Recruiting class critical for Pack basketball program
Feb 5, 2009
Two images this week served as a reminder that N.C. State faces a sense of urgency when it comes to its men’s basketball program.
The first came Tuesday night, when you could see huge patches of empty seats in the game at the RBC Center against N.C. Central. The official attendance was 10,888, but either there were phenomenally long lines for popcorn or that figure didn’t reflect how many fans were really there.
The second came Wednesday, as State coach Sidney Lowe watched the Word of God at Ravenscroft game – and Holy Rams star John Wall was spectacular.
State is at a critical point in Lowe’s tenure. Brandon Costner took a medical redshirt as a freshman and is now in his third year of eligibility. But he will graduate in May. The fact that he won’t commit to another year of playing, and that Lowe says he hasn’t talked at length yet with Costner about his future, is a strong indication Costner won’t return.
State doesn’t have many ACC-level players right now. Two of them, center Ben McCauley and wing Courtney Fells, are seniors. If Costner joins the exodus, the only returning player who deserves minutes in ACC play is Tracy Smith. Trevor Ferguson, Farnold Degand and Dennis Horner would be role players – at best – on a solid ACC team.
The returning squad doesn’t offer much hope that State fans will be flocking to the RBC Center to watch the Wolfpack play. And if the fans aren’t coming, and revenues aren’t rolling in, then Lowe’s future is in jeopardy.
So the incoming freshmen have to help make State competitive.
So far, the incoming class looks promising. Richard Howell, a 6-foot-7 power forward, and 6-4 guard Lorenzo Brown are both four-star recruits.
“Howell is a guy who’s a junkyard, blue-collar power forward,” said Dave Telep, national recruiting director for Scout.com. “He’s a guy who will be in the rotation. He has to be. And Brown is the guy they’ll have to have handle the basketball. He’s naturally a scorer.”
Also coming is 6-5 shooting guard Scott Wood of Marion, Ind. Wood is more of a spot-up shooter, Telep said, who will need others help him to get his shots.
It’s a critical class, with Wall or without him. How those freshmen perform will be essential to the Pack’s future.
N.C. State is playing harder this season and Lowe is growing as a coach, but the Wolfpack roster needs a serious infusion of talent for State to be competitive again in the ACC.
