We had a chance last month to sit down with three of the four graduate assistants for a likely future magazine feature. While we sat with them, we took the opportunity to ask the grad assistants about the freshmen that redshirted last fall, since they spend as much time working with them as anyone.
We start with highlights from our conversation with Ty Howle. Howle, the son of long-time Bunn (N.C.) High head coach David Howle, played offensive line at Penn State before returning to the state as a grad assistant at NCSU.
Howle's primary responsibilities are to assist Mike Uremovich with offensive linemen and to handle the front seven on the defensive scout team as they prepare to give the Wolfpack offense a good look during game week.
We asked Howle about linemen that redshirted on both sides of the ball, and here are some of his thoughts:
Coult Culler: "He's a big athletic guy. He can run, and he has real good instincts. He was one of the guys that we kind of used to run a variety of positions because of his body-type and skill set. One week he might play middle backer, one week he might be playing Will, or we'd put his hand on the ground if we were playing a guy who had real juice coming off at d-end. He did a lot of things for us. You could see him with each rep he took getting better and more knowledgeable.
"He showed flashes. Obviously playing linebacker his whole life, he's quick and he's smart, and he's a long player. You could see the flashes he could play with his hand on the ground."
Deonte Holden: "Our scout team guys, they lifted more than the varsity squad because they are not playing on Saturdays. That was something they focused on all those guys: getting bigger, stronger and faster. Deonte had a heck of a fall working his tail off in the weight room. You could definitely see him get bigger. He got here in the summer and was kind of a pure pass rush, speed guy. We need him to be able to be speed and power, and he's able to do those things. He plays with a good motor. He did a nice job for us pass rushing our guys. He didn't take it easy on those guys. He was trying to get after them."
Deshaywn Middleton: "Deshaywn did a heck of a job for us. He played nose for us all the time pretty much unless they had a squattier guy at three-technique. More times than not he was playing nose for us, and he's a load in there. He gave some of those inside guys good competition. He would come off the ball. He did some really nice things. He didn't get knocked back. He continued to learn. You could see him trying to learn. He was kind of one of the leaders of that scout team defense. People can get tired of going out there being a different team each week. He was one of the guys that enjoyed being the best Florida State defensive lineman he could be, best Boston College defensive lineman he could be."
Tyler Jones and Will Richardson: "Those guys were with us every day in [individual drills]. It's good for those guys in the o-line because we have special teams in the beginning. We also had some developmental practices, and you could see them getting better. We knew they were going against great competition having play scout team for our defense.
"Tyler played some second team for us and showed up with the offense some during the season. You could tell he was learning, kind of going on that learning curve, catching up. Both of those guys did good jobs.
***
Spring practice continues to roll this Saturday with the second of what is likely to be three scrimmages. We have not heard a whole lot coming out of the practice grounds, probably due to the basketball team's run taking up a lot of the attention, but this scrimmage is expected to host a nice-sized group of prospects.
We had heard that it may even eclipse what shows up for the actual spring game on April 11, during which NC State will have a lot of competition for players' attention. Several colleges are having their spring games that weekend, and Rivals.com's prestigious camp series, presented by Under Armour, has stops in Richmond and Charlotte that weekend.
Speaking of combines, the Shrine Bowl Combine season kicks off this Saturday at South Johnston High in Four Oaks, N.C.
One nugget we did pick up this week was that apparently linebacker Ford Howell, who lengthy journey to NCSU included committing the Pack, backing out to sign with Wake Forest, leaving Winston-Salem after one year, enrolling at Iowa Western Community College and finally walking on at NCSU this spring, has made a solid first impression.
***
NC State is obviously quite busy, but so are the top players in the state of North Carolina. Last weekend, 60 of probably the top 80 players in the state regardless of class among juniors, sophomores and freshman, played in the Super 60 Showdown at Knightdale (N.C.) High. This weekend, 80 of probably the top 90-95 players in the state will be playing at Proehlific Park in Greensboro, N.C., for the North Carolina Top 80 Camp. Rick Lewis and Jamie Shaw of the Phenom Hoop Report run the event, which will start with games around 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Fans are more than welcome to attend to see the who's who of the state.
Obviously, both events have overlap, but that's good because the more games for people to see, the better. For players who live in the far eastern or far western part of North Carolina, this could be their chance to make a big splash. The same goes for class of 2018 prospects, who are still very much building their resumes.
The winner of last week's event was Raleigh Word of God junior point guard Jalen Harris. He was sticking jumper-after-jumper and he might be about 6-1 and 150 pounds (give or take five pounds), but has surprising hops. We'll have a story and video out on him soon.
NC State has always liked Harris, but also have waited to see what will be needed in the class of 2016. The odds are good that two point guards could be taken because if the dream scenario of Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian junior point guard Dennis Smith Jr. were to pick NC State, the odds are good he'll only be in Raleigh for a year. Smith has all the attributes the NBA clamors for with good enough size, crazy hops and his jumper is a true weapon. He just needs too keep learning the intricacies of the position and how to run a team, which usually comes with maturity. Having a second point guard protects NC State if that scenario happens, and makes sure the Wolfpack don't have to scramble and have a freshman point guard start in the 2017-2018 season.
That is obviously far out but good planning makes sure teams don't come up short at the most important position of all, point guard. We've seen this just happen at Syracuse where point guard Tyler Ennis was never expected to be a one-and-done, but he was. Syracuse got caught. Duke could be going through the same thing with freshman point guard Tyus Jones. They have no other current options if Jones goes pro, and will have to scramble this spring in trying to get either a graduate transfer or a 2016 point guard to reclassify to 2015, or a try to find someone in Europe, which Miami had to do with Manu Lecomte last year when Shane Larkin surprisingly blew up and turned pro.
A player like a Harris, who is already good friends with Smith anyway, might be that type of option. Then after a year of seasoning, he can compete with a class of 2017 point guard for the chance to run the squad.
Two of the top sophomores in the state showed they need to prove the same thing. The Wolfpacker has been tracking both point guard Lavar Batts of Concord Robinson and Jatrious Smith of Fayetteville E.E. Smith for the last two years. Becoming consistent outside shooters to complement their game-changing athleticism is the big thing on the to-do list. NC State has been checking out the duo over the last year, and have already formed a good relationship with Batts and his father, Lavar Sr., who is Robinson High's head coach. He seems the closer of the two to get an NC State offer, but Smith could make up that ground fast in April. Batts will be with CP3 16s and Smith will be with Harris on Team Wall 17s. Smith is also a year older than his grade at 17 years old. He has a college ready body already.
Batts' will continue to need to tinker with his shooting form, and Smith seems to have good enough mechanics, but it just hasn't clicked yet. Batts is god at the free-throw line, but Smith appears to need to improve his stroke there too.
***
One nice summer bonus that has landed in the laps of the North Carolina basketball community takes place July 7-10 in Charlotte. Under Armour is going to hold its big individual camp this year in the Queen City for a variety of reasons. The popularity of Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry is sky-high and he's from Charlotte and is signed with Under Armour. Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker is another Under Armour client, and it doesn't hurt that Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is also with them.
It's way too early to know which players will be in attendance that NC State is recruiting, but Rivals.com No. 1-ranked prospect Josh Jackson in the class of 2016, should be one of them. Jackson is a Detroit native who attends Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., which has been an unusual situation. The 6-6 small forward is a crazy athlete, good passer and could be a lock-down defender in time, but needs to improve his deep outside shooting. NC State, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Louisville, made his top nine schools, but it's unclear if all nine are currently recruiting him. Surprisingly, Under Armour sponsors none of his current college options.
Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic junior shooting guard Markelle Fulz and Wynnewood (Pa.) Friends' Central junior small forward DeAndre Hunter also have NC State scholarship offers, and should be in attendance. Former Concord (N.C.) High sophomore shooting guard Ty-Shon Alexander plays for UA-sponsored Team Charlotte, and is a likely camp selection. Alexander transferred to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, but struggled getting minutes. He will need to rebuild his resume this spring and summer.
***
We mentioned on The State of Basketball message board that Charlotte graduate transfer center Mike Thorne would be a popular target for colleges, and over 27 schools (some reported close to 40) have contacted him. Our understanding is NC State has made an initial contact, but not sure how much the Wolfpack will pursue the 6-10, 270-pounder from Fayetteville Trinity, which is Dennis Smith Jr.'s school.
Obviously, NCSU knows all the former prep and travel team coaches in Thorne's life. He averaged 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in just 26.1 minutes of action this past season, and is a great story on far a player can come since high school.
Kansas, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Virginia Tech and many others are already angling hard for the one-year stop-gap center. To give an indicator on his game, it's pretty acknowledged that Miami junior center Tonye Jekiri is one of the best defensive players in the ACC and a legit 6-10, 6-11. Thorne played Miami twice in back-to-back games last November (one a tournament game and one a regular season game). He went 9 of 17 from the field for 19 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes of a 77-58 loss Nov. 23. He then went 8 of 11 for 17 points and five boards in a 77-74 loss Nov. 25.
We start with highlights from our conversation with Ty Howle. Howle, the son of long-time Bunn (N.C.) High head coach David Howle, played offensive line at Penn State before returning to the state as a grad assistant at NCSU.
Howle's primary responsibilities are to assist Mike Uremovich with offensive linemen and to handle the front seven on the defensive scout team as they prepare to give the Wolfpack offense a good look during game week.
We asked Howle about linemen that redshirted on both sides of the ball, and here are some of his thoughts:
Coult Culler: "He's a big athletic guy. He can run, and he has real good instincts. He was one of the guys that we kind of used to run a variety of positions because of his body-type and skill set. One week he might play middle backer, one week he might be playing Will, or we'd put his hand on the ground if we were playing a guy who had real juice coming off at d-end. He did a lot of things for us. You could see him with each rep he took getting better and more knowledgeable.
"He showed flashes. Obviously playing linebacker his whole life, he's quick and he's smart, and he's a long player. You could see the flashes he could play with his hand on the ground."
Deonte Holden: "Our scout team guys, they lifted more than the varsity squad because they are not playing on Saturdays. That was something they focused on all those guys: getting bigger, stronger and faster. Deonte had a heck of a fall working his tail off in the weight room. You could definitely see him get bigger. He got here in the summer and was kind of a pure pass rush, speed guy. We need him to be able to be speed and power, and he's able to do those things. He plays with a good motor. He did a nice job for us pass rushing our guys. He didn't take it easy on those guys. He was trying to get after them."
Deshaywn Middleton: "Deshaywn did a heck of a job for us. He played nose for us all the time pretty much unless they had a squattier guy at three-technique. More times than not he was playing nose for us, and he's a load in there. He gave some of those inside guys good competition. He would come off the ball. He did some really nice things. He didn't get knocked back. He continued to learn. You could see him trying to learn. He was kind of one of the leaders of that scout team defense. People can get tired of going out there being a different team each week. He was one of the guys that enjoyed being the best Florida State defensive lineman he could be, best Boston College defensive lineman he could be."
Tyler Jones and Will Richardson: "Those guys were with us every day in [individual drills]. It's good for those guys in the o-line because we have special teams in the beginning. We also had some developmental practices, and you could see them getting better. We knew they were going against great competition having play scout team for our defense.
"Tyler played some second team for us and showed up with the offense some during the season. You could tell he was learning, kind of going on that learning curve, catching up. Both of those guys did good jobs.
***
Spring practice continues to roll this Saturday with the second of what is likely to be three scrimmages. We have not heard a whole lot coming out of the practice grounds, probably due to the basketball team's run taking up a lot of the attention, but this scrimmage is expected to host a nice-sized group of prospects.
We had heard that it may even eclipse what shows up for the actual spring game on April 11, during which NC State will have a lot of competition for players' attention. Several colleges are having their spring games that weekend, and Rivals.com's prestigious camp series, presented by Under Armour, has stops in Richmond and Charlotte that weekend.
Speaking of combines, the Shrine Bowl Combine season kicks off this Saturday at South Johnston High in Four Oaks, N.C.
One nugget we did pick up this week was that apparently linebacker Ford Howell, who lengthy journey to NCSU included committing the Pack, backing out to sign with Wake Forest, leaving Winston-Salem after one year, enrolling at Iowa Western Community College and finally walking on at NCSU this spring, has made a solid first impression.
***
NC State is obviously quite busy, but so are the top players in the state of North Carolina. Last weekend, 60 of probably the top 80 players in the state regardless of class among juniors, sophomores and freshman, played in the Super 60 Showdown at Knightdale (N.C.) High. This weekend, 80 of probably the top 90-95 players in the state will be playing at Proehlific Park in Greensboro, N.C., for the North Carolina Top 80 Camp. Rick Lewis and Jamie Shaw of the Phenom Hoop Report run the event, which will start with games around 10:45 a.m. Saturday. Fans are more than welcome to attend to see the who's who of the state.
Obviously, both events have overlap, but that's good because the more games for people to see, the better. For players who live in the far eastern or far western part of North Carolina, this could be their chance to make a big splash. The same goes for class of 2018 prospects, who are still very much building their resumes.
The winner of last week's event was Raleigh Word of God junior point guard Jalen Harris. He was sticking jumper-after-jumper and he might be about 6-1 and 150 pounds (give or take five pounds), but has surprising hops. We'll have a story and video out on him soon.
NC State has always liked Harris, but also have waited to see what will be needed in the class of 2016. The odds are good that two point guards could be taken because if the dream scenario of Fayetteville (N.C.) Trinity Christian junior point guard Dennis Smith Jr. were to pick NC State, the odds are good he'll only be in Raleigh for a year. Smith has all the attributes the NBA clamors for with good enough size, crazy hops and his jumper is a true weapon. He just needs too keep learning the intricacies of the position and how to run a team, which usually comes with maturity. Having a second point guard protects NC State if that scenario happens, and makes sure the Wolfpack don't have to scramble and have a freshman point guard start in the 2017-2018 season.
That is obviously far out but good planning makes sure teams don't come up short at the most important position of all, point guard. We've seen this just happen at Syracuse where point guard Tyler Ennis was never expected to be a one-and-done, but he was. Syracuse got caught. Duke could be going through the same thing with freshman point guard Tyus Jones. They have no other current options if Jones goes pro, and will have to scramble this spring in trying to get either a graduate transfer or a 2016 point guard to reclassify to 2015, or a try to find someone in Europe, which Miami had to do with Manu Lecomte last year when Shane Larkin surprisingly blew up and turned pro.
A player like a Harris, who is already good friends with Smith anyway, might be that type of option. Then after a year of seasoning, he can compete with a class of 2017 point guard for the chance to run the squad.
Two of the top sophomores in the state showed they need to prove the same thing. The Wolfpacker has been tracking both point guard Lavar Batts of Concord Robinson and Jatrious Smith of Fayetteville E.E. Smith for the last two years. Becoming consistent outside shooters to complement their game-changing athleticism is the big thing on the to-do list. NC State has been checking out the duo over the last year, and have already formed a good relationship with Batts and his father, Lavar Sr., who is Robinson High's head coach. He seems the closer of the two to get an NC State offer, but Smith could make up that ground fast in April. Batts will be with CP3 16s and Smith will be with Harris on Team Wall 17s. Smith is also a year older than his grade at 17 years old. He has a college ready body already.
Batts' will continue to need to tinker with his shooting form, and Smith seems to have good enough mechanics, but it just hasn't clicked yet. Batts is god at the free-throw line, but Smith appears to need to improve his stroke there too.
***
One nice summer bonus that has landed in the laps of the North Carolina basketball community takes place July 7-10 in Charlotte. Under Armour is going to hold its big individual camp this year in the Queen City for a variety of reasons. The popularity of Golden State Warriors point guard Steph Curry is sky-high and he's from Charlotte and is signed with Under Armour. Charlotte Hornets point guard Kemba Walker is another Under Armour client, and it doesn't hurt that Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton is also with them.
It's way too early to know which players will be in attendance that NC State is recruiting, but Rivals.com No. 1-ranked prospect Josh Jackson in the class of 2016, should be one of them. Jackson is a Detroit native who attends Prolific Prep in Napa, Calif., which has been an unusual situation. The 6-6 small forward is a crazy athlete, good passer and could be a lock-down defender in time, but needs to improve his deep outside shooting. NC State, Duke, North Carolina, Arizona, UCLA, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan State and Louisville, made his top nine schools, but it's unclear if all nine are currently recruiting him. Surprisingly, Under Armour sponsors none of his current college options.
Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic junior shooting guard Markelle Fulz and Wynnewood (Pa.) Friends' Central junior small forward DeAndre Hunter also have NC State scholarship offers, and should be in attendance. Former Concord (N.C.) High sophomore shooting guard Ty-Shon Alexander plays for UA-sponsored Team Charlotte, and is a likely camp selection. Alexander transferred to Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, but struggled getting minutes. He will need to rebuild his resume this spring and summer.
***
We mentioned on The State of Basketball message board that Charlotte graduate transfer center Mike Thorne would be a popular target for colleges, and over 27 schools (some reported close to 40) have contacted him. Our understanding is NC State has made an initial contact, but not sure how much the Wolfpack will pursue the 6-10, 270-pounder from Fayetteville Trinity, which is Dennis Smith Jr.'s school.
Obviously, NCSU knows all the former prep and travel team coaches in Thorne's life. He averaged 10.1 points and 7.3 rebounds in just 26.1 minutes of action this past season, and is a great story on far a player can come since high school.
Kansas, Pittsburgh, Marquette, Virginia Tech and many others are already angling hard for the one-year stop-gap center. To give an indicator on his game, it's pretty acknowledged that Miami junior center Tonye Jekiri is one of the best defensive players in the ACC and a legit 6-10, 6-11. Thorne played Miami twice in back-to-back games last November (one a tournament game and one a regular season game). He went 9 of 17 from the field for 19 points and six rebounds in 33 minutes of a 77-58 loss Nov. 23. He then went 8 of 11 for 17 points and five boards in a 77-74 loss Nov. 25.
