Lowe believes time has arrived for Wolfpack's leap

Sidney Lowe is ready.

He's as eager as anyone to see his most talented North Carolina State team start the season. And while there are questions about his job security, the coach sounds convinced that four years of building his program are about to pay off.

In an interview with The Associated Press, Lowe didn't dwell on uncertainty over his long-term future at the school he led to a national championship as a player. Instead, he said he was in a good place when it comes to his outlook.

''I am because I see the light, as they say,'' Lowe said. ''I see (the program) as I envisioned it before, as moving and getting to a certain point. ... It's going in the right direction and that's why I feel good. And these guys make me feel good in terms of their work.

''And I don't know what that means this year, OK? But I just know it's in a better place. We're moving forward. I know we're moving forward.''

Lowe opens his fifth season Friday night against Tennessee Tech. While he has all-Atlantic Coast Conference returnee Tracy Smith, the infusion of talent from freshmen Ryan Harrow, Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie makes this group different from past teams that played through short benches or an apparent lack of ACC-caliber talent.

During Tuesday's preseason win against Pfeiffer, the Wolfpack - looking more athletic and playing at a much faster pace - finished with 111 points, cracking the century mark for the first time in 141 preseason, regular-season or postseason games under Lowe.

N.C. State is picked to finish fourth in the league and expected to get Lowe to his first NCAA tournament. If things go wrong, chatter about Lowe's future will only grow louder.

''I've got to try to graduate kids and try to win games,'' Lowe said. ''That's all I can try to do. I can't worry about anything else. If I spend my time doing that, then I can't have the time to devote to the kids. How can I be worried about myself when I've got 13 or 14 kids that I'm thinking, 'OK, is he doing the right thing?' and 'Is he doing the right thing?'''

Smith said Lowe has been more relaxed so far this year, a sign he really isn't letting job talk get to him. But Smith also said the players want to win to ''keep him around.''

''There's been different rumors that his job may be on the line, but I try not to think about that,'' Smith said. ''It's basically up to us to go out and play hard, play smart and play together.''

Lowe can look down the road at Duke for proof that things can turn around. Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski was 38-47 in his first three seasons there, winning just 31 percent of ACC regular-season games and going 3-11 against Triangle rivals North Carolina and N.C. State with nine losses by double-digit margins.

Meanwhile, the Tar Heels and Wolfpack - with Lowe as the starting point guard for the ''Cardiac Pack'' in 1983 - won consecutive NCAA championships to increase pressure on Krzyzewski.

While Lowe has a better record (71-62), he also has won 31 percent of ACC regular-season games and is 3-12 against Duke and North Carolina with nine losses by double-digit margins. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels have also won the past two national titles to up the pressure on Lowe.

Krzyzewski, with four NCAA titles and 11 Final Fours, said Lowe needed time to adjust to college after coaching in the NBA.

''Everyone's always trying to get to another level,'' Krzyzewski said. ''So if you have continuity, kids aren't going early (to the NBA), a kid doesn't transfer and you get a good recruiting class - and that all happens at the same time - that's your best chance of taking another step. I think he's right there.''

N.C. State has been here before, too. Herb Sendek struggled for five seasons before breaking through in 2002 with the first of five straight NCAA trips, highlighted by beating defending champion Connecticut to reach the round of 16 in 2005.

But Wolfpack fans soon felt Sendek's program had reached a plateau. They grew frustrated with its Princeton offense and an 8-38 record against Duke and North Carolina, which ultimately led Sendek to bolt for Arizona State in April 2006.

When Lowe took over here after a monthlong search that missed on top targets John Calipari and Rick Barnes, he talked of building a program that could achieve ''even a little more'' with deeper tournament runs.

But he got off to a tough start when two of three signees decided to play elsewhere in his debut season, and a touted point guard prospect backed out of a commitment for the following year. He had just seven scholarship players that first season and has worked to catch up ever since, including with recruits who already had relationships with other schools when he arrived.

Lowe signed one-and-done big man J.J. Hickson, but the class of Harrow, Brown and Leslie is ranked fifth nationally by Scout.com. It's a class Lowe targeted early and recruited through their prep careers, a sign his staff might have established itself in national recruiting.

A few more classes like that - and some more wins - could give Lowe the program he desperately wants.

''No one knows better than our staff in terms of where this thing is going,'' he said. ''No one, because we've lived it, we've been in it. We know what we have. We know we're in the right direction now. It's definitely an opportunity.''