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RALEIGH -- There's no need to press the panic button, as coach Sidney Lowe has assured N.C. State basketball fans. But the Wolfpack's 5-3 record heading into tonight's game against Davidson (7, Fox Sports Net) includes losses to New Orleans and East Carolina and a humiliating rout at Michigan State.

So there is a sense that State needs to rebound from a slow start this season. The best way to do that may well be to, well, rebound.

That's not something the Wolfpack has done very well during its first eight games. In every game this season State has permitted its opponents to grab at least 10 offensive rebounds, including 24 by South Carolina. The Wolfpack is ranked 213th nationally with a minus-0.9 rebounding margin.

Part of that may be a good thing. After all, State is holding opponents to 38 percent shooting, 32nd best in the country. More misses will likely yield more offensive rebounds, but a more telling stat is one used by college basketball numbers guru Ken Pomeroy. He tracks something called offensive rebound percentage -- the percentage of potential defensive rebounds that are instead ceded to the opposing team. When State's opponents miss a shot, they are getting the offensive rebound an alarming 37.4 percent of the time. That's 285th out of 341 teams nationally.

"It is a concern," Lowe said.

Before you can fix a problem you have to figure out what's causing it. There are several areas where State has broken down once a shot has gone up.

Adjusting to J.J.

Putting freshman center J.J. Hickson in the middle of the State defense has given the Wolfpack a shot-blocking presence that wasn't there last season. That's good for altering initial shots, but it means added responsibilities for Hickson's teammates once the altered shot misses its target. When Hickson goes for the block, his man has a clear path to the boards.

"Last year we sort of stayed at home, so we were able to find people and box them out and do the job there," Lowe said. "Now those other guys have to cover down and cover for J.J. when he is going after those blocks."

Too Ready To Run

Lowe spoke extensively during the preseason about wanting to make this version of the Wolfpack a more up-tempo team. He had a new point guard, Farnold Degand, who liked to push the pace and more depth to allow for more running.

But there's one element that is critical to every transition game.

"You can't get the ball on the break if your team doesn't have it," said State's Ben McCauley.

Several times in the Pack's games, long rebounds or tip-outs were secured by opposing guards, who had slipped inside while State's guards and wings were cheating away from the basket, trying to break.

Technique Breakdowns

Sometimes, though, the guards stay home and Hickson doesn't rotate over, and State still hasn't grabbed the defensive rebound. The problem is that the Pack keeps forgetting the fundamental rule of rebounding -- find your man, then go get the ball. State has been hurt time and again by forgetting the basic technique of boxing out. It's resulted in a free-for-all that the Wolfpack has too often lost.

"We were just kind of hoping we would outjump our opponents," McCauley said.

Effort?

The fact that State has often been outjumped for rebounds by opponents raises a tricky question -- is the Wolfpack's rebounding deficit partly the result of a lack of hustle?

In State's loss to Michigan State, ESPN analyst Steve Lavin remarked that the Pack appeared to be "lolly-gagging" on the court. Earlier against Rider, another ESPN analyst, Len Elmore, had this explanation for the Broncos' offensive rebounding success.

"Right now, Rider's really out-battling N.C. State," Elmore said.

Lowe's not buying it.

"Effort hasn't been a concern," the Pack's coach said. "It's been the technique for me. When you watch the film, you can see where guys turn and just go get it. Their man might go around them and get the rebound."

Solutions

To correct that problem, State spent a great deal of time the week before its game against S.C. State working on an interesting drill. The Wolfpack coaches put four players -- two on offense and two on defense -- in a circle and put the ball on the floor at the center of the circle, about five feet from the players. The offensive players tried to get to the ball.The defensive players didn't worry about anything but the offensive players.

"You had to keep them from getting the ball or else you were in serious trouble," McCauley said.

The drill seemed to help some against S.C. State, but the Bulldogs still managed to get back over 34 percent of their missed shots for 16 offensive rebounds.

In that game, though, Lowe also may have begun to use his most effective technique for teaching strong rebounding. Dissatisfied with the early work of Hickson on the boards, Lowe yanked him less than two minutes into the game.

"We have played in enough games now for the guys to understand what this is all about and how to play this game," Lowe said. "We can't come right out of the gate and give up offensive rebounds, give up tip-ins."

Not against Davidson and certainly not in ACC play.

Contact Jim Young at 373-7016 or jim.young@news-record.com