NC State hit all the right notes with its two official visitors, senior shooting guard Charles O’Bannon Jr. and senior forward Nicolas Claxton. Both will keep the Wolfpack and other schools guessing, especially O’Bannon, who broke the news this week with The Wolfpacker that he wasn’t likely going to sign during the early period (Nov. 9-14).
O’Bannon, who attends Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman and is ranked No. 50 in the country, is officially visiting Texas on Nov. 11-13, and doesn’t think there will be enough time to sign by Nov. 14. He admitted if he got blown away by the Longhorns, maybe he’d sign, but likes the idea of verbally committing during the winter and then signing in April. The key question is will he commit by early December, or will that plan morph into waiting until March/April. If the latter happens, it’s going to be a long ride.
Claxton will definitely sign by Nov. 14, with plans of committing at 4 p.m. that day, and then signing. The lanky Claxton is down to NC State, Florida State, South Carolina, Georgia and Baylor. Some think FSU is NC State’s biggest competition, and one thing he emphasized was that NC State was more of a basketball school than the other five places he’s attended. O’Bannon said the same thing in comparison to USC and UCLA, which round out his list.
Senior commit Thomas Allen did his part by coming back home and taking in the weekend. He was in the ear of O’Bannon, who he met at adidas Nations in early August, and Claxton, who he met at the NBPA Camp in mid-June.
Mableton (Ga.) Pebblebrook senior combo guard Collin Sexton, who Rivals.com ranks No. 7 overall in the country in the class of 2017, will decide among NC State, Alabama, Kansas and Georgia Tech on Nov. 10. NC State jumped in late on Sexton in mid-July, but was able to get him in for an official visit Sept. 2-4. Alabama was deemed the early leader, then Kansas surged, and now the buzz is back toward the Crimson Tide. The Wolfpack have just lurked in the shadows in a way, but assistant coach Orlando Early has been working it hard.
It appears that NC State has some serious work to do get an official visit from La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere senior small forward Brian Bowen and Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy senior power forward Billy Preston.
Preston has officially visited Kansas, Syracuse, Indiana and now USC this weekend. He also might be switching up from waiting until the spring to signing in November. He’ll still need academic work after attending six high schools.
Bowen has been stagnant all fall, but all of a sudden is going to Arizona (possible favorite) this weekend, and then straight to UCLA on Monday-through-Wednesday morning. He has intimated he’ll officially visit Creighton on Nov. 11-13, and then Texas for Thanksgiving weekend. That would leave NC State and home area Michigan State for the fifth and final visit, if it gets that far. Bowen will be signing in the spring, unless he gets blown away on his first three trips.
NC State is already pondering what players to jump in on that want to wait for the spring. The first public name is Shai Alexander of Hamilton Heights Christian of Chattanooga, Tenn., who is from Canada. NC State coach Mark Gottfried went to see him last Monday, and assistant coach Butch Pierre is leading the charge on the four-star prospect.
Alexander can play both guard spots, but might be more of a shooting guard in college. He is built size-wise like Lorenzo Brown was at NC State, but is a different player in some ways. He can stroke the basketball and is able to handle the ball well enough to run a team in a pinch, but maybe not on a full-time basis. That will be one of the key questions for the former Florida commit.
Junior center Immanuel Bates of Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple unofficially visited NC State on Thursday. He played for Jack Britt High last year, which is where former NCSU player C.J. Williams attended, but made the move to the private school. If that high school sounds familiar, it’s where Clemson senior center Sidy Djitte attended. NC State picked current senior post player Lennard Freeman over Djitte back in the day.
Bates is also a project big man, who gained momentum after playing with Team Loaded NC 16s during the July evaluation period. Thirteen colleges have offered him including Clemson, Virginia Tech, Charlotte, DePaul, Tulane, Tulsa, Cincinnati, VCU, Richmond, Old Dominion, Northern Arizona, James Madison and Middle Tennessee State.
The 6-9, 195-pounder is a good athlete, understands his bread is buttered in the paint, has the potential to be a rim protector and the frame to put on weight down the road. He’ll need to gain consistency in the mid-range and free-throw line, and become smoother with his post moves.
The Fayetteville Trinity Christian at Northwood Temple Academy game will be anticipated this season Dec. 5. Trinity has sophomore small forward Joey Baker (NCSU offer), sophomore power forward Greg Gantt and sophomore shooting guard Josh Nickelberry. The latter played for Northwood Temple Academy last year.
Trinity Christian will also have some good games with Goldsboro (N.C.) Wayne Country Day and sophomore shooting guard Jamal King on Nov. 28 (in Fayetteville) and Jan. 24 (in Goldsboro).
O’Bannon, who attends Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman and is ranked No. 50 in the country, is officially visiting Texas on Nov. 11-13, and doesn’t think there will be enough time to sign by Nov. 14. He admitted if he got blown away by the Longhorns, maybe he’d sign, but likes the idea of verbally committing during the winter and then signing in April. The key question is will he commit by early December, or will that plan morph into waiting until March/April. If the latter happens, it’s going to be a long ride.
Claxton will definitely sign by Nov. 14, with plans of committing at 4 p.m. that day, and then signing. The lanky Claxton is down to NC State, Florida State, South Carolina, Georgia and Baylor. Some think FSU is NC State’s biggest competition, and one thing he emphasized was that NC State was more of a basketball school than the other five places he’s attended. O’Bannon said the same thing in comparison to USC and UCLA, which round out his list.
Senior commit Thomas Allen did his part by coming back home and taking in the weekend. He was in the ear of O’Bannon, who he met at adidas Nations in early August, and Claxton, who he met at the NBPA Camp in mid-June.
Mableton (Ga.) Pebblebrook senior combo guard Collin Sexton, who Rivals.com ranks No. 7 overall in the country in the class of 2017, will decide among NC State, Alabama, Kansas and Georgia Tech on Nov. 10. NC State jumped in late on Sexton in mid-July, but was able to get him in for an official visit Sept. 2-4. Alabama was deemed the early leader, then Kansas surged, and now the buzz is back toward the Crimson Tide. The Wolfpack have just lurked in the shadows in a way, but assistant coach Orlando Early has been working it hard.
It appears that NC State has some serious work to do get an official visit from La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere senior small forward Brian Bowen and Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy senior power forward Billy Preston.
Preston has officially visited Kansas, Syracuse, Indiana and now USC this weekend. He also might be switching up from waiting until the spring to signing in November. He’ll still need academic work after attending six high schools.
Bowen has been stagnant all fall, but all of a sudden is going to Arizona (possible favorite) this weekend, and then straight to UCLA on Monday-through-Wednesday morning. He has intimated he’ll officially visit Creighton on Nov. 11-13, and then Texas for Thanksgiving weekend. That would leave NC State and home area Michigan State for the fifth and final visit, if it gets that far. Bowen will be signing in the spring, unless he gets blown away on his first three trips.
NC State is already pondering what players to jump in on that want to wait for the spring. The first public name is Shai Alexander of Hamilton Heights Christian of Chattanooga, Tenn., who is from Canada. NC State coach Mark Gottfried went to see him last Monday, and assistant coach Butch Pierre is leading the charge on the four-star prospect.
Alexander can play both guard spots, but might be more of a shooting guard in college. He is built size-wise like Lorenzo Brown was at NC State, but is a different player in some ways. He can stroke the basketball and is able to handle the ball well enough to run a team in a pinch, but maybe not on a full-time basis. That will be one of the key questions for the former Florida commit.
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Junior center Immanuel Bates of Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple unofficially visited NC State on Thursday. He played for Jack Britt High last year, which is where former NCSU player C.J. Williams attended, but made the move to the private school. If that high school sounds familiar, it’s where Clemson senior center Sidy Djitte attended. NC State picked current senior post player Lennard Freeman over Djitte back in the day.
Bates is also a project big man, who gained momentum after playing with Team Loaded NC 16s during the July evaluation period. Thirteen colleges have offered him including Clemson, Virginia Tech, Charlotte, DePaul, Tulane, Tulsa, Cincinnati, VCU, Richmond, Old Dominion, Northern Arizona, James Madison and Middle Tennessee State.
The 6-9, 195-pounder is a good athlete, understands his bread is buttered in the paint, has the potential to be a rim protector and the frame to put on weight down the road. He’ll need to gain consistency in the mid-range and free-throw line, and become smoother with his post moves.
The Fayetteville Trinity Christian at Northwood Temple Academy game will be anticipated this season Dec. 5. Trinity has sophomore small forward Joey Baker (NCSU offer), sophomore power forward Greg Gantt and sophomore shooting guard Josh Nickelberry. The latter played for Northwood Temple Academy last year.
Trinity Christian will also have some good games with Goldsboro (N.C.) Wayne Country Day and sophomore shooting guard Jamal King on Nov. 28 (in Fayetteville) and Jan. 24 (in Goldsboro).
