Entering the 2008-2009 basketball season, expectations surrounding Wolfpack basketball are modest. State is picked to finish ninth in conference by the ACC media and one would be hard pressed to find someone who is including the Pack in their preseason NCAA bracket.
Rewind the clock one year and the situation looked much different. After leading State to a late-season run culminating in a trip the ACC Tournament championship game, coach Sidney Lowe seemed to have N.C. State basketball on its way back into the national spotlight. State was picked to finish third in the ACC, and even though its closest rivals, UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke, were picked one and two respectively, there was a consensus the balance of power in the Triangle was beginning to shift eastward.
But then something happened. Or perhaps something never happened. Brandon Costner, the hero of the 2007 ACC tournament, showed up overweight and ineffective, never realizing his potential to be one of the nation’s best forwards.
Heralded freshman J.J. Hickson was dominant, but his presence seemed to ruin the team’s chemistry and make the offense one-dimensional. Point guards Javi Gonzalez and Farnold Degand never materialized as the solution to replace Engin Atsur. The result: a 15-16 record, last place in the ACC, and a colossal disappointment for the most anticipated basketball season since the days of Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe.
For Lowe, the memory of last season will motivate him for the rest of his career.
“I won’t forget it,” Lowe said. “Every time we step out on that floor, I want to remind myself that we don’t want to go through that again. It’s over but it’s always there.”
Senior Courtney Fells, who has moved from shooting guard to small forward this season, said something was missing last season.
“I just think we didn’t play hard enough,” Fells said. “We didn’t want to win. When we played in Florida, we won. We wanted to win. We played well as a team. After that, we let little things get in the way.”
After serving 15 years as an N.B.A. coach, Lowe admits he has more to learn to adjust to the college game.
“As I said when I took this job, I’m going to learn every year, and I’m going to have to make adjustments,” Lowe said. “I was somewhat spoiled in my first year because I had Engin Atsur, so I really didn’t have to say much or do much because he would say it. I think coming back that second year, I thought that our guys still had that. Well, they don’t. And that’s not a negative thing, but they don’t, so I’m Engin Atsur now, and that’s my role now from here on out.”
Lowe and the Wolfpack enter this season seeking to redeem themselves and vault back into the conference’s elite teams. But there are question marks. State must replace its two leading scorers from last seaso — Gavin Grant and N.B.A. first round draft pick J.J. Hickson. The Pack is still looking for continuity at the point guard position after losing Atsur in 2007. Most importantly, how will the recruiting class of 200 — the trio who have been the core of State’s lineup since their second year on campus — respond to the critics and adversity?
“I think this team is back to the sophomore team I was on, the first year that coach Lowe was here,” Fells said. “We’re under the radar. I like that. Everything will be a surprise to the people, but it won’t be a surprise to us because we know what we’re capable of. A lot of people aren’t holding us to high expectations, and sometimes that’s good. You can just go out there and play.”
For his part, Lowe has resolved to hold a tighter grip on each player’s role this season. Last season, reports of troubles within the team began to surface surrounding chemistry issues with freshman standout J.J. Hickson. Lowe said State will never have those problems again.
“They’re going to accept their roles and I think our guys know that. And if they don’t, then they don’t play. It’s real simple,” Lowe said. “J.J. [Hickson] came here one year. He got drafted 19th in the league. He’s out there playing his tail off, getting 22 minutes. It’s hard to argue with that.”
As the Pack heads into its first game this weekend at New Orleans, the players understand 2008-09 is a pivotal season for the program. New Orleans, assistant coach Monte Towe’s former team, handed the Wolfpack its first loss last year. Which team will show up this season? Will it be the team that played its heart out at the 2007 ACC Tournament or the team whose untapped potential was the embarrassment of the conference.
Redshirt junior forward Brandon Costner said the Wolfpack is determined to redeem themselves this year.
“Everybody has the right attitude and is pretty focused on going into New Orleans and getting some redemption,” Costner said.
