Less than 24 hours after point guard Ryan Harrow announced he would be departing N.C. State, his former teammate C.J. Leslie offered much more scripted news. Despite the arrival of a new coaching staff as well as potential to enter the NBA draft, the Holly Springs native will don the red and white this fall for coach Mark Gottfried.
“I just stuck around and waited to see what coach we got,” Leslie said. “And the coach that we got obviously had a great impact on my decision. I think he’s a very good coach and hearing how he’s going to run his system, it sounds pretty good.”
While Leslie led State in rebounding a season ago, his passion and intensity has often been questioned. Following Gottfried’s arrival April 5, Leslie said he has begun to recognize what being a better player entails for him.
“I feel like I can improve a lot,” Leslie said. “Talking to coach Gottfried and meeting with him, he put certain things in ways I had never seen it before. I just thought, ‘Wow, if I could do that, I’m going to be good.’ He put things in my eyes and put the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Some of the on-court adjustments Leslie is striving to make came from recent discussions with his new coach. The former Alabama head man has challenged the 6 foot 8 inch forward to enhance his outside shooting.
“Right now I’m moving in and out [of the post],” Leslie said. “[Gottfried] definitely wants me to shoot the three if I can shoot it. He said that is one of the things I need to improve on.”
Last year, Leslie displayed inconsistency highlighted by a 54 percent free throw percentage during the season and a 28 percent field goal percentage over the final four regular season games. Following a lengthy coaching search conducted by Athletics Director Debbie Yow, Gottfried was able to discuss Leslie’s future moving forward.
“We talked about what he can do for me if I came back or whether he thought I was ready,” Leslie said. “The other side was talking to my family and coming to my decision.”
Although Leslie utilized his press conference mainly concerning his return, he also addressed Harrow’s earlier decision to transfer out of State.
“Ryan [Harrow] is still one of my best boys,” Leslie said. “And I still support him in whatever he does. I really didn’t talk to him much. His decision was his decision, and he decided to leave. Obviously I’m not happy about that, but I still support him. If he felt that was the best decision for his career, then who am I to tell him it’s not?”
Harrow’s absence will most likely leave way for Lorenzo Brown to take control over the point guard position. Leslie said he has complete confidence in Brown, who often played point guard at Centennial High School in Roswell, Ga.
“I’m just as comfortable with Lorenzo [Brown] as I was with Ryan,” Leslie said. “He was always at the point in his high school career. So, I feel like he can handle the ball just as well.”
