C.J. Leslie Picks NC State: Can He Help Keep Sidney Lowe Employed?

On Wednesday, five-star recruit C.J. Leslie committed to attend North Carolina State University to play college basketball.

Originally the high-octane wing player had a verbal commitment to the Wolfpack, but he withdrew to allow other schools a chance to recruit him, namely Connecticut and Kentucky (where former teammate John Wall performed so well).

Eventually, Leslie chose to stay in his home state and attend a school that could use a boost.

Leslie's commitment is the cherry on top of a great recruiting class at NC State. With the program reeling under Sidney Lowe, the three great prospects that have committed are just what the Wolfpack needs for Lowe to keep his job.

Lowe hasn't made the NCAA tournament in his entire tenure as head coach. In fact, the Wolfpack have ended up in the bottom third of the ACC all four years that Lowe has been there. It is safe to say that Lowe was sitting on a very hot seat until this miracle class saved his job for at least one more year.

Leslie's choice of college is most likely in order to receive attention. With a chance to play immediately, Leslie cements his place in the spotlight as a leader of a team with a chance to compete in one of the best conferences in the country. Sometimes he shows signs of immaturity and an ego, very DeMarcus Cousins-esque, but hopefully he should be able to overcome it by the time the season hits.

The three recruits were or are all top 100 recruits according to ESPN. Leslie is the No. 11 recruit and the No. 5 power forward in the class, although he plays more like a large, athletic small forward. Ryan Harrow is the No. 5 point guard in the class and the No. 39 recruit overall with great scoring ability.

Lorenzo Brown is a different story. Brown could not academically qualify to play last year coming directly out of high school, so he attended Hargrave Military Academy for a year in order to develop his grades. The great shooting guard was the 29th highest-rated recruit in the 2009 class and the ninth-ranked shooting guard.

Although not the most athletic compared to other versatile twos, Brown can shoot well and is very fundamentally sound. 

All of these recruits are a great addition to a team that struggled in 2009-2010 but also showed the ability to shine. With these three players as the cornerstone of the program, we could see the possibility of a return to the big dance from Lowe and the Pack in this year and years to come.