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RALEIGH — The N.C. State Wolfpack doesn't know how long point guard Javier Gonzalez will be limited by a hamstring injury, but it can count on consistent and diverse contribution from freshman swing man Josh Davis. So says Mr. Davis himself.

"I can do it every game from here on in," the long-armed, under-recruited rookie said after scoring 10 points and collecting four rebounds in Saturday's 75-57 victory over Georgia Southern at Reynolds Coliseum.

Davis, whose spring signing with the Pack attracted as much attention as that day's sunrise, is starting to develop into an all-purpose threat for a 7-1 team. After playing sparingly in the season's first eight games, he came off the bench to defend and frustrate Lazar Hayward, Marquette's main man, in the second half of an impressive, comeback Wolfpack win.

In the process, he became known as the Pack's one-man power plant, an energy source who reveled in busting through screens and choking off passing lanes. Some of it, he says, comes from being overlooked. While helping nearby Athens Drive High School go 22-6 and playing for the Greensboro-based Gaters AAU program, he earned exactly one star on a five-star scale from www.scouthoops.com. According to that site's database, at least 851 prospects in the Class of 2009 were better than Davis. Most one-star signees wound up at places like Texas Southern, Stephen F. Austin, Presbyterian, Charleston Southern and South Alabama.

Even a blog dedicated to exhaustive coverage of Pack basketball admitted, "We don't know all that much about him."

"A lot of motivation," he said, "but I didn't let (the ratings) get to me. I know I can play."

He did his best work in Saturday's second half to help State get out of a period of offensive stagnation. The Eagles (3-7) were playing a zone, but they were leaving open spaces. Davis made himself available in various spots, and his activity caught the eye of Farnold Degand and others. The best move in his 5-for-6 shooting day was to slide down the lane, wait for Degand to draw help and then finish the dunk.

"That's how it is in practice," Davis said. "(Degand) knows I'm going to the rim.

"You have to find the gaps and the open spaces on the court. And then you have to work hard to get to those spots before they do."

After a substandard first half, State made its first eight shots from the floor in the second, and it survived a 90-second lull and pulled away, guided to a large degree by Davis' zeal for the opportunity.

"When teams go zone," Pack coach Sidney Lowe said, "there's a tendency for guards not to look inside. When we look inside, good things will happen."

Lowe would like those things to happen with Gonzalez, the point guard and general offensive instigator who sat out Saturday's game. The coach recalls Engin Atsur's season-long difficulties a few years back and knows the ACC opener at Wake Forest looms in a week. The tune-up is Thursday's meeting with Elon at the RBC Center.

"We hope he's going to be ready for Thursday," Lowe said. "We hope it's not going to be another Engin situation, where it's going to linger all year long. But a lot of that is up to Javy."

GEORGIA SOUTHERN (3-7) — Rucker 5-9 2-2 12, Spencer 5-10 2-4 12, Hanson 3-9 1-2 9, Troupe 0-4 0-0 0, Powers 6-10 2-2 14, Janiszewski 1-2 0-0 2, Brannen 0-1 0-0 0, Drayton III 1-4 2-2 4, Baskerville 1-5 2-4 4, Wohlleb 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 11-16 57.

N.C. STATE (7-1) — Wood 1-6 0-0 2, Williams 4-6 0-0 10, T.Smith 10-12 1-4 21, Mays 4-5 0-0 11, Horner 7-8 2-2 16, Howell 0-2 0-0 0, Painter 1-2 0-0 2, Degand 1-4 1-2 3, Davis 5-6 0-1 10. Totals 33-51 4-9 75.

Halftime—N.C. State 31-20.
3-point goals—Georgia Southern 2-12 (Hanson 2-4, Rucker 0-1, gBaskerville 0-1, Wohlleb 0-1, Drayton III 0-2, Powers 0-3), N.C. State 5-17 (Mays 3-4, Williams 2-3, Horner 0-1, Howell 0-1, Painter 0-1, Degand 0-3, Wood 0-4).
Fouled out—None.
Rebounds—Georgia Southern 26 (Rucker, Spencer, Troupe 5), N.C. State 31 (Horner 9).
Assists—Georgia Southern 8 (Baskerville, Rucker, Spencer 2), N.C. State 23 (Horner 6).
Total fouls—Georgia Southern 10, N.C. State 12.
A—4,297.