Some Blog Love For the Wolfpack Frontcourt

According to collegehoops.net, the Pack’s is the best in the land:

1. North Carolina State (Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley, Gavin Grant, J.J. Hickson, Tracy Smith): Just like Washington State in the backcourt section, it’s odd to see NC State at the top of any rankings. However, it’s tough to find a team that has a better combination at the wing, combo forward, and post positions. Swingman Grant is a versatile performer who can do a little bit of everything. He is not a great shooter, but he gets to the basket well and he crashes the offensive glass. Costner is one of the best forwards in the country that no one talks about. He can play both inside and outside, scoring in a variety of ways and rebounding well. McCauley is one of the most efficient shooters in the country, and finishes well around the basket. Furthermore, he is a good rebounder and a solid passer. Hickson was one of the highest-ranked big men recruits, and will enable Sidney Lowe to come up with several different line-ups as the season goes on.

We also like a blog that rates the UNC frontcourt way down at #6. It may be wishful thinking to rank the Heels that low, but it brings a smile to our face, regardless.

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

07-08 Basketball General Rankings & Lists

69 Responses to Some Blog Love For the Wolfpack Frontcourt

  1. Par Shooter 10/03/2007 at 2:22 PM #

    Perhaps even more eyebrow-raising and satisfying is that Duke doesn’t even rate “others to watch”. The guys doing this list obviously undervalue the ability to set multiple moving screens per possesion when ranking big men.

  2. packbackr04 10/03/2007 at 2:33 PM #

    BA-ZING! NICE PAR SHOOTER.. now if we only had a PG….. and a football team

  3. DRW 10/03/2007 at 2:49 PM #

    I can’t wait until basketball season.

  4. CarnifeX 10/03/2007 at 3:17 PM #

    don’t…..get…..hopes…..up…..can’t…..resist….

  5. Sam92 10/03/2007 at 3:23 PM #

    it’s been almost 20 years since we got press like that

  6. LRM 10/03/2007 at 3:25 PM #

    Actually, Athlon was big on our frontcourt in 1999-2000 (Thornton, Inge, Kelley). If I recall correctly, they has us as the best in the nation.

    That one, however (and thankfully), doesn’t even compare to this one.

  7. TNCSU 10/03/2007 at 3:38 PM #

    Does anyone have any information about Midnight Madness on the 19th? I think they moved it from the 12th, and have several different things planned — i.e. 3 pt contest, etc. I think it is still going to be in Reynolds.

  8. Rick 10/03/2007 at 3:41 PM #

    I am so ready for basketball.
    I have a feeling we are going to be better than we think.

  9. Rick 10/03/2007 at 3:43 PM #

    I also think the blog forgot to incorporate “three point shooting” into their ratings. As we all know from ten years of rigorous education that big men are for shooting threes. This article can thus be ignored for not “knowing anything about basketball”.

  10. MadWolf92 10/03/2007 at 4:17 PM #

    Rick, from what I’ve read, what “we think” is pretty high. I’m looking simply to expand on last year: have fun watching us play, get better, get a bid wrapped up early, beat some rivals. Anything else is gravy.

  11. zahadum 10/03/2007 at 4:17 PM #

    Interesting that they’d rate our entire front court that highly, but not have Hickson as one of their top 5 freshman at his position.

  12. #44 17 24 10/03/2007 at 4:18 PM #

    Any basketball list that has us ahead of UNC is a good news, and any basketball list with Duke not on it is great news.

  13. EverettBeez 10/03/2007 at 4:26 PM #

    Lets don’t get to pumped for basketball yet – struggling with the football team is good for our character, and will make El Sid and boy’s play all the sweeter. Keep your mind on the brussels sprouts folks, the cake will be there when they are done.

  14. Lunatic Fringe 10/03/2007 at 4:30 PM #

    ^^ Hey…I like brussels sprouts… 🙂

  15. bTHEredterror 10/03/2007 at 4:49 PM #

    /\Me too. This football season is more like eating rutabaga and spam.

    They didn’t even mention Tracy Smith or Horner, two more players that offer even more variety to the attack. Hard not to have high hopes with how things look, but the backcourt depth may put us in some tough spots early on with Michigan State, SC and possibly Nova/Kstate. Maybe a year of offseason work will have turned Ferguson into a serviceable player until Johnson and Javi can get some time?

  16. EverettBeez 10/03/2007 at 4:54 PM #

    How about liver and beans on a bed of rutabagas, topped with pickled beets.
    seriously, you like brussels sprouts? lol.
    but whatever we compare the football season too, the agony will make the basketball season all the more enjoyable.

  17. EverettBeez 10/03/2007 at 4:55 PM #

    hey bTHEredterror – you called me PR yesterday – did you know those are my initials? (first two) do we know each other outside of the blogsphere?

  18. Pack92 10/03/2007 at 4:59 PM #

    I think it’s absolutely fair to rate the holes that low. Did I imagine it or did their frontcourt get schooled in Raleigh WITHOUT Hickson last year? Not to mention their complete inability to stop our scoring in the last 2 minutes of the ACC tourney? Maybe I did imagine all that.
    Boy, oh boy will we need solid backcourt play.

  19. packgrad2000 10/03/2007 at 5:10 PM #

    Yeah having the best frontcourt in the nation but no backcourt (and I’m not saying it won’t be good – just unproven at this point at the PG) is kind of like having the best defense in the nation in football with no offense…oh wait that was us 3 years ago…and look how that turned out.
    Sorry to be the pessimist here. Football has sure gotten me down!

  20. buttPACKer 10/03/2007 at 5:10 PM #

    Man am I ever ready for BB season. . . I think we are going to be fantastic this year, and I don’t even have that usual lingering bad feeling in the pit of my stomach!! I honestly think this team under Sidney is going to surprise alot of people this year.

  21. Keystone 10/03/2007 at 5:16 PM #

    Kind of off topic, but there was an interesting article in the Technician today on Kay Yow’s memories of Valvano.
    http://media.www.technicianonline.com/media/storage/paper848/news/
    2007/10/03/Sports/Valvano.Still.On.Yows.Mind-3007550.shtml

  22. primacyone 10/03/2007 at 5:16 PM #

    “1. North Carolina State”

    Haven’t seen anything like that in a while.

    Could somebody please notify Jed of the occurrence.

  23. Astral Rain2 10/03/2007 at 6:09 PM #

    Having an active frontcourt like that, and Sid as the coach- I’m sure the backcourt will have all the help it needs to fall into place. If the backcourt ends up decent- probably end up a good seed in the Big Dance- though I’d be worried about that 5/12 game I sense we’re going to be in this year.

    (Yeah, there’s my prediction this year barring any further injuries, about 21 wins, and a 5 seed in the tourney- kinda got a bad feeling if the dance is made something bad will happen though)

  24. redfred2 10/03/2007 at 6:12 PM #

    Hey, I wouldn’t put too much stock in preseason crap like this…BUT WHAT HELL!!!…IT”S DAMN GOOD TO SEE THAT NAME BACK UP THERE AGAIN!!!
    And for all of you young’ens out there, I typed it right, that is “(BACK) UP THERE (AGAIN),” and I’ll add, WHERE IT ALWAYS SHOULD BE.

  25. redfred2 10/03/2007 at 6:45 PM #

    And just think, two years ago we didn’t have a “front”court.

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