2010-11 NC State Men's Basketball Preview

Sidney Lowe begins his fifth season at the helm of the Wolfpack men's basketball team with his best overall recruiting class. A trio of quality incoming freshmen has generated a buzz among State fans that's been missing since Lowe's playing days at his alma mater. However, the removal of Lee Fowler as athletic director this past June would indicate that the disappointments of previous seasons have even the school administration ready for a change of fortune.

Last year, NCSU finished with a 20-win season (the second under Lowe), advancing to the ACC tournament semifinals and the second round of the NIT. That's the good news. The bad news is that the squad finished 5-11 for a fourth straight losing season in conference play. In this pivotal season, the team returns a solid core of experienced players to complement an upcoming youth movement.

Key Returns
Tracy Smith (16.5 points, 7.3 rebounds) and Javier Gonzalez (9.5 points, 3.7 assists) provide the senior leadership of this year's team. The offense will most likely continue to flow through Smith as it did last season. Gonzalez has improved every year and must continue that trend, especially in ballhandling and shooting beyond the arc. The team's leading outside shooter, Scott Wood (7.8 points), returns for his sophomore season and should compete with the incoming freshmen for a starting role. Fellow sophomores Richard Howell and DeShawn Painter give the Pack good size and athleticism in the frontcourt, and junior C. J. Williams will likely be a swingman off the bench.

Key Losses
Second-leading scorer Dennis Horner (11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds) graduated after a solid season. Farnold Degand (5.5 points) also finished an up-and-down college career. Johnny Thomas graduated early; Thomas never truly recovered from a 2007 preseason knee injury as a freshman. Bench reserves Julius Mays and Josh Davis both left the team after the season as the high-profile recruits committed to NCSU.

Key Additions
Lowe scored a legitimate blue-chip class this season in freshmen Lorenzo Brown, Ryan Harrow, and C. J. Leslie. Brown can handle either guard position, Harrow is an aggressive natural shooter with speed to burn, and local product Leslie is an explosive forward with an outside shot. The talent level of the Wolfpack has improved exponentially with their arrival.

What to Expect
The Wolfpack could be in for a wild ride as the youth movement pushes the old guard for playing time this season. The non-conference schedule includes one tough stretch, facing Wisconsin and Syracuse in succession on the road in early December. As for ACC play, the team and Coach Lowe desperately need to finish better than last season's ninth-place tie (which is the highest NCSU has finished in the Lowe era). Unfortunately, the expectations that come with a top recruiting class may be more than the freshmen can live up to. If nothing else, however, the athleticism on display in Raleigh should offer some high-risk, high-reward entertainment on the court.

Prediction
It's hard to call this season a "rebuilding year" when the team had to overachieve just to get to last year's NIT. This could be the first true "building" year that Sidney Lowe has had in his tenure as head coach. If the Pack plays to its potential, the team should enter conference play with 11-12 wins; in the ACC, this could finally be the year that NCSU finishes near .500 in conference play. Balancing the team's inexperience against the current state of the conference, look for another 20-win season with an ACC record of 7-9, around seventh place in the standings.