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N.C. State AD Lee Fowler spent 40 minutes with 850 the Buzz on Thursday morning.
The Wolfpack Internet Idol covered football, basketball, nonrevenue sports, his popularity and U2 in his long conversation with Adam Gold and Joe Ovies. The most important topic Fowler covered:
• Combo guard Lorenzo Brown still has not been cleared by the NCAA.
Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe touched on this last month during his summer press conference but Fowler confirmed that one of the two players that Lowe mentioned is indeed Brown, rated as the 28th-best prospect in the country and really the key to Lowe's future at N.C. State.
Lowe said it was a formality, a matter of paperwork, before Brown was cleared by the NCAA.
If that's the case, no sweat, but if Brown doesn't get to Raleigh, Lowe's missing the most important piece to the '09 recruiting class.
Both Lowe and Fowler expect progress this season, that would be a considerably tougher task, even from a 6-10 record in the ACC, without a talent and program cornerstone like Brown.