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RALEIGH -- It's amazing what a difference a year can make. When a reporter asked Sidney Lowe about his basketball team's depth Friday, the second-year N.C. State coach smiled.

"it's Actually Fun To Look Out There, Just When We Were Stretching And Getting Loose, And See That We Have Players," Lowe Said

With those players come expectations, something Lowe didn't have to worry much about last season. But the Wolfpack's run during the ACC tournament and the NIT has put the team on the national radar. Gavin Grant, a senior forward who led N.C. State in minutes played last season, certainly isn't shying away from the higher expectations.

"We think we are more than capable of beating anyone we play against," Grant said. "We think we should be one of the top teams in the country. I think we could go as far as the national championship."

The Pack, which has four starters back from last season, added five freshmen and two transfers to a team that nearly won the ACC tournament with a six-man rotation. This season, N.C. State could go as many as 10-deep, though Lowe was quick to point out that the players will dictate the rotation once the season begins.

Lowe said he wasn't worried about depth in the frontcourt, where the Pack welcomes back Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner. State also has freshmen Tracy Smith and J.J. Hickson, a highly touted recruit from Marietta, Ga. Hickson, 6-feet-9 and 242 pounds, is drawing rave reviews from his teammates.

"He's just a beast," Grant said. "He's a little like a bigger, stronger (Cedric Simmons) when Ced was here. I think he's probably the strongest person on the team right now."

The big question heading into the season is who will fill the void left by the Pack's only departing player, point guard Engin Atsur. N.C. State has three players who could fill that role, but transfer Marques Johnson is ineligible to play until December and freshman Javier Gonzalez is out with a wrist injury. That leaves sophomore Farnold Degand, a transfer from Iowa State who spent all of last season practicing with the team but watching from the bench.

"It's been a long time coming," Degand said. "I've been ready to play for a while now, and its going to feel great."

Degand's sentiment was echoed all around the court Friday, but Lowe was quick to temper those expectations.

"We had a good year last year," the coach said. "But we haven't really done anything yet. Everyone in this business knows what the big picture is, and we didn't do it last year, so we've got a lot of work to do."