NC State Basketball
NC State in the mix for 5 Stars Ingram and Newman
We all knew that there was a good shot that NC State came into next season without any recruits, but with Lacey leaving to go pro and Washington transferring, all of the sudden NC State needs bodies.
The good news is that Gottfried is on the case. Over the past year he has been recruiting two very skilled 5 star players. With the talent pool State had projected for next season, it seemed as if both of these guys were pipedreams, but with a lot of playing time on the table, things could be changing:
– 5 star forward Brandon Ingram is from Kinston and is being dubbed Kevin Durant Lite. He’s a 6’8 kid with good handles, body control and an elite ability to score it. He is from NC but the biggest problem is that his mentors include Reggie Bullock and Jerry Stackhouse (both UNC grads). So why are we even following him? Well, because he hasn’t said ‘no’ to NC State just yet. He is down to Duke, UNC, Kentucky, UCLA, Kansas and State. Yesterday he sat down with Coach Gottfried and listened to his final pitch. With Carolina guys mentoring him and Duke fresh off a national title and able to promise him a ton of minutes, Gottfried really has a tough sell, but don’t ever count him out. Ingram has been a fixture at home game this past season and has previously said that NC State wants to use him like they used Warren (which is as a high volume scorer). State isn’t out of this thing yet. Stay tuned. Ingram will announce his decision on Monday, April 27th.
– The other big time recruiting the Pack has been tracking is Malik Newman. The 5 star shooting guard is a cold blooded scorer who looked like a Kentucky lock just a few weeks ago, but all of the sudden things started to shift. LSU made a huge push and with their insane class already taking shape many believe Newman would jump on board. He still might, but with LSU getting a commitment from Brandon Sampson (5 star shooting guard) on Monday morning, this is looking less likely. The LSU news and the gap left by Trevor Lacey seems to not have gone unnoticed. Newman is related to Mo Williams, the NBA star who played his college ball under Mark Gottfried. This could be a key factor when it comes decision time. Newman would have the ability to not only come to a school that could give him major minutes, but one that is looking desperately for scoring. This is exactly what he wants as he figures to be a one and done (or a 2 year player) and a guy who wants the ball in his hands. He hasn’t visited State yet and none of the national talking heads are listing the Pack, but there’s a lot of talk swirling around that NC State has as good a chance as anyone to land this kid. He announced today that he will make his decision on Friday. The kicker, however, is that no decision he makes will be held as final since he has already said he will not be signing an LOI. Should State land Newman, look for the chances of bringing in Ingram to increase.
Things are getting crazy right now and the fortune of NC State’s team next year could drastically change should either of these guys choose the Pack. Hunker down folks, things are getting interesting.
Yes we are in the mix and we just got flushed.
wolfpack74 Wolfer96 wulfpacker This late in the game all of the 3 & 4 stars are gone. A few 5 stars are all that are left and honestly even if you land one they’re probably going to be prima donnas so you have to deal with that. Then there is the market for transfers, graduate transfers, and hidden international gems. It’s going to be tough finding quality players at this stage is my guess. Obviously we’re not the only ones looking after mass defections at other programs. What I would like to see is Gott and company recruit the 3 star guys… Read more »
Wolfer96 wolfpack74 wulfpacker I agree, but the question was whom I would like to see walking the NC State sideline. If Ingram goes to UNC or Duke, you can forget about whatever Gott comes up with.
wolfpack74 Wolfer96 wulfpacker Smart – already turned us down once and we can’t match Texas $$$. We’ll have to wait and see what he does at Texas but I always thought he was overrated. Miller – is the king of the PAC12 so don’t see that happening. His brother on the other hand is more likely to take an offer. Brad Stevens – hard to say. His team did make the playoffs but that’s in a very weak Eastern conference and they will likely get swept in 1st round. Would be my #1 choice if he was interested. I think Vinny’s a… Read more »
Wolfer96 Does anyone think that Ingram is coming to State? I surely don’t. But Gott’s on the case.
Wolfer96 wolfpack74 wulfpacker Given the right amount of money, all would come.
Newman is off the board. Committed to Miss St.
wolfpack74 wulfpacker Now name the ones that would actually come to State 🙂
wulfpacker wolfpack74 1. Smart from Texas. 2. Miller from Arizona. 3. McMillan from the NBA 4. Barnes from Tennessee. 5. Brad Stevens from NBA. 6. Vinny Del Negro from TV.
7. Manning from Wake Forest. 8. Alford from UCLA. 9. Thad Matta from Ohio State. 10. Huggins from West Virginia.
wolfpack74 Who would you want on the sidelines? Give me your realistic candidates that you would like to replace Gottfried with.
It’s a good thing that Gott is on the case. BS. He hasn’t signed a freshman in 19 months.
“Will not be signing a LOI”? What the hell. Commitment issues? Sounds like another CJ Leslie.
Newman is a combo guard and would spend most of his time at the 2 position with some time backing up cat at PG… Basically taking over the role that Trevor had. He would not play the 4. Ingram is a 3, and might play the 4 onoccasion if we go “small”…. Ingram would be a huge surprise for us, but we have a legit shot at Newman
I know its a long shot but getting one of these guys would be huge for State. Both look like they could either run at the 3 and the 4 which for State would be perfect. You would be able to play big with Freeman and Anya at the 4 and 5 or spread out the floor with one of these 2 at the 4 and one of the Martin’s at the 3. Alright enough dreaming. Freeman will be running full time at the 4 and the Martins full time at the 3