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Last Saturday NC State 2016 Power Forward target Bam Adebayo revealed that he would be transferring from Northside High School (Pinetown, NC) to High Point Christian Academy (High Point, NC).  Last night I caught up with HPCA’s basketball coach Brandon Clifford and got his take on what the addition of Bam means for their program.

“I think we go from being a very good high school team, to having a chance to compete at the national level.  We were very talented before.  He adds to our already talented team, and gives us a dimension I don’t think any other team in the country has: a big guy with the motor he plays with,” said Clifford.  “To have a national player of the year candidate walk into your gym definitely makes your job a little bit more exciting as a coach.  Obviously we’re excited.  It puts us in a much bigger spotlight.  We’re just excited about having him.”

Clifford said that the process began early in the Spring when Adebayo reached out to HPCA.  The past couple of months have been a lot of getting to know one another, including Clifford watching Bam play 20-25 times over the summer.

“They contacted the school back in the early spring.  He’s very close with Boston College commit Ty Graves, who had already decided to come to our school,” said Clifford. “From that point on it was really relationship building.  It’s been a long process of him getting to know us, and us getting to know him.  He was kind of always a part of the big picture for us.  When he finally decided to come…it changes your program.”

High Point Christian Academy has had quite a few Division 1 basketball players suit up for them the past couple of years, but they’ve never had a player like Adebayo.

“We’ve probably had 9-10 Division 1 players at our school over the last 4-5 years, but we’ve never had a guy like that, an elite level guy drawing the type of attention he is.  It’s exciting.  I played college basketball.  I went through the recruiting process.  It’s a lot of fun, but it’s also a lot of pressure on a kid.  My job as his coach is to help him deal with it as best as I can.”

 

The addition of a player of Adebayo’s caliber literally is a game changer for a high school basketball program.  Clifford said college coaches have already been calling to introduce themselves and let him know that they would be dropping by in the future.  Eyes all around the nation will be on HPCA.  With that being said, Clifford maintains that he is Bam’s coach, not his publicist.

“We’re not going to be starstruck by it.  We’re excited about it, but at the same time we have a job to do.  My job is to be Bam’s high school basketball coach, not his fan,” said Clifford. “The hoopla that comes with it is awesome.  It’s a good thing for our school, but I’m just excited about the basketball part, with him being a part of our program.”

 

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.

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Basketball Recruiting

North Carolina High School Athletes Will Now be Able to Profit off NIL

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NIL has shaken up the college sports world, and now it will be shaking up the high school sports world in North Carolina (NCHSAA), becoming one of 27 states to approve the ability for high school athletes to profit off their Name, Image and Likeness.

This will officially take place beginning July 1.

In order for a student athlete to begin this process, they will have to take a course on NIL, and their parents, coaches and athletic director will as well. Schools and coaches will not be able to represent the student in NIL Deals, and they will also not be allowed to use NIL as a way to draw athletes to their school.

There are restrictions on what student athletes can profit off of though.

The NCHSAA will prohibit student-athletes from entering into NIL deals with products around adult entertainment, alcohol, cannabis, controlled substances, firearms and ammunition, gambling, prescription drugs, as well as tobacco, vaping, and other Nicotine-related products. Athletes cannot affiliate themselves with a specific school, conference, school district, the NCHSAA, or the NFHS through a NIL deal.

(Link)

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Basketball Recruiting

NC State Men’s Offers 4-Star Jahki Howard

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Last Thursday, the Wolfpack offered 2024 Small Forward Jahki Howard (6’7″/180) out of Overtime Elite (Atlanta, GA).

ESPN ranks Howard as the #53 overall player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class, and the #3 player in the state of Georgia.

Howard is familiar with NC State, because NC State 2023 signee Trey Parker played with him down at Overtime Elite. In 2022-23, Howard averaged 10.1 points per game, shooting 58.6% from the field.

Check out these pictures of Howard on an unofficial visit to NC State with Parker.

 

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Check out these recent highlight reels of Howard.

 

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Parker and Howard showed out in this Dunk Contest a couple of months back.

Howard will be taking an Official Visit to Georgetown on May 8-9.

 

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Basketball Recruiting

4-Star SF Jahki Howard Takes an Unofficial Visit to NC State

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4-Star 2024 Small Forward Jahki Howard (6’7″/180) took an Unofficial Visit to NC State yesterday alongside 4-Star Shooting Guard Paul McNeil, who verbally committed to run with the Wolfpack yesterday.

Howard is ranked as the #51 overall player nationally in the 2024 class by Rivals, and the #4 player in the state of Georgia according to ESPN. Howard plays for Overtime Elite in Atlanta, where 2023 NC State signee Trey Parker plays.

He also holds offers from Georgetown, Georgia Tech, Providence, Auburn, Rutgers, Illinois, Texas A&M, Mississippi St, Wake Forest, Florida, LSU, Ole Miss, Arizona St, Kansas, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas, and others.

As far as I can tell, Howard doesn’t hold an offer from NC State at this point.

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Basketball Recruiting

4-Star 2024 Shooting Guard Paul McNeil Commits to NC State!

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What a day! 4-Star 2024 Shooting Guard Paul McNeil (6’6″/185) wrapped up his Official Visit to NC State today by committing to run with the Wolfpack, after watching them defeat their rival UNC in PNC Arena.

McNeil is the #17 overall player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class according to ESPN, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.

In 2022-23, McNeil is averaging 23.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.4 steals per game for Richmond High School. Last year, he became the first ever Sophomore to win the Gatorade Player of the Year Award in the state of North Carolina.

McNeil also held offers from Clemson, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Alabama, Miami, Georgetown, St. John’s, LSU, Virginia Tech, Missouri, and others.

 

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