RALEIGH, N.C. _ There were times last season, too many to count, when Mark Gottfried would peek down at the end of the N.C. State bench and see Terry Henderson, Torin Dorn and Dennis Smith Jr.
The answer to the Wolfpack's problems was sitting right there, so excruciatingly close yet so far away.
There was both hope and futility in glancing at the Wolfpack's own "Rescue Squad" while the team struggled to a 5-13 record in ACC play and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time in Gottfried's tenure.
"I looked over there a lot," Gottfried said. "I tried not to look over there."
Gottfried wasn't the only one hoping the three talented guards could be on the floor instead of on the bench.
"Almost every game it was 'I wish we could do this, I wish we could do that,' " Henderson said. "We understood we had to wait our time and now it's our time."
Yes, finally the wait is over for the Wolfpack, which opens the season on Friday at home against Georgia Southern.
Smith, Dorn and Henderson will be able to do more than just play a pregame round of "H-O-R-S-E," they will be counted on to lead the Wolfpack back to the NCAA tournament, perhaps even contend for the program's first ACC regular-season title since 1989.
"The sky is the limit for us," Henderson said. "We have a chance at a great year."
