N.C. State's J.J. Hickson said today he will sign a contract with sports agent Andy Miller of ASM Sports, who represents the Boston Celtics' Kevin Garnett, among others.

Hickson, a 6-foot-9 forward, officially announced Sunday that he would hire an agent and remain in the draft. That came more than a week after he told reporters in Phoenix that his intentions were to stay in the draft and not return for his sophomore season at State.

Hickson said he did not make a final decision until the last week, saying, he did enter the draft with the idea of "testing the waters" but that "I felt good enough about the workouts to keep my name in."

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The draft deadline, the real one, is finally for here for UNC's Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington.

N.C. State's J.J. Hickson beat the buzzer by a full 24 hours, although his intentions were pretty clear on March 13.

As for the Tar Heel Three — or Big Two And One, as Green would call them — the educated guess is Lawson's gone, Green's back and Ellington, despite wanting to be in the NBA, will return in the hopes of playing his way into the 2009 first round.

All underclassmen have until 5 p.m. to say whether they are in or out. Since we'll know all the names by the end of the day, the popular ACC Now Summer Hoops Preview begins Tuesday.

N.C. State's J.J. Hickson, who said earlier this month he was staying in the NBA Draft, made the decision final on Sunday. The school announced Hickson, who led the Wolfpack in scoring and rebounding in his only college season, has hired an agent.

“Getting to the NBA has always been a dream of mine,” Hickson said in a statement released by N.C. State. “I want to thank Coach Lowe and everybody associated with NC State for all that they have done for me.”

Hickson, a 6-9 forward, is projected as a late first-round pick. He's the first Wolfpacker to leave school early since Cedric Simmons in 2006.

Phil Steele's annual college football tome — all 328 pages in single-space, six-point type — is available for consumption. If you don't want to leave your house, you can order one at PhilSteele.com.

The magazine maestro talked with ACC Now on Saturday about his ACC predictions and his choice to win the BCS national title.

ACC predictions — Atlantic: Clemson; Coastal: Virginia Tech. Overall champ: Clemson

BCS champ: Florida

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A Duke alum, not a golfer from that West Coast private school, leads the U.S. Open after 18 holes. Kevin Streelman shot a 3-under 68 at Torrey Pines on Friday to share the top of the leaderboard with fellow unknown, Justin Hicks.

Ol' Whatshisname from Stanford shot a 72, one shot over par and four off the first-day lead.

Streelman had a chance to take the clubhouse lead by himself but bogeyed his last hole, the ninth. He'll tee off with the second group today at 10:11 a.m. from the first tee.

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N.C. State receiver John Dunlap signed a free-agent contract with the Miami Dolphins on Monday.

Dunlap caught a team-best 45 passes in 2007 for the Wolfpack and tied for the team lead with three touchdowns.

Former N.C. State guard Vinny Del Negro will be the next coach of the Chicago Bulls, according to the Chicago Tribune.

Of course, Doug Collins — Chris' dad and the former Bulls coach — was supposedly taking the job last week, so nothing is final.

Del Negro, the MVP of the 1987 ACC Tournament, has been an NBA scout and, most recently, and executive with the Phoenix Suns since retiring from his 13-year NBA career in 2002. He's never been a head coach before.

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He has to work for Daniel Snyder, but former N.C. State linebacker Morocco Brown has a fancy title, Pro Personnel Director, and an underdog-makes-good story.

Brown, who played for the Wolfpack from 1994-97, has worked his way from sod-planting, airport errand-boy to No. 4 man in the Redskins' hierarchy behind Snyder, Vinny Cerrato and Scott Campbell.

Bobby DePaul, Brown's mentor and longtime NFL scout, said it's obvious how Brown, 32, made his way up the executive ladder so quickly.

"He's a special kid. This is a passion for him. He's always asking questions and he's always trying to get better. We didn't want to see him go, but it was very easy to recommend this guy. Very easy. He's paid his dues and he's definitely a young up-and-coming guy."

If you watched Game 2 of the NBA Finals on Sunday night, you might have recognized the random Boston reserve scoring 21 points.

That's the same Leon Powe, which rhymes with show, from Cal, which lost to N.C. State in the first round of the 2006 NCAA Tournament, State's last trip to the big tourney.

Powe had a tougher time against State than the Lakers. He scored 14 in the 58-52 loss.

ATHENS, Ga. — Short of a championship, of holding up a trophy, there is no good way to end a season.

But for N.C. State, the end to the baseball season was agonizing. A victory away from its first College World Series appearance in 40 years, excited about its chances, the Pack was pounded by Georgia 17-8 today in the third and deciding game of the Athens Super Regional.

"We were one game away," NCSU coach Elliott Avent said. "We wanted take this ballclub, and this ballclub wanted take each other to Omaha. That's why this is so tough and so disappointing.

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ATHENS, Ga. — N.C. State will play baseball another day.

A loss away from having its season end, the Wolfpack stopped Georgia 10-6 in the second game of the Athens Super Regional at Foley Field.

The Pack and Bulldogs will play the third and deciding game Sunday at 4 p.m., with the winner advancing to the College World Series. Georgia, an 11-4 winner in the first game, has never lost a postseason elimination game at Foley Field, going 15-0.

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ATHENS, Ga. — N.C. State will start freshman right-hander Jake Buchanan against Georgia today in the second game of the Athens Super Regional.

The Pack, which lost the opener to the Bulldogs 11-4, was expected to start lefty Eric Surkamp. But pitching coach Tom Holliday decided to go with Buchanan (2-2, 3.11 ERA).

Buchanan started and pitched into the sixth inning last week as State won the opener of the Raleigh Regional over James Madison. He allowed three hits and two runs, both earned, in the 6-2 victory.

N.C. State's J.J. Hickson said he's in the NBA Draft to stay in an interview with the web site of the Phoenix Suns.

The 6-9 power forward, who led the Wolfpack in rebounding and scoring as a freshman, declared for the draft in March but has not hired an agent. When asked by the team's web site after a workout, the McDonald's All-American said:

"I would say that I’m definitely in the draft. I came out just testing the waters but since I’m hearing a lot of good things about my game I’m not going to pull my name out."

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State coach Elliot Avent

Georgia coach David Perno

ATHENS, Ga. — For N.C. State, it was a long afternoon. A long, extremely hot, mostly miserable afternoon.

A two-out, two-run double by All-America shortstop Gordon Beckham spurred a four-run third inning, and Georgia added five runs in the sixth in walloping the Pack 11-4 today in the first game of the Athens Super Regional at Foley Field.

The second game in the best-of-three Super Regional is Saturday at noon. Georgia will be seeking the program's sixth visit to the College World Series.

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ATHENS, Ga. — N.C. State pitcher Clayton Shunick, who will start Friday against Georgia in the first game of the Athens Super Regional, took a quick look around Foley Field today before the Pack's practice and quickly departed for the team hotel.

It wasn't that Shunick was sick. It wasn't nerves. It wasn't keeping him out of the 95-degree heat and hydrated.

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