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N.C. State Men's Basketball

A few recruits have withdrawn their commitments to the Pack while Cedric Simmons became a first-round NBA Draft pick. So now, Lowe's top priority is keeping baseball star

Andrew Brackman

in a basketball uniform.

Lowe said on Monday that he is recruiting Brackman as if the 6-foot 10-inch forward were a senior in high school. Over the summer, Lowe and his staff traveled to see Brackman pitch for the U.S. Baseball National Team.

This off-season, the rising junior will decide whether to return for another year of State basketball or focus on his baseball career. His 99 mph fastball makes him a likely first-round pick next season.

"I'm not sure when he's going to make the decision," Lowe said Monday. "We've talked on a number of occasions."

And Lowe has used his NBA coaching experience in his sales pitch to Brackman. He said Brackman's versatility and shooting ability is exactly what the pros want.

"It's why the NBA drafts so many foreign players -- big guys -- because you don't find that many big guys who can do what he can do," Lowe said.

Brackman, however, has never wavered in his love of baseball, and he has said that basketball led to the stress fracture in his hip that ended his baseball season early.

But Brackman's importance to Lowe's first team cannot be overlooked. He would be State's third highest returning scorer. But if he leaves, the only returning Pack post player is 6-foot 9-inch sophomore player

Ben McCauley

, who averaged only two points in seven minutes a game last year.

Still, Lowe remains hopeful that Brackman will return.

"Hopefully, it's an outcome where everybody will be happy," Lowe said.

• Reporter: Jason Jennings
• Photographer: Jason Jennings
• Web Editor: Kelly Gardner