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RALEIGH -
Playing time was never an issue at N.C. State last season. There were more than enough minutes to go around, and the players soaked them up.Gavin Grant averaged 36.5 minutes a game. Ben McCauley got 34.5 minutes a game and Brandon Costner 34.4 -- all three totals in the top six in the ACC -- while Courtney Fells was in for 33.2 minutes a game.But that was with the Wolfpack relying on six players, for the most part. That was before the arrivals of J.J. Hickson and Tracy Smith, Javier Gonzalez and Marques Johnson. Add in Farnold Degand, who sat out last year as a transfer, and State coach Sidney Lowe has a surplus of bodies -- and options -- in his second season.Could playing time be a problem for this team?"Sure, it's a potential problem," Lowe said. "It's also a problem that should solve itself."I've told them all along, 'I will not dictate your playing time. You will dictate your playing time.' It's really not that difficult."McCauley said spreading the minutes will make the Pack fresher at the end of games."As much as we hate to admit it, guys got tired last year and it cost us some games," the junior post player said. "This year, we should win the games we lost at the end."But it also could mean McCauley's scoring and rebounding averages will dip. The same is true for Costner, Grant and Fells, the other returning starters.Not a problem, McCauley said."If the team is winning, I'll be happy," he said. "Obviously, you want to play more minutes. But the fact of the matter is we have guys who will take minutes away but will help us win."Lowe said the competition has made preseason practices edgy and intense. That will continue once the games begin."When you know when you come to the bench that you may not get back in there, it's incentive to play harder," Lowe said. "When you look behind you and see a teammate who is as capable as you are, it makes you play harder."We'll have a different mind-set this year."
chip.alexander@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-8945
