BY TIM PEELER
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State men’s basketball coach Sidney Lowe wanted to take his team to Toronto for two exhibition games last weekend to give his young players a glimpse at college basketball, to improve his team’s chemistry and to get 10 days worth of practices in for a team that did not play well at the end of last season.
Mission accomplished.
The Wolfpack won both games, beating York University 81-60 on Saturday and University of Guelph 87-47 on Sunday. More importantly for Lowe, he saw some things that portend a bright future for a team that will likely enter the season with low outside expectations following last year's 15-16 finish.
But after watching junior Brandon Costner get 49 points and 22 rebounds in two games, junior Dennis Horner come off the bench to score 22 points in the second game and sophomore Javi Gonzalez dole out eight assists against only three turnovers, Lowe’s expectations are hardly diminished. He was particularly impressed with newcomers C.J. Williams and Julius Mays, who expect to see lots of quality time this season. Both averaged about 17 minutes of action in the two exhibition games.
The trip was devoted to basketball. The team practiced both days before it played, rounding out its NCAA-allowed 10 practices for such a preseason international trip. Much of the rest of the extended three-day weekend was spent traveling to and from Toronto.
Lowe discussed his impressions of the trip and how the experience will help the Wolfpack this coming season.
GoPack.com: Did you accomplish what you wanted in Toronto?
Lowe: I think we did. We got a chance to see our guys against other competition. We got to see if they responded to the things we worked on in the eight to ten days of practice, and they did. We got to see our young guys and, more than anything, let them play against college competition. They could see the speed of the game first hand. I think it was a great thing that we did. I thought our guys played well.
GoPack.com: What impressed you the most?
Lowe: Our aggression and the way we attacked in both games. We ran and we pounded the offensive boards with two or three guys on every shot. The play of certain guys was very impressive. Brandon Costner was unbelievable. He made plays where he would take a shot, run down and block a shot and then go get the layup on the other end. His leadership has been tremendous. If I had to pick one main thing, it would be Brandon’s emergence as a leader of this team.
GoPack.com: Did he look like the Brandon Costner of March, 2007?
Lowe: He did. His body is different. It looks more like it did then. More than anything else, his mind is there. His mind is on the team and leading. One of the things I noticed more than anything is that he has taken the two young guys, C.J. and Julius, under his wing. Wherever he was, they were. When he stretched, they were by him. When he ate, they were by him. I can see that he is going to teach those guys the right thing.
GoPack.com: It looked like everyone was hitting shots, not only inside but 3-point shots as well.
Lowe: We did, especially in the second game. That is something that we have to do. We talked many times about shooting woes and we had some tough nights last year. We had guys making shots this weekend. Dennis Horner came off the bench and really shot the ball well in the second game for us and put up big numbers. Trevor Ferguson shot the ball well. All the guys are playing well. Shooting the ball was big for us and getting those offensive rebounds and second opportunities.
GoPack.com: Did you see a lot of improvement in Javi Gonzalez?
Lowe: Watching him now, you can see what he has been learning. He knows we want to push the ball and he is going to have to make plays. That is something different for Javi. In high school, he was used to just taking his time bringing the ball down and/or having someone else bringing it down, giving it to him and letting him go to work. Now, we are telling him to push the ball and make those decisions. He did a nice job of making that adjustment of becoming a push guy and making those decisions like a real point guard. He’s done a great job of controlling his game. His game is really about looking to score, but he has really been looking to distribute the basketball. He took care of the ball and didn’t turn it over.
GoPack.com: What about the two young guys, C.J. Williams and Julius Mays?
Lowe: I thought they were great for their first time out. They are very smart, and I have said from Day 1 that their basketball IQ is very high. They both made basketball plays. I was pleased with both of them.
GoPack.com: How did Courtney Fells look in playing the three-position, specifically on defense?
Lowe: Courtney did a nice job. He didn’t shoot the ball as well as he wanted to, but he was very active on the boards. He got his hands on a lot of missed shots and loose balls. His defense was tremendous. His attitude was outstanding. Between he and Brandon, their attitudes are having an effect on our team in how positive they are, how tough they have been in getting through things and how they are talking to the younger guys. They are not only talking it, they are doing it. Courtney made some outstanding defensive plays in the last ball game that were just unbelievable. He had great hustle the whole time. I am not worried at all about him making that transition. He is so athletic and talented and his mind is set that he wants to be very good.
GoPack.com: So it wasn't so much the Xs and Os that impressed you, but how they played the game.
Lowe: That is the big thing for us right now. It’s not physical. It’s all mental. They are starting to understand that. They are letting the mind control the body. We can see that, just in the things I am seeing us do. Dennis Horner has been unbelievable at going to the offensive boards. Simon Harris has been going to the offensive boards. Basically, what I told the guys is that I know they want to go to the boards, but they are just not thinking about it. So think about it. If you think about it, you will do it.
GoPack.com: What do you need to do and what do you want to see from everyone between now and when practice officially starts in October?
Lowe: We will work on individual stuff now – mostly offensive moves. We will make sure they keep their weight down. We will get a lot of shooting in. We will do some things that will help them as a team mentally. If our minds stay where they are now – and I think they will – we will be fine. And we want to keep the mindset we have right now. We want to be positive.
GoPack.com: Is it safe to say you are pretty energized by what you saw?
Lowe: It was just fun to watch these guys. No one cared about anything. No one complained about anything. All the guys were together. It was positive, positive, positive. It wasn’t about “me.” One of the biggest compliments we had was when another coach came up to me and said “You guys really look like a disciplined team.” That’s a great compliment for a team that has been together for eight to 10 days. They are buying into what it takes to win. They are sticking together, not complaining, not worried about themselves or who is starting. Dennis Horner could start for us, but he has accepted his role of coming off the bench. He had a big game for us. We have talked about this before when people say our chemistry is good. All that means is that everyone is accepting their roles. That’s chemistry. Right now, we have a great chemistry.
You may contact Tim
Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.com
Courtesy: NC State
