Sidney Lowe has shown this offseason that he is a top notch recruiter by landing what some prognosticators say is a top-five national recruiting class. NC State secured C.J Leslie the #3 power forward in the country along with two other five star recruits with the commitments of guard Lorenzo Brown and point guard Ryan Harrow. This recruiting class is somewhat surprising because in the four years Lowe has coached the Wolfpack he has yet to lead the Pack to an NCAA tourney. Also, Lowe’s teams have not finished higher than ninth in the league and his ACC record is just 20-44. The enticing factor for these commitments had to be the opportunity to compete in the ACC and get considerable playing time right away.

The pressure will without a doubt be on Lowe this year considering the excellent group of freshman coming in along with the return of point guard Javy Gonzalez and forwards Scott Wood, C.J. Williams and Richard Howell. Also center Tracy Smith has thrown his hat in the NBA Draft ring, but he hasn’t hired an agent so he could also be returning to Raleigh for the 2010-2011 season. Keep in mind Athletic Director Lee Fowler will no longer be in charge so Lowe will have a new boss and someone who will no doubt be looking for drastic improvements or it might be time to make a change. The Wolfpack should be a preseason top 25 team (if Tracy Smith returns) with a lot of expectations from their fan base and new AD. If State doesn’t make the NCAA tournament this year look for him to be out of a job at season’s end.