As soon as freshman phenom J.J. Hickson took the court Thursday night, he made his presence known. After winning the opening tip-off, Hickson scored 26 seconds into the game en route to a 31-point night as N.C. State won its season-opener 66-47 over William & Mary.
“It’s not what I expected. I was just looking to have fun,” Hickson said. “It doesn’t matter how many points I score as long as we win the game.”Hickson also went 12-for-12 from the field, setting a team record for most field goals attempted without a miss. He broke the record set by Josh Powell, who sank 10-of-10 shots against North Carolina A&T in 2002.
Hickson’s 31 points ranked as the most ever by a Wolfpack player at the RBC Center.
Coach Sidney Lowe praised Hickson’s performance in his first regular season game.
“I’ve been in that position before as a freshman: Obviously, I didn’t perform quite as well as he did,” Lowe said.
Senior forward Gavin Grant, who finished with four points, said he’s eager to see what Hickson will do the rest of the year.
“I can’t wait to see him play against a bigger, stronger opponent,” Grant said. “But I’m pretty sure he’s going to have his way with pretty much anybody he faces this year. He’s gifted.”
Sophomore Brandon Costner finished with 13 points and collected 12 rebounds.
“J.J. wasn’t doing much rebound-wise, so I’m going to have to get on him about that,” Costner said with a laugh. “I had to pick it up for him.”
Although Hickson essentially stole the show, State’s supporting players made their collective presences known. Courtney Fells finished with 10 points, and Dennis Horner earned the crowd’s admiration after he stuffed a Tribe player’s lay-up attempt.
Ben McCauley, a junior forward, didn’t see a lot of action against the Tribe, playing less than half of Hickson’s 30 minutes. Lowe said McCauley’s playing time could increase in future games.
“When we put Ben in in the first half, he got those two fouls, so we had to take him out of the game. I don’t think tonight’s game was any indication of minutes, though,” Lowe said. “Tonight’s game called for J.J. to play a little more tonight, but certainly I know what Ben can do, and he will get his time.”
State received a brief scare when William & Mary climbed within five points midway through the second half off a three-pointer by Nathan Mann and a lay-up by Laimis Kisielius. Redshirt sophomore point guard Farnold Degand insisted his team did not panic as the Tribe mounted a comeback.
“All we had to do is run our offense and get one basket, just to get us back in there,” Degand said.
State scored the next 10 points to put away William & Mary.
The RBC Center crowd screamed and chanted Hickson’s name as he left the game with less than a minute left. Back at the bench, he was greeted with handshakes from his teammates and a hug from his coach.
“It really boosted my confidence,” Hickson said. “I have to learn from my mistakes, though, because I didn’t play a perfect game.”
By the Numbers — N.C. State vs. William & Mary
5 – assists by Gavin Grant10 – turnovers for each team13-for-18 – from the free throw line for the Wolfpack24 – three-point attempts for State31 – points by J.J. Hickson, most ever by a State player in the RBC Center34 – minutes by Brandon Costner, a team high12,549 – attendance at the game
-Clark Leonard
Sights & Sounds from N.C. State-William & Mary men’s basketball game
First game draws Wolfpack heavyweights
Thursday’s match-up was just the first game of the season. But it was enough to bring out Athletic Director Lee Fowler and prominent Wolfpack Club booster Wendell Murphy.
State avoids first-game scare
With recent early-season losses by nationally ranked Kentucky and Southern Cal and North Carolina’s close call Wednesday night against Davidson, the college basketball landscape has seen plenty of surprises.
But No. 21 N.C. State kept a sizable lead for much of the game and made sure William & Mary got no closer than 49-44 in the second half.
Smith gets little playing time
Eleven players saw action, but freshman forward Tracy Smith didn’t get any playing time until the final minute against the Tribe. For much of the game, junior Ben McCauley was also sitting, but Lowe said that won’t be an every-game occurrence by any means.
“J.J. [Hickson] was playing well, so we had to ride with J.J.,” Lowe said. “There’s going to be games where we’re going to have to ride with Ben.”
Red jackets come out early
The new “Fear the Blazer” T-shirts weren’t the only thing to play off Sidney Lowe’s fashion sense at Thursday’s game. A group of students sitting behind the dance team figured it wasn’t too early to bring out their own red sports coats.
-Clark Leonard
