• Summer Hoops Preview: The Picks
• Part I: UNC, BC, FSU
• Part II: Duke, Georgia Tech, Clemson
• Part III: Wake Forest, Maryland, Virginia

N.C. STATE

2008-09 record: 16-14 overall, 6-10 ACC (10th)

Postseason: none

Projected starting lineup: G Julius Mays, G C.J. Williams, F Richard Howell, F Dennis Horner, F Tracy Smith

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, money 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.

Sidney Lowe's fourth team at N.C. State will be the first with his players.

The challenge of recovering from consecutive disappointing seasons with a young roster, filled with players he recruited, appeals to Lowe.

"I'm excited about seeing our young guys and seeing them grow," Lowe said before the Wolfpack Caravan stop in Raleigh on Wednesday night.

N.C. State guard recruit Lorenzo Brown scored 27 points to lead Centenniel to the championship of the GlaxoSmithKline Invitational Summitt Hospitality bracket with a 72-53 win over Ravenscroft.

Duke recruit Ryan Kelly had 26 points in the loss.

Centennial 72,
Ravenscroft 53

Points: CEN—K.Belin 6, L.Brown 27, R.Fleming 20, A.Rodgers 15, D.White 4. RAV—S. Billerman 3, J. Bradley 2, L. Davis 5, M. Jones 3, R. Kelly 26, H. Story 2, M. Wilson 12.

I got an interesting email from former Raleigh resident Rick Cohen (Millbrook, 1975), who now lives in Roswell, Ga. He sees N.C. State basketball recruit Lorenzo Brown play on a regular basis:

I don't know if you have seen Lorenzo Brown play yet but NCSU is in for a treat.

My son plays JV basketball at Centennial High School in Roswell, Ga so I have been lucky enough to watch Lorenzo play for the past 3 years. I grew up in Raleigh (and followed Phil Ford, David Thompson, et al. While Lorenzo is not as dominating as those players (who is?), he does everything well.

The only criticism he receives is that he is too unselfish - often making the pass instead of taking the shot.