2010 Basketball Preview

TECH

NICI

ANRED

SIDNEY’S SAVIORS?Trio poised to live up to hype

see page 4

insideredLast chance to danceVeteran guard Javier Gonzalez looking to lead green backcourt to NCAA tourney.See page 2.

Holston ready to emergeJunior Bonae Holston expecting breakout campaign.See page 6.

Long summer paints different picture of centerAfter grueling offseason, sophomore DeShawn Painter has something to prove. See page 7.

2010 Basketball Preview TECHNICIANPAGE 2 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010

LAST CHANCE TO DANCEVeteran guard looking to lead green backcourt, return Pack to NCAA tourney for first time since 2006

Tucker FrazierDeputy Sports Editor

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 clos-ing minutes of the team’s ACC tourney loss to Georgia Tech.

One question mark entering the sea-son 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 Gon-zalez 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 three-point 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 ex-amples 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 wel-comed 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 pre-season hype other than play hard, night in and night out.

“We can’t really control our ex-pectations, 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 your-self.”

GRAPH

IC BY LUIS ZAPATA

2010 Basketball PreviewTECHNICIAN THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 • PAGE 3

Amedeo’s

3905 WESTERN BOULEVARD • RALEIGH • 919.851.0473

ITALIAN RESTAURANTServing Famous Italian Food Since 1963

Where Pack fans go, when they can't be at the game

ENJOY this $5 gift certificate

on a purchase of $15 or more

on your next visit to Amedeo’s!

Lunch • Dinner • Catering • Full Sports Bar with 96” HDTV

Not redeemable for cash. Valid on lunch or dinner. Not valid with any other offers. Expires 12/31/10.

Burgers • Wings Platters • Fry Fish/ Shrimp • Riblet Platters & More

RaleighNew Bern Commons S/Ctr.

4551 New Bern Ave. In front of Super Walmart

919.255.6891

CaryCrossroads Plaza

208 Crossroads Plaza919.233.1494

$5$5 Dinner Gift Certificate

Join Us for Dinner at Remington Grill and Use This Gift Certificate

Towards Your Purchase of $15 or MoreNot redeemable for cash. Valid on lunch or dinner. Not valid with any other offers.

Expires 12/31/10.

BEST BURGERGround Chuck With

Toppings Bar

BEST BBQPremium Shredded Pork Sandwiches and Platters Hickory Smoked Riblets

Chicken BBQ Sandwiches

Remington Grill

CONF

EREN

CE SC

HEDU

LEM

en’s

Bas

ketb

all

DA

TEO

PP

ON

ENT

Jan

. 8vs

. Wak

e Fo

rest

Jan

. 11

@ B

ost

on

Co

lleg

e

Jan

. 15

@ F

lori

da

Stat

e

Jan

. 19

vs. D

uke

Jan

. 23

vs. M

iam

i

Jan

. 25

@ C

lem

son

Jan

. 29

@ N

ort

h C

aro

lina

Feb

. 2vs

. Vir

gin

ia T

ech

Feb

. 5@

Du

ke

Feb

. 13

@ W

ake

Fore

st

Feb

. 17

vs. C

lem

son

Feb

. 20

@ M

aryl

and

Feb

. 23

vs. N

ort

h C

aro

lina

Feb

. 26

vs. G

eorg

ia T

ech

Mar

ch 1

@ V

irg

inia

Mar

ch 6

vs. F

lori

da

Stat

e

Wo

men

’s B

aske

tbal

l D

ATE

OP

PO

NEN

TJa

n. 6

vs. C

lem

son

Jan

. 10

vs. W

ake

Fore

st

Jan

. 14

@ N

ort

h C

aro

lina

Jan

. 20

@ B

ost

on

Co

lleg

e

Jan

. 23

vs. D

uke

Jan

. 27

@ M

iam

i

Jan

. 30

vs. F

lori

da

Stat

e

Feb

. 6@

Mar

ylan

d

Feb

. 10

vs. V

irg

inia

Feb

. 13

@ G

eorg

ia T

ech

Feb

. 17

@ V

irg

inia

Tec

h

Feb

. 21

vs. N

ort

h C

aro

lina

Feb

. 24

vs. B

ost

on

Co

lleg

e

Feb

. 27

@ W

ake

Fore

stSO

URC

E: N

.C. S

TATE

ATH

LETI

CS

Years before he signed with State and be-came the subject of highlight reels that made grown men giggle with joy, Ryan

Harrow was somewhat of an oddity on the bas-ketball court.

He had the diminutive stature to fit in with schoolchildren - Harrow said he stood 4-foot-11-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, an-other 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 con-cerned, 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 na-tional 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

Rivals.com. And if Harrow’s higlight videos are any in-

dication, 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.”

After a one-year stint at Hargrave Military Academy, a prep school in Virginia, fresh-man guard Lorenzo Brown is finally reunited

with the Wolfpack. The native of Roswell, Ga., ini-tially 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 abil-ity 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 cer-tainly 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 be the most polished of threee freshmen. Despite the one-year hiatus, Brown said he is excited to finally play for the Wolfpack and looked back on his experi-ence at Hargrave favorably.

“It’s great to be [at N.C. State]. Having an extra year at Hargrave I think really helped me to mature and grow a little wiser about the game,” Brown said. “That extra year made me stronger than I was in high school.”

Brown is a jack-of-all-trades type of player who can immediately con-tribute in every facet of the game. One look at his Wolfpack debut against Pfeifer University Tuesday night, (17 points, six rebounds and six assists) and it’s clear Brown pos-sesses the ability to be a difference-maker.

Although it was only his first game with the Pack, Brown said he instantly felt at home when he stepped onto the court against Pfeifer in front of thousands of screaming fans, something he never got to experience while playing at Hargrave.

“It felt great to have a packed house at Reynolds,” Brown said. “At Hargrave, we never had that. I walked out on the court and I was like, ‘I’m at home already’.”

The Wolfpack lacked a true play-maker on the perimeter last season as senior point guard Javier Gonza-lez and sharp-shooting sophomore Scott Wood were the only consistent contributors. With the departures of Julius Mays, Johnny Thomas and Josh Davis, the team will rely heav-ily on Brown to help offset the lost backcourt production.

The attacking style of Brown’s game adds a new dimension to the Wolfpack and will be a critical com-ponent as the team tries to reach the

NCAA tournament for the first time in the Sidney Lowe era.

When C.J. Leslie announced his decision in April to stay close to home and at-tend N.C. State, Pack Nation erupted

with excitement. Following his freshman year of high school, Leslie committed to State, but opted to re-open his recruitment and explore other op-tions.

After entertaining offers from Kentucky, Florida, Connecticut, and Oregon until nearly the last possible minute, Leslie finally an-nounced his decision to run with the Pack. The signing of Leslie, tabbed as the most highly-tout-ed player coach Sidney Lowe has brought to the program, helped give State a top-five recruiting class, according to ESPN.com.

The drama surrounding Les-lie’s recruitment included stand-ing-room-only crowds to watch him and his future teammates play in the S.J.G. Greater NC Pro-Am held at N.C. Central over the summer.

As a senior in high school, Leslie was a Mc-

Donald’s All-American selection and had seven points and a game-high nine rebounds in the Mc-Donald’s All-America game. He also went for 19 points and six rebounds in the Jordan Classic.

Although local hip-hop sensation Troop 41 hasn’t written a song and trademarked a dance in his honor, it’s hard to ignore some of the par-

allels between Leslie and for-mer high school teammate and first overall NBA draft pick John Wall. Sure, the two are built differently and play completely different positions on the court, but the likeness is evident nonetheless.

Wall and Leslie are products of local powerhouse Word of God Christian Academy and were labeled as arguably the most athletic players in their respective classes. Both have the tools to be great defensive

players, an uncanny ability to slash to the basket, and a long, lean frame. And Leslie and Wall both left college coaches biting their nails anticipating the decisions.

BRENT KITCHEN/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTOFreshman guard Lorenzo Brown dunks the ball during an S.J.G. Greater N.C. Pro-Am game in Durham Tuesday, July 20.

BRENT KITCHEN/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTOFreshman forward C.J. Leslie dunks during warmups of an S.J.G. Greater N.C. Pro-Am game in Durham Tuesday, July 20.

BRENT KITCHEN/TECHNICIAN FILE PHOTOHarrow throws down a through-the-legs dunk while warming up for S.J.G Greater NC Pro-Am action during the summer.

PLAYMAKING POINT GUARD: RYAN HARROW

HOMEGROWN LEGEND: C.J. LESLIE

POLISHED WINGMAN: LORENZO BROWNSTORY BY TUCKER FRAZIER

STORY BY SEAN KLEMM

STORY BY TYLER EVERETTHYPED MENWith 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 ...

C.J. Leslie was set to dot the line and offi-cially join childhood friends Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown in one of the na-tion’s top freshmen classes

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

LESLIE AT A GLANCE• Height: 6’8• Weight: 206• Hometown: Holly Springs,

N.C.• Signed with the Pack: April

28, 2010• Position: F• Jersey No.: 5• Rivals.com ranking: No.

14overall, No. 5 small forward


BROWN AT A GLANCE• Height: 6’5• Weight: 186• Hometown: Roswell, Ga.• Signed with the Pack: July

27, 2008• Position: SG• Jersey No.: 2• Rivals.com ranking: No.

37 overall, No. 7 shooting guard


PAGE 4 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 • PAGE 5

Junior Bonae Holston expecting breakout campaign.

Jeniece JamisonSenior 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 dou-bles 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 sea-son 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 cat-egories, then averaged 15.3 points per contest during the ACC Tour-nament and led the tourney in made field goals to earn ACC

All-Tournament Team.“We were constantly chipping

away at her last year, constantly asking her to do more,” coach Kellie Harper said. “I honestly believe that she felt like with Lucy [Ellison] graduating, she had to step it up and help our team do some things that Lucy did for us.”

This season, Harper said she is expecting nothing but continued improvement from the junior.

“Bonae’s attitude and inten-sity level is awesome right now,” Harper said. “She plays so much harder than she did last year. She wants the basketball. Therefore she’s going to go get the basket-ball on offensive board situa-tions. She’s going to post up and work harder in our offense. We need that. I think she feels good about where she’s at right now too.”

I n h e r team’s exhibi-t ion opener Holston’s 23 poi nt , e ig ht rebound effort indicated her third season with the Pack might be her best yet.

But but based on what she has seen so far, Holston said her team still has plenty of room for im-provement.

“We just have to work on the little things, make sure we’re boxing out on every shot and crashing the boards on every shot when we’re on offense,”

Holston said. “On offense we still have to execute. Sunday we were obviously bigger and stron-ger than that team, but when we play somebody that’s going to be bigger than us most of the time we have to be able to execute our offense.”

Harper said that more than anything, it is Holston’s increased

work ethic that wil l have the most to do with her ability to once again raise her game to an-other level.

“I also believe that sophomore poi nt g u a rd Marissa’s [Kas-

tanek] work effort rubbed off,” Harper said. “Right now I would say we have two kids - Bonae and Marrisa - that outwork people. We didn’t say that about Bonae last year. She always had a good attitude, but she’s at another level right now. Right now Bonae is giving it to us. Everyday in prac-tice and on the court.”

2010 Basketball Preview TECHNICIANPAGE 6 • THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010

RECYCLERECYCLINGLANDFILL

recycling binswalkway

are

HERE! or

NOPlastic Cups

Food Containers

CansBottles

Paper

R E C Y C L E

re c y c l i n g @ n c s u . e d u w w w. n c s u . e d u / re c y c l i n g

Holston ready to emerge

“She always had a

good attitude, but

she’s at another

level right now.”women’s basketball coach Kellie

Harper

BY THE NUMBERS: Holston’s 2009 stats

12.6 Points per game

6.3 Rebounds per game

47.6 Shooting percentage

27.1 Minutes per game


2010 Basketball PreviewTECHNICIAN THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 2010 • PAGE 7

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

Taylor BarbourDeputy Sports Editor

DeShawn Painter was supposed to be exactly what the Pack needed.

He was rated the No. 20 power forward in the nation and the 69th best player in the country. And after an early commitment to the Florida Gators, his decision to align with the Red and White was supposed to be a boost to a sub-par team that lacked front court depth.

But things don’t always work out like they are supposed to.

He instead struggled to grasp the college game, causing coach Sidney Lowe to limit his playing time to an average of only six minutes per game.

“It was a humbling experience, but it also made me work even harder than before,” Painter said. “You know what kind of man you are when you go from playing your whole life and being the best player to not playing at all.”

But a year can make a huge difference, and the 6-foot-9-inch sophomore hopes the work he put in during the offseason is going to help himself and his team in a big way.

“I have just worked hard,” Painter said. “I got stronger and got a better feel for the game of basketball. It is more than just playing bas-ketball. I had to learn the plays, know where to be on defense, know how to guard pick and rolls, and I feel like I got a lot better at those things. I can do some of those things this year, where as I couldn’t do them last year.”

Painter’s not the only one who feels he can help out his team this season.

“He is going to be a definite X factor for us,” junior guard C.J. Williams said. “He has definitely improved his 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.”

Painter is intent on becoming a different player as a sophomore and he hopes to show that the hype surround-ing him coming out of high school was justified.

“I have to prove that I am what they think I am, that

deep down, I have it,” Painter said. “You can ask my team-mates 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 of N.C. State and my teammates the real DeShawn and do what I came here to do, which is help win ballgames.”

During the offseason, Painter said his daily workouts were a grind, as he was in the gym two to three times per day, at least. That commitment did not stop during the day, as the sophomore admitted that at times the hard-wood became a pillow for him.

That kind of work ethic caught a former Pack player’s eye.

“Early in the summer I was working out in the gym and I was in there putting in insane amounts of hours, just working on my shooting, and there was this young kid over on the other side who was always in there just as much as I was,” former State forward Julius Hodge said.

“DeShawn is just a really funny guy and we definitely hit it off really quick.”

From there, Hodge and Painter began to train together and Hodge spent the rest of the summer working with him to refine his basketball skills and keep him going during those long, grueling workouts.

“He motivated me a lot this year. I am already a motivated guy, but he didn’t let me quit,” Painter said. “I just kept work-ing hard, knowing I had something on my mind and felt like I had something

to prove.”During those one-on-one sessions, Painter focused on

working not so much on the shooting and rebound aspect of the game, but on the finer points and the mental side of things.

“I just have a better understanding, a better knowledge of the game,” Painter said. “I worked on the skills, but I have always had a good deal of skill. It is just the little tricks of the trade that I now know.”

The sophomore wouldn’t admit how many games he actually won or lost against Hodge one-on-one, but did say that he learned a lot from him and from play-ing against other former players like Marcus Melvin and Jordan Collins.

“There were some growing pains, but with those guys,

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.”

Long summer paints different picture of center

BRENT KITCHEN /TECHNICIANSophomore 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.

“I have to prove

that I am what

they think I am,

that deep down I

have it.”sophomore center DeShawn

Painter

Documents

2010 Basketball Preview