BERMUDA RUN — The Phenom Hoop Report North Carolina Top 80 Camp took place Sunday at the Rise Sports Complex.

The camp was dominated mostly by class of 2025 prospects, with some getting targeted by NC State already. Here is a run down from the camp:

Top prospect: Rutherfordton (N.C.) Rutherfordton-Spindale Central High sophomore power forward Zymicah Wilkins gets the nod for showing he’s expanded his game. The 6-7, 240-pounder showed off an impressive mid-range turn-around jumper, going to about 18 feet out. That was a new addition to his offensive arsenal to complement his bruising play in the post and being an active rebounder.

Wilkins has picked up offers from Mississippi State and Texas A&M, but he hasn’t been all that active in seeing schools. It’s clear that he’ll be a crucial regional recruit in no time.

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On the rise: Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley sophomore wing Zacch Wiggins showed a smooth style and has always been a plus athlete. The younger brother of former Maryland and Oklahoma City Thunder wing Aaron Wiggins, he has worked hard to improve his shooting, finishes at the rim and is a force on the break. He’ll become more assertive as he grows older. Wiggins’ recruitment hasn’t taken off yet, but he’s going to check out NC Sate on Oct. 27, when the Wolfpack host Virginia Tech in football. That will be his first unofficial visit to NC State.

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Helped himself the most: A trio of tall African’s have arrived in North Carolina, and two of them played in the camp. Junior post player Harold Lee will play for Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple, which is where center Manny Bates of NC State and Butler finished up. Lee is a skinny 6-10 but he showed some advanced offensive skills, good tempo to his game and some high-major potential. At the bare minimum, the Atlantic 10 programs will gravitate toward him for sure. He’ll need to get stronger and learn to play through the bumps and bruises of post play.

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Sleeper prospect: Senior forward Torey Alston, who is originally from Durham, N.C., is going to play for Winston-Salem (N.C.) Christian, and he just flew around the camp making plays. He shared co-MVP honors with Wilkins. The bouncy 6-8 Alston, along with Concord (N.C.) Academy senior Avion Pinner, are the types of prospects who might end up at a mid-major, and then transfer to a high major down the road if they ever make the move. Presbyterian, Sam Houston State, North Carolina Central, Radford, Manhattan, Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Southeast Missouri State and North Carolina A&T, have offered him. If he waits until the spring, that list could exploded.

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Want to see more of: Sophomore center Gevonte Ware has been a polarizing eval, due in part to injuries. The 6-7 or so post player for Huntersville (N.C.) 1 of 1 Prep had his camp end early after getting poked pretty badly in the eye. Hopefully, his bad luck with injuries will turn around and he can show the essence of his game.

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Up and down: Reclassed sophomore wing Zion Collins got matched up against fellow Durham native Jackson Keith, a sophomore wing, and he just couldn’t get it going. He has unflappable confidence, so he will shoot a team into a game or sometimes out of it.

Collins shot much better the rest of the afternoon and he basically just needs a big man to set a pick and he’ll do the rest, mostly preferring a pull-up jumper. He unofficially visited last August and he should have a fascinating recruitment.

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This lady likes sticking her foot in her mouth…

https://www.wralsportsfan.com/banghart-apologizes-for-calling-nc-state-fans-so-classless/20418640/

I was a Freshman that year!! That was when ACC basketball was king!
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Updated numbers from NC State:

Quarterbacks:
Jack Chambers 64
MJ Morris 3

Running backs:
Jordan Houston 59
Demarcus Jones II 17
Delbert Mimms III 3

Wide receivers:
Darryl Jones 62
Thayer Thomas 53
Keyon Lesane 53
Porter Rooks 29
Julian Gray 11
Jasiah Provillon 9
Terrell Timmons 5

Tight ends:
Cedric Seabrough 39
Christopher Toudle 24

Offensive linemen:
Dylan McMahon 72
Grant Gibson 72
Anthony Belton 71
Derrick Eason 57
Timothy McKay 47
Bryson Speas 24
Chandler Zavala 14

Defensive linemen:
Davin Vann 39
Savion Jackson 34
Cory Durden 30
C.J. Clark 26
Travali Price 21
Joshua Harris 16

Linebackers:
Drake Thomas 55
Isaiah Moore 53
Payton Wilson 53
Jaylon Scott 2
Devon Betty 1

Safeties/nickels:
Tyler Baker-Williams 48
Tanner Ingle 47
Cyrus Fagan 46
Jakeen Harris 22
Devan Boykin 6

Cornerbacks:
Aydan White 55
Derrek Pitts 45
Shyheim Battle 12
Teshaun Smith 1

Special teams only:
Rakeim Ashford
Jakolbe Baldwin
Sean Brown
Joshua Crabtree
Christopher Dunn
Caden Fordham
Jalen Frazier
Claude Larkins
Patrick Matan
Matt McCabe
Shane McDonough
Jayland Parker
Jordan Poole
Fred Seabrough
Joe Shimko
Collin Smith
Nicholas Treco

UNC landed a skilled finesse power forward in Zayden High of Chandler (Ariz.) Arizona Compass Prep.

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It is time like this that you find out about our coaches. One of the things that has been evident is they have developed a strong culture which is evident in the how the kids play for and with each other. The combination of playing a jacked up team, full of confidence, a noisy environment, without your leader on offense and being dinged up at a number of skilled positions is a challenge..... However, we are still more talented than Saycruse......we are more highly ranked..... yet we are the underdog HUH... That should be an huge insult.

This is a test to see if we are properly prepared as a team. are we ready for the challenge as a team, a staff, and a program.

No excuses, next guy up, find a way to win

We will find out a lot about DD, the program and their ambitions in a few hours.

in ACC play, C Dunn has 27 points. The offense has 21 (3 scored by Dunn). A great defense and great special teams but in today’s game, you have to score 30+. Can’t do that without the right play calls, the right execution and someone on the offense stepping up and saying “give me the ball”. No one has stepped up. This has also not been a season Beck wants on his resume. What might have been……..

What an absolutely painful day yesterday. The sports world can be cruel. That's all

NC State coach Kevin Keatts and guards Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith have taken the stage at ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C.

Keatts said the chemistry was good last year, but the depth wasn't. Now, with some news players, the depth should be good and the Bahamas trip will help with the chemistry.

Smith said it's about playing for what is on the front of the jersey and not the back of it, and that's the mindset to have.

Hopefully, this is the day where Manny Bates questions will come to an end, but some rehashing of that injury.

Keatts said last year was humbling for him.

When i watch other ACC games i see teams like Wake and UNC that get more receivers wide ass open in one game than i have seen us get guys that open in two years of games combined. It's so obvious that there are major problems with our offensive scheme and how it lacks creativity.

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy senior wide receiver Devin Hyatt was offered by NC State on Wednesday. He's originally from Irmo (S.C.) Dutch Fork High and played for coach Tom Knotts.

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Our problems start here. No push now for 2 years. Houston gives it all and I’m a fan of his but no blocking up front.

Too many false start penalties.

Lack of protection?? We have a strong offensive line and Leary doesn’t get blasted and lost for season.

Our problems begin and end with the O line.

Any suggestions on where to watch the game in Boone?

1. When the prep schedules came out last summer, the two games I wanted to see the most — Pfafftown (N.C.) Reagan at Greensboro (N.C.) Grimsley on Aug. 26, and Charlotte (N.C.) Christian at Charlotte Providence Day, which is tonight.

The Reagan and Grimsley game was exciting until the end with junior wide receiver Alex Taylor getting the game-winning touchdown catch in a 40-34 victory. The Providence Day and Charlotte Christian could end up with over 10 high-major recruits between the two teams.

Providence Day won 48-47 in overtime last year, and walking out of the stadium, it felt like the game of the year last season. Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on going to it. I was supposed to see Belmont (N.C.) South Point and Gastonia (N.C.) Ashbrook on Oct. 15, 2021, but the latter had a COVID outbreak the morning of the game. Maybe I would have seen Providence Day or Charlotte Christian later in the season, but that wasn’t a given. The two players who were sitting on offers a year ago are still uncommitted — senior cornerback Chris Peal of Providence Day and senior athlete Grant Tucker of Charlotte Christian. So many players used last year’s game as a jump off point.

NC State running back commit Kyron Jones emerged in that game last year, running for a 75-yard touchdown right off the bat with his blazing speed.

Providence Day wide receivers Jordan Shipp and Channing Goodwin showed that they belonged on the big stage, and Goodwin caught the game-winning touchdown. Both have become major college recruiting targets since then. Same for current junior safety Brody Barnhardt, who had a big game in last year’s matchup and is a major NC State target.

Two players who were injured in last year’s game will be major recruits moving forward. Providence Day sophomore lineman David Sanders is now the No. 1 recruit in the class of 2025, and he got hurt in the second game of the season last year. Wide receiver Micah Gilbert missed the regular season matchup with a hamstring, and was essentially in his first full year of football. He has 12 scholarship offers.

Now, with quarterback Jadyn Davis entering the mix as the Rivals.com No. 8 overall player in the class of 2024, it just go spicier.

2. The early Signing Day period for football is Dec. 21-23, and the Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas is Dec. 17 at Wofford University.

There could be two recruits still up in the air during that time period in the game — New Bern (N.C.) High defensive lineman Keith Sampson Jr. and Camden (S.C.) High defensive end Shymeik Jones.

The three NC State commits who were picked for the game include Charlotte Chambers wide receiver Kevin Concepcion, Rolesville (N.C.) High defensive back Tamarcus Cooley and Boone (N.C.) Watauga defensive end Isaiah Shirley. Those are three good players to work on other prospects.

With the Shrine Bowl back after the COVID era, it was going to be interesting to see who got picked this year. Some players might not have tried due to various reasons, perhaps early enrolling in college of another all-star game at the same time.

The NCISAA players in North Carolina aren’t eligible for the Shrine Bowl, so that affects NC State commits Kyron Jones and Zack Myers.

Quarterback commit Lex Thomas had surgery, so that would have eliminated him. So, sometimes the lines get blurry on whether an NC State commit was “snubbed.”

Duke ended up with four commits, and NC State and North Carolina each had three commits make the North Carolina squad.

Fifteen of the top 40 players in North Carolina by Rivals.com rankings were selected for the game. Stars could be earned that week as it is about final exam time.

3. Cooley is having a big week in general.

He was picked for the Shrine Bowl, played a major role in helping Rolesville hammer Raleigh Millbrook 35-6 last Friday, and plays at his old high school Knightdale (N.C.) High tonight.

Cooley also was fresh off of not having the best of times this month and frustrated with his role at Rolesville High.

Cooley has all the potential in the world to out-play his high school rankings. He’s a natural athlete, who took on the challenge of going where Millbrook senior wide receiver and Tennessee commit Nathan Leacock went. He shut him down for the most part.

Leacock was able to get a 86-yard touchdown late, but was aided by Cooley falling down on the play. It’s unknown whether Leacock’s route made Cooley slip and fall, or he just slipped and fell. Either way, Leacock finished the game with two other catches.

The state of North Carolina isn’t always conducive for great individual matchups in football. There aren’t many times where you see two high-major talents like Cooley and Leacock collide on the football field. Some highly thought of prospects will play an entire regular season and not face an opponent who has a Power Five Conference prospect.

That is what made the Cooley vs. Leacock matchup so fun because it is so rare.

Saturday’s games
No. 15 NC State at No. 18 Syracuse (3 points), 20-16
Miami (Fla.) at Virginia Tech (3 points)
No. 4 Clemson at Florida State (3 points)
North Carolina at Duke (3 points)

Non-ACC games of the week:
No. 10 Penn State at No. 5 Michigan (3 points)
No. 3 Alabama at No. 6 Tennessee (3 points)
No. 8 Oklahoma State at No. 13 Texas Christian (3 points)

The tiebreaker will be closest to NC State score.