The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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BKB PREVIEW 12-13 his energy, thus the need to always remain positive and become a better leader. The Holly Springs, N.C., native could have fought to make an NBA roster this season, whether going late in the first round or early the second round of the draft. The same holds true for Brown. Leslie won't make any brash predictions, but he hasn't forgotten the ones he's made in the past. "The only thing I've learned is to get better and stay until you get it right," Leslie said. "We didn't get it as early as I wanted to, but hey, I'm still here. We'll get it one way or another." Gottfried's arrival at NC State brought about a change in mindset and attitude for the team, and Leslie said the squad has bought in to his approach. "Coach has an ego and he's definitely strong-minded, and he just said whatever he felt," Leslie said. "We are backing him up and we think we can do that, too. That comes with hard work and that is the stuff we have to do to get there." Howell appreciates the opportunity the previous coaching staff supplied for him, but he knows that he wouldn't be in the position he is today without Gottfried. "Coach [Sidney] Lowe, and I take noth- ing from him because he was a great coach, but obviously, something wasn't working," Howell said. "I'm just grateful that Coach Gottfried came in and put the pieces to- gether and we did what we did." Brown runs the show and has helped put the pieces of the puzzle together at point guard. The versatile 6-5 performer aver- aged 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game last season. Gott- fried is toughest on his point guards, and Brown has benefitted. "Coach Gottfried is a great guy and there ■ Pack At A Glance Wood, PF C.J. Leslie, C Richard Howell) Others Returning: 6 (C Jordan Vandenberg, PF Thomas De Thaey, PG Jay Lewis, SG/SF Staats Battle) Newcomers: 4 (PG Tyler Lewis, SG Rodney Purvis, Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament Starters Lost: 1 (SG C.J. Williams) Others Lost: 6 (PG Alex Johnson, PF/C DeShawn Painter, SF Tyler Harris, SG Jaqawn Raymond, PF Kendall Smith, SF Patrick Johnson) Starters Returning: 4 (PG Lorenzo Brown, SF Scott SF T.J. Warren, SF/SG Ralston Turner) Head Coach: Mark Gottfried (second season; Ala- bama, 1987) Record: 24-13 NC State (.649); 302-167 overall (.644) Assistants: Bobby Lutz (second season; Charlotte, 22 ■ THE WOLFPACKER 2011-12 Record: 24-13 ACC Record: 9-7 (T-4th) Home/Away/Neutral Record: 13-6/5-4/6-3 Postseason Finish: Lost to Kansas 60-57 in the Mark Gottfried said of last season, "We had a really fun finish, and it was exceptional for our group. But our year wasn't great. We were just OK. I think in general our program has to take another step." PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN Leslie, Brown, Wood and Howell all av- eraged at least 10.8 points per game last year. Wood averaged 12.4 points and shot 40.9 percent from three-point range, while Howell finished third in the ACC with 9.2 rebounds per outing to go with his 10.8 points per contest. The four veteran play- ers will need to mesh with shooting guard Rodney Purvis, small forward T.J. Warren, and point guard Tyler Lewis, who are all highly acclaimed freshmen. "I think those four guys, they need to be the steady Eddies every day," Gottfried said. "They need to come in here and be the hardest workers in the gym, and they need to lead by example. "They've been through the wars, they've paid a price in the past. They've experi- enced some success and it's kind of on them to set the tone every day." Gottfried cautions that replacing depart- 1980); Orlando Early (second season; Gardner-Webb, 1990); Rob Moxley (second season; Pfeiffer, 1994) ing seniors C.J. Williams, a shooting guard, and Alex Johnson, a point guard, plus key backup post player DeShawn Painter, who transferred to Old Dominion, won't be easy. Gottfried knows that the team will miss having Johnson or Williams around to explain things to others. isn't much you can say about him," Brown said. "He loves the energy. He brings en- ergy to our practice and to the games. We are excited about having him as our coach." The players feed off Brown's unselfish- ness. "Lorenzo is different in that I know he can go out and get 20 points if he needed to," Wood said. "He is unselfish enough to get others involved. He can take over a game at any time, whether on the defensive end or offensive end. He's a great player. They can sleep on him now, but come the end of the year, they won't be sleeping on him anymore." "As far as our chemistry and how our team develops, that's a process that devel- ops through November and December and on through January," Gottfried said. "We are different than a year ago." The freshman trio of Purvis, Warren and Lewis will bring versatility and win- ning backgrounds, and they have fired up the Wolfpack fan base for months. Each of their recruiting stories is unique, but the long relationships they have with each other and their willingness to stay close to home and play for NC State is what binds them together. "There is a great rapport between the veteran players and the new guys," Gott- fried said. "I think the older players are excited about the new guys. I think they feel those young players can help them. "We feel like we signed some really good players, and that's my job here to get that done." The freshmen want to send out their older teammates in style. "I know the fans have very high goals, and we do too," Lewis said. "Our goal is to win the national championship and the ACC championship. We are going to have high expectations because we are supposed to win the ACC championship." The freshmen should bolster the perim- eter, while 7-1 redshirt junior center Jordan Vandenberg and 6-8 sophomore power for- ward Thomas De Thaey are being counted upon behind Leslie and Howell inside. "Thomas and Jordan are going to be key for us this year," Wood said. "They have both gotten a lot better and have both de- veloped their game to help out our team a lot." Howell and Leslie battled foul trouble throughout last season, and Leslie also had several cramping episodes. Maximizing both players' abilities on the court could be the difference in close games. "[I] just tell them to keep their hands [down], but I don't know," Brown said. "Hopefully, they stay out of foul trouble this year, but we have two great backups at the bigs. Either way, we'll be all right." The meshing of the young and the old has media pundits predicting NC State could compete for the ACC title and be a Final Four contender in the NCAA Tourna- ment. Gottfried, though, said he takes such talk in stride. "It's fun, I read the paper," Gottfried said. "I don't live under a rock. I'm normal and watch TV and all that. I think all of that is fun, but I also have been around long enough to realize that outside of that being kind of fun jibber-jabber, but after that, you've got to go play. You've got to work." ■