Freshman point guard Dennis Smith Jr. is a big deal. Last year around this time, I made the argument that he was NC State’s biggest recruiting commitment in the past 30 years. I made my argument off of recruiting rankings. The question is, what is he going to do ‘when the lights are on and the popcorn’s popping’ as NC State head coach Mark Gottfried often says? Will his play equate to his impressive high school rankings? Athlon Sports thinks so.

In their 2016-17 preview they rank Smith Jr. as a 3rd team All-American. Not Freshman All-American. Just straight All-American.