Jonathan Paylor (Cummings High School) will compete Friday in The Mid East 2A Regional. The meet will be held at UNC Pembroke. Running events finals begin at 1:30.
He is entered in the 100, 200, & 400 meters.

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Unless there is attrition, this should do it for the Wolfpack. Should also mean a lot of small ball hoops again next year.

Watching The Wire again... Prez was watching NCSU with the diamond logo on the tube!! Best series ever and one of the best footbal teams with Rivers.

The Pack just finished off a sweep of Wake Forest 9-6! Hopefully, this almost guarantees that we host a regional. The team is playing great at the right time of the year. Go Pack!

WESTFELD, IND — NC State coach Kevin Keatts was in the attendance for the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League on Friday evening.

The first evaluation period is this weekend, so coaches could hit the road.

Keatts, Clemson’s Brad Brownell, Virginia Tech’s Mike Young and Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes, were among the coaches who watched CP3 vs. LivOn, which is a Louisiana-based squad sponsored by former NBA player Randy Livingston.

Keatts was able to watch Southern Durham (N.C.) junior wing Jackson Keith and Davidson (N.C.) Day junior combo guard Isaiah Denis as the main attractions. Both were solid in a easy victory. CP3 doesn’t have a pure point guard this year, so it’s all wings and a post player. It’s one of their weaker teams, but Keith showed his flashes of being a top 75 player and even caught a body with one of his dunks. He didn’t try many jumpers, and missed the ones he did.

Denis is intriguing but hasn’t been offered by NC State yet. He helped lead Davidson Day to a NCISAA Division II state title. Former NCSU assistant coach Joel Justus had been his point man, and Justus is now evaluating him at his new job at Ohio State.

Denis is the kind of player that is solid in each category, but maybe not great at one particular thing. At about 6-5, he handles the ball well and is a OK three-point shooter. His body is starting to fill out. There were rumors he was going to make the jump to Boo Williams with Colt Langdon of Raleigh Millbrook High this week, but he stayed with CP3. Langdon has left Team United for Boo Williams, who I will see today.

Junior point guard target Jordan Lowery of Winston-Salem (N.C.) Christian has switched teams, from Team Thad of Memphis to Houston Hoops. He’s from Texas.

Lowery played maybe half the game off the bench with his new team and had three or four nice plays. He’s more smooth and efficient, than athletic. He’d be different from most of Keatts’ point guards, but has some of the old school playmaker skills that current point guard Michael O’Connell has. He’d be different than say Markell Johnson or Jarkel Joiner.

Another key player I will be watching today is Zymicah Wilkins of Arden (N.C.) Christ School, who plays for Team United. The physical junior power forward has been a long-time NC State recruiting target. He ended up missing the Josh Level Classic, so it’s been a while since I’ve talked to him about recruiting. He isn’t a big fan of the recruiting process and rarely makes unofficial visits, but he did go for a day to NC State last August. He played his first two years at Rutherfordton-Spindale Central High outside of Forest City, N.C., and won the NCISAA state title in Division 4.

LeBron James came to watch his son, and James’ son will play Carmelo Anthony’s son this weekend.

On the drive from Raleigh to Westfield, Ind., I went by St. Alban’s, W.Va., outside of Huntington, and home of new NC State assistant coach Brett Nelson. I took that as a good omen for the trip.

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Mercy rule 8 inning game with us winning 14-3. Wake hit back to back homers in 2nd inning, but Pack pitching and hitting took over. Sosa with walk off grand slam in the 8th.
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Today was an exciting day for one local high school.

NC State was out at Clayton (N.C.) High and offered sophomore defensive end Keshawn Stancil and freshman cornerback Akedran "AK" Crumel, who have both been on multiple unofficial trips to see the Wolfpack since January. Add in sophomore quarterback Aiden Smalls and Clayton will have a fun team next fall to watch.

I've talked to Stancil and Crumel today and will have future stories with the duo.

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Interesting. I know UNC and Wake Forest did this a few years ago.

Safety Ja'Had Carter latest addition to NC State secondary​

With the younger safeties not progressing fast enough, the overhaul has ended up with NC State getting three safeties, with Ja’Had Carter the last of them.

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Things not so peachy in chapel hill. Trustees just figured out they are running a large financial deficit and forecasted to get much worse over the next few years. I know donations are down from graduates. The reality of the cheating is setting in. Going to have to take money from other academic programs to cover the athletic losses. I don’t want to hear anything else on Boo Corrigan.

Michael Farley Jr. learning about various colleges​

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Won 7-5 over #10 Cavs.

Crazy headlines today where Washington has paid former Montana State and Utah State center Great Osobor a legit $2 million to follow his former coach Danny Sprinkle, who had him at both schools. The native of England picked Washington over Louisville and Texas Tech, who also clearly have a big budget remaining.

Great Osobor stats

1. NC State has been criss-crossing the south to check on prospects, with an eye toward the future classes. The offers were flying around this past week, some to players who have already blown up, and others who are in the process.

The two most immediate positions that got offers in the class of 2025 came at defensive end and offensive tackle.

Class of 2025:​

Login to view embedded media Damola Ajidahun — He has at least 15 scholarship offers, and has set up official visits in June for Georgia Tech, Duke, South Florida and Georgia.

Login to view embedded media Adrian Farrow — NC State jumped in with the 6-4, 250-pound Farrow, who has 14 scholarship offers. NC State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Mississippi State and Pittsburgh are his P4 offers.

Class of 2026:​

Login to view embedded media Brandon Anderson — The massive 6-5, 320-pounder has at least 11 scholarship offers, including Alabama, LSU, Tennessee, SMU and Georgia Tech.

Login to view embedded media Amari Clemons — The Wolfpack joined FSU, Miami (Fla.), Ole Miss, USF and Florida A&M in offering Clemons.

Login to view embedded media CJ Givers — NC State is ahead of the curve along with Georgia Tech in offering Givers.

Login to view embedded media Javian Mallory — Mallory is ranked No. 109 in the country by Rivals.com and has 27 scholarship offer. NC State is one of 19 colleges from P4 conferences that have offered him.

Login to view embedded media Brodie McWhorter — McWhorter has traveled extensively and already has at least 21 scholarship offers. Georgia, Clemson, Florida State, North Carolina and West Virginia have put in the early work thus far. His cousin is Arkansas sophomore offensive line commit Bear McWhorter, who NC State also has offered.

Login to view embedded media Jamar Owens — Owens was part of three players offered at Jonesboro (Ga.) High, along with Cortez Redding and Jontavius Wyman. NC State is one of 13 colleges that have offered Owens, including nine from P4 conferences.

Login to view embedded media Cortez Redding — The safety is ranked No. 201 in the country in the class of 2026, and has 18 scholarship offers, including 14 from P4 conferences.

Login to view embedded media Jontavius Wyman — Wyman checks in at No. 135 overall in the country and has a stunning 37 scholarship offers, including NC State, Georgia and Oklahoma this week.

Class of 2027:​

Login to view embedded media Julian Baker — NC State is already recruiting junior running back Kentrell Rhinehart, and now have started with Baker, who unofficially visited in late March. NC State, USF and Miami (Ohio) have offered thus far.

Login to view embedded media Joshua Dobson — On the South Carolina side of Charlotte, he has had a busy month with offers from NC State, Duke, Indiana, South Carolina and Connecticut.

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