It's about making each other better

Good story in the Raleigh paper this morning about how NC State guards Javier Gonzalez (pictured here with Wolfpack coach Sid Lowe) and Farnold Degand go after each other in practice in an effort to improve one another.

Gonzalez, urged by his mother "to be 'a warrior' on the court," says that while he and Degand are friends away from practice, the battles in practice with Degand is "about making each other better."

NC State assistant Pete Strickland compares it to a Bible verse:

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

According to the article, Gonzalez has worked hard on his game, sometimes "working on his game from midnight to about 2 a.m. before falling asleep on a couch."

"He's a gym rat," Coach Strickland said. "He's always the first at practice and the last one to leave. Sometimes he drags other players with him."