STF Super-Awesome Team Previews: #12 North Carolina State

Team: NC State Wolfpack

Conference: ACC

2006 Record and Ending: HEY, KOOL-AID!!! Sidney Lowe showed us why the garment is called a Blazer, donning his trademark red jacket and ripping off three straight wins in the ACC tournament after his team had gone a miserable 15-14 (5-11) in the regular season. Lowe and his Wolfpack scared the willies out of ACC fans, as they took down then-#21 Duke, then-#24 Virginia, and hot-streaking Virginia Tech before losing to then-#8 UNC in the final game. That gained the men in red an NIT berth that probably wasn't there before the tourney started, and the Wolfpack acquitted themselves well, winning two games before bowing out against eventual NIT champ West Virginia. Final record, including tournaments: 20-16.

Key Players Returning: Four of the starting five are back - Forwards Gavin Grant and Brandon Costner, Center Ben McCauley, and Guard Courtney Fells.

What's To Love: The frontcourt. Senior Gavin Grant (right) is a slender forward who can do everything well. Last season, he was a very reliable scorer, averaging 15ppg. He also chipped in some double-digit rebounding nights and even dished ten assists vs. Alabama. He's the type of player who will do whatever it takes to help his team win.

At 6'9" and 238lbs., Brandon Costner is a more traditional banger who only missed double-digit scoring in one contest last season, and really turned it on come tournament time. Junior F/C Ben McCauley is a big body in the middle and fills the role of third scorer fairly well.

What's Not To Love: The backcourt is as unsettled as the frontcourt is solid. Returning starter Courtney Fells has seen his assist/turnover ratio go the wrong way during his first two seasons in Raleigh. Fine, you say - he's not a point guard. Granted, but he didn't score last season either - he hit only 33% of his threes, and averaged just 11ppg. The other guard spot is up for grabs, and the applicants for the job have very little experience. Finding a floor general will be Lowe's biggest magic trick in the upcoming campaign.

Key Player: Sophomore guard Farnold Degand will most likely be the first to get a chance at running the point. He sat out last season after transferring from Iowa State, but his competition right now is freshman Javier Gonzalez and Tennessee transfer Marques Johnson, who won't be eligible until mid-season. I'm sure the Wolfpack would rather have Degand lock the job down in the early going than have to break someone else in just before conference play.

Best Case: Degand and Fells find a rhythm and keep getting the ball inside to the big men. State picks up where they left off, putting themselves in the hunt for supremacy on Tobacco Road. Oh, yeah, and they'd probably have to beat some of the non-Carolina schools to get back in the NCAA hunt.

Worst Case: Guard struggles doom the squad in conference play, where the big boys eat miscues for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The Wolfpack wallows in the middle of the ACC all season and ends up on the bubble, either getting a low seed or going back to the NIT.

STF Prediction: I'm assuming the guard problem will be solved by January. I have the 'Pack down for a loss at Michigan State, and I have to be consistent with my preview of Davidson and reiterate that they can beat NC State at home (guard play will be big in that one). In-conference, I have them down for two losses to the Tar Heels, and one each to Clemson, Maryland, Duke, and Virginia. That has them at 20-8 (10-6) and firmly off the bubble and in the NCAAs with a high-middle seed. Maybe even Sweet 16 with the right breaks.