WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

N.C. State freshman practiced in full for first time this week

By Tim Hall

Nov 25, 2009

N.C. State may have exceeded early season expectations by beating Auburn for the Glenn Wilkes Classic title in Daytona Beach.  The 4-0 record has been achieved without the help of the most acclaimed of the freshmen newcomers, Richard Howell, who suffered a preseason knee injury.

Head coach Sidney Lowe had previously said that Howell would be slowly phased back into workouts in late November.  Lowe addressed his status on his weekly radio show last night, heard on 99.9 The Fan ESPN Radio.

"Richard practiced Tuesday for the first time for a full practice," Lowe said. "He had two 45-minute practices prior to us going down to Daytona, so we're trying to work him back in now. Obviously his conditioning is a factor and getting accustomed to the sets and things we're running."

Howell is a 6-foot-8 266 pound forward from Marietta, GA and is the only Wolfpack freshman that was ranked in Rivals.com's Top 100 players for the 2009 class.

"He's got quick feet, and Richard is an excellent passer," Lowe said. "He'll be an excellent pick n' pop player, inside he's got some stuff with that big body and he actually runs the floor well.

"You'll like him, you'll like watching him play.  He just needs to get in shape."

The Wolfpack take on New Orleans at 2 p.m. on Sunday.  Then competition gets stiffer as Northwestern appears on the schedule as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.  The Pack then travel to Marquette.