N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe has basically used a nine-man rotation in the first two basketball games.

That's about two-and-a-half more bodies than Lowe had at his disposal in his first season.

There were certain stretches of last season when State was clearly in need of more bodies — the home loss to Maryland, the third and fourth games of the ACC Tournament — but there was also a certain comfort in every player knowing their role.

There's no such comfort after two games this season, notably at center and shooting guard. Gavin Grant says the team has "issues."

[More:]

Lowe says it's about playing for N.C. State, not the individual.

A three-game, four-day stretch in Orlando should help even out the minutes but clearly Lowe needs to re-adjust his use of Ben McCauley, who has played 14 minutes in the first two games.

The shooting guard situation is less clear cut but just as important as Lowe tries to find a reliable outside shooter.

Correction: McCauley played 14 minutes in each of the first two games. There were two box scores issued after the UNO game and the incorrect version was used in the print edition.

11/20/07 at 16:51
I think the first thing Lowe should do to address any issues is to forbid Gavin Grant from talking to the media. He simply talks too much whether it be saying they will only lose four games to talking about internal team problems. That kind of stuff is tough enough to deal with but even more so when one player is talking to the media about it.

11/20/07 at 18:53
I'm betting that Lowe had a heart to heart with Grant. If the coach wants to put it out there in public, that's his call. A player should not.

I do think the Pack will get these issues resolved. It's only been two games and its a long season. Should be interesting to see how this plays out over the weekend.

11/21/07 at 09:07
Yeah, as a reader, I admire Grant's refreshing candidness. As a coach I'm sure I'd want to lock him up.

11/21/07 at 17:02
To whomelver this may concern, but my opinion is Coach Lowe should consider his team of last year when he had some glue holding the team together and they were hitting their shots. The glue was Engin and the glue to this team this year could be Ben MeCauley but the Coach is missing the point and I'm afraid this is going to be a long season until he recognizes that he would be better of starting McCauley than JJ, bringing JJ in after the game has started, giving Ben his confidence back so there is some quick passing in the game. Just my thoughts that have worked in the past with other teams as it did last year with NC State as they were winners without JJ and could be a better team this year with using JJ as a sub. Something to not only think about but give it a try.

11/21/07 at 18:54
That's an interesting thought. On the one hand, how do you pull out a guy with the talent that JJ obviously has? On the other hand, you have to get Ben on the court for more than 14 minutes. I think the answer in the long run is that JJ and Costner both share more minutes with Ben. Over the course of a long season, all three should be more productive that way, especially once ACC play gets underway.

11/21/07 at 21:06
Hickson should be getting a ton of minutes...that kind of talent needs to be on the floor. The other players just need to learn how to play with him and fit into a new lineup...if they can't, then they sit. Last year is is in the past.

11/21/07 at 22:18
I don't like to hear players whining and getting a mic, but Gavin is saying discipline matters more than minutes and I don't mind hearing that at all. Lowe has his work cut out for him right now. He needs to get them winning and not dealing with Kobe syndrome.

11/22/07 at 12:25
We'll see today how this all plays out. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!