You better get used to this name on the marquee

Welcome to NC State Mr. Hickson...




Hickson Scores 31 in Debut; Pack Wins 66-47


BY TIM PEELER



RALEIGH, N.C. – J.J. Hickson admits that it wasn’t the perfect collegiate debut. But it was pretty close.


The forward/center from Marietta, Ga., made all 12 of his field goal attempts, scored a game-high 31 points and had seven rebounds to lead the No. 21 Wolfpack to a 66-47 victory over visiting William & Mary Thursday night at the RBC Center.


It's the most field goal attempts in a single game without a miss in school history, eclipsing Josh Powell's 10-for-10 performance against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 14, 2002, and the most consecutive field goals to start a career of any player in ACC history, topping the 11 in a row Duke’s Cherokee Parks had at the beginning of his career.


“It’s not what I expected,” said a fairly stunned Hickson said after scoring the second-most points by a Wolfpack freshman in school history. “Of course, 12 of 12 is always good, but I just came here to have fun and win the game.


“It’s not about how many points I get or how many rebounds I get.”


Hickson's only misses on the night were at the free throw line, where he made seven of 10 shots before leaving with less than a minute to play. It was the most points by a Wolfpack freshman in his first game since Ivan Wagner scored 29 against Virginia Military Institute to open the 1996-97 season.


It was also the second-most points ever scored by a Wolfpack freshman. Ernie Myers set that mark in 1983 with 35 points against Duke.


“It feels good,” Hickson said. “It boosts my confidence up a little bit. I still have to learn from my mistakes. I didn’t play a perfect game or anything like that. I just want to not make the same mistakes next game, like not getting loose rebounds and things like that.”


The Wolfpack needed all of Hickson's efforts, after watching a 17-point lead dwindle down to just five points with less than nine minutes to play in its 2007-08 season-opener. Hickson scored nine points over the last six minutes of the game as the Wolfpack (1-0) stretched its lead back to 19 points to notch the team’s 14th consecutive season-opening win.


For second-year head coach Sidney Lowe, it was a hug-worthy performance for the young player, who got a big embrace from the coach when he came off the floor for the final time. In the post-game, he had no intentions of telling Hickson playing college basketball won’t always lead to such gaudy statistics.


“I like for him to keep that confidence, to feel like he can do it against anyone,” said Lowe, whose team returns to action Sunday at 6:30 p.m. against New Orleans at the RBC Center. “That is the way he practices. I am just glad that he came out this first game and had a good game for us.”


Hickson, starting in place of junior Ben McCauley, made his much-anticipated debut by scoring eight of the Wolfpack’s first 11 points. He finished the first half with 14.


Sophomore Brandon Costner hit two first-half 3-pointers and had 10 points before intermission. He finished the game with 13 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Courtney Fells had 10 points, the only other Wolfpack player to hit double digits.


McCauley saw limited action in the game, scoring just two points and getting one rebound in 14 minutes of action.


“Certainly, I know what Ben is capable of doing,” said Lowe. “His minutes will come.”


Hickson's 31 points was six points shy of the school record for points in a season opener. That mark of 37 was set by sophomore Charles "Hawkeye" Whitney on Nov. 26, 1977, against Appalachian State. It was also two points shy of the record for most points in a varsity debut, set by sophomore David Thompson in a 130-53 victory over Appalachian State on Nov. 27, 1972.

 

yeah, get use to it...

but only for a year.

 

here's what's going to happen:

we're going to do well this season, but not great, and then costner and hickson are both going to leave, and we're going to be mediocre forever after that.

JUST GETTING MYSELF READY.

 

I'll concede the fact that Hickson may be a one-year thing but if there's somebody who can advise kids from going too early it may be Lowe.

 

I hate it when State people make a big deal out of something 'huge' that happens against lame ass competition.

 

12 for 12, 31 points, 7 rebounds is a hell of a first college game, regardless of who they played.

 

Agreed, but I'll get used to seeing his name on the marquee when it's up there for beating a bunch of someones.

 

yeah and I hate it when Duke or Carolina-bound McD's AA are crowned with greatness before they hit the floor.

 

fear the fing

 

I saw him play against Norcross High School down here his junior year and he was an absolute freak. Tech people were pissed that he got away from them. He single handedly beat Norcross (who had a starting lineup of all D1-Prospects like Tony Neysmith, Oklahoma, Gani Lawal (who will be a huge force for Tech), Jordan DeMercy (FSU), Jodie Meeks (Kentucky), and some other guy who went to Fordham.) He almost single handedly beat them and took Wheeler to the state title. Once State got him I thought they could make the Sweet 16 this year.