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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.”

 

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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

WATCH: NC State Signee Paul McNeil Drops 50 & 17 Against First Flight

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December 2, 2023

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NC State 2024 4-star signee Paul McNeil had himself a night, posting an insane double-double, scoring 50 points and grabbing 17 rebounds in Richmond County’s 90-45 dismantling of First Flight last night.

McNeil was 21 of 32 from the field, and 7 of 12 from beyond the arc. Let’s not forget to note that he also led his team in assists, with 4.

ESPN ranks McNeil as the #57 overall player nationally in the 2024 recruiting class, and ON3 ranks him as the #6 player in the state of North Carolina.

 

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Basketball Recruiting

2024 NC State Commit Trey Parker Finishes 2nd in OTE Dunk Contest

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6 days ago

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November 27, 2023

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Dunk contests don’t really mean anything, but Trey Parker, NC State’s 2024 shooting guard commit makes them pretty entertaining.

Just last week he finished 2nd in the OTE Dunk Contest (video above), after winning it last year with this dunk over two 7-footers.

Parker was supposed to be a freshman this year at NC State, but he reclassified into the 2024 class, meaning if all goes according to plan, he’ll be here next year.

And if you think this kid is just about dunking, then you missed his performance last year against the #1 ranked PG Robert Dillingham, where he dropped 18 pts and dished out 4 assists in the win. We had an in-depth write-up on the game right after it happened. Check it out.

While the focus should be on this years team, it’s never too early to get excited about a commit that’s putting together highlight reels like this.

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Basketball Recruiting

NC State Hosted 3 Basketball Recruits this Past Weekend

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2 months ago

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October 2, 2023

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The NC State Men’s Basketball team hosted 3 recruits this past weekend: 4-Star 2025 Point Guard Jordan Lowery, 4-Star 2025 Small Forward AJ White and 3-Star 2024 Center Chol Machot.

I confirmed with all three players that they were on NC State’s campus for an unofficial visit.

On September 12, NC State offered 4-Star 2025 Point Guard Jordan Lowery (6’1″/175) out of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. He already holds offers from TCU, SMU, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, St. Louis, Wichita St, ECU and Virginia Tech. Rivals ranks Lowery as the #110 overall player nationally, and ON3 ranks him as the #9 player in the state of North Carolina. Lowery was also in for an unofficial visit to NC State earlier in September as well.

The Wolfpack coaches were in to visit 4-Star 2025 Small Forward AJ White (6’8″/180) out of Charlotte, North Carolina in the middle of September. Rivals ranks White as the #28 overall player nationally in 2025, and he is the consensus #1 player in the state. White holds offers from NC State, South Carolina, Cincy, Texas, Syracuse, Georgia, Texas A&M, Wake Forest, Mississippi St., LSU, FSU, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgetown, Ohio St. and others.

The NC State coaching staff was into see Machot (7’0″), and his teammate Lowery in the middle of September. ON3 ranks Machot as a 3-star prospect, and the #14 player in the state of North Carolina.

 

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Basketball Recruiting

Kendre Harrison Breaks Down What it Means to be Offered by NC State in 2 Sports

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2 months ago

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October 2, 2023

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NC State is trying to reel in a Legacy Recruit in 2026 Tight End/Power Forward Kendre Harrison. Harrison is the nephew of former Wolfpack guard, C.C. Harrison.

Harrison is a unicorn. The young sensation out of Reidsville High School (Reidsville, NC), is a 4-star prospect in both football and basketball. In fact, he’s on track to be a 5-star prospect in both sports, which is unheard of.

In regards to football, Harrison is the #5 overall player nationally in the 2026 class according to 247Sports, and the #1 player in the state of North Carolina (Reidsville High School). In basketball, he ranks 20th overall nationally according to ESPN, the #5 Power Forward, and the #1 player in the state of North Carolina.

The #1 player in the state of North Carolina in both sports in 2026.

NC State offered him in football back in January, and he was offered by the basketball team back on September 16th.

I checked in with Harrison to see what it meant to him to be offered in both football and basketball by NC State, and what it was like to visit a few weeks back for the VMI game and watch the basketball team practice.

“It means a lot to be offered in both sports, knowing I can make a difference in the program.”

Harrison made it clear that he intends to play both sports at the next level. He doesn’t find it to be a balancing act at all, playing both basketball and football.

I just have to remember how bad I want it and what my end goal is. I have to remember that I’m doing this for my mom and family.

Harrison enjoyed every aspect of his time on NC State’s campus a few weeks back.

It was a great experience. I loved how the coaches coached basketball and football. I just loved everything about the visit.

Uncle C.C. is a hero of Kendre’s, and he has learned so much from him, on the court, and off the court.

He has taught me a lot of things about basketball and outside of basketball, especially throughout my recruitment process.

 

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