NC State has a one-man 2016 recruiting class in 5-star Point Guard Dennis Smith Jr., and it’s currently ranked as the 12th best class according to Scout. The question remains, who will the Wolfpack get to run with him?
From what we hear, and this can obviously change, the NC State coaches are looking to take a 3-man class in 2016 at the most.
Everyone knows that 5-star Power Forward Bam Adebayo is NC State’s next top priority. Adebayo and Smith have been AAU teammates with Team Loaded, and have known each other since the 7th grade. Smith told me that Bam was the first person he reached out to after he committed to run with the Wolfpack. While the two of them have never guaranteed that they would be a package deal, they have never been shy about their desire to play together either. Most recruiting analysts see Adebayo landing at NC State, and from everything I hear, that is a very strong likelihood. Adebayo is expected to be at the Tailgate Tipoff on October 3rd before the Louisville game, and he is hoping to make his decision before his basketball season begins.
The real question is, who do the Wolfpack coaches want to be that third player? When Dennis Smith Jr. committed, he said that he and the coaches wanted to get 5-star Power Forward Bam Adebayo, 5-star Combo Guard De’Aaron Fox, 5-Star Center Udoka Azubuike to join him. Since that day, NC State has had an in-home visit with Fox and has been down to Florida to see Azubuike. At this point, I think Fox knows that he can go somewhere else and shine brighter, and I also think that NC State feels good about where they stand with some of the top big men in the 2017 recruiting class.
With all that being said, the player that has had the Wolfpack coaches undivided attention has been 5-star Shooting Guard Rawle Alkins. When Alkins stepped into the doors of Word of God Academy (Raleigh, NC) for his Senior Season, the Wolfpack coaches were practically waiting for him to arrive. They have been to watch him workout twice since his arrival.
At this point, if the NC State coaches could dream up what they want their 2016 recruiting class to be, it would look like this:
PG – Dennis Smith Jr. (#4 overall/#1 PG)
SG – Rawle Alkins (#9 overall/#3 SG)
PF – Bam Adebayo (#6 overall/#2 PF)
I think the Wolfpack fans could live with that dream.
