Struggling times for Lowe

Coaching basketball hasn't been a comfort for Sidney Lowe, who has also been battling family issues over the past year.

RALEIGH -- It hasn't been the best of times for N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe. Anything but.

His team has dropped its past six games, the Wolfpack's longest losing streak since the 2000 season. State, which faces No. 7 Duke today at the RBC Center, has been reduced to having to win the ACC Tournament to reach the NCAA Tournament -- quite a comedown given its preseason hopes.

But it hasn't just been basketball that has been troubling for Lowe. His mother, Carrie, suffered a heart attack on Wednesday and remains hospitalized. His father, Willie Gwyn, died in August.

Lowe's oldest son, Sidney II, still must face charges of kidnapping, possessing drugs and armed robbery that stem from a shooting incident last March in Greensboro. The case has been continued and no court date set, according to the Guilford County District Attorney's Office.

Lowe said Friday his mother remains at WakeMed in Raleigh, but noted she instructed him he had to prepare for a game.

"I was with her [Thursday] night," Lowe said. "She was telling me to get out, go home and get my work done. ... Obviously I worry about her, but I know she wants me to be [at NCSU] getting this done."

Lowe showed some of the strain after State's 72-62 loss to Florida State on Wednesday night, blasting his starters for being "awful" early in the game. But the players say that despite the losing, despite the personal issues, Lowe's demeanor hasn't changed.

"Every time I come in the gym he's full of energy, so that picks us up when we drop our heads," freshman center J.J. Hickson said.

Senior forward Gavin Grant called Lowe "a very strong individual. He's passionate about this stuff. You'd think [he] might want to quit on us or something. Not Coach. Every game he's excited, like he wants to go out and play."

But questions about Lowe's coaching style and system have arisen in his second season, even among diehard State fans who revere and respect Lowe as the floor leader of the Pack's 1983 national championship team under former coach Jim Valvano.

Was making Hickson an immediate starter a wise decision?

Should State have played more zone defense, especially after starting point guard Farnold Degand was lost with a knee injury?

Why doesn't Lowe let the Pack run more offensively?

Shouldn't Lowe have been able to better motivate his players?

NCSU athletics director Lee Fowler, who hired Lowe, remains confident Lowe and his staff will succeed in the long run.

"It is frustrating, but I know from experience it's a lot more frustrating for Sidney and his [staff] than anyone else could imagine. ... No one could be trying any harder to get this thing turned around than they are," Fowler said.

"He's a smart guy, and he'll get it all turned around. He can coach. He can recruit. And he can bring players together. It's not going to all happen overnight. There's always an adjustment period. ... There was with almost every coach you can think of."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, to name one. The Blue Devils were 10-17 in his second season and 11-17 in his third, and some Duke fans wondered if hiring him from Army had been a mistake. Today, against State, Krzyzewski could win his 800th game.

Lowe was a head coach and assistant in the NBA. His first Pack team went 20-15, with an exciting March run in the ACC Tournament and the NIT, ratcheted up expectations, for this season.

Hickson, a McDonald's All-American from Marietta, Ga., further fueled those expectations. He scored 31 points in his first game and has been a strong inside presence, but he took away minutes from junior post player Ben McCauley, a hard-working, productive starter last season.

Lowe won't second-guess his decision to play Hickson ahead of McCauley, who later joined Hickson in the starting lineup. Hickson, Lowe said, changed the team "dynamic" but did not hurt the team chemistry.

"We brought in a great young player who changed the look of our team," Lowe said. "He's a talent you can't leave on the bench. It's up to the others to make adjustments and play their minutes and not worry about who's starting. The bottom line is the team."

Losing Degand also altered the team dynamic, leaving Lowe to play freshman Javi Gonzalez and sophomore transfer Marques Johnson at point guard. The Pack hasn't been able to pressure the ACC's quickest and best point guards defensively, and has struggled to run its halfcourt offensive sets or get easy baskets.

State has dabbled with zone defenses at times but remains a man-to-man team. And Lowe remains reluctant to let the Pack get out and run in transition.

"We don't make good decisions on the break," he said. "We need to pull it back and execute our stuff and try to take advantage of matchups and situations."

As for motivation, the players accept the blame for their puzzling stretches of poor, listless play -- for example, falling behind Florida State 25-6.

"There's no excuse for not coming out ready to play," sophomore Trevor Ferguson said.

As a player, Lowe was as tough and competitive as they come. He's still that way.

"Just as Coach [Valvano] said when he first got here, I'm going to win here," Lowe said.

(Staff writer Caulton Tudor contributed to this report.)