WRALSportsFan
N.C. State's Lowe Mulls Changes to Starting Lineup
Fans cheer in the background as SIdney Lowe looks on.
Jan 15, 2008
An embarrassing 31-point loss to rival North Carolina might trigger some changes in the lineup for N.C. State (11-4, 0-1)
The Wolfpack is averaging 19 points in the first half over its last three games, prompting coach Sidney Lowe to reevaluate his personnel in a concerted effort to get off to better starts.
“It’s definitely something that I’m looking at. I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do,” Lowe said on Monday. “Certainly we have come out to a better start.”
N.C. State plays at Clemson Tuesday night at 7 p.m.
Point guard remains an issue for the Pack so much that Engin Atsur’s name keeps resurfacing 15 games into the season.
The statline for the Marques Johnson-Javi Gonzalez duo at point guard is unimpressive at best. Combined, they average 1.8 points, one assist and 1.2 turnovers per game.
Nonetheless, Lowe said wing players Courtney Fells or Gavin Grant would “probably not” be asked to run point as they were last year when Atsur missed a game.
“Not at this point. Again, it’s still better for us having Courtney play his natural position and Gavin play his natural position,” Lowe said. “I haven’t thought about that but it’s certainly not something I’ve ruled out.”
But the issue isn’t just at point guard. Other players who have been lackluster in the first half of recent games may be in danger of losing their starting spot as well, according to Lowe.
“I’m looking at a number of positions,” Lowe said. “Not just point guard. We need to try to get off to a good start and at some point we have to find that group that’s going to be a good starting group. I think we have a good group to finish, we need a good group to start.”
Against UNC, State started Gonzalez at point guard, Fells at shooting guard, freshman J.J. Hickson at center, Gavin Grant at small forward and Brandon Costner at power forward.
State shot just 6 for 34 in the first half. Grant was 0-for-7, Hickson 2-for-9, Fells 2-for-6 and Costner and Gonzalez both 0-for-2.
Ben McCauley, a starter last season, came off the bench to play 10 minutes in the first half. He made 2 of 7 shots.
Carolina outrebounded State 31-17 in the first half.
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