During the Herb Sendek years, embittered State fans became fond of saying State had become a football school. But with the fall of the house of Amato coinciding with the rather impressive debut of Sidney Lowe, that has been shown to be nonsense: State was and is a basketball school, and will remain one for the foreseeable future.
At the beginning of last year, most folks figured State was a disaster waiting to happen, but that certainly didn't occur. Although they were slowed at the beginning by Engin Atsur's injured hamstring and adjusting to a new coach (sans point guard no less), the Pack kept working.
When they were hammered by Duke in January, though, it appeared that this was a dispirited team, and that the wheels could come off.
But they didn't.
Two games later, they punked Virginia Tech and followed that up with a stunning upset of UNC.
In the ACC Tournament, the Pack really caught fire, knocking off Duke in a brilliant pay-back performance, then throttling Virginia and Virginia Tech (for the third time) before finally, and very stubbornly, bowing to the Heels in the finals.
The Pack continued their inspirational play in the NIT, playing three games before losing to West Virginia. And most of this stretch (like much of the season) was played with only six or seven players, which was an incredibly resilient performance and in that very particular respect, perhaps the greatest run in conference history.
What State accomplished, in the upsets of UNC and Virginia Tech in the regular season, followed by the magical March ride, was to reconnect with State's tremendous tradition. From Everett Case to Norm Sloan to Jim Valvano, State basketball was emotional, fast, and often electrifying.
Sidney Lowe gave them that back and he followed up a tremendous debut (particularly considering what seemed to be severe personnel limitations early on and with a very thin roster throughout) with tremendous recruiting.
So it seems safe to say that even if State struggles this year, the Pack is back.
But they shouldn't struggle too much, assuming they can find a point guard.
State returns Gavin Grant, Courtney Fells, Trevor Ferguson, Dennis Horner, Brandon Costner, and Ben McCauley, and adds transfers Marques Johnson (Tennessee) and Farnold Degand (Iowa State) and freshmen Javier Gonzalez, (6-0), Tracy Smith (6-7), Johnny Thomas (6-5), Clayton Beard (6-5), and J.J. Hickson (6-9).
Last year's depth problems, it would seem, are over.
State's biggest concern has to be at the point. Gonzalez has received good reviews, but he hasn't done it yet against ACC competition. Gavin Grant has filled in in a pinch, but Lowe has made it clear he doesn't want to put Grant in that position, and it's understandable, too, since Grant has at times been a turnover machine.
It is a weakness, but State managed to get around it last year with a thinner roster, so you'd expect they'd work something out. They'll have to get someone to fill in or possibly run the show if Gonzalez isn't ready.
And that aside, State is sitting on a winning hand. Grant has had trouble hanging on to the ball, but he's also made himself into a dynamic player, a guy who can slash to the basket and who is athletic enough to play with almost anyone in college. He knocked down 14.7 ppg last year and grabbed nearly seven boards, diminishing that somewhat with 4.2 turnovers per game.
Courtney Fells turned into a solid player as a soph and adds outside shooting. He, too, is a pretty good athlete. Under Sendek, he rarely played, but Lowe coaxed a good season out of Fells and the future is promising.
Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley were both superb last year. Costner averaged 16.8 ppg and 7.3 boards, while McCauley racked up 14.4 ppg and 6.9 rpg. Not many people (including us) expected them to play that well, but they did and are as responsible as anyone is for State's success last year.
Dennis Horner and Trevor Ferguson round out the returnees. Horner is a promising player who averaged 4.6 ppg last season and provided valuable depth to an oh-so-thin team (to put it in perspective, these guys plus Atsur were basically the team last year), along with Brian Nieman, who played out of sheer necessity.
We really admired Ferguson for his energy and his willingness to keep plugging away. He strikes us as a guy who understands the game, and players like that often find a way to steal some minutes. He needs to get stronger, but he has potential. He's fun to watch, too, even though he hasn't had a particular impact yet.
Aside from the rookie Gonzalez, State adds freshmen J.J. Hickson, Tracy Smith, Clayton Beard (a recruited walk-on) and Johnny Thomas, and transfers Farnold Degand and Marques Johnson.
Of these, Hickson is the most prominent. A 6-9 inside player, Hickson was a second-team Parade All-America player. He's powerful and will push for minutes, and with Costner and McCauley, gives State a very solid rotation of big guys.
At 6-5, Johnny Thomas is said to be a superior athlete, and his coach says he will be a surprise in the ACC. He'll play if he is a good defender; the rest is a bonus at this point unless he's unusually gifted and forces the team to accommodate him offensively. Thomas could earn extra time if he can handle the point some as well.
A life-long State fan, he's one of those lucky kids who gets to play for his dream school.
Six-foot-seven Tracy Smith could emerge as a coup. The Michigan native was grossly overweight in high school but lost 60 pounds and emerged as a better player than people knew. If he continues to improve, State's inside rotation could be as good as anyone's.
Farnold Degand, the 6 -5 Boston native and Iowa State transfer, will have to prove himself. He redshirted at Iowa State which implies a certain unreadiness or worse, and he's moving up a level after, practically speaking, failing at a lower one.
However, he signed at Iowa State because of the guy who was coaching there at time time (since fired) and was very interested in N.C. State as well, although the guy who was coaching at State (Sendek) when he was being recruited has also left.
At the least, he provides more depth.
Marques Johnson comes to State after a single semester at Tennessee, where he left Bruce Pearl's program frustrated by a lack of playing time. Only a few people know the specifics of his situation, but that seems awfully impatient: basically, he left in December of his freshman year, which means he didn't even get to conference play before he bolted.
State offered a lot of playing time when he made his decision, but now he's competing with Degand, Thomas, Grant, and Fells.
He may not have improved his odds of getting minutes, in other words, and if he was unhappy with his minutes at Tennessee, he may not be much happier at State. He'll be eligible for the second semester.
And in some ways, that underscores what may be one of Sidney Lowe's toughest challenges this year.
In his first season, Lowe had a thin team, and managed to get them to stick together and coached them brilliantly. But he had no bench to speak of and no one got to sit for long.
This season, with at least 12 guys who could play, Lowe will have to keep a lot of guys happy, and it won't just be guys like Johnson, with his history of impatience. Guys who got 35 minutes a game last year - Costner, McCauley, Grant - will get less. And with more offensive options, Lowe, like any coach, will spread the scoring around.
If he can get his team to buy in again, and if he can integrate what amounts to another team (by last year's six to seven man rotation standard) with his returnees, and if he can identify someone who can run his team and take care of the ball (and organize the defense), Lowe has a chance at a very, very good season.