WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

Wolfpack takes small step forward this season

By Tim Hall

Mar 11, 2009

Tim Hall has covered Wolfpack basketball all season long for 99.9 The Fan ESPN Radio.

The end of the 2007-08 N.C. State basketball season left a sour taste in the mouth of the Wolfpack fan base.  Concluding the season on a nine-game losing streak might do that.

A season that started with the promise of a McDonald's All-American in J.J. Hickson ended with a record under .500 and no post-season play.

This year's Pack, though without a realistic chance to make the NCAA Tournament, have improved.  The losses of two key players should be neutralized by the emergence of two key young ones.

The Point:

The point guard position was in utter dismay at the start of the season.  Sidney Lowe couldn't rely on one particular player to grab the reins and take control of the position.  It's hard to just pick one player and ride it out with him if that player is turning the ball over with no remorse.  Farnold Degand, Javier Gonzalez, and even true freshmen Julius Mays all had their turn in the starting lineup.

It's ironic that the team's current best point guard (Gonzalez) disappeared for a huge stretch of the season.  He recorded DNP's in eight games this season.  Some of those games he missed due to a laceration to his arm.  But even after he became healthy Gonzalez struggled to find the court.  He played just 16 minutes total in the team's first seven ACC games.

Then Sidney Lowe brought him back to playing action in the non-conference home game against N.C. Central.  Maybe it was the perfect move to bring him back slowly in a pressure free game.  But apparently it wasn't just injuries or Gonzalez' ability that kept him out of action for so long.  Lowe said two days before the N.C. Central game, "I don't want to get into it but there's other reasons why he's (Gonzalez) not playing."

As it sits now, making Gonzalez the starting point guard was the right call and his play on the court backs that up.  He has started the last nine games for the Wolfpack and in that span he is averaging almost 11 points and four assists per game.

The realization is Engin Atsur is not at N.C. State anymore and he's not coming back.  Gonzalez is what you have.  And if he builds off of games like he had against Boston College (5 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists, 1 turnover) it might not be that bad.

Size:

Midway through the ACC season, Lowe decided to add size to his starting lineup, as well as athletic ability.  Sophomore Tracy Smith moved to the starting lineup and saw a dramatic increase in his minutes.  Smith came off the bench for the first 20 games of the season, and he only logged more than 20 minutes in four of those games.  Since joining the starters nine games ago against Virginia Tech, he hasn't played less than 20 minutes, and he hasn't scored less than 12 points in any game. 

The move to increase Smith's minutes and his involvement in State's inside-out style of play was smart, and it just might have highlighted the best scoring option for this team in the future.  In fact, he already may be the best scoring option this season.

Nobody on the team has scored more points than Smith since he entered the starting lineup.  There have even been stretches of games where Smith was the only one that could get points in the post.

X Factor:

What will Costner do? The decision Brandon Costner makes at the end of the season will have huge impact on the personnel of the Wolfpack next season.  He is set to graduate in May and he could choose to pass up his final year.  He has not had the breakout season we imagined he would with the absence of Hickson.  He is leading the team in scoring but he certainly did not emerge as the consistent go-to scoring threat.

Despite averaging a shade more than 13 points per game, he has wilted down the stretch offensively.  He did go through the mental lapse as he dealt with the death of his grandfather.  Whether an emotional loss is an excuse or not, his play on the court was negatively affected. 

Costner would greatly benefit from returning to school for his final year of eligibility.  He could become "the guy" for one year.  He would be the returning leading scorer and senior leader.  For his sake, he needs another shot at college ball to have a better season.  That is if he has aspirations to play beyond the college level.

He can go through stretches of dull spots when you wonder if he is even helping the team by being on the floor, and at other times he can really spark the team offensively.  Needless to say he will be wanted back with the loss of Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells to graduation. 

NIT?:

They are the three letters that everyone around the country usually makes jokes about.  But for a program trying to rebuild, it's something.

Nobody on the team wants to settle for the NIT, but a four-day run through the ACC Tournament will be nothing short of a miracle for a team that won six conference games in the regular season.

McCauley knew his club needed to win every game after the loss at Wake Forest.

"Pretty much, yeah," McCauley answered. "But I don't see why we can't."

Unfortunately for the Wolfpack it went 1-2 in the final three regular season games with losses at home to Maryland and at Miami.  Both games the Wolfpack was in contention to win the game.

A lot can come from an NIT berth.  It's the same as making a cheap bowl game in football.  You get extra practice time, you can develop the younger players, get on national TV a couple more times, and maybe go to New York City. 

Next up for N.C. State is a rematch vs. Maryland in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Thursday at 7 p.m.  Maybe the Wolfpack can find some of that magic that helped them make a run in the tournament two years ago.  But a copy of that would still leave this team shy of the field of 64.