Basketball recruiting has definitely picked up with the first big recruiting weekend of the fall.
NC State welcomes not only official visitors Keldon Johnson and Immanuel Bates, but also has some good underclassmen coming on unofficial visitors. In light of the news of combo guard Jamie Lewis and NC State parting ways, the Wolfpack have at least four scholarships available. Lewis, who committed June 8, never played this summer and that likely proved to be his unraveling. The Wolfpack rolled the dice when they took his commitment, but at the time, he was expected to play with Team Loaded NC during the July evaluation period. When he declined to play, the door started to become more ajar in leading to Thursday’s news. The Wolfpacker had said several times that this wasn’t a rock-solid situation. One source believes Lewis has known for close to two weeks that he was going to go through recruiting a second time.
When every recruit is going to be needed to help rebuild a program, it’s hard to roll the dice on Lewis, who Rivals.com ranked No. 98 in the class of 2018. His ranking was always somewhat misleading due to the fact he only played four games this past spring and summer due to a groin injury. He also had a serious knee injury in the past.
The Atlanta area native will probably wait until April, so colleges can see him play at his new school Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, though perhaps Central Florida could make a move since they already have his older brother. Either way, it would be shocking if NC State re-enters the picture with Lewis.
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Johnson’s recruitment mirrors his past and now reunited teammate David McCormack, who officially visited last weekend. Johnson and McCormack played together on Team Loaded 15s, and it was clear then that Johnson was going to be a no-brainer top 30 kind of recruit.
NC State was in hot pursuit of Dennis Smith Jr. and Edrice Adebayo during the July evaluation period. Ironically, current NCSU freshman guard Braxton Beverly was a reserve on that squad. The Wolfpack coaches were in Richmond, Va., to watch Smith and Adebayo on Team Loaded NC. In between Team Loaded NC games, Johnson and McCormack were playing and that is the weekend where Johnson earned his NCSU scholarship.
At the time, Georgetown was heavily favored because Johnson’s older brother, Kaleb Johnson, was going there. Kaleb Johnson is currently a junior small forward for the Hoyas.
NC State treated Johnson like a “homecourt” recruitment because South Hill, Va., is about 90 minutes from Raleigh. Johnson hurt his foot at the start of his sophomore year, but came back for the second half of the season. He later joined Boo Williams where he played with current Texas point guard Matt Coleman (more on him later). Johnson solidified his five-star status and became a priority for Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and NC State, among others. The question always loomed on whether North Carolina or Duke would get involved. UNC took both Rechon Black and Coby White early in the process and that seemed to fill their perimeter slots.
NC State’s new coaching staff got quickly involved with Johnson again this spring. The deep Virginia roots of the staff has paid immediate dividends with both Johnson and McCormack. The duo has reunited again at Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, and that also helps the Wolfpack’s cause.
Johnson just visited Texas, and has NC State and Florida State the next two weekends. Maryland is expected to get the fourth visit, and then perhaps Kentucky, who just recently offered him after he unofficially visited there.
Texas and Maryland have always been mentioned the most with Johnson. The combination of Coleman, who is a good friend, and UT coach Shaka Smart’s ties to the region from his days at Virginia Commonwealth have put the Longhorns in a good position.
Maryland has a couple of advantages working in its favor. Johnson might not want to play for Georgetown’s new staff, but he’d still be within a Metro ride to see his brother. On top of that, the Terrapins hired former Hoyas assistant coach Kevin Broadus.
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Bates’ recruitment has been a little different than McCormack and Johnson. NC State first brought Bates to a basketball game during his sophomore year at Fayetteville (N.C.) Jack Britt. The prior connection of having former player C.J. Williams being a Jack Britt alum helped in learning about Bates. He then joined Team Loaded NC 16s that spring and summer and he was in the infant stages of getting recruited.
Mid-major colleges were starting to target Bates, and eventually he got offers from Virginia Tech and Clemson during the summer/fall of 2016. That changed his recruiting trajectory. Bates transferred to Fayetteville Northwood Temple Academy and kept improving in small increments.
Bates unofficially visited NC State during preseason practices before the start of his junior year, and then had two big-time showcase moments at the John Wall Holiday Invitational at Raleigh Broughton High (scouting videos to come). He got to play against current Arizona freshman center DeAndre Ayton, who finished ranked No. 3 overall in the class of 2017. of Phoenix (Ariz.) Hillcrest. He also got to play class of 2019 big men Vernon Carey Jr. of Balsa Koprivica, who were with Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University School. Carey is now the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2019, and Koprivica (who has moved to Orlando, Fla.) is ranked No. 9.
If NC State’s old staff were going to make a move, it probably would have been around that time. Instead, the new staff started the evaluation process with Bates and was patient with it. Bates and Northwood Temple played at NC State’s team camp in late June, and that is when he got his coveted Wolfpack offer.
Bates officially visited Georgetown last weekend, and has NC State, South Carolina and Georgia Tech coming up. Bates has always been the one target that NCSU needed to lock up this fall. He also has moved up in the rankings, rising up to No. 110 in the class of 2018.
NC State welcomes not only official visitors Keldon Johnson and Immanuel Bates, but also has some good underclassmen coming on unofficial visitors. In light of the news of combo guard Jamie Lewis and NC State parting ways, the Wolfpack have at least four scholarships available. Lewis, who committed June 8, never played this summer and that likely proved to be his unraveling. The Wolfpack rolled the dice when they took his commitment, but at the time, he was expected to play with Team Loaded NC during the July evaluation period. When he declined to play, the door started to become more ajar in leading to Thursday’s news. The Wolfpacker had said several times that this wasn’t a rock-solid situation. One source believes Lewis has known for close to two weeks that he was going to go through recruiting a second time.
When every recruit is going to be needed to help rebuild a program, it’s hard to roll the dice on Lewis, who Rivals.com ranked No. 98 in the class of 2018. His ranking was always somewhat misleading due to the fact he only played four games this past spring and summer due to a groin injury. He also had a serious knee injury in the past.
The Atlanta area native will probably wait until April, so colleges can see him play at his new school Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, though perhaps Central Florida could make a move since they already have his older brother. Either way, it would be shocking if NC State re-enters the picture with Lewis.
***
Johnson’s recruitment mirrors his past and now reunited teammate David McCormack, who officially visited last weekend. Johnson and McCormack played together on Team Loaded 15s, and it was clear then that Johnson was going to be a no-brainer top 30 kind of recruit.
NC State was in hot pursuit of Dennis Smith Jr. and Edrice Adebayo during the July evaluation period. Ironically, current NCSU freshman guard Braxton Beverly was a reserve on that squad. The Wolfpack coaches were in Richmond, Va., to watch Smith and Adebayo on Team Loaded NC. In between Team Loaded NC games, Johnson and McCormack were playing and that is the weekend where Johnson earned his NCSU scholarship.
At the time, Georgetown was heavily favored because Johnson’s older brother, Kaleb Johnson, was going there. Kaleb Johnson is currently a junior small forward for the Hoyas.
NC State treated Johnson like a “homecourt” recruitment because South Hill, Va., is about 90 minutes from Raleigh. Johnson hurt his foot at the start of his sophomore year, but came back for the second half of the season. He later joined Boo Williams where he played with current Texas point guard Matt Coleman (more on him later). Johnson solidified his five-star status and became a priority for Texas, Maryland, Virginia, Virginia Tech and NC State, among others. The question always loomed on whether North Carolina or Duke would get involved. UNC took both Rechon Black and Coby White early in the process and that seemed to fill their perimeter slots.
NC State’s new coaching staff got quickly involved with Johnson again this spring. The deep Virginia roots of the staff has paid immediate dividends with both Johnson and McCormack. The duo has reunited again at Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy, and that also helps the Wolfpack’s cause.
Johnson just visited Texas, and has NC State and Florida State the next two weekends. Maryland is expected to get the fourth visit, and then perhaps Kentucky, who just recently offered him after he unofficially visited there.
Texas and Maryland have always been mentioned the most with Johnson. The combination of Coleman, who is a good friend, and UT coach Shaka Smart’s ties to the region from his days at Virginia Commonwealth have put the Longhorns in a good position.
Maryland has a couple of advantages working in its favor. Johnson might not want to play for Georgetown’s new staff, but he’d still be within a Metro ride to see his brother. On top of that, the Terrapins hired former Hoyas assistant coach Kevin Broadus.
***
Bates’ recruitment has been a little different than McCormack and Johnson. NC State first brought Bates to a basketball game during his sophomore year at Fayetteville (N.C.) Jack Britt. The prior connection of having former player C.J. Williams being a Jack Britt alum helped in learning about Bates. He then joined Team Loaded NC 16s that spring and summer and he was in the infant stages of getting recruited.
Mid-major colleges were starting to target Bates, and eventually he got offers from Virginia Tech and Clemson during the summer/fall of 2016. That changed his recruiting trajectory. Bates transferred to Fayetteville Northwood Temple Academy and kept improving in small increments.
Bates unofficially visited NC State during preseason practices before the start of his junior year, and then had two big-time showcase moments at the John Wall Holiday Invitational at Raleigh Broughton High (scouting videos to come). He got to play against current Arizona freshman center DeAndre Ayton, who finished ranked No. 3 overall in the class of 2017. of Phoenix (Ariz.) Hillcrest. He also got to play class of 2019 big men Vernon Carey Jr. of Balsa Koprivica, who were with Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) University School. Carey is now the No. 1 overall player in the class of 2019, and Koprivica (who has moved to Orlando, Fla.) is ranked No. 9.
If NC State’s old staff were going to make a move, it probably would have been around that time. Instead, the new staff started the evaluation process with Bates and was patient with it. Bates and Northwood Temple played at NC State’s team camp in late June, and that is when he got his coveted Wolfpack offer.
Bates officially visited Georgetown last weekend, and has NC State, South Carolina and Georgia Tech coming up. Bates has always been the one target that NCSU needed to lock up this fall. He also has moved up in the rankings, rising up to No. 110 in the class of 2018.
