Maverick Rowan has been all over the news this summer after he decided to reclassify to the 2015 class. He has three schools left on his list, which are St. John’s, Wisconsin, and NC State. There is little doubt that Rowan will be a four-year player which is why I think Wisconsin may be a long shot with the news of Bo Ryan retiring after this season. St. John’s has an inside track as Maverick’s father played at St. John’s and played a season with current head coach Chris Mullins. Maverick also noted how he plays the same position as Mullins did and that he could help him become a pro.
I argue that NC State could be an excellent fit for Maverick for a two main reasons:
1. Outside Shooting
NC State needs floor spacing and could use a zone buster from outside. A season ago State struggled against the zone as other teams were more than willing to let the Pack shoot from outside while crowding the paint. Maverick would be a welcome addition to add some spacing with his shooting, and has the ability to attack the gaps. State needs more offensive fire power next season, it is that simple. It has been quite some time since State has had two sharp shooters from the outside. A pairing of Henderson and Rowan would be a good duo from the outside.
2. Style of Play
Maverick has the ability to play in a run-and-gun system. He is much more than just a shooter. He has good touch around the rim and also uses his height to finish well. NC State loves to get out on the break and shoot transition three’s. Gottfried wants his teams to take the first good shot they have, regardless of how much time is on the shot clock. Another reason why the Pack would be a good fit is because they have proven that they can get shooters open. Rowan doesn’t have to look hard to see how Gottfried would call plays for Ralston Turner, and previously Scott Wood. Maverick would be very effective working off the baseline and curls.
Maverick plans on visiting both Wisconsin and NC State before making a decision in August.
4-Star 2025 Small Forward Jackson Keith (6’5″/175) was also in attendance.
Keith is a consensus 4-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, with Rivals ranking him as the #53 overall player in the class. The Southern High (Durham, NC) standout is ranked as the #2 player in the state of North Carolina in the 2025 class by ESPN.
Keith holds offers from NC State, Wake Forest, Mississippi St., Illinois, SMU, Virginia Tech, LSU and others.
NC State (11-3) will host #7 UNC (11-3) tonight in PNC Arena, and they also will be hosting a couple of recruiting prospects.
4-Star 2025 Power Forward Sadiq White Jr. and 4-Star 2025 Point Guard Jordan Lowery both confirmed with me that they will be in attendance.
White, who plays for Myers Park (Charlotte) is the consensus #1 player in the state of North Carolina in the 2025 recruiting class, and he’s 4 spots away from being a 5-star prospect according to ON3. Lowery plays for Winston-Salem Christian School, and is ranked as the #7 overall player in the state of North Carolina in the 2025 recruiting class according to 247Sports.
White holds offers from NC State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, LSU, FSU, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Georgetown, Ohio State and others. Lowery holds offers from NC State, TCU, Virginia Tech, SMU, Oklahoma St., Kansas St. St. Louis and others.
2026 Point Guard Kobe Edwards also told me he will be in attendance.
4-Star 2025 Point Guard Kayden Mingo (6’1″/160) stated that NC State is one of the schools most frequently reaching out to him, along with Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Cal and Old Dominion.
2025 4⭐️ Kayden Mingo continued his stockrising season tonight as #2 Long Island Lutheran (NY) took down #11 La Lumiere (IN).
Mingo finished with 20PTS, 7ASTS and 5REBS in the 82-65 win. He’s LuHi’s leading scorer on the season.
Despite the Wolfpack’s interest in Mingo, they haven’t offered him yet. Mingo currently holds offers from Cal, Penn State, Saint Louis, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.
Rivals and ESPN both rank Mingo as a 4-Star prospect, with Rivals ranking him as the #70 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class.
Mingo plays for Long Island Lutheran in New York, which is one of the top teams in the country. He is currently the Nike EYBL Scholastic’s leading scorer (20ppg).
NC State 2024 signee Paul McNeil Jr. showcased his talent at the 2023 John Wall Holiday Invitational at the end of the year. Below are highlights from his first two games.
In Richmond’s 77-62 win over Jordan in their first game of the invitational, McNeil had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.
In Game 2, McNeil had 24 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in Richmond’s 53-56 loss to Northwood.
In Game 3, McNeil had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in Richmond’s 68-84 loss to Cannon. I couldn’t find any highlights from this particular game.
Through 11 games this season, McNeil is averaging 29.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He is shooting 52% from the field and 35% from three.