1. The signing of senior point guard Treymane Parker was a good example of reading the situation regardless of any kind of normal recruitment.
Usually…NC State will watch a player, maybe get him on campus first, then offer and then watch him for months on end during the evaluation periods. It could last a few months or multiple years.
Maybe NC State watched Parker in passing on one of his ESPNU appearances last year with Vertical Academy from the Charlotte area, which is now closed. Maybe in passing the Wolfpack watched Parker play with Boo Williams traveling team in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.
The constant watching of recruits was reserved for seniors Dennis Parker, Davin Cosby and Freddie Dilione, among others. NC State did get Dennis Parker of Richmond (Va.) John Marshall High from those efforts.
There was nothing normal about the Parker recruitment other than one fact always remained true, he was an ACC-caliber basketball talent. That is why I always kept track for the last three years on Parker’s development and talent.
NC State flirted some with Parker during the summer, and there were rumors he could unofficially visit, but nothing came of it. With the other point guard options shrinking, the NC State-Parker relation started to take off in mid-October.
The key was that it was just as murky with other colleges too. It proved hard to figure out what schools really did want Parker. Some of the hesitation was over Parker’s academics and piecing together his work after attending four schools, with most of the work online only, like this year with Overtime Elite’s Cold Hearts squad. Well, NC State made that big move and it only took a few weeks for NC State to wrap it up.
The Wolfpack feel good he’ll make it academically. The ACT and SAT won’t be a factor on him qualifying. All athletes need to have a 2.3 grade-point average in 16 core classes and they need 10 credits completed prior to seventh semester. The latter is so athletes don’t cram a bunch of credits in the last year.
NC State is no stranger to producing amazing dunkers — hello David Thompson and Spud Webb, the current president of basketball operations of the Dallas Mavericks’ G-League team, the Texas Legends.
Parker is at another level of being a creative dunker. He adapted some of the amazing dunks his half-brother Kwe Parker did, and he’s added to it. That has made him an Instagram and YouTube sensation. But dunks rarely happen in an ACC game, so the key for Parker is to improve his streaky jumper. He has proven he can have games where he goes for 20-plus points and at least four three-pointers. He has also proven to struggle putting a full game together, and have quarters or halves where he isn’t a big factor. That usually results in games where he shots 5 of 16 or something like that. Tightening up those games is the goal this season.
Parker should have a game at Raleigh Word of God this season, but the schedule is a little confusing to interpret with Overtime.
2. NC State has offered eight quarterbacks in the class of 2024, with just one off the board in Dante Reno, who picked South Carolina.
Of the eight, Jayden Bradford has easily showed the most reciprocal interest. The connection runs deep with NC State offering him June 13, 2021. At the time, he was playing at Chapin (S.C.) High, which is coached by Justin Gentry, the father of current NC State third-string interior lineman Thornton Gentry.
Bradford came to the Louisville at NC State game Oct. 30, 2021, and then made a return visit last June that gave renewed hope that the Wolfpack remained in the hunt. The reason for some doubt is that Bradford made the move to Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy, and some wrote off NC State’s chances due to that high-profile move.
Bradford made news again Thursday coming out with a final four of NC State, South Carolina, Penn State and Louisville. Maybe it’s fitting that he dropped the list with NC State playing at Louisville.
The Reno commitment made some wonder if he was going to stay in-state anymore with the Gamecocks. Then there was chatter that Reno would switch to 2023, but that hasn’t happened, at least not yet. Reno has been super active in recruiting players in all classes to come to South Carolina, so could it be awkward if Bradford picked them?
The emergence of freshman quarterback MJ Morris could also spill over to the class of 2024.
Of the other quarterbacks with scholarship offers, there definitely was an obvious connection between Michael Hawkins of Allen (Texas) High, whose dad played for NC State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tim Beck. He has other offers from the likes of Oklahoma, Michigan, Alabama and Arkansas, among others.
Macon (Ga.) First Presbyterian Day School junior quarterback Jakhari Williams could be an intriguing option, but it’s too early to know how he feels about the Wolfpack. NC State, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech have all offered, so it’s clear the ACC schools love him.
Raleigh Millbrook junior quarterback Mason Fortune might be the top junior quarterback in the state not named Jadyn Davis of Charlotte Providence Day. Fortune camped at NC State and doesn’t have an offer. Many expected him to fall off without wide receiver Wesley Grimes, who is a freshman at Wake Forest. Instead, he has thrown for 3,466 yards, 36 touchdowns and nine interceptions this season, with Millbrook 11-1 and hosting Graham (N.C.) Southern Alamance in the NCHSAA 4A playoffs tonight.
3. There is a growing sense that NC State men’s basketball needs to win two games in the Bahamas to form the kind of resume needed for the NCAA Tournament.
Coach Kevin Keatts has shown over the years that he likes to play some weak teams to build up confidence and then maybe have 3-4 tough games sprinkled. Some NC State don’t have a choice with such as the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, which the Wolfpack aren’t included with this season.
NC State will play three good games in the Bahamas starting with Kansas on Nov. 23, and then play Vanderbilt on Dec. 17 in Chicago. NC State will play either Dayton or Wisconsin in its second game, who both should be solid games.
The Commodores are the wildcard under Jerry Stackhouse. Vandy is 1-2 with a win over Temple in overtime, but losses to Southern Miss and Memphis.
The phrase that keeps coming up has been this: “We don’t want to end up like Wake Forest last year.” The Demon Deacons went 23-9 in the regular season and 13-7 in the ACC, but suffered a bad loss to Boston College in the ACC Tournament and ended up relegated to the NIT Tournament.
Wake Forest went 10-1 in the non-conference portion with the top Power Five Conference victory coming against a 15-16 Northwestern victory. WFU’s lone non-conference loss was against LSU.
Defeating Vanderbilt could be the equivalent of what Wake Forest did with Northwestern. That is why the Bahamas trip is so important.
