Dynomite! J.J. Hickson Commits To NC State (Updated 4:30)

Basketball Recruiting General NCS Basketball94

Big day for Sidney Lowe and the NC State basketball program. J.J. Hickson (Scout.com rated: 5 Star recruit, 3rd best center in the ’07 class, and #21 overall) commits to Coach Lowe at a press conference in Georgia. Kudos to Coach Lowe, and Larry Harris, the lead recruiter, reeling this top notch player into the Red & White.

Hickson’s commitment to Coach Lowe and the Wolfpack program cannot be understated. The big man will provide the program a legitimate defensive and offensive presence in the post similar to that of Cedric Simmons last year. (Different than Simmons, we expect Hickson to be in the starting line-up his freshman year in Coach Lowe’s program.) Hickson will most likely be named a McDonald’s All-American this season, joining Brandon Costner as the Wolfpackers with that distinction in the program.

In addition to searching for a true point guard to run the show, Coach Lowe continues to recruit talented forwards Tracy Smith and Mike Scott to complement Hickson down low. The addition of either of these highly-regarded forwards would allow Coach Lowe and the Wolfpack to tailor other versatile personnel on the roster to strategically exploit advantageous match-ups. The versatility provided by Courtney Fells, Gavin Grant, Brandon Costner and Johnny Thomas would create quite a talented and versatile 2007-2008 squad as detailed below.

Obviously, the glaring hole in the Wolfpack’s ’07-’08 roster is the presence of a proven pure point guard to run the show and help manage the Pack’s talent; Fernold DeGand may ultimately fill this role for the program but is currently an unknown commodity.

Some perspective on the Hickson commitment and some great comments from David Glenn can be found by clicking here.

Projected 2007-2008 NC State Basketball Roster

Senior Class
(1) Gavin Grant (2G/3F)

Junior Class
(2) Courtney Fells (2G)
(3) Ben McCauley (4F/5C)

Sophomore Class
(4) Brandon Costner (3F/4F/5C)
(5) Trevor Ferguson (2G)
(6) Dennis Horner (3F/4F)
(7) Fernold Degand (1PG)
(8) Bartosz Lewandowski (5C)

Freshman Class
(9) Johnny Thomas (3F)
(10) JJ Hickson (5C/4F)
(11) N/A
(12) N/A
(13) N/A

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Basketball Recruiting General NCS Basketball

94 Responses to Dynomite! J.J. Hickson Commits To NC State (Updated 4:30)

  1. Par Shooter 10/12/2006 at 3:58 PM #

    AWESOME!!!! This should really get the ball rolling. Way to go Sid!!!

  2. PackBacker001 10/12/2006 at 3:59 PM #

    Whoooooo! We have a center! And he’ll be playing in the paint!!

  3. Rick 10/12/2006 at 4:00 PM #

    This is a big pick up. To get a top player coming so late into the game is very impressive. I am thrilled about this news.

  4. Dan 10/12/2006 at 4:00 PM #

    Rivals has the kid at #15 overall.

    I’m so happy right now. Great day.

  5. cfpack03 10/12/2006 at 4:01 PM #

    That…is….huge….

    Welcome aboard JJ Hickson

  6. BoKnowsNCS71 10/12/2006 at 4:01 PM #

    FINALLY!

  7. ncwolfie2000 10/12/2006 at 4:03 PM #

    Great job to Coach Lowe. To be new a college head coaching and pull this off says some great things IMHO.

  8. Trout 10/12/2006 at 4:04 PM #

    Great headline! 🙂

  9. PackGirl 10/12/2006 at 4:06 PM #

    The start of a new dynasty and renewal of an old legacy!

  10. Woof Wolf 10/12/2006 at 4:06 PM #

    Way to go coach, coaches, everyone. Great day. Great week. The hell with CW. Let’s lock up the other CW and we will have a very good class.

  11. Mr O 10/12/2006 at 4:08 PM #

    Great news! Congrats to Lowe and especially Coach Harris.

  12. NCSUDude17 10/12/2006 at 4:09 PM #

    Made my Day! Way To go Sid!

  13. primacyone 10/12/2006 at 4:09 PM #

    Excerts from Rivals quote:

    do not copy premium articles

  14. choppack1 10/12/2006 at 4:12 PM #

    You really can’t give Lowe, Harris, the players and rest of staff enough credit on this one. Getting a kid like Hickson after being so far “behind” is just huge and says a lot about the potential of this new staff.

    I try to keep on an even-keel about recruiting, but I’m just thrilled right now – and very happy for the staff who obviously worked their butts off to get this kid.

  15. primacyone 10/12/2006 at 4:13 PM #

    Sorry, I honestly thought we could pull partials, pieces, and bits, etc. Again, sorry.

  16. CaptainCraptacular 10/12/2006 at 4:15 PM #

    Congrats Coach Lowe and Harris!

  17. GAWolf 10/12/2006 at 4:18 PM #

    Awesome news. I thought we were dead in the water without Wright.

    I’ll take Hickson over Wright anyday. Man alive. I can’t wait to watch us get some rebounds.

  18. Master 10/12/2006 at 4:18 PM #

    Wonder if we’ll get a new article from Ned Barnett on Sid’s poor entry into the conference.

  19. IrishPackFan 10/12/2006 at 4:20 PM #

    I am diggin’ this A LOT!! Just having JJ as a commit could help swing some of these other cats our way. Think about the potential of a fearsome presence in the paint, being double teamed and kickin’ it back out to the likes of Atsur, Grant or Johnny Thomas. This is a great pick up! Way to go Lowe and Harris!!

  20. GAWolf 10/12/2006 at 4:20 PM #

    From Scout.com:

    “The addition of Hickson to the Wolfpack’s 2007 class is especially important after point guard Chris Wright chose to verbal to Georgetown. Hickson joins in-state wing Johnny Thomas in NC State’s class, and Sidney Lowe and company aren’t done yet. Forwards Tracy Smith and Mike Scott continue to list the Wolfpack, and rising point guard prospect Christopher Warren has scheduled an official visit for next weekend.”

    This Christopher Warren kid who has a visit next weekend… was that scheduled after the Wright presser or before?

  21. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 10/12/2006 at 4:22 PM #

    Way to go Lowe and staff!

  22. yannes 10/12/2006 at 4:23 PM #

    GAWolf:
    Minutes after, but they have been watching him for a while.

  23. RAWFS 10/12/2006 at 4:25 PM #

    Things are indeed looking up for Coach Lowe.

    These are good signs, darned good signs indeed.

  24. noah 10/12/2006 at 4:33 PM #

    Outstanding!!

    (now…who is Chris Warren?)

  25. class of 74 10/12/2006 at 4:36 PM #

    So much for the doom and gloom crowd! Congratulations Coach Lowe.

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