By Aaron Beard

Associated Press

RALEIGH — Sidney Lowe can remember days as a North Carolina State player when he figured the team would improve simply by adding new recruits to a talented returning group. He found out that just isn't always the case.

"I'd think 'We're going to be better' not thinking there's an adjustment to having new guys," the Wolfpack coach said.

His players needed just two games to learn the same lesson.

N.C. State entered the season with high expectations of joining nearby rivals North Carolina and Duke among the ACC's elite, but now is focused more on figuring out what went wrong in a surprising home loss to New Orleans.

The loss knocked the Wolfpack out of the Top 25 and exposed them as a team that hasn't found an identity yet.

Lowe, in his second season here, spent Tuesday answering questions from reporters about the team's rotation, how minutes are divided and the curious disappearance of Ben McCauley, one of the Wolfpack's top inside players last year. That followed the then-No. 21 Wolfpack's 65-63 loss to the Privateers on a banked-in 3-pointer in the final seconds Sunday.

After the game, senior Gavin Grant said there were "inside-the-team issues" going on among the players, though he didn't elaborate.

Regardless, Lowe sounded like he believed any issues would work themselves out as the team progresses through the season. After all, he said, "we're a different team" than the one that overachieved with essentially a six-man rotation last season.

"This last ballgame certainly opened some eyes and made them realize that, hey, just because we have the talent doesn't mean it's going to be easy," Lowe said. "We still have to play together, play hard and play smart."

The biggest change for the Wolfpack (1-1) has been the addition of freshman J.J. Hickson, a

6-foot-9 McDonald's All-American who has gotten off to an impressive start. He scored 31 points on 12-for-12 shooting in the 66-47 win against William & Mary to open the year, then followed with 22 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks against New Orleans.

But Hickson's hot start has cut the shots going to Brandon Costner (10 points per game) and Grant (12 ppg). The rookie has also gobbled up minutes that formerly went to McCauley, a 6-10 forward who averaged 14.4 points and 6.9 rebounds in 34.5 minutes while starting all 36 games last year.

So far, McCauley has scored four points on 2-for-5 shooting with two rebounds in 28 minutes while coming off the bench in the first two games.

Lowe has said several times that players, not coaches, determine how many minutes they get through their practice performances and preparation. He emphasized Tuesday that he doesn't have a set staring lineup and that McCauley is not locked on the bench.

"It's a tough adjustment, but it can be done very quickly because you start to now focus on the team aspect of it," Lowe said. "Initially, I totally understand that. But then it's about the team now: what do I have to do to help the team? I think that's where he is."

Lowe's biggest question now is how his team will regroup after the loss. N.C. State faces Rider on Thursday to open the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla., the beginning of a potential five-game stretch away from Raleigh.

The coach is hoping it could be the start of something better.

"I'd like to see how we react," Lowe said. "If we come out and play the way we're capable, are we going to be clicking on all cylinders? Probably not, because I think we're still learning each other. But there are certain things you look at and say, 'OK, we were ready tonight.' And that's what I'm looking for."