N&O: Degand May Return in October

08-09 Basketball NCS Basketball13

N.C. State point guard Farnold Degand, who tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee on Dec. 23, is on schedule to return to the court by the time practice starts in October, a team spokesman said earlier this week.

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08-09 Basketball NCS Basketball

13 Responses to N&O: Degand May Return in October

  1. graywolf 07/04/2008 at 12:28 PM #

    Good news for Lowe and program….we need guards with wisdom and speed in the worst way.

  2. PackGirl 07/04/2008 at 12:31 PM #

    Speaking of point guards – we got a verbal commit from a guy named Ryan Harrow a few days ago (class of 2010). Has anyone heard anything about this guy?

    Here are a few tidbits from scout.com:

    “Ryan Harrow is returning to the state of North Carolina. The former Concord (N.C.) Cannon School standout – now at Marietta (Ga.) Walton – picked the North Carolina State Wolfpack after looking at Auburn and UT-Chattanooga.”

    Harrow felt a bond with coach Lowe. The former All-ACC and NBA point guard played a major role in Harrow’s decision.

    “I love coach Lowe,” said Harrow. “He knows what it takes to make it to the league, and I know how much they want me there.

    “He’s a great coach. I like how he develops players. He played in the NBA, he coached in the NBA and I want to get to the NBA so I think he can help me get there. And I like the school… I think all-around it is a good place for me.

    “An interesting note about Harrow is his relationship to N.C. State 2009 target Lorenzo Brown. Harrow and Brown are AAU teammates with LouWill Elite and good friends off the court.

    “Hopefully, it impacts a lot and he’ll make his decision soon. I know his top two schools are Memphis and N.C. State and he’s leaning more towards N.C. State.”

    “He’s sneaky… he’s a little kid, probably about 6-foot and 150 pounds, but he’s really long. He has about a 6-foot-9 wingspan… he gets to the glass and can score inside. We’ve played about 35 team camp games this summer at various colleges, and everybody that has watched him play says that he’s just fun to watch. You don’t want to take your eye off of him because he’ll do some things that will make your jaw drop. He’s special.” – Walton High Head Coach Joe Goydish

  3. Defenestrator 07/04/2008 at 12:54 PM #

    ^ discussion in this previous entry:
    http://www.statefansnation.com/index.php/archives/2008/06/30/lowe-lands-another-10-prospect/

  4. Afterglow 07/04/2008 at 1:26 PM #

    PackGirl-I know about as much as you on Ryan Harrow and I would say that for the most part (unless someone has some personal experiences seeing this guy play) so does everyone else.

    He’s pretty new still in the camps. Tyler Thornton’s about the only other point guard I can think of that’s being talked about in the 2010 class so only time will tell if this is a good get. Other schools that showed interest in him were: St. John’s, Texas, Wake Forest, Chattanooga, Davidson, Auburn, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida, Kentucky
    and Marquette. A mid major to major list.

    I know some have said that his size is an issue. I’d say if he can fill out a little and be a solid 6 to 6’1″ than we’ll be ok. His feet are large but so are mine and I’m 5’8″ so who know’s if that’s any indication of how tall he’ll be.

    I do find this quote by him extracted from an article interesting in reference to what coach Lowe had said: “He told me when I get there, that I’ll be the one running the show and can make the team better.”

  5. PackGirl 07/04/2008 at 2:07 PM #

    ^^Thanks, don’t know how I missed the whole thread.

    I guess he still has lots of time to develop stature-wise and athletically – hard to know what could (or couldn’t) happen in 2 years. Would be nice if he convinced Lorenzo Brown to join the pack, as he suggests.

  6. Dogbreath 07/05/2008 at 7:10 AM #

    Our staff seems to be willing and ready to roll the dice with scholarships, hoping something sticks. Maybe this kid will turn out to be the next Kenny Anderson, time will tell. Let’s hope so. We haven’t had a championship caliber point guard in 18 years, which is nothing short of absurd.

  7. PacknSack 07/05/2008 at 10:49 AM #

    Is it wrong that my first reaction is “whoop-te-fricken-do” about Degand? I just don’t see his value for making the 2008-09 team better.

  8. Dr. BadgerPack 07/05/2008 at 11:36 AM #

    ^I don’t know… he has to have some value. Let’s say Gonzalez is better (this is just an example…); Degand is still better than Johnson– I recall several games last year where Gonzalez did well and the team, err, sucked when Johnson came in to spell him. That in and of itself is an upgrade in quality of depth.

    Of course, that doesn’t take into account the defensive ability Degand deomonstrated. Or the fact that should he recover all/most of his quickness he should be the best PG on the roster.

  9. Primewolf 07/05/2008 at 2:03 PM #

    Degand was really coming into his own when he was hurt by the Thugs (Cinci). He would have made a difference last year had he remained healthy.

    My bet– he will easily win the starting PG position. I hope Javi has improved 100%,because that is what it will take for him to appear like he belongs in the ACC.

    Good luck, guys.

  10. RabidWolf 07/05/2008 at 3:33 PM #

    It may not be the one thing that makes the team better, but hopefully (yeah, I’ll say it) with JJ gone, Ben and Brandon can return to the form they had 2 yrs ago. Combine that with a speedy, more consistant PG, and who knows?? Maybe this team can repeat some of the surprises of 2007. Call me an optimist. NO JELLY DOUGHNUTS IN THE LOCKER ROOM!!

  11. Trip 07/05/2008 at 3:56 PM #

    “He has about a 6-foot-9 wingspan…”

    Jeesh. That kid BETTER grow out to be 6’3 or he’s gonna look awkward as hell. I don’t think any of the guards in the draft besides Gordon (6’4) had a 6’9 wingspan.

  12. choppack1 07/07/2008 at 7:49 AM #

    I’d really feel better about things if Degand didn’t rely so much on his quickness and hard cuts to drive to the basket. I thought he played pretty well for those few short games he played for us. He seemed to make good decisions, shot better from long range than I thought and could create his own shot. (He actually reminded me of a more under control Cliff Crawford early in his career.)

    We’ll see. I’m not expecting too much from his this year. It seems like Lowe is placing a lot of faith in him coming back 100% – and I just don’t see it happening.

  13. howlie 07/13/2008 at 6:19 PM #

    There’s astoundingly little shared in that article about Degand but what Sid DOES share implies he believes Farn will be ‘up to speed’ from the beginning of the actual season [not the Canada trip].

    Contrasted to the comments about football players with the same injury, the ‘skinny’ there is that it takes a minimum of 1-1/2 years of recovery PHYSICALLY before players deal with the ‘mental aspect’ of trusting that they CAN cut on the knee, and change direction.

    To have Farnold ‘ready’ in 10 months seems–dangerously pushing against the required period of physical therapy–unless his injury was much more slight than thought.

    (Thomas’ injury was, apparently, worse than anyone first supposed).

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