For NC State, It Has To Be This Year

By Marcus Shockley

Sidney Lowe has been feeling the pressure.

It is, unfortunately, the very same pressure that built to the point that it sent Lowe’s predecessor, Herb Sendek, to the desert clime of Arizona State, even after several years of making the NCAA Tournament. It’s the pressure of two major basketball powerhouses within minutes of NC State’s campus in Raleigh.

Duke and North Carolina aren’t just tough competition. Considering that the school own the last two national championships, and three of the last six, the two behemoths of basketball are beating the entire nation, not just the ACC. Add in the pounding that the rest of the Atlantic Coast Conference can lay on any team and it’s a hard fight to win.

Sidney Lowe took over the team and pledged to make it competitive, but a quick slide back into obscurity has made the Wolfpack faithful edgy. Last season’s team finally showed some spark at the end of the season, but still lacked the deep reserves of talent that will be needed if they want to climb back out of the ACC cellar.

The recruiting class that Lowe has coming in this season can get it done. Much like Paul Hewitt last season, Lowe has the horses to compete, even though they will be young.

Now, he just has to prove he can coach a talented stable of young players, because one or more of them might bolt early.

Three five star players are coming in, and all of them might have futures beyond college. C.J. Leslie is coming in off a high school All-American season, Ryan Harrow, the speedy point guard, will be able to see time on the court quickly and Lorenzo Brown will finally add his combo guard skills after taking a year long detour. Added with NC State’s returning roster, it’s time for Lowe to prove himself by returning back the NCAA tournament.

Anything less, and the pressure from Chapel Hill and Durham will probably force him out the door.

C.J. Leslie Commits to the Wolfpack

C.J. Leslie (PF, 6’9″, 2010), originally committed to coach Sidney Lowe and the Wolfpack in 2007. It was a big recruiting deal for coach Lowe to grab the hometown player, where the Wolfpack recently watched fellow Raleigh phenom John Wall bolt for Kentucky and one-and-done accolades.

Leslie then reconsidered, and opened his recruitment up last year, which isn’t as common in basketball as football. However, Leslie had committed so early that it’s not unthinkable that he would have second thoughts.

Leslie considered several schools, including Kentucky, but in the end and after several visits, he returned to the Wolfpack and decided that his original choice was the right one. Now, Leslie’s accomplished much more by playing in the McDonald’s All Star game and Jordan Brand Classic, and the Wolfpack can breathe easily that after looking at his available options, Leslie decided to stick with the Pack.

Now, they just have to wonder if he’ll stay longer than one season.

Leslie adds clout to the Pack’s recruiting class, which already boasts Ryan Harrow (PG, 5’11”, 2010), a lightning quick guard who will add flash and scoring to the NC State team, so Sidney Lowe has some depth and talent on his roster, and if Tracy Smith, who declared for the NBA draft but may pull out, returns, the Pack could be serious contenders in the ACC next season. It will be interesting to see if the Pack players engage in any summer Pro-Am play to get a sense of how far along they will be.

With Leslie, the Wolfpack is getting a long, athletic forward with ability to finish above the rim. He can beat players off of the dribble and scores well, but he will need to work on his post defense to play in the paint in the ACC.

NC State Recruiting Battle: C.J. Leslie

So NC State is in a recruiting battle for CJ Leslie (SF/PF, 6’9″, 2010) and their main competition is John Calipari and the University of Kentucky. Leslie seems to like the Wildcats but lists both the Pack and the Wildcats as his two current favorites. Leslie is also playing for Word of God in Raleigh, NC so his proximity allows him to be completely aware of what NC State has to offer. Leslie also is considering Florida and UCLA, and has interest from Maryland and Tennessee.

Leslie is a definite star player with NBA SG/SF potential and size. He can handle the ball on the break, slash to the rim and shoot from outside. His ballhandling is developing into the elite guard level and he’s definitely got the potential and speed to become a game changer and get to the pros. It remains to be seen if he’ll be playing his college ball in the SEC or ACC, but he’s definitely one that will be a name in the college ranks. He has an explosive offensive game that might benefit from an open court style of play.

Check out some video of Leslie here (#5 for WOG):

John Wall Watched Kentucky Get Blitzed

Now, UNC is not reportedly recruiting John Wall (PG, 6’4″, 2009), the stud point guard from Raleigh, NC, so why was he reportedly at the Dean Dome to watch a game last week?

Maybe John is just a fan of great basketball, and it’s hard to argue that the Tar Heels aren’t playing well right now, and are probably loaded with a lot of NBA talent that he might face in the NBA some day. But it’s not that. It’s that Kentucky still wants to be on Wall’s list alongside Duke and NC State, and he went to sit and watch the Wildcats take on the Heels. I don’t know how much of a factor a team’s performance affects recruiting, but the Wildcats put on an abysmal first half performance and got blown out of the gym. They put forth a stronger effort in the second half but the reality is that the Tar Heels manhandled them at every position with the exception of UK’s Patrick Patterson, who apparently the Wildcat guards don’t know exists.

This game could point to a few things: first, that Kentucky is not on the same level as UNC right now, and for a program as big as Kentucky, that is not good. Secondly, that loss is the kind that adds up, when combined with the blowout loss to Vanderbilt last season, and it starts a case against coach Billy Gillespie.

Kentucky is not a program that misses the NCAA tournament, much less comes down to Chapel Hill and looks like a high school program, and the UK fans, alumni and history won’t take it for long. I know it’s only one game, but I can’t help but think it did nothing to help them get in the mix for Wall, especially considering Wall already has looked at them in the past. It’s just as likely that John just wanted to catch up with the UK players, but of course, who knows?

NC State Wolfpack Basketball Tickets

Here’s another schedule of games for the ACC, this time we feature the NC State Wolfpack.

Notable games on the schedule include a trip to Charlotte on December 6 to take on Stephen Curry and the Davidson Wildcats, and later at trek to Gainesville to take on Billy Donavon’s Florida Gators on January 3rd. The Florida game comes in a tough away stretch, being followed by a game at Clemson which could be pivotal for the Pack’s season.

Get NC State Wolfpack Basketball Tickets

The Wolfpack take on Duke at Cameron Indoor in Durham on January 20th, UNC at home on January 31st and in Chapel Hill on February 18th.

And of course, all the games in between, such as Wake Forest, Maryland and Boston College.

John Wall – Not Going to Kentucky?

The Raliegh News & Observer has an article about John Wall’s recent visit to NC State, and when asked the question that top recruits hear ad nauseum, ‘what’s your list of schools’, one school was noticeably absent :Kentucky. However, Wall said he enjoyed his visit to the Pack, but also mentioned a new name, Miami, as a possibility:

Wall said Sunday that Miami was pushing for a visit and that he was not sure he’d keep Kansas on his list after it took a commitment from 6-foot-2 Elijah Johnson of Las Vegas.

“I’m not sure where I am with Kansas right now,” he said.

Wall is considering N.C. State, Oregon, Baylor and Memphis, along with possibly either Miami or Kansas.

ACC Basketball Recruiting Roundup

Jamil Wilson (SF/PF, 6’7″, 2009) eliminates the ACC, and according to Scout.com, he’s cut his list to Oregon State, Marquette, Texas and Michigan State. Wilson had at one time listed Duke as a possible destination, but did not receive a reported offer and Duke is no longer an option. Thus, we’re no longer tracking Jamil as an ACC prospect.

Trae Golden

Trae Golden (PG/SG,6’1″,2010) the player who de-committed from Ohio State over the summer, seems to have completely fallen out of touch with the Buckeyes, but has Georgia Tech, Clemson, Wake Forest and now Virginia Tech following his recruitment. Kentucky has also been in the mix for Golden. North Carolina and Florida State have also been mentioned as possible options.

Clemson and Georgia Tech have reportedly already offered Golden, as has Kentucky.

Ryan Kelly

Rumors abound that Ryan Kelly (PF, 6’10”, 2009) will make a decision this week.

Elijah Johnson cuts list

Elijah Johnson (PG/SG,6’2″, 2009) is another player cutting his list and had eliminated the ACC some time ago, but we’re making it official as he’s trimming his list to Kansas, Texas and Oklahoma.

Derrick Favors, Derrick Favors

Has Derrick cut his list to five. His recent comments to Alex sure seem to indicate it:

Georgia Tech, Georgia, Memphis, North Carolina State, and Florida State

If you didn’t spot the missing school…it’s Kentucky. In fact, Favors tells Alex that reports of him considering Kentucky are inaccurate.

As always, if you’re a college basketball fan who can’t get enough of this stuff, sign up for the email list.

The New Basketball Recruiting Blog

We come across so much basketball recruiting information that it’s sometimes hard not to talk about players and events not related the ACC. Rather than try to create a blog for each conference, we have launched the Basketball Recruiting blog, which is plain-jane in name and hopefully stuffed with basketball recruiting content. Today we discuss top point guard John Wall’s basketball recruiting status, and share a little video to boot.

What’s that, you say? John Wall info belongs on the ACC recruiting blog, since he lives in NC and list the Wolfpack? Sure, but we’ve written about Wall a lot already, and readers of the new blog are also interested in Mr. Wall. However, we still have some ACC basketball recruiting news to pass out, so here we go:

Talib Zanna goes to the Big East

Talib Zanna (C, 6’9″, 2009) seemed like a Pitt lean for a while, but a few people hoped Virginia or Virginia Tech might convince him otherwise. Alas, it was not to be and he’ll be playing for the Panthers in the Fall of 2009.

Wake Forest visiting Cheek

With the on-campus visits getting most of the press these days, we kind of forget the old standby of the in-home visit. Lest we forget that Wake Forest is in the mix for sharpshooter Dominic Cheek’s services, Adam Zagoria mentions that Wake will be visiting Cheek on Wednesday.

Harrison Barnes

The next great recruiting battle is answering to the name Harrison Barnes (SF, 6’6″, 2010), who holds a ton of offers, including Duke, UCLA and Kansas and UNC’s Coach Roy Williams has watched Barnes play.

Derrick Favors

So Derrick Favors (PF, 6’9″, 2009) has cut his list to six, and now he’s just returned from a visit to Georgia Tech, and it sounds good for the Yellow Jackets:

“Georgia Tech, of course, is right here in the city, and that’s always a great thing. It would allow people around here, such as his family and his friends, the opportunity to see him play in person. And Georgia Tech has a great tradition of putting players in the NBA on a regular basis …”

Tech has been thought to be a leader for Favors, despite claims to the contrary, and Tech would love to have the big time power forward.

Michael Snaer

Finally, Michael Snaer talks basketball recruiting in this interview, in which he discusses his visits:

You took official visits to Missouri and Florida State prior to coming to MU. How would you compare and contrast the three visits, and what you saw on each? The whole recruiting process, it’s like they’re all saying the same things, so it’s the little things that you’ve got to bring out. And one of the real good things that attracted me to Marquette is that they just play hard. How tough they are and how hard they work.

Florida State and Missouri are bigger schools and have football teams. Basketball at Marquette, meanwhile, is the biggest show on campus. How much does the thought of being ‘the’ show at MU appeal to you? It feels good, but it really doesn’t matter to me because at the end of the day you’ve still got to win games. Either way, it doesn’t really matter to me. I’m still going to play as hard as I can, no matter what.

I really have appreciated how Snaer has handled his recruitment. He has pretty much taken his visits as planned, and seems to be doing his best to really evaluate each school. It’s only one of the biggest decisions of his life, after all.

Melvin Tabb

Even though we dropped Talib Zanna as an ACC target when he committed to Pitt, we’re adding Melvin Tabb (PF, 6’8″, 2009) to the tracking list, with an offer from Clemson and a recent visit to NC State. He’s actually been contacted by a few other ACC schools as well.

John Wall improves his game

John Wall fits the profile of a player who could easily develop an attitude problem. As a basketball point guard, he went from being a local high school star to a national high school star very quickly last summer, and went from being a ‘highly rated’ college prospect to possibly – ahem – possibly being a number one NBA pick in the 2010 draft.

Hype is a silly thing, and it would be normal for a teenager, which is exactly what Wall is, by the way, to develop a serious me-first attitude when being showered with attention and praise by national press. To be sure, John Wall isn’t exactly a household name like Lebron James or Kobe Bryant. He’s only famous to those fans who follow high school basketball recruiting and scouts. But it’s enough.

Wall developed a reputation for taking plays off and tirades. Message boards teemed with stories of prominent college coaches leaving games in disgust and there still continue to be tales of back-door dealings in Wall’s recruitment. But these stories have settled a bit, and for now another player, Lance Stephenson, is considered to be the ‘head case’ of the class.

Dave Telep has penned an article about John Wall’s attitude, how it’s improved, what initiated the change and where he thinks he needs to go from here:

“Then coach (Levi) Beckwith helped me out a lot. Attitude-wise, I had a bad one when I got (to Word of God). He changed all that around and didn’t let me play with that. (They) set me down and made me realize I had to trust my players and have a better attitude.”

These days, Wall’s attitude is in check. He’s grown up, learned some tough lessons and continues to check himself. “I got frustrated last year when I made passes and they were dropped,” he explains. “Now, I just pat (those guys) on the back and tell them to get it next time, so it doesn’t stop me from playing.”

Wall also talks about what he’s been told, by everyone, what he needs to work on in his game. He needs to develop an outside shot. He needs to play defense more consistently. These are the types of things that will make or break Wall during his likely one-year tour in the NCAA. It’s unclear if Wall will end up as the #1 pick in 2010. Ricky Rubio is no slouch as a point guard either, and he’s already playing pro ball against pro players. But Wall has the quickness and athleticism to be great.

Dominic Cheek eliminates Indiana?

A few days after saying he would visit Indiana, Dominic Cheek(SG, 6’5″, 2009) is no longer considering going to make an official visit to the Hoosiers. He will, however, have an in home visit with Tom Crean.

John Wall says ‘Not So Fast’ on Baylor

Everybody thinks Wall is headed to Baylor, but he says no decision has been made, and Alex spoke with Wall to get the scoop, and he says he is still open:

There was thought that the Bears hired Clifton specifically to got Wall, but John says that he thinks Scott Drew and Co. hired him because “they . . . thought he was a good man.” Regardless of the reason why Baylor hired Clifton, does that give the program a major lead to land the talented point guard from Word of God (NC)? “No, no, they’re not the top choice,” said Wall of Baylor, also adding, “I’m still wide-open.”