2010 Basketball Preview

TECHNICIAN

RED SIDNEY’S SAVIORS?

Trio poised to live up to hype see page 4

insidered

Last chance to dance Veteran guard Javier Gonzalez looking to lead green backcourt to NCAA tourney.

See page 2.

Holston ready to emerge Junior Bonae Holston expecting breakout campaign.

See page 6.

Long summer paints different picture of center

After grueling offseason, sophomore DeShawn Painter has something to prove.

See page 7.

PAGE 2 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010

2010 Basketball Preview

TECHNICIAN

LAST CHANCE TO DANCE Veteran guard looking to lead green backcourt, return Pack to NCAA tourney for first time since 2006 Tucker Frazier Deputy Sports Editor

GRAP

HIC B

Y LUIS

TA ZAPA

As a member of coach Sidney Lowe’s first freshman class in 2007, senior Javier Gonzalez has experienced a number of challenges and triumphs throughout his career.

But there are two things he hasn’t experienced yet - playing in the NCAA tournament, and taking a young guard with star potential under his wing.

Gonzalez shuffled in and out of the starting lineup during his first two seasons, then dominated at times as a junior, like in the upset over Duke, when he posted 15 points and dished out eight assists.

But last season also had its lows, like his ill-advised flagrant foul in the closing minutes of the team’s ACC tourney loss to Georgia Tech.

One question mark entering the season was how Gonzalez and freshman Ryan Harrow, two point guards, would coexist in the backcourt.

In many cases, the arrival of a highly-touted recruit who plays the same position creates a bitter relationship between the veteran and newcomer. But the bond Gonzalez has formed with Harrow has been anything but sour.

“You think there would be some animosity between us but it’s not like that at all,” Harrow said. “He’s been showing me the ropes and since he has been here longer, he’s given me tips on how to do things. He’s been like a big brother to me, telling me what coach Lowe likes and what to expect.”

Harrow’s addition will also free Gonzalez up to continue his development into a threepoint threat. With another ball handler in the fold, Gonzalez has the opportunity to play

off the ball more, something the senior with a 35.8 three-point shooting percentage will welcome.

Gonzalez made strides during his junior season, posting career-highs in both points and assists, and will look to build off that progress this season. Known as a feisty point guard with a knack for knocking down clutch shots, Gonzalez said he has worked on other facets of his game to become more versatile.

“I’ve tried to work on my mid-range game a lot over the summer,” Gonzalez said. “I feel like I have a good three-pointer and get to the basket well, but I wanted to work on my mid-range to become more of a complete player.”

With 64 career starts, the native of Carolina, Puerto Rico, is one of the team’s most experienced players. On a 14-man roster featuring nine underclassmen, Gonzalez, along with classmate Tracy Smith, will be relied upon to supply leadership for the youthful Wolfpack.

“I’ve taken on more of a leadership role this year,” Gonzalez said. “We’re a young team and it’s [the seniors’] job to be examples for the younger guys. I’ve tried to be a little bit more of a vocal leader this season, too.”

After his team finished 2010 strong, winning six of its last nine, and welcomed three highly-touted freshmen in forward C.J. Leslie, swingman Lorenzo Brown and Harrow, its expectations entering the 2010-11 season are higher than ever. But Gonzalez knows there is nothing the team can do about the preseason hype other than play hard, night in and night out.

“We can’t really control our expectations, it’s out of our hands,” Gonzalez said. “All we can do is go out there and play hard every game and the results will come.

If you start worrying about living up to expectations then you’ve already made it harder on yourself.”

vs. Clemson vs. Wake Forest @ North Carolina @ Boston College vs. Duke @ Miami vs. Florida State @ Maryland vs. Virginia @ Georgia Tech @ Virginia Tech vs. North Carolina vs. Boston College @ Wake Forest Jan. 6 Jan. 10 Jan. 14 Jan. 20 Jan. 23 Jan. 27 Jan. 30 Feb. 6 Feb. 10 Feb. 13 Feb. 17 Feb. 21 Feb. 24 Feb. 27

SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS

OPPONENT

vs. Wake Forest @ Boston College @ Florida State vs. Duke vs. Miami @ Clemson @ North Carolina vs. Virginia Tech @ Duke @ Wake Forest vs. Clemson @ Maryland vs. North Carolina vs. Georgia Tech @ Virginia vs. Florida State Jan. 8 Jan. 11 Jan. 15 Jan. 19 Jan. 23 Jan. 25 Jan. 29 Feb. 2 Feb. 5 Feb. 13 Feb. 17 Feb. 20 Feb. 23 Feb. 26 March 1 March 6

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 • PAGE 3

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2010 Basketball Preview

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PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 • PAGE 5

PLAYMAKING POINT GUARD: RYAN HARROW STORY BY TYLER EVERETT

Y

ears before he signed with State and became the subject of highlight reels that made grown men giggle with joy, Ryan Harrow was somewhat of an oddity on the basketball court.

He had the diminutive stature to fit in with schoolchildren - Harrow said he stood 4-foot11-inches tall and weighed 90 pounds when he first met coach Sidney Lowe. But he also had the skills to captivate the attention of one of the top point guards in Wolfpack history.

“He was a young kid, but we watched him and I remember telling coach Monte Towe, ‘I like that guy,’” Lowe said. “I liked him from the first second I saw him on the floor. As a young guy, he had a good feel for the game, he controlled the game. He won every game that they played.”

Lowe was so impressed with Harrow he ditched the script of the recruiting trip that first exposed him to the young man with the high-pitched voice and jaw-dropping dribbling ability.

“We went up there to see someone else, another player,” Lowe said. “But we ended up not offering the guy we went to see. We ended up just concentrating on Ryan. That’s how it started – going to see another player.”

As far as top-f light point guards are concerned, it apparently takes one to know one.

An integral member of the Wolfpack’s 1983 national championship winning team, Lowe’s steady play at the point guided the club to national championship glory in one of the greatest upsets in college basketball history. Nearly 30 years after he helped Jimmy V and Co. dethrone heavily-favored Houston’s Phi Slamma Jamma attack, Lowe is still the ACC’s all-time leader in career assist-to-turnover ratio.

And the first time he saw Harrow in action, Lowe had a feeling.

“I don’t know, I was hoping I saw something special in him – his ability with the ball, how he made some other guys around him better,” Lowe said.

Harrow committed to State early, in June of 2008, and finished high school as the No. 6 point guard in the class of 2010, according to

W

ith basketball season more than six months away, Sammy’s Tap & Grill was overflowoing with students apparently unconcerned with finals. Those who didn’t show up May 4 at 3:30 p.m. or earlier hoping to witness an 18-year old’s signature on a sheet of paper at 5 p.m. were peering in from the parking lot as ...

HYPED MEN

C.J. Leslie was set to dot the line and officially join childhood friends Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown in one of the nation’s top freshmen classes

HOMEGROWN LEGEND: C.J. LESLIE BRENT KITCHEN/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTO

Harrow throws down a through-the-legs dunk while warming up for S.J.G Greater NC Pro-Am action during the summer.

HARROW AT A GLANCE

• • • • • • •

Height: 6’1 Weight: 160 Hometown: Marietta, Ga. Signed with the Pack: June 30, 2008 Position: PG Jersey No.: 12 Rivals.com ranking: No. 19 overall, No. 6 point guard SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS

Rivals.com.

And if Harrow’s higlight videos are any indication, it appears Lowe was onto something.

“He was young at the time, so we were trying to project in that case,” Lowe said. “We’re very happy with our projection.”

STORY BY SEAN KLEMM

Donald’s All-American selection and had seven hen C.J. Leslie announced his decision points and a game-high nine rebounds in the Mcin April to stay close to home and at- Donald’s All-America game. He also went for 19 tend N.C. State, Pack Nation erupted points and six rebounds in the Jordan Classic.

Although local hip-hop sensation Troop 41 with excitement. Following his freshman year of high school, Leslie committed to State, but opted hasn’t written a song and trademarked a dance to re-open his recruitment and explore other op- in his honor, it’s hard to ignore some of the parallels between Leslie and fortions. mer high school teammate After entertaining offers from and first overall NBA draft Kentucky, Florida, Connecticut, LESLIE AT A GLANCE • Height: 6’8 pick John Wall. Sure, the two and Oregon until nearly the last • Weight: 206 are built differently and play possible minute, Leslie finally an• Hometown: Holly Springs, completely different positions nounced his decision to run with N.C. • Signed with the Pack: April on the court, but the likeness the Pack. The signing of Leslie, 28, 2010 is evident nonetheless. tabbed as the most highly-tout• Position: F Wall and Leslie are products ed player coach Sidney Lowe has • Jersey No.: 5 • Rivals.com ranking: No. of local powerhouse Word of brought to the program, helped 14overall, No. 5 small God Christian Academy and give State a top-five recruiting forward were labeled as arguably the class, according to ESPN.com.

SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS most athletic players in their The drama surrounding Lesrespective classes. Both have lie’s recruitment included standthe tools to be great defensive ing-room-only crowds to watch him and his future teammates play in the S.J.G. players, an uncanny ability to slash to the basket, Greater NC Pro-Am held at N.C. Central over and a long, lean frame. And Leslie and Wall both left college coaches biting their nails anticipating the summer.

As a senior in high school, Leslie was a Mc- the decisions.

W

BRENT KITCHEN/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTO

Freshman forward C.J. Leslie dunks during warmups of an S.J.G. Greater N.C. Pro-Am game in Durham Tuesday, July 20.

POLISHED WINGMAN: LORENZO BROWN STORY BY TUCKER FRAZIER

A

fter a one-year stint at Hargrave Military Academy, a prep school in Virginia, freshman guard Lorenzo Brown is finally reunited with the Wolfpack. The native of Roswell, Ga., initially signed with N.C. State in November of 2008, but enrolled at Hargrave to improve academically.

With his 6-foot-5-inch frame, Brown adds the ability to score off the dribble as well as shoot from the perimeter—two things the Pack will welcome as it tries to build on a strong finish to the 2009-10 season.

During his senior year at Centennial High School, Brown averaged 20.8 points per game on the way to being named Georgia 5-A player of the year. On the AAU circuit, Brown played alongside familiar faces including teammate Richard Howell and former Wolfpack standout J.J. Hickson on the World Wide Renegades.

A high school career chocked-full of highlight reel performances earned Brown the 28th overall ranking

by Scout.com and recognition as a five-star prospect.

Brown chose the Wolfpack over Memphis, Florida and Connecticut before enrolling at Hargrave.

Although coach Sidney Lowe and Co. could certainly have used Brown last season, the year spent at Hargrave added strength, discipline and experience to his game, which is why many consider Brown to BRENT KITCHEN/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTO be the most polished of threee freshmen. Despite the Freshman guard Lorenzo Brown dunks the ball one-year hiatus, Brown said he is excited to finally during an S.J.G. Greater N.C. Pro-Am game in play for the Wolfpack and looked back on his experi- Durham Tuesday, July 20. ence at Hargrave favorably.

“It felt great to have a packed house at Reynolds,” “It’s great to be [at N.C. State]. Having an extra year at Hargrave I think really helped me to mature Brown said. “At Hargrave, we never had that. I walked and grow a little wiser about the game,” Brown said. out on the court and I was like, ‘I’m at home already’.”

The Wolfpack lacked a true play“That extra year made me stronger maker on the perimeter last season than I was in high school.”

BROWN AT A GLANCE as senior point guard Javier GonzaBrown is a jack-of-all-trades type • Height: 6’5 lez and sharp-shooting sophomore of player who can immediately con• Weight: 186 Scott Wood were the only consistent tribute in every facet of the game.

• Hometown: Roswell, Ga. • Signed with the Pack: July contributors. With the departures One look at his Wolfpack debut 27, 2008 of Julius Mays, Johnny Thomas and against Pfeifer University Tuesday • Position: SG Josh Davis, the team will rely heavnight, (17 points, six rebounds and • Jersey No.: 2 • Rivals.com ranking: No. ily on Brown to help offset the lost six assists) and it’s clear Brown pos37 overall, No. 7 shooting backcourt production. sesses the ability to be a differenceguard The attacking style of Brown’s maker.

SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS Although it was only his first game adds a new dimension to the game with the Pack, Brown said Wolfpack and will be a critical comhe instantly felt at home when he ponent as the team tries to reach the stepped onto the court against Pfeifer in front of NCAA tournament for the first time in the Sidney thousands of screaming fans, something he never Lowe era. got to experience while playing at Hargrave.

PAGE 6 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010

2010 Basketball Preview

TECHNICIAN

Holston ready to emerge Junior Bonae Holston expecting breakout campaign.

Jeniece Jamison Senior Staff Writer

Junior forward Bonae Holston will be a woman on a mission as one of the women’s basketball team’s most experienced players this fall

Throughout her career here at State, Holston has shown steady improvement. She averaged 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds as a freshman, including a two-game streak of consecutive double doubles against then-No. 2 Carolina and Florida State. She was also named to the ACC All-Freshman team and twice earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors.

She followed up her rookie season with a breakout sophomore campaign, leading the Pack with 12.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 47.6 percent shooting from the field. She finished in the top 20 in the ACC in each of those categories, then averaged 15.3 points per contest during the ACC Tournament and led the tourney in made field goals to earn ACC

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All-Tournament Team.

BY THE NUMBERS: “We were constantly chipping Holston’s 2009 stats away at her last year, constantly asking her to do more,” coach 12.6 Points per game Kellie Harper said. “I honestly Rebounds per believe that she felt like with Lucy 6.3 game [Ellison] graduating, she had to step it up and help our team do 47.6 Shooting percentage some things that Lucy did for us.” per 27.1 Minutes This season, Harper said she is game expecting nothing but continued SOURCE: N.C. STATE ATHLETICS improvement from the junior.

“Bonae’s attitude and intensity level is awesome right now,” Holston said. “On offense we Harper said. “She plays so much still have to execute. Sunday we harder than she did last year. She were obviously bigger and stronwants the basketball. Therefore ger than that team, but when we she’s going to go get the basket- play somebody that’s going to be ball on offensive board situa- bigger than us most of the time tions. She’s going to post up and we have to be able to execute our work harder in our offense. We offense.”

Harper said that more than need that. I think she feels good about where she’s at right now anything, it is Holston’s increased work ethic that too.” will have the In her most to do with team’s exhibiher ability to t ion op e ne r once again raise Holston’s 23 her game to anp oi nt , eig ht other level. rebound effort “I also believe indicated her t hird season women’s basketball coach Kellie that sophomore Harper p oi nt g u a rd with the Pack Marissa’s [Kasmight be her tanek] work effort rubbed off,” best yet.

But but based on what she has Harper said. “Right now I would seen so far, Holston said her team say we have two kids - Bonae and still has plenty of room for im- Marrisa - that outwork people.

We didn’t say that about Bonae provement.

“We just have to work on the last year. She always had a good little things, make sure we’re attitude, but she’s at another level boxing out on every shot and right now. Right now Bonae is crashing the boards on every giving it to us. Everyday in pracshot when we’re on offense,” tice and on the court.”

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2010 Basketball Preview

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 • PAGE 7

Long summer paints different picture of center After grueling offseason, sophomore DeShawn Painter has something to prove.

deep down, I have it,” Painter said. “You can ask my teammates and my coaches and they would say I have a lot of abilities. But you have to put the abilities with the concept of the team and what your role is. I feel like I owe the fans Taylor Barbour of N.C. State and my teammates the real DeShawn and Deputy Sports Editor do what I came here to do, which is help win ballgames.”

During the offseason, Painter said his daily workouts DeShawn Painter was supposed to be exactly what the were a grind, as he was in the gym two to three times per Pack needed.

He was rated the No. 20 power forward in the nation day, at least. That commitment did not stop during the and the 69th best player in the country. And after an early day, as the sophomore admitted that at times the hardcommitment to the Florida Gators, his decision to align wood became a pillow for him.

That kind of work ethic caught a former Pack player’s with the Red and White was supposed to be a boost to a eye. sub-par team that lacked front court depth.

“Early in the summer I was working out in the gym But things don’t always work out like they are supposed and I was in there putting in insane amounts of hours, to.

He instead struggled to grasp the college game, causing just working on my shooting, and there was this young coach Sidney Lowe to limit his playing time to an average kid over on the other side who was always in there just as much as I was,” former State forward Julius Hodge said. of only six minutes per game.

“DeShawn is just a really funny guy and “It was a humbling experience, but it we definitely hit it off really quick.” also made me work even harder than From there, Hodge and Painter began before,” Painter said. “You know what to train together and Hodge spent the kind of man you are when you go from rest of the summer working with him playing your whole life and being the to refine his basketball skills and keep best player to not playing at all.” him going during those long, grueling But a year can make a huge difference, workouts. and the 6-foot-9-inch sophomore hopes “He motivated me a lot this year. I am the work he put in during the offseason already a motivated guy, but he didn’t let is going to help himself and his team in me quit,” Painter said. “I just kept worka big way. sophomore center DeShawn Painter ing hard, knowing I had something on “I have just worked hard,” Painter said. my mind and felt like I had something “I got stronger and got a better feel for the game of basketball. It is more than just playing bas- to prove.”

During those one-on-one sessions, Painter focused on ketball. I had to learn the plays, know where to be on defense, know how to guard pick and rolls, and I feel like working not so much on the shooting and rebound aspect I got a lot better at those things. I can do some of those of the game, but on the finer points and the mental side of things. things this year, where as I couldn’t do them last year.”

“I just have a better understanding, a better knowledge Painter’s not the only one who feels he can help out his of the game,” Painter said. “I worked on the skills, but I team this season.

“He is going to be a definite X factor for us,” junior have always had a good deal of skill. It is just the little guard C.J. Williams said. “He has definitely improved his tricks of the trade that I now know.”

The sophomore wouldn’t admit how many games he game. His cerebral game has improved and that is going to be big for us and be a key part of what we want to do.” actually won or lost against Hodge one-on-one, but Painter is intent on becoming a different player as a did say that he learned a lot from him and from playsophomore and he hopes to show that the hype surround- ing against other former players like Marcus Melvin and Jordan Collins. ing him coming out of high school was justified.

“There were some growing pains, but with those guys, “I have to prove that I am what they think I am, that

“I have to prove that I am what they think I am, that deep down I have it.”

BRENT KITCHEN /TECHNICIAN

Sophomore center DeShawn Painter puts up a hookshot over Pfeiffer forward Chris Woods in Reynolds Coliseum Tuesday. Painter had two points and two rebounds in the Pack’s 111-73 victory.

there isn’t whining,” Painter said. “They are old heads.

You make a call or they foul you, it’s a no-call and you have to play through it. That’s one thing I learned, just handling adversity. It is not going to always go your way.

It hurt at the time, but it made me a man and much more mentally tough.”