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Basketball Recruiting

Dennis Smith Jr.: Top Commit in Decades

Published

9 years ago

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So, just how big of a deal is Dennis Smith Jr.’s commitment to NC State?

He is a 5-star recruit, and NC State has had 10 other 5-star players commit to play for them over the past 15 recruiting classes (that’s as far back as the Scout and Rivals databases go).

Smith is a Top-10 recruit, and only one of the Wolfpack’s 5-star recruits of the past 15 years was a Top-10 recruit, and his name was J.J. Hickson.  Hickson was the #10 ranked player in the 2007.

DSJ is a Top-5 recruit, and you have to go back to the pre-Rivals and pre-Scout days to find the last NC State Top-5 commit.  In 2001, Julius Hodge committed to run with the Wolfpack, and he was the #5 ranked player according to ESPN.  In 1999, Bob Gibbons ranked Damien Wilkins as the #1 overall player in the class, but because Bob was so off with his prediction, I’d prefer to go with the #7 ranking he received from another recruiting service.  Rodney Monroe and Chris Corchiani were both McDonald’s All-Americans in 1987, but I don’t think they were Top-5 recruits.

You have to go all the way back to NC State’s 1984 recruiting class to find a recruit that was a higher ranked commit than Dennis Smith Jr.  Chris Washburn was one of the Top 3 players in the 1984 recruiting class, alongside Danny Manning and John Williams.

So how big of a deal is Dennis Smith Jr.’s commitment to NC State?  He’s the biggest Wolfpack commitment in over 30 years.

5-star NC State Commitments of the past 15 years

  1. Dennis Smith Jr. – 4 (E) / 7 (247)
  2. J.J. Hickson – 10 (R)/ 11 (247)/ 14 (E)
  3. C.J. Leslie – 11 (14)
  4. Rodney Purvis – 18 (12)
  5. Cedric Simmons – 24 (17)
  6. T.J. Warren – 27 (17)
  7. Ryan Harrow – 25 (19)
  8. Brandon Costner – 20 (30)
  9. Cat Barber – 21 (27)
  10. Courtney Fells – 30 (24)
  11. Lorenzo Brown – 28 (37)

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Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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Basketball Recruiting

4-Star Guard/Forward Bryce Heard Commits to NC State!

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2 days ago

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July 24, 2024

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4-Star Guard/Forward Bryce Heard has verbally committed to NC State! He chose to Run with the Wolfpack over a Final 4 that also included USC, Mississippi St., and Xavier.

Heard took an Official Visit to NC State beginning on June 23rd.

247Sports, ESPN and Rivals all rank Heard as a 4-Star prospect. Rivals ranks him as the #95 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class. 247Sports ranks him as the #16 Combo Guard in the class, and they also rank him as the #2 player in the state of Illinois.

As a Junior this past season at Homewood-Flossmoor (Chicago, Illinois), Heard averaged 19 point, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

Heard is the 3rd member of NC State’s 2024 recruiting class, joining 4-Star Guard/Forward Paul McNeil and 3-Star Guard Trey Parker.

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Basketball Recruiting

4-Star Guard Davion Hannah Includes NC State in Top-9, Schedules Official Visit

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4 days ago

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July 23, 2024

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4-Star 2025 Guard Davion Hannah (6’5″/180) released his Top-9 schools yesterday, and NC State made the cut along with Alabama, Pitt, Xavier, Cincinnati, Michigan St., Louisville, Ohio St. and Wisconsin.

Hannah will be taking an Official Visit to NC State on October 5th.

NC State offered Hannah on June 19th.

Hannah is right on the cusp of being a 5-star prospect. 247Sports ranks him as the #27 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class, the #4 Combo Guard, and the #3 player in the state of  Missouri.

This past season as a Junior at Nicolet High School (Glendale, Wisconsin), Hannah averaged 18.8 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 1.5 blocks per game. He also just participated in the NBA Top 100 camp, and was one of the standouts.

For his Senior season, Hannah has transferred to Link Academy in Branson, Missouri.

 

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Basketball Recruiting

5-Star Shooting Guard Darius Adams Schedules Official Visit to NC State

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1 week ago

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July 19, 2024

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5-Star 2025 Shooting Guard Darius Adams (6’4″/165) has scheduled an Official Visit to NC State for September 6-8.

Rivals ranks Adams as the #16 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class. ESPN and 247Sports rank him as the #4 Shooting Guard in the class. 247Sports and ON3 rank him as the #2 player in the state of Indiana, playing for La Lumiere School in La Porte.

He has also scheduled Official Visits to Tennessee, Michigan St., Alabama, UCONN and Notre Dame.

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Basketball Recruiting

4-Star G/F Bryce Heard Includes NC State in Final 4, Decision Coming Next Week

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1 week ago

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July 17, 2024

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4-Star 2025 Guard/Forward Bryce Heard (6’6″/190) has trimmed his list of schools to 4, with NC State making the cut along with USC, Mississippi St. and Xavier. He will be announcing his college decision next Wednesday, July 24th.

Heard took an Official Visit to NC State beginning on June 23rd.

247Sports, ESPN and Rivals all rank Heard as a 4-Star prospect. Rivals ranks him as the #95 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class. 247Sports ranks him as the #16 Combo Guard in the class, and they also rank him as the #2 player in the state of Illinois.

As a Junior this past season at Homewood-Flossmoor (Chicago, Illinois), Heard averaged 19 point, 8 rebounds and 5 assists.

From where things currently stand, NC State looks like they are in a good position to land Heard.

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