Thanks to what is easily the highest-rated recruiting class of his short career with the N.C. State, coach Sidney Lowe and his staff are optimistic about their team’s chances of improving on its finish at the bottom of the ACC in Lowe’s first three seasons.
“I’m excited about the players we have coming back and the players we have coming in,” Lowe said. “I think we’re going to be better.”
The class, which features three recruits ranked in the top 65 of ESPN’s national top 100, has been hailed as one of the country’s best by multiple recruiting services, as ESPN.com has the Pack’s 2009 class ranked No. 11 in the country while scout.com has it No. 13 nationally.
In addition to receiving high praise from the recruiting analysts, the incoming talent also has sophomore Julius Mays excited about the prospect of playing with such a talented and well-rounded recruiting class.
“As a team, we are real excited about all of them,” Mays said. “I think we got all the pieces that we needed.”
One of the headliners of the class is shooting guard Lorenzo Brown of Georgia, ranked by ESPN as the #9 shooting guard in the nation and the #29 player in the nation. Brown comes to Raleigh with a reputation as someone capable of producing both off the dribble with athleticism and from the perimeter with his outside shot. Joining him on the perimeter will be Scott Wood of Indiana, who played high school basketball with Mays.
Lowe said he looks forward to seeing what each of his recruits will bring to the table. He specifically cited the combination of Brown’s ball-handling and Wood’s accuracy from long-distance.
“They all have a certain thing right now that they do well,” Lowe said. “From Lorenzo’s ability to handle the ball at the two-guard position to Scott Wood’s ability to shoot the ball, I feel comfortable with them.”
As welcome as the perimeter help will be, the arrival of a pair of promising power forwards, DeShawn Painter of Virginia and Richard Howell of Georgia–the 19th and 20th ranked high school power forwards in the country according to ESPN–could prove even more valuable. Their progress and development will likely prove vital in light of the loss of last season’s top two scorers and rebounders, Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner.
Painter and Howell could further their impacts if one or both can draw attention of opposing team’s interior defenders away from burgeoning low-post scorer Tracy Smith, the rising junior who scored 10 or more points in each of last season’s final nine games.
Lowe said he expects the infusion of young talent to improve the team by providing the versatility necessary to utilize different styles of play.
“I think we are going to be better and more versatile in a couple positions,” Lowe said. “And we will have an opportunity to play a little different style at times.”
The six-man class also includes seven-foot center Jordan Vandenberg of Australia. Vandenberg, who could provide matchup problems with his combination of height and mid-range jump shot, was considered one of Australia’s top big men while playing at the same school that produced NBA players Andrew Bogut and Luc Longley.
Local product Josh Davis of nearby Athens Drive rounds out the class.
The expected production from the incoming recruits will combine with that of players such as Mays and Smith, who showed flashes of potential last season, to make this young team one that Julius Mays says is capable of putting together a strong 2009-2010 basketball season.
“As long as they do the little things that we need to win, I think we’ll be alright,” Mays said.
