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Earlier today, Powell Latimer of the Greensboro News & Record, posted an article titled: “Gottfried’s visit to Smith, Adebayo with journalists present might be NCAA violation.”

Powell is a graduate from the University of North Carolina, and used to write for the The Daily Tarheel.  In the piece, Powell points out the fact that Gottfried recruiting in the presence of media could be an NCAA violation.  He did point out that if it were a violation, it would be minor and would likely not result in penalties against the school or affect a player’s eligibility.  

To figure it out, Powell emailed the NCAA to get the details on the rule. Here is the response that he got back.

“If a coach shows up for an in-house visit and media is present at the request of the recruit or high school, the coach is not permitted to speak with the recruit in the presence of the media,” NCAA spokesman Tom Yelich wrote in an email. (News&Record)

Powell did make it clear that NC State in no way orchestrated the attendance of media members, and even makes the point that he isn’t sure what Gottfried could have done differently.  He reached out to NC State, and Steve Shults, Assistant Athletics Director of Compliance, had this to say: 

“In our situation, the media member was present without our knowledge or involvement,” Shults wrote by email. “Had our coaches known media was present, then they would have ended the contact immediately in order to avoid a violation.” (News&Record)

Brett Strelow, one of the media members that was present at Trinity Christian when the helicopter landed, wrote a piece in response, and did make it very clear that his presence at the school had nothing to do with NC State contacting him.

The Fayetteville Observer learned of the plan for a helicopter visit from people associated with Trinity Christian School, not N.C. State, and did not coordinate photo or video plans with anyone connected to the university. (FayObserver)

Strelow also took to Twitter to accept responsibility for his part in this. 

I can’t help myself in finding it a tad humorous that this all got started today by a graduate of UNC.  Also, I find it really respectable that Strelow honestly and vulnerably shared his side of the story.  Lastly, this whole story reveals the need for NCAA rules to be catch up with the existence of social media, camera phones, and how much more broad the term “media” has grown since 1997 when the rule was last amended.  While there obviously need to be rules that protect the players and the integrity of the process, coaches also need to be able to do their jobs, and it looks like Coach Gottfried and Coach Early were doing their jobs…by the book.

 

 

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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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7 days ago

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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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2 weeks 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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