Leslie: Give it another round

The biggest question mark facing the Wolfpack men’s basketball team this offseason is if sophomore forward Calvin “C.J.” Leslie will stay at N.C. State for his junior season or forgo it to enter the NBA draft. There’s no question Leslie has the talent and numbers to be in the NBA, but is he ready to stay in the NBA for more than a season or two? The best decision for both State and Leslie would be for Leslie to stay put in Raleigh and have more seasons under head coach Mark Gottfried’s tutelage.

Leslie has made great strides as a basketball player. During his freshman season under then head coach Sidney Lowe, Leslie showed flashes of his talent, but many times he took wild shots, dribbled the ball too much and many felt he played half-heartedly at times. When Gottfried came in, he took it upon himself to get the most out of Leslie. It started out on the first day of practice, when Gottfried called Leslie “Calvin” rather than “C.J.” The name symbolized a new beginning for Leslie.

Leslie bought into Gottfried’s system, and the two developed a strong relationship.  This could be seen after Leslie fouled out of the ACC semifinal game against North Carolina; Gottfried was right there to embrace and support the disheartened player.

This past season, Leslie led the Wolfpack in scoring, averaging 14.7 points per game, up from 11.0 ppg . his freshman year. He improved his field goal percentage from 43.3 percent to 52.5 percent, a sign he was taking better shots. In the final 10 games Leslie averaged 18.3 points and 9.6 rebounds. During the last few games of the season, Leslie had a driven look in his eyes, hustled on the court and took charge of games. Imagine what he could do under at least one more year of Gottfried .

At this time, Leslie is projected to be a late first round to early second round pick. Nbadraft.net has Leslie going at No. 22 in the 2013 draft and draftexpress.com has him in round two at No. 5 in this year’s draft. Second-round picks typically make the league minimum salary, $490,180 dollars, and not many stay in the league past one to two seasons. In recent years, several Wolfpack players left early before they were ready and have failed to have success in the NBA.

 Cedric Simmons left after his sophomore year after was drafted in the first round by the New Orleans Hornets, but only lasted three seasons. Brandon Costner wasn’t drafted and never played in the NBA after declaring for the draft following his junior year. Josh Powell bounced around from team to team as a backup for several seasons, but is now out of the league. The only State player currently in the NBA is J.J. Hickson , who left State following his freshman year, and he currently is a backup forward for the Portland Trailblazers.

Leslie still has areas he can improve upon. His outside shot needs work, he could cut down on turnovers and bulk up to prevent from being pushed around by the NBA’s elite big men. Leslie isn’t ready to compete with the likes of Blake Griffin, Kevin Garnett, Chris Bosh and Kevin Love on a regular basis and have success.  If he can build off this past season, Leslie should be a lottery draft pick in 2013.

Leslie’s work isn’t finished here at N.C. State. Sophomore guard Lorenzo Brown and Leslie came to State with the goal of restoring the Pack to prominence.  A Sweet 16 is a more than a good start, but next season the Wolfpack has the strong chance to win the ACC for the first time since 1989 and make it even further in the NCAA tournament.

One more year at State could be the difference between a two year NBA career and a 10-plus year career in the league for Leslie.