Pack can count on Costner

RALEIGH -- Before the season, as part of their personality profiles, N.C. State's men's basketball players were asked who the team's biggest surprise would be.

Many said sophomore guard Courtney Fells. As for Fells, he picked redshirt freshman Brandon Costner.

Costner said he picked "myself, because I was hurt last year."

Costner wasn't being boastful. In fact, the 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward was a bit fearful coming into this season.

Costner played just five games last season before being sidelined with a stress fracture of his left femur. He begged former State coach Herb Sendek to let him return late in the season, but Sendek refused. Costner now considers that decision a blessing.

Costner's leg healed, but there still was doubt in his mind, he said.

"I started to think maybe I'd never get back to how I was," he said. "You see, all the time, good players who get hurt and never get back to what they once were. So I was a little nervous."

For Costner, "back" meant reclaiming the form and skills he showed at Seton Hall Prep in West Orange, N.J. He was rated the nation's 20th best player as a senior by scout.com, was voted to the McDonald's All-American team and selected the New Jersey player of the year.

But so far, so good this season. In the Pack's 6-2 start, Costner is 10th in the ACC in scoring (15.8 points) and sixth in rebounding (7.4). He has had two double-doubles, including a 17-point, 11-rebound performance in State's 74-67 victory over Michigan in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

"When he first got started, he was a little anxious and tried to make it all happen quickly," N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe said Friday. "Then he settled down. He let the game come to him and not force anything. Credit his patience."

Versatility a plus

Costner chose the Pack over Florida, Kansas, UCLA and Michigan, believing he was best suited for Sendek's system, a motion offense in which the big guys could handle the ball and float inside and out.

"In high school, he was an impossible guard," Seton Hall Prep coach Bob Farrell said. "Go big on him [defensively] and he'd go outside and shoot. Go small on him and he'd take you inside.

"I thought that style at N.C. State was perfect for him. But he's the kind of player who can adapt to any style."

In Lowe's system, Costner still floats out behind the 3-point line -- he's 11-for-35 on 3's -- and has rushed a few shots. Lowe jokingly says one or two a game would be OK, as long as Costner continues to work hard on the boards.

Costner was getting 18 minutes a game early last season before a collision with Warren McLendon of The Citadel. McLendon, a burly 6-5, 265-pound forward, was called for charging. Costner caught a knee in his left thigh, and the pain was so intense he couldn't walk.

It was Costner's first serious injury but not the first in his family. His father, Tony, starred at St. Joseph's and broke a foot and an arm while playing professionally overseas.

"Growing up, he always told me, 'Don't cry, be tough,' " Brandon said. "I had the mind-set of always toughing it out. That's why I didn't say anything about the injury for two weeks."

When he did, X-rays revealed the stress fracture. Costner began rehabilitation work -- running on an underwater treadmill -- and hoped to play in the Feb. 22 game against North Carolina at the RBC Center.

"I wanted to try and make a difference, and I felt I could," he said. "I wanted to throw my redshirt [year] away and just try."

But Sendek wouldn't do it. Costner missed the 95-71 loss to the Tar Heels. He also sat out the ACC and NCAA tournaments.

"It was a big disappointment for him because he couldn't prove himself," Farrell said.

The road back

When Costner started running and playing again, he strained a hip flexor because, he said, he overcompensated for the leg injury. Call it another setback, but he was healthy when preseason practice began.

"It was kind of like starting over," he said. "I think I've played pretty well for the most part. I'm trying to get my feel back for the game, get the timing back on my jump shot. Just polish it up."

Costner's nickname on the team is "Big Lazy" because of his knack of falling asleep anywhere and anytime. He even curled up on the court before practice this week for a few deep winks.

But Costner perks up when the Pack's predicted 12th-place finish in the ACC is mentioned.

"I was upset about that, personally," he said. "I know we lost a lot of people, but it's not like we were bad players coming out of high school.

"I guess people forgot about us. I guess some people kind of forgot about me."