NC State head men’s basketball coach Sidney Lowe has announced that redshirt juniors Brandon Costner and Trevor Ferguson will forego their final year of eligibility, and not return to the Wolfpack in 2009-10. Costner will earn a degree in communications in May, while Ferguson plans to earn a degree in science, technology and society in the summer.
“Brandon has enjoyed a great career at NC State, and now is going to prepare himself to go through the NBA Draft process,” said Lowe. “Trevor feels like it was his time to move on, and we will continue to help him in his pursuit of his degree.”
After sitting out most of the 2005-06 season with a stress fracture, Costner has been a constant in the Pack lineup for the last three seasons. He played in 110 career games with 84 starts averaging 12.6 points and 5.9 rebounds during his career. This season, he became the 41st player in school history to score 1,000 career points, and ended his career with 1,273 (27th most in NCSU history). In 2008-09, Costner led the Pack in scoring (13.6) and was second in both rebounding (6.1) and in assists (71).
Costner was named to the ACC All-Freshman team and was also a third-team All-ACC selection as a redshirt freshman in 2006-07. He was just the seventh freshman in ACC history to lead his team in both scoring (16.8) and rebounding (7.3) his rookie season.
“I really want to thank the coaches, the fans and everybody at NC State for the time I have spent here,” said Costner. “So many people have helped me while I was a member of the Wolfpack, I just feel like it is time to move on and pursue my dreams of playing professionally.”
Ferguson transferred to NC State after signing a letter of intent with Pittsburgh, and sat out the 2005-06 season. He played in 52 career games, with his eight starts all coming this past season. For his career, Ferguson averaged 3.7 points in 15.5 minutes of action, hitting 37.4 percent (43-115) of his career three-point attempts.
“I enjoyed my time here at NC State, and am proud to have been a member of the Wolfpack family,” said Ferguson. “Playing in the ACC was something I enjoyed, and now I look forward to moving on in my life.”