Fells, Pack cruise against Fort Valley St.

• First Look 

If you didn't know N.C. State senior Courtney Fells was playing a new position Thursday night, you probably wouldn't have noticed a difference in his play.

Fells, who moved from shooting guard to small forward during the offseason, hammered home N.C. State's first dunk less than two minutes into the exhibition opener against Fort Valley State at Reynolds Coliseum.

A little more than three minutes later, Fells was open from 3-point range in the short corner for just a second. He drained the shot while being fouled, completed a four-point play and was on his way to a 21-point performance as N.C. State won 94-65.

Coach Sidney Lowe moved Fells to add athletic ability at small forward after the departure of 2007-08 senior Gavin Grant. Fells has added a few pounds to his 6-foot-6 frame and now looks chiseled rather than sinewy at 210 pounds.

The idea was to get Fells more opportunities to slash into the lane, take advantage of mismatches against bigger, slower players, and create rebounding opportunities for him on offense. The plan appeared sound after the exhibition win over a Division II opponent that finished 15-14 last
season.

Fells led the team in scoring, got to the free throw line and was his usual disruptive self on defense. C.J. Williams, the freshman from Fayetteville who started at shooting guard in Fells' absence, appeared confident and comfortable as he found the open man for a couple early assists.

Trevor Ferguson, who backed up Williams, shot 3-for-3 from 3-point range.

That's not to say there weren't rough moments for the Wolfpack, which is coming off a 15-16 effort and a No. 12 ACC tournament seed in 2007-08, Lowe's second season. In the final nine seconds of the first half, junior forward Brandon Costner missed an open 3-point attempt and committed two
turnovers.

Redshirt freshman Johnny Thomas crumpled in pain after a first-half collision under the basket. Lowe called point guard Javi Gonzalez over to the bench and barked at him for not diving to the floor to chase a loose ball after a near-turnover in the first half.

But Thomas has a sprained right ankle that isn't expected to keep him out long term. And Fells, the team's leading returning scorer, appeared ready to improve upon the 10.6 points per game he averaged last season.

Staff photo by Ethan Hyman