J.J. Hickson sat on N.C. State’s bench with his warm-up jersey off and didn’t sit still.

He smiled. He tightened his shoes. He played with his socks, and sat there, smiling. And then when his coach sent him to the scorer’s table to check in, a loud ovation followed from the crowd.

But it didn’t take long for the true freshman to get a taste of college basketball. His first shot was blocked and sent out of bounds. And then on the next play, Barton’s 6-foot-6 big man, Brian Leggett, shot over him for two points.

Moments later, a rebound bounced past him.

That’s when Hickson’s facial expression turned from indifference to anger. He got a steal on defense, and after missing badly on a jumper, his opportunity was there.

Flying down the middle of the lane, Hickson went up for a two-handed slam. And as a defender stepped in front of him, Hickson soared even higher. He threw down a thunderous dunk and was fouled on the play. He found junior guard Brandon Costner and gave him a chest bump.

It was two of his four points in the first half. Despite the dunk, Costner said Hickson has to realize he can’t jump over any defender.

“He was a little anxious, overaggressive,” Costner said. “But that’s common for a freshman — first game, you got to get it all out.”

Hickson finished the night with 11 points, five rebounds and three steals in State’s 94-57 win over Barton College in an exhibition game at the RBC Center Thursday night.

Junior guard Courtney Fells said some people on the team told Hickson to relax and let the game come to him.

“He was a little hyper at first,” Fells said. “We told him that he just had to calm down and let it happen. In the second half, he understood what we were saying to him.”

While Coach Sidney Lowe didn’t say he was disappointed with the freshman’s performance, he said Hickson has to be more patient on the offensive end.

“He was rushing and he knew it,” Lowe said. “I think what he’s going to have to work on is being patient because teams may not allow him to go one-on-one down there.”

Sights and Sounds — N.C. State vs. Barton College

BC cheers for B. Costner

During the first half of the game, Barton College fans held up big blue and white signs with the showing off the letters B and C. With the way redshirt sophomore Brandon Costner was playing, it was hard to tell if they were really cheering for Barton College or Costner. He was the leading scorer for the game with 22 points.

Fear the blazer

Students could be seen sporting the new basketball shirts, “Fear the Blazer.” The red blazer was a common theme circulating around the RBC Center. Lowe and his coaching staff were wearing classic black last night.

Wuf in your face

Midway through the second half, Mr. Wuf started cheering in front of the Barton cheerleaders. The girls responded by yelling “Bulldogs” louder, but they were no match for Mr. Wuf with the State student section backing him.

— Jen Hankin