1. Landing senior forward Dennis Parker on Wednesday helped give a shot in the arm to the Wolfpack men’s basketball program.
NC State’s recruitment of Parker started during his freshman and sophomore year, and then it kind of drifted away over time. When the assistant coaches ended up all being replaced, there wasn’t that foundation that would normally be there last April during the evaluation period.
The addition of assistant coach Levi Watkins proved to be the boost NC State needed with Parker. The other major point in Parker’s recruitment involved Raleigh Word of God wing Davin Cosby. I’ve long pointed out that traveling or high school teammates don’t usually want to play with each other in college. That proved the case with Parker and Team Loaded VA teammate Cosby, who NC State also pursued. They are friends and even played together for a year at Richmond (Va.) John Marshall, but valued sources indicated they had no interest in being college teammates.
When Cosby picked Alabama on Sept. 24, that opened the door for NC State to surge into the lead with Parker. There also really wasn’t another college that was a threat. Georgetown and Oklahoma State were in the mix at one point, but this was all NC State. The last piece of drama was when he flirted with officially visiting Missouri, but decided not to.
Now, maybe one of the reasons that schools were leery of recruiting Parker is that he was steadfast in waiting until the April signing period. He actually also didn’t want to pick a school until December or January, so having him pick NC State on Oct. 26 was a big victory for NC State.
Some might think Parker is only doing this because he picked NC State, but this goes back to last April. I asked him his plan when he played in Spartanburg, S.C., and he spelled it out. He really didn’t want to sign during the early signing period. He has been consistent about that in every interview since.
Now, NC State’s job is try and change his mind by Nov. 9. The aforementioned Watkins didn’t sign a national letter of intent due in part to the shaky job status of Herb Sendek at the time, and schools basically never hold a player to his national letter of intent anymore. The last high profile case in that regard might have been when Appalachian State didn’t want to release future NBA point guard Devonte Graham.
However, NC State could use a public relations win and that is what Parker signing would provide. Coach Kevin Keatts needs that P.R. win.
Some believe Parker could start immediately at NC State next year and score around 10 points a game, which would be a heck of an achievement. Not many freshman average 10 points or more a game. NC State wing Terquavion Smith was one of the 20-25 freshman who were ranked in the Rivals150 in the class of 2021, who achieved that this past season.
NC State’s only other prospect that could be signed this November is top 60 point guard Ty-Laur Johnson of Bronx (N.Y.) Our Saviour Lutheran. The good news with Johnson is that he hasn’t committed to Memphis, yet. Johnson was seemingly locked in to NC State after his officially visit Oct. 7 weekend, but then the Tigers called him during that visit. All of a sudden, he then officially visited Memphis last weekend.
It became clear that Johnson might like NC State, but his mentor was pushing Memphis, which had hired his traveling team coach Andy Borman of the New York Rens. Some don’t think Johnson and Borman are especially close, but recruiting is a who you know business.
It doesn’t appear any other senior or junior college prospect will be officially visiting NC State before the November signing period. That would leave 10 official visits remaining between now and April for the class of 2023, transfer portal or the special class of 2024 recruit. NC State currently has three scholarships remaining, but Smith could be an early entry for the NBA Draft and senior center D.J. Burns doesn’t sound enthusiastic about being in college for a sixth year. Odds are good there could be attrition by someone else, so the magic number for the spring could be bringing in six players.
2. The feedback on the Wolfpack hoops team is that the rotation could be pretty well defined going into the season.
Here is a mini-breakdown on each position:
Center — Burns and senior Dusan Mahorcic could split the minutes 20-20, with junior Ebenezer Dowuona picked up time if there is foul trouble or a nagging injury. The key is that when Burns is on the floor, the guards need to make a concerted effort to get him the ball. He needs touches in the post and be engaged because it makes little sense to not use him extensively on offense during his 20 minutes. Both Burns and Mahorcic are prone to get into foul trouble, but for different reasons. Mahorcic plays with great energy on the floor and is physical, but Burns tends to foul when he gets tired. That will lead to some minutes for Dowuona.
Power forward — Junior Jack Clark has made this his home. He played small forward at LaSalle, but he’s a better weapon against bigger, slower defenders. If he can hold his own rebounding the ball, then he’ll get utilized 30-plus minutes a game. Sophomore power forward Ernest Ross is back healthy, but the key with him in his reserve role is to earn the trust of Keatts. That was the theme last year, and that continues this season. The more he proves he knows his role, the more trust he gains. Providence junior transfer Greg Gantt will have to prove he can compete on the ACC level after a series of injuries. Expectations are low for the Fayetteville, N.C., native, but he is a good leader and representative for the school off the court.
Small forward — If there was a do-over about this year’s roster, landing a wing would be it. It just didn’t come together, and that will leave junior Casey Morsell, with sophomore Breon Pass rotating in with Morsell and Smith. Morsell has good potential but needs to improve his feel for the game to unlock being a two-way threat.
Shooting guard — Smith can play all day long. He has that kind of energy. It’s unclear to predict how many minutes Pass will get in a three-wing rotation, but maybe 15 minutes a game would be a good number. It also shows that Smith and Morsell have to remain healthy this season because there was a need for another wing on the roster.
Point guard — It’s becoming clear that Jarkel Joiner might not be the best player on the team, but the Ole Miss graduate transfer is the most important. He can’t get injured, but also can’t get worn down playing 35 minutes a game. If I was asked last summer, I’d have pegged Pass to be a backup at three different perimeter positions. Now, with the start of the season, it’s becoming clear that freshman L.J. Thomas is the better point guard reserve option. What does that mean? Maybe he plays 4-5 minutes a half. Pass is better off concentrating on scoring.
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