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. primacyone 10/12/2006 at 4:37 PM #

    Chris Warren is point guard who is supposedly a rising star. He was projected very high mid major or higher, but his stock has risen all summer and I believe he is now a top 150 prospect. Scout has him as the #19 point guard in the class.

  2. choppack1 10/12/2006 at 4:41 PM #

    Noah – Warren is a 5-10/5-11 PG out of ROlando, FL, a mid-major prospect, garnering more major schools at present. Never seen him play nor do I know anyone who has. Sounds like a solid prospect who at worst would provide depth at a position where depth is badly needed.

  3. Mr O 10/12/2006 at 4:45 PM #

    Read wear Warren is very good athlete, so he plays bigger. Don’t we have a plethora of scholarships?

  4. gopack968 10/12/2006 at 4:47 PM #

    A great commitment for a coach who started so late in the game!
    Welcome JJ!
    Hmmm … I am going to have to work on not automatically despising that name after four years of Redick.

  5. JimValvano 10/12/2006 at 4:53 PM #

    All I have to say is that one of my groomsmen in my wedding is heavily involved in the UNC basketball program…as in he is involved in recruiting, practice, games, and team meetings. He told me that if we got Hickson it would be HUGE. He said Hickson was friggin awesome. This guy knows talent too.

  6. BladenWolf 10/12/2006 at 4:53 PM #

    Great news and a good post (once again) SFN. I’m starting to like this “good karma” thing that’s going on.
    For some reason I can’t explain, I have a feeling that Wright going to Georgetown was a good thing for the Pack (in the long run).

  7. RickJ 10/12/2006 at 4:54 PM #

    Great, great day. This is so big for our program. In college basketball, and especially in our league, you just have to have some elite talent or it is such an uphill climb. We were staring at 2 straight poor recruiting years that would have been potentially devastating. I have never bought into the idea that the 2007 class wasn’t a big deal. We’re not out of the woods yet but this changes everything. Smith or Scott and a serviceable PG and the buzz around our program is completely different. It will take pressure off this year’s team. Look for opposing fans to really attack this commitment. Don’t get mad – that is a very good sign.

  8. packpigskinfan23 10/12/2006 at 4:55 PM #

    awesome news… made my day. too bad we have to wait so long to see this all come together…. oh well. it will be worth it.

  9. PackBacker001 10/12/2006 at 5:00 PM #

    “Hickson’s commitment to Coach Lowe and the Wolfpack program cannot be understated.”

    Just in case his family reads this site, we may want to fix understated to overstated. Just sayin’…

  10. newt 10/12/2006 at 5:01 PM #

    Actually, having Costner redshirted last year helps out the balance a lot. It’s like Sidney landed a McDonalds AA forward his first year. Now he’s followed that up with a second AA in the front court.

    We need some guards. I think we need an SG moreso than even the point. Degand can be the point but after Fells, we don’t have a sharp shooter down the line, best I can tell, unless Ferguson turns out to be a big time sleeper.

  11. NCSU4LIFE 10/12/2006 at 5:15 PM #

    YES!

  12. packbackr04 10/12/2006 at 5:17 PM #

    newt, yer way off, we desperateyl need a true point guard…

    Congratulations to JJ and to Sid and Co.
    way to go all around

    I hear this kid is sick. like game changer sick, this is awesome

  13. old13 10/12/2006 at 5:20 PM #

    Me thinks there will be THREE basketball powers in the Tirangle again soon!!

  14. Mr O 10/12/2006 at 5:23 PM #

    Damn! I just watched four videos linked over at Packpride under his profile.

    How does he compare to Cedric?

    Well, in those videos as a junior in HS and last summer, the looked as good as Cedric Simmons was last year as a sophmore at NC State. He looks more polished offensively than Cedric last year, but he doesn’t have the length of Cedric or the leaping ability of Cedric.

    Based on those videos, JJ is very mature physically for his age and very strong. Cedric was very immature phsically, a bit awkward with his movement, and nowhere near as strong as Hickson.

    Looking at those videos, Hickson will be an immediate impact offensively and on the glass. He had very polished moves(a nice drop step, jump hook, and finished well with contact). He also looks like he will be a beast on the boards and he always immediately made the outlet pass.

    Overally, he looks like a better offensive player and rebounder than Cedric and that he will impact our program much quicker. He is much more prepared to play in college it appears. However, Cedric has the edge as a shot blocker and maybe in terms of potential because of his overall athleticism.

    Hickson appears to be a big time player.

  15. class of 74 10/12/2006 at 5:29 PM #

    ^Hickson should be better. Ced was not in anybody’s top 25 list and Hickson is in most if not all. Very few top 25 talent fail to make it in a substantial way in college.

  16. Mr O 10/12/2006 at 5:33 PM #

    Ced was was pretty much a consensus top 30~ player. Hickson might be rated a little higher, but not by a wide margin.

    Hickson will be better his first two years in college I think. Much, much more mature physically and with his basketball skills.

  17. packpigskinfan23 10/12/2006 at 5:34 PM #

    stronger then Ced?! nice!
    =)

  18. Mr O 10/12/2006 at 5:38 PM #

    http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/RSCI_100_Final_2004.htm

    Cedric was “consensus” #34. Hickson is #16 in the summer rankings. Another one comes out after the HS season. He is rated higher based on his maturity and ability to make an impact immediately. Cedric was more of a long-term potential guy. Hickson is a beast for a kid in HS.

    http://home.nc.rr.com/rsci/RSCI_100_Summer_2007.htm

  19. Sam92 10/12/2006 at 5:41 PM #

    way to go Coach Lowe!

  20. Mr O 10/12/2006 at 5:45 PM #

    We could field this lineup next season:

    1. Degand/Ferguson
    2. Fells #35
    3. Grant #78
    4. Costner #22
    5. Hickson #16

  21. legacyman 10/12/2006 at 6:02 PM #

    Good to see such happiness, finally, from our depressed fan base…it is great to see, actually. If we can keep football on a winning pace and Sid continues to impress, we are heading for some happy times, once more.

  22. WAWolf 10/12/2006 at 6:14 PM #

    finally some good news!

  23. Wolfpack4ever 10/12/2006 at 6:15 PM #

    Those of us who depend on hapiness from without are in for a rocky ride in this life. This situational happiness can just as quickly turn to unhappiness bringing calls for change — so we can be happy again. Now if I can just sell this story to my wife… 😉

  24. Woof Wolf 10/12/2006 at 6:20 PM #

    redfred2:

    Where are you? Did you pass out?

    Someone should check on him. He’s necer been quiet this long.

  25. Andy 10/12/2006 at 6:34 PM #

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