BASKETBALL: NCSU vs. Georgia State

NC State 69
Georgia State 53

Mike Sturdivant: Finally, something other than football. The Wolfpack basketball team opened the 2009-10 season at the RBC Center Thursday night with a 16 point win over the CAA's Georgia State Panthers. The first thing you notice about this year's Wolfpack is that there are a lot of new faces. And no matter how much production the Pack got out of Brandon Costner, Courtney Fells and Ben McCauley, if you have been as hapless as these guys the last 3 years, a lot of new faces is a good thing. Javi Gonzales, CJ Williams, Tracy Smith, Dennis Horner and Jimmy Chitwood (Scott Wood) started for the Pack.

The Pack came out strong and took and early 10 point lead, which they held through most of the first half. The Panthers, who basically start 5 transfers including former Deacon Joe Dukes, came back and pushed the lead to 3 at the half. With this teams' history, I doubt there were many Pack fans in attendance who though this was going to end well. But the new look Pack came back and really picked up the defensive pressure, which led to numerous transition points helping the Pack increase the margin for a comfortable win against a decent opponent.

Javi Gonzalez had a poor shooting night, but had one of his best overall games at point for the Pack, going for 8 pts, 8 boards and 8 assists. Javi is never going to have a good first step, but he is now one of the most experienced point guards in the ACC, and that should help at least a little bit. Tracy Smith looked as advertised, and a few pounds lighter and a step faster than 2008-09. Dennis Horner went for 15, but also continues to be exposed playing defense against bigger players on the block. Freshmen Scott Wood, DeShawn Painter, 7 footer Jordan Vandenburg and unheralded Raleigh native Josh Davis all contributed early, and all showed some signs of promise. The Pack was without Farnold Degand, held our due to grades on a coaches decision, and the highest rated recruit, big man Richard Howell, who is expected to be out another 3-4 weeks after knee surgery.

Considering the last 3 years, and the expectations for this year, a win is always a good thing for this team, and there were certainly things to be encouraged by. The Pack is next in action on Friday afternoon against MAC preseason favorite Akron in the "Glenn Wilkes Classic" in Jacksonville, FL.