summer league signee

Robert Jones III committed to NC State, but he also has been committed at least once in the past, and possibly twice, so he really likes to get recruited. He has visited USF and UCF and is about to see Illinois. I doubt he'll go to Illinois because of the weather.

Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna senior cornerback Cam Strong is expected to announce at 8 p.m. Friday, and rumblings are that Georgia Tech is trying to up the NIL money for Strong, making what looked like a easy NCSU commitment a little bit harder.

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Davidson Day senior point guard Isaiah Denis was offered after the Wolfpack watched him with CP3 in May and with his prep team last weekend at Greensboro Day. Pittsburgh, Michigan, Ohio State, Wake Forest and Tennessee are some of other colleges positioned well for him.

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Preview of NCISAA live period event​

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Some of the guys I've talked to for commitment stories or post-visit stories:

Cam Strong
Arrion Concepcion
R.J. Boyd
Omarian Abraham
Jontae Gilbert
Jordan Young
Cameron White
Jaiden Braker
Donovan Darden
Isaac Sowells
Gus Ritchey
Will Wilson
Colby Cronk
Tristan Teasdell

I'll also be sprinkling in some prep coaches talking about their players the next few weeks. A few have transferred so their new coaches haven't coached them yet.

Not this week, but going into July, a meet the class of 2027 in hoops is coming up with interviews with Jordan Page, King Gibson, C.J. Rosser, Keyshawn Herring and L.J. Smith.

It should be an entertaining week.

Smart move by Greensboro Grimsley junior quarterback Faizon Brandon who announced he's picking his college Aug. 3. Having his commitment out of the way will take the pressure off in case the season isn't as smooth without wide receivers Terrell Anderson and Alex Taylor this fall.

He's down to Alabama, Tennessee, LSU and NC State. With his lofty ranking on 247, he could probably demand seven figures coming up, and with a year and a half before signing day, he'll have plenty of wiggle room.

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RJ Greer has announced that he has committed to NC State in the class of 2025.

No longer on team? (Rumor)

I was with a friend who is a big Tar Heel fan. He showed me the video below which highlights UNC's new football facility. The thing that most caught my attention was Coach Brown's priorities for the team. The number 1 priority is "have fun". Fun appears to be a by product of excellence, team work and winning, not a foundation. What do you think?

Check the comments about fun starting at the 1;20 mark:
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Our place right now is 19th after the Fall in the Directors' Cup. It will likely move up after the Winter rankings. The Spring rankings we usually fall a bit. I'm hoping the final rankings will be in Top 20 and maybe Top 15.

NC State fans should expect 'a dog' with new RB R.J. Boyd​

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Willie Mays stats

1. With official visit season in June becoming the most important part of the recruiting calendar, the Wolfpack welcome 10 official visitors this weekend.

All 10 players were highlighted with content this past few days, it’s clear that several players will be visiting NC State and then making a decision sometime in the next few weeks (or sooner). There was also four mid-week visitors, with three of the four taking off Friday morning for weekend visits to other colleges.

Add in Anderson (S.C.) T.L. Hanna senior cornerback Cam Strong picking among NC State, Georgia Tech and West Virginia, at 8 p.m. tonight, it’s a busy time. Every indication is that the Wolfpack lead for Strong, but he has been the rare recruit who has made both the Yellow Jackets and Mountaineers also feel good at times this past week.

NC State can then turn its attention to mid-week defensive back target Jontae Gilbert of Atlanta (Ga.) Douglass High. He’ll be announcing among Central Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, NC State and Georgia State. He’s been clear with the media if the Bulldogs want him, he wants to go there.

Speaking of Georgia, Marshville (N.C.) Forest Hills wide receiver Ja’Rel Bolder had some people wondering if he’d just end his recruitment this week and pick the Bulldogs. Apparently, UGA was finally able to answer the one big question — how badly do the Bulldogs want Bolder? I’m under the impression they want him.

After getting recruited for two full years, there was no way I could see Bolder just blow off his NC State official visit this week.

Some recruitments are easier to predict than others, especially if they don’t want to wait on picking a college. For instance, it would be shocking if Charlotte (N.C.) Chambers wide receiver Arrion Concepcion didn’t end up at NC State to play with his older brother Kevin Concepcion. NC State has made sure Kevin Concepcion is extremely well taken care of to ensure he didn’t transfer to another college.

Shamarius Peterkin of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Mount Tabor is essentially down to NC State, Virginia Tech and North Carolina. Some UNC insiders claim he isn’t a top priority for the Tar Heels, which if true, would take out the biggest threat. Peterkin grew up a UNC fan.

Speedy Malik Clark at wide receiver has always been an interesting recruitment. The Rock Hill (S.C.) High product is in Gamecocks country on the other side of Charlotte. Yet, North Carolina has gotten buzz while NC State has been smooth and steady.

Getting a handle on running back Kentrell Rinehart’s recruitment has been somewhat straight-forward, but then you tend to wonder if something might pop up. Rinehart could be down to NC State and Iowa, but this one seems to be the Wolfpack’s to lose and it won’t be a Kendrick Raphael scenario. With R.J. Boyd picking between NC State and Duke on June 23, the running back spot should be taken care of.

Center Isaac Sowells and offensive lineman Michael Gibbs are must-gets for the Wolfpack. They’ve put in the time and effort, and both have been on campus multiple times. They are probably opposites as players, with one being a center and other a likely guard, who also can play tackle in a pinch. They are good examples where it will take them some time to adjust because they have enjoyed and loved the recruiting process. They might end up doing more interviews this past year than over the next four years of whatever college they attend.

The easy tip-off on linebacker targets Cameron White of Seffner (Fla.) Armload, Jaiden Braker of Snellville (Ga.) South Gwinnett and Donovan Darden of Havelock (N.C.) High will be if NC State offers other senior linebackers. They are the board at the moment and defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Tony Gibson has proven adept at finding linebackers or getting players to flip from other schools.

The recruit that really feels like speed dating is defensive lineman Omarian Abraham, how is versatile enough to be a strongside defensive end or a nose tackle if he gains weight. He’s a natural 4-3 defensive tackle, but with more and more teams using three-man line he’s versatile enough to alter his game. He’d be the recruit where it would feel like the next few months are actually his real recruitment, even if he picks a college soon. NC State has only been on him a little over a month.

2. One of the interesting parts of such a busy month with a lot of moving parts is when players officially visit and what players end up not visiting.

NC State by design or happenstance had players from the same position visit at the same time. The first big weekend, it was about the cornerbacks and the defensive lineman. Both linebackers visited together this week. The wide receivers are visiting this weekend.

What is good about following the now “former” targets is to see how good they are in college, which validates NC State’s ability to evaluate players. Sometimes, you have to take into account that some players would have turned out better if they had gotten into NC State’s system of progress.

Some good scenarios have emerged. For instance, NC State offered running backs Isaiah Groves of Cross Plains (Tenn.) East Robertson High and R.J. Boyd of Waycross (Ga.) Ware County. When it came to go time, NC State went with Boyd over the Wolfpack legacy Groves.

Groves picked Georgia Tech and Boyd will pick between NC State and Duke on June 23. Adding a twist to things is that the Yellow Jackets passed on recruiting Boyd for Groves. NC State zeroed in on Boyd and Kentrell Rinehart of Columbus (Ohio) Westland, and should get both. NC State has also offered Wolfpack freshman linebacker Elijah Groves' brother, defensive end Zach Groves, who is ranked No. 198 overall in the class of 2026.

NC State has four wide receivers visiting this weekend and has landed Jamar Browder already. One wide receiver who didn’t make his way to campus was the incredibly fast Gabe Daniels of Atlanta (GA.) Greater Atlanta Christian.

NC State had hoped to get several offensive lineman on campus this month. That has proven to be the toughest position for the Wolfpack to fill. There was hope that 6-8, 250-pound Chastan Brown of Warner Robins (Ga.) Northside School for a visit. He ended up visiting Central Florida, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Miami (Fla.) landed tackle Demetrius Campbell of Orlando (Fla.) Christian before the Wolfpack could host him. NC State had scheduled an official visit with big tackle Toby Mealer, but knew he was a backup option, so decided to hold off until some other players made decisions.

Along those lines, if NC State doesn’t fill some defensive line needs in the near future, it could easily circle back with Nikolas Alston of Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson, who quickly picked Liberty. He could be a flip target this fall if he is needed.

The dance with Cincinnati (Ohio) Taft nose tackle Drayden Pavey was interesting, but he elected to remain in the midwest and will pick among Wisconsin, Purdue and Indiana.

NC State was close to bringing in nose tackle Dior Garner of Canton (Ohio) McKinley for an official visit, and then walked it back and he picked Bowling Green on Wednesday.

Four cornerbacks that NC State liked and strongly considered bringing in for an official visit included Charles Bell of Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More, Serious Stinyard of Tampa (Fla.) Gaither, Jayden Shipps of Severn (Md.) Archbishop Spalding and Shawn Lee of Harrisburg (Pa.) High. Stinyard picked West Virginia and Lee is going to Pittsburgh, while Bell is perceived to be Rutgers lean and Shipps a Maryland lean.

NC State also was hot and heavy with Orlando safeties Ja’Torian Mack and Maliki Wright, but seemingly backed off after getting Tristan Teasdell. Wright is going to Duke and will play with former NCSU target Gerritt Kemp of Dacula (Ga.) Hebron Christian Academy, who also could end up at wide receiver.

Another player that NC State might circle back on is versatile defensive back Jordan Crim of Camden (S.C.) High, who has officially visited Georgia Southern and Duke, and just had Virginia Tech offer him this past week.

After so many rumors in April about Tony Bennett's future at Virginia, it turns out the final result is a new contract extension until 2029-30. That would take him to age 60-61.

GREENSBORO — With NC State having a senior dominated squad this upcoming year, the Wolfpack coaches will be looking high and low to add players in the class of 2025 and transfer portal.

NC State has at least seven scholarships available in the class of 2025, with the addition of junior power forward transfer Ismael Diouf and the subtraction of junior small forward M.J. Rice. The additional departure of senior power forward Ernest Ross could also end up affecting the scholarship numbers for 2025, if NCSU lands a non-senior this summer or fall.

NC State coach Kevin Keatts and new assistant Brett Nelson were at the NCISAA event at Greensboro (N.C.) Day this past weekend. It was the first of two open weekends for players to play with their high school teams in front of college coaches. The NCHSAA didn’t have an event, but both associations will be playing this upcoming weekend.

Stock up

One of the fascinating players that is emerging in the state of North Carolina is Raleigh Grace Christian junior small forward Michael Phillips.

I had seen Phillips at the N.C. Top 80 Camp last October, which is run by Phenom Hoop Report and was intrigued. I made sure to watch him play at Cary Christian on Jan. 5, and it just confirmed that he’d be a solid Division I recruit, but not a lock high major target.

Phillips has some good offers — LSU, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. After his performance Saturday, Wake Forest has jumped in with an offer. Keatts and Nelson were in attendance, along with WFU coach Steve Forbes. Grace Christian is where Keatts’ son finished up before going to NC State, and also where former Wolfpack center Jaylon Gibson attended, who is now at Charleston Southern.

Phillips showed his tantalizing potential during one second half stretch where he hit four three-pointers, and he was fouled on one of them. To score 13 points in such a quick period of time was fun to watch, especially with two of the three-pointers about 6-7 feet beyond the three-point arc. He finished with seven three-pointers.

Call it recency bias in that he played well against NC State, but Phillips has some similarities to Syracuse 6-7, 188-pound small forward Chris Bell, who averaged 12.0 points per game this season and shot 42.0 percent from three-point land.

The question to be answered over the next two years with Phillips is how well will he get at getting into the lane and finishing. He is long and lanky, but he’s not the kind of wing that gets around the corner and finish at the rim. His length does help him as a shot-blocker.

Phillips will be playing on Boo Williams 16s, with Wilson (N.C.) Greenfield School junior point guard Kobe Edwards, who also played at the NCISAA event, but not when I saw Knights play Sunday.

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Mr. Efficient

Junior power forward Justin Caldwell of Fayetteville, N.C., has a new home but the focus hasn’t wavered.

Caldwell played at Trinity Christian last year, but is now at Fayetteville Berean Prep, where he’ll play with junior small forward and good friend Josiah Sanders. The latter didn’t play Saturday against a scrappy Greensboro (N.C.) Caldwell Academy squad and senior guard Jaylen Cross.

Caldwell was an efficient machine in the paint at about 6-8 during the first half. I looked up and Caldwell had 19 points and the rest of the team had four. He was dominant.

The third quarter was solid and it looked like he was going to get 30-plus points. Well, he didn’t get the same amount of touches in the fourth quarter, and not coincidentally, Caldwell Academy won in overtime. Caldwell finished with 28 points, and Cross had 22 in the victory.

George Mason offered Caldwell on Sunday, but he’s trending as a high-major post player. He tried one jumper, which he missed, but he knew his bacon was in the paint. On one possession, he ended up missing three shots around the rim, grabbed three offensive rebounds and scored on the fourth attempt. He wasn’t going to be denied.

Caldwell will be playing on a loaded Team Loaded NC 16s squad in Rock Hill, S.C., on the adidas circuit coming up.

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Colleges came to see…

A good contingent of college coaches came to see Arden (N.C.) Christ School senior power forward Zymicah Wilkins and Davidson (N.C.) Day senior point guard Isaiah Denis.

I watched Denis on Saturday and Wilkins on Sunday, and both had a wide array of coaches.

Virginia Tech coach Mike Young and Clemson coach Brad Brownell, along with UNC assistant coach Sean May came to watch Wilkins. He was content letting his teammates shine and didn’t put up a big stat line, but he’s having a good stretch in May and June.

Denis has become the hottest recruit in the state it seems. Keatts and Nelson, Brownell, Michigan coach Dusty May, Wake Forest coach Steve Forbes, Marquette coach Shaka Smart, Ohio State assistant coach Joel Justus and Pittsburgh assistant coach Jason Capel, were watching Denis.

Michigan had an assistant coach Sunday for when Denis played, and it’s clear the Wolverines and Buckeyes really want him, and I believe he’s officially visiting both.

NC State hasn’t offered Denis yet, and it will be interesting if they do. He came to two games this past season and Justus did a good job with hime while working for NCSU. He’s different in the sense he’s taller at 6-4 but really fast end-to-end.

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Worth the wait

Sometimes it takes some time to watch a player live.

I had seen Matthews (N.C.) Carmel Christian junior power forward Cody Peck on video, but not live, and he showed flashes of why he’s flirting with being a top 100 player in the class of 2026.

Peck finished lobs, played tall at about 6-10 and is a fluid athlete. He tried a pair of outside jumpers, but missed them. Someone mentioned to me he really hopes to be a small forward one day, but his money is at power forward. He just needs to add weight and strength with maturity.

In some ways, he reminds me of current Alabama sophomore power forward Jarin Stevenson, but Stevenson was further ahead at the same age, hence his top 35 prep ranking.

Peck will team with exciting Washington (N.C.) High junior point guard Chaise Smith and St. Paul’s (N.C.) High junior center Tyson Thompson on Garner Road 16s, who will be playing at the adidas event in Rock Hill, S.C.

Peck earned his first high major offer Monday, with Georgetown offering him.

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Who has next

The NCISAA event featured sophomore shooting guard King Gibson of The Burlington School in Burlington, N.C., and Burlington Christian sophomore post player Charles Chienggen Pur. The Phenom Hoop Report event in Bermuda Run, N.C., had Raleigh Broughton sophomore wing Jordan Page.

All three will be high-major targets coming up, with Gibson and Page fighting for position in the top 30 in the class of 2027 over the next three years is my prediction.

Page, with former NC State star Scott Wood as the Broughton coach, showed he could create his own shot whenever he wanted Saturday en route to 18 points. He plays physically and with an edge to his game. At about 6-4, he does some nifty stuff to create space.

Page’s father played at nearby Shaw University and the family has deep roots in South Carolina. Page was even asked to play some quarterback on the JV team last year at Broughton, but won’t be playing football this season.

Gibson showed Sunday with The Burlington School against Charlotte United Faith that the game is getting easier for him. He showed a knockdown mid-range jump shot and he’s a high-riser going to the rim. Unofficially, he had 14 points in a win. Michigan, who has Burlington native Drew Williamson on staff, and he watched him Sunday and the Wolverines offered Monday.

Pur showed flashes, but didn’t have a lot of touches in a blowout win Saturday. He’s gone from about 6-6 in August at the CP3 Rising Stars Camp to a legit 6-8. He’ll likely always be skinny, but he plays hard and showed better than expected foot work in the post.

Pur and Gibson helped Team United 14s win the title last year, but Pur remained and move up to 15s, while Gibson switched to Team Loaded VA 16s this spring and summer. Page is with Garner Road 15s, and both Page and Gibson will be playing in Rock Hill coming up, while Pur is at Nike Peach Jam in North Augusta, S.C.

Another new member in the class of 2027 is former Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange center Mason Robinson, who reclassed to 2027 at Greensboro Day.

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