RALEIGH, N.C. — At some point, North Carolina State surely will miss Julius Hodge.

Just not yet.

The Wolfpack (5-0) moved into The Associated Press' college basketball poll Monday at No. 24, the first time they've been ranked this season. It came just in time for their toughest game so far — a trip to No. 14 Iowa on Wednesday night in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

"I think it's a good thing to have high expectations for your basketball program," N.C. State coach Herb Sendek said. "But I think we all recognize at the end of the day, what the polls say on Nov. 28, in the whole scheme of things, isn't really important.

"It's early, those polls and rankings are going to change."

Still, in their first season without Hodge, the Wolfpack haven't really skipped a beat. Four players are averaging at least 10 points, and perhaps none is as surprising as scoring leader Cedric Simmons.

The burly, 6-foot-9 center reached double figures only twice last season as a freshman, but is up to 13.4 points a game — including a career-high 22 against VMI. Simmons' success inside has opened up the perimeter a bit, too, allowing N.C. State to make 40 3-pointers in five games.

"We definitely play more inside-out this year, and we should, because Cedric is so dominant," point guard Engin Atsur said. "People are going to have to help with Cedric, he's gotten really big and strong. He's got everything down."

Simmons isn't the only improved player on the roster. Gavin Grant, who was told by federal immigration officials before the season that he was in the United States illegally, is doing a great Hodge impersonation.

He has filled up the stat sheet in each game and averages 10.8 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists. Hodge completed a stellar four years as only the third player in Atlantic Coast Conference history with more than 2,000 points, 400 assists and 700 rebounds.

Nothing has been decided in Grant's legal issues, but he was emphatic earlier that he expected to finish the year with the Wolfpack.

Of course, those gaudy numbers put up by Simmons and Grant admittedly came against mostly overmatched talent. The competition figures to be a bit more stiff against the Hawkeyes.

"I still think we're in the process of deciding our roles," Sendek said. "When you go through the season, those roles change. I think our guys have done a good job of coming together early in the season."

It should only improve as one of the more experienced teams in the ACC gets more help from a talented group of freshmen.

"Experience always has great value, no matter how talented the guys are," Sendek said. "The older guys have been through it. Sometimes they know what you're going to say before you even say it

"At the same time, we've been trying to integrate those young guys into our plan and work on our depth."