Pack tops St. Paul's in exhibition

RALEIGH -- When freshman Scott Wood was introduced as part of N.C. State's starting lineup Thursday night, a picture of Trevor Ferguson -- last year's No. 15 - was accidentally flashed on the big screen.

Bet that mix-up won't happen again.

The 6-feet-7 wing from Indiana scored 12 points during the Wolfpack's 84-42 exhibition victory over St. Paul's College. His 4-for-4 shooting -- along with DeShawn Painter's eight points and six rebounds, Josh Davis' three points and three rebounds and Jordan Vandenberg's six points and five rebounds -- gave the fans at Reynolds Coliseum an early glance of what they can hope for out of the rookie class when State opens the regular season next Thursday. (State's other freshman, Richard Howell, remained sidelined as he rehabilitates from October knee surgery.)

"Our freshmen are going to be pretty good,'' said sophomore forward Tracy Smith, who was taller than every Tiger on the court and used his 6-8 height advantage to score 21 points. "Scott Woods is an unbelievable shooter; DeShawn Painter has a good presence inside; Jordan's very good on defense, we're still going to work on his offense."

Offense, it seems, comes naturally to Woods. His shooting stroke has been compared to former Duke star J.J. Redick's, and he showed it off early.

His 3-pointer with 18:16 left in the first quarter made it 6-0, then his back-to-back treys about four minutes later gave the Pack a 18-2 advantage. He finished the half 4-for-4 from behind the arc when he buried another one just before halftime. State held a comfy 44-22 lead at the break.

"I think the main thing was coming down and hitting my first shot,'' Wood, who also posted two rebounds and a steal, said. " That gave me a little bit of confidence, and I didn't have to really worry about it as much. Once that first shot goes in, you're not as nervous, and you get in a rhythm a little bit."

Indeed, the only reason that rhythm was thwarted was because of back spasms; after playing 15 minutes in the first half, he only played seven in the second, never taking a shot.

"It might be from the deadlifts I've been doing,'' he said of the cramps. "I might have to ease up on those a little bit.

Then again, the lanky 170-pounder quipped, "With these arms, I need to be in there [the weight room] a little more than anybody else."

Coach Sidney Lowe said Wood's shooting performance just proved what he's been saying all offseason: "That he's capable of doing that. It's such a big boost when you get a guy who can knock down a couple consecutive shots like that, and give you a nice little lead.

"That's what he's been doing, and it's impressive for him to come out his first game, in front of a crowd here, and shoot the way he did."

Lowe, though, said Wood hasn't earned a starting job - yet. "We've got some very interesting situations. Obviously, we're young, so guys are battling for positions. Josh Davis has been great in practice, and so has Scott. I gave Scott the nod tonight, but we've got that going on through - Javi [Gonzalez] and Julius [Mays] are battling in there [for point guard] - and I'm just glad that I have two of them. ... But Scott's played well."

Well enough that he'll likely have his picture flashed on the scoreboard, instead of the former No. 15's, if and when he starts again.

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