One of the big questions heading into Thursday night’s season opener was whether or not highly-touted freshman forward J.J. Hickson would start.
He did, and he delivered — scoring 31 points, the most ever by a State player in the RBC Center.
The logical question now is how second-year coach Sidney Lowe keeps everyone happy while having to choose between starting Hickson and junior Ben McCauley, who was a starter and one of the team’s top players a season ago.
Lowe said Thursday the decision to start Hickson was the best thing for one game, not necessarily the season. He insists, anyway, that his team has six “starters.”
But we — and the players — can all do the math, and only five will be taking the floor at the beginning of each game.
How the players — McCauley and Hickson on the nights they don’t start in particular — respond to that fact could define how far this team can go.
McCauley told me before the season that none of the starters from last season, himself included, planned on giving up their spots. But with the show Hickson put on against William & Mary and the chance he may be here only a year to help the team, it’s hard to imagine him not starting often.
Lost in all this discussion, but not lost on Lowe, is the fact that freshman forward Tracy Smith, another top recruit, didn’t enter the game until the final minute against the Tribe.
Nine players saw at least seven minutes, including McCauley’s 14 minutes. He scored two points, but was limited in the first half by picking up a pair of quick fouls.
I’m not saying the team faces a chemistry crisis, certainly not after one game and there’s no evidence to show such a situation anyway. The guys on the team, though, all got here because they know how good they are.
Making sure they keep their eye on how good the team can be no matter who starts could be the difference between a good season and the Final Four-type season senior Gavin Grant has said is possible.
But, then again, wondering how to keep so many players happy is much better than wondering how they can make it to the end of a game after playing so many minutes.
It’s the kind of problem Lowe doesn’t mind having.
How do you think coach Sidney Lowe should solve this problem? Contact Clark and let him know at 515-2411 or e-mail him at sports@technicianonline.com.