working on the NCAA Compliance Exam, which he took and passed sometime in the middle of June. He obviously finished his degree beforehand as well, and the new era was off and running.

When Herb Sendek took the ASU job, he had commitments from three good recruits for the 2006-07 season. Two of those three asked to be released from their commitments and NC State didn't hesitate to allow them to do so. While there was some fishy business going on with at least one of the two (Larry Davis was reportedly being contacted by Seton Hall's assistant coaches while still being bound to his agreement with State. There were no actual infractions, allegedly, because said assistant coaches were not officially members of the Seton Hall team at that point.), to Sid's credit I never heard or read one negative thing about those players.

The new staff was able to keep one of the three recruits, Dennis Horner. Sid also landed Trevor Ferguson and Bartosz Lewandowski. This brought the incoming freshman class for 2006 to a close, and Sidney quickly turned his sights to 2007.

more to come...

You want a hockey atmosphere for Wolfpack basketball, Lee?

You reap what you sew. How many times have we heard that expression? I remember back in the fall of 1994, when I first arrived on N.C. State's campus. A lot of things happened that year, both in the real world, and in my own personal one. Oh to be an 18 year old kid again!! Anyway, the thing I remember most about that year was camping out for tickets to the home tilt against Carolina.

I got two tickets, one for me, and for my (now former) brother in law. He was a UNC fan. We sat in the "end zone" about midway up the student section. You could not have sat down during that game if you wanted to. It was crazy. The atmosphere was phenomenal. The noise level was insane. Lakista McCuller hit 3 after 3, and Rasheed and the boys took the big upset.

Fast forward to sophomore year. The game was Duke. We camped out once more, and got the absolute best seats in the house. Front row, midcourt. It was nuts. The crowd was about as raucous as you can get. All 12,500 people in the building went crazy the entire game, which Duke won. But it's the student section, surrounding the floor, and so close you could almost reach out and touch the hardwood, that made it what it was. Of course, that was in Reynolds.

I'll never forget those games in Reynolds. I went to as many games as I could, and now I cherish those memories like no other. Yes, our team stunk. We were in the midst of the Les years, and the lack of talent was tremendous. You wouldn't have known it, though, if you only observed the crowd. You would have thought State was the best team in the land. That's how we carried ourselves. That's how we cheered for our team, with chants that carried the crowd, and didn't get lost in the rafters. That's what this team needs to recover.

Here is what I think we should do. We need to rethink the entire home schedule. We need to rethink the entire revenue streaming process. We need to rethink the season ticket process. Throw it all away. Our current system is now obsolete, if my plan takes effect.

Each year, we play the other Big 4 schools in Reynolds. I know, I know. 6,000 less seats. That's a lot of lost ticket sales, and a lot of lost concession sales. Charge a $10 premium, per game, per seat, for these contests. No one will mind paying the extra money to get to watch these games in Reynolds. The student tickets are give aways already, so they don't matter. Then, with the remaining ACC games, you alternate each year what games will be in Reynolds, and what games will be in the RBC Center. Maybe one out of 4 years each school gets played in Reynolds. All non-conference games are played at the RBC Center. Only ACC schools should have the honor of hitting those floors.

We would be the first school to recognize that moving to a new arena was a mistake as far as atmosphere is concerned. To me, it's not worth the extra money to give up the experience that was Reynolds. I love the RBC Center, it's a great place to watch a game. It will never be Reynolds, though. You don't get that nostalgic feeling when you enter the RBC Center. You don't see DT, Googs, or even Todd Fuller's ghost gliding down the court. It will take time to build that, I know. My question, however, is whether or not it's worth it.

So, Mr. Fowler, if you want to get that "hockey" atmosphere for your precious Wolfpack basketball games, you are going to have to do two things. One, you have to build a winning team, which is going to take time. I think Lowe will do a good job, no reason to think that he will not. The fact that he is scratching that awful "no-ffense" that Herb ran will be a big boost. It's hard to get into a game if your falling asleep. It's not going to happen overnight, though. In the interim, play some home games at Reynolds. Yes, it will drop overall revenue, but look at what it could gain you. You can't measure the intangibles that having these kids play in Reynolds would provide.

More to come.....