RALEIGH -- Lorenzo Brown is starting to look more like a point guard. C.J. Leslie has figured out the difference between a good shot and a bad shot. Richard Howell's game is blossoming. C.J. Williams is scoring.
As N.C. State heads into ACC play, the Wolfpack keep getting better. From where these players were last season, from where they were in October, the improvement up and down the roster is readily apparent - to fans, coaches and players.
"Everyone's always been good," Brown said. "We just needed an extra push to bring it out of us. I agree everyone's gotten a lot better. And the new offense we're running, it works for us."
As a team, there are many markers of State's in-season improvement: Just as one example, after late-game situations tripped the Wolfpack up against Indiana and Stanford, the Wolfpack won on a last-second shot against St. Bonaventure and held off a relentless challenge from Campbell.
Still, it's the individual improvement that stands out, whether it's Brown or Leslie or Williams or Howell or anyone else. They're better players than they were a year ago. As N.C. State opens ACC play against Maryland today, they're better players than they were a month ago.
"We're getting there," N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. "Each individual part has gotten better, and hopefully we can keep getting better as a team."
Gottfried may expect no less, but it's not something State fans are used to seeing. There were players who spent their entire college careers under Sidney Lowe without making noticeable improvement. Raw talent arrived raw and stayed raw.
Not to belabor the point - it doesn't take a basketball genius to figure out that N.C. State is, at this moment, a more competitive, better-coached team than it was at any point in Lowe's tenure - but the difference this season is striking.
For most of his career at N.C. State, Williams was headed down that path. He came in a solid defender with limited offensive skills.
So far this season, he's a solid defender who's averaged more than 12 points per game.
"C.J. (Williams) is a senior now, and he's definitely grown since his freshman year," Leslie said. "He's gotten better. And everybody throughout the season is just continuing to get better and willing to learn."
Williams isn't alone.
Brown's switch to point guard hasn't always been easy, but he has shown continual improvement. Leslie may still hoist up the ill-timed speculative long-range jumper or two, but he's figured out his best shots are going to come close to the rim - and he has the improved field-goal percentage to prove it.
These changes didn't happen by themselves. These players acknowledge they have been pushed - hard.
"When you look at a player, you want to put them in positions where they can be successful," Gottfried said. "And then, obviously, they have to work. They have to accept coaching. They have to accept being challenged every day. It's a combination of everything which helps guys get better."
It's working right now for the Wolfpack, to the point where talk about winning 11 ACC games isn't just talk.
As N.C. State continues to improve, so do the Wolfpack's chances of making the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2006.
