NC State is hoping to land Dennis Smith Jr. and Bam Adebayo, who both rank in the Top 10 of the 2016 basketball recruiting class. Smith is the #4 overall player according to both Scout, Rivals, and ESPN, and he is the #1 point guard in the class. Adebayo is the #7 overall player according to Rivals and #8 according to ESPN.
I don’t know if NC State fans can quite grasp what the possibility of landing two Top-10 players in one class means for the Wolfpack. The talent on the court for the Wolfpack in 2016 would be astounding and the future of recruiting in Raleigh would be very bright.
This begs the question. Who were the last 2 Top 10 players that NC State landed? JJ Hickson in 2007 and Julius Hodge in 2001.
JJ Hickson was the #10 overall player in the 2007 class according to Rivals. Hickson averaged 14.8 points and 8.5 rebounds per game as a Freshman, and earned a spot on the All-ACC Freshman team and was an Honorable Mention for the All-ACC team. After one season in Raleigh, Hickson was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 19th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2008 draft. The former Wolfpack power forward has spent the past 7 seasons in the NBA, and has averaged 10 points and 7 rebounds in his career.
Hickson High School Rivals Highlights
Julius Hodge was the #7 player in the 2001 recruiting class according to Bob Gibbons, #5 according to ESPN, #7 according to The Sporting News, and #9 according to PrepStars. Over his 4-year career at NC State, Hodge averaged 15.8, 6 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game. The Juice earned 1st Team All-ACC honors in 2003 and 2004, and was named the ACC Player of the year in 2004. He finished his career 3rd on NC State’s all-time scoring list. Hodge was drafted by the Denver Nuggets with the 20th overall pick in the 1st round of the 2005 NBA Draft. After playing 2 seasons in the NBA, Hodge went on to play 8 seasons professionally all over the world.
Julius Hodge High School Highlights (skip to 3:17)
Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.
It’s too bad State wasn’t any better during Hickson’s lone season. I had forgotten what his stats even were that year or how highly rated he was. Imagine if they had made the tourney that year, then Hickson would be an infinitely more memorable Pack player. Instead he just continues to recede further from memory.
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.
It’s too bad State wasn’t any better during Hickson’s lone season. I had forgotten what his stats even were that year or how highly rated he was. Imagine if they had made the tourney that year, then Hickson would be an infinitely more memorable Pack player. Instead he just continues to recede further from memory.