Sidney Lowe arrived at the Weisiger-Brown Athletic Facility for an afternoon practice to find that he wasn’t the first member of his team or staff to arrive.

It was no surprise to Lowe, however, that freshman forward J.J. Hickson, the most highly-touted recruit in Lowe’s first recruiting class, had already been through a 6 a.m. workout. It was Hickson’s drive that caught Lowe’s eye and reminded him of the Jim Valvano mentality instilled in himself as a player.

“He has a great work ethic,” Lowe said. “He comes to play. He’s passionate about the game. I went down to watch him work out. First of all, he works out at six in the morning. Then he’ll come back in the afternoon after school and practice. And I’m watching this guy, and he never let up. He never ever let up.”

Basketball wasn’t Hickson’s first choice, however. As a child in Marietta, Ga., he dreamed of being a football player, despite his mother constantly telling him he would one day play basketball.

But when Hickson was 12, his mother passed away, forcing Hickson to live with his grandmother, Marie Myers.

In tribute to his mother’s wish, Hickson picked up the basketball and made it his life.

“When she passed, when I was 12, I picked up the basketball and just fell in love with it from there,” Hickson said.

Though he had basketball and a loving grandmother, Hickson lacked a father figure growing up. His father had left and wasn’t involved in his life.But when Hickson met Sidney Lowe, he caught a glimpse of the father figure he had been missing.

“My grandmother raised me,” Hickson said. “It was basically me and her growing up. She was all I had, and I love her to death. Growing up, I never had that father figure in my life.

“When I met coach Lowe, he was that father figure to me, and that’s why I came to State. And I know whether I do good or bad on the basketball court, I know he’s going to care for me like one of his.”

According to Lowe, recruiting Hickson was more about being that father figure than anything else. It was his commitment to the McDonald’s All-American as a son, rather than a player, that sold Hickson on State.

“When I was with him, I didn’t only talk about basketball,” Lowe said. “I talked about his personal life. I wanted to know how he was doing. I wanted to know ‘Was he dating? How was school?’ We just sat down and talked. And then I gave him some advice on certain things. And then I told him, ‘I’m going to treat you like my own. It’s going to be that way as long as you’re at State if you come.'”

Lowe’s NBA experience helped the recruitment process as well. As the No. 3-rated center by Scout.com and an All-American out of high school, Hickson’s ultimate goal is to reach the NBA, and Lowe’s experience with NBA greats weighed in Hickson’s decision.

“My experience in the NBA was a factor in him coming to us because that’s where he wants to go,” Lowe said. “I told him I’m going to teach him and work with him like I did those other guys, whether it was [Kevin] Garnett, Rasheed [Wallace], or whoever it was.”

Physically, Hickson measures up to be a force in the post: he’s 6 feet 9 inches, weighs 242 pounds and many teammates have already labeled him the strongest player on the team. With a size-17 shoe and the face of an 18-year-old, there’s no telling how much more the freshman could grow.Though he insists his grandmother wants to see him graduate from N.C. State, Hickson acknowledged that the idea of jumping to “the league” has crossed his mind.

“I’m not going to go through the season thinking that I’m just going to be here for one year and leave,” Hickson said. “I’m going to come in and play basketball, and if the opportunity presents itself, I’ll sit down with my family and coaches and go from there.”

Hickson is expected to contribute immediately, if not take hold of the spotlight altogether.

He’s shown glimpses of that expected brilliance, leading all scorers with 21 points in the Red-White game and averaging 11 points in the Pack’s two exhibition games. In the second exhibition, Hickson started at center in place of junior Ben McCauley, who played limited minutes due to illness.

According to assistant coach Pete Strickland, Hickson’s growth at the college level has been aided by the talented frontcourt he has to face in practice.

Srickland described the Hickson-McCauley battle in practice as “iron sharpening iron” and said the two are probably performing the best on the team in practices.

And as Hickson has quickly found a father in Lowe, he has inherently acquired a new family of brothers in his teammates. Senior forward Gavin Grant, in particular, has taken a liking to the freshman.

“I don’t want to say I recruited him, but I was his host on his visit. So we [were] really cool and enjoyed each other’s company,” Grant said. “He’s pretty much just like me: a city kid who likes to have fun and laugh. We get along, and we complement each other really well.”

Hickson’s routine and attitude are unchanged since arriving at State: wake up early, work hard and get better. And though he said he has no personal goals for being in the spotlight this season, his goals for the team are much higher.

“My passion is just to get better every day,” Hickson said. “That’s what I look forward to when I get out of bed, is getting better at basketball. I just want to win some games and restore the school to what it used to be.”