NC State’s New Additions Paying Off?

Things can change quickly in the college basketball landscape now a days, with transfers, reclassifications,  late commits, and international players. NC State has experience in each of these this offseason. Hats off to Gottfried for staying the course and keeping a level head. He knew that things can change in an instance.

Early in the offseason it seemed that NC State was unravelling at the seams, I was not too concerned over the Martin transfer, but I was concerned with Abu and Anya testing the NBA. It was apparent that Cat Barber would forgo his senior season, but it left NC State with very little in house. Not only was there a turnover in player personnel but the coaching staff was shaken up as well. Coach Moxley took a lesser role within the program due to health, and Coach Lutz moved into an athletic administration role. This left Gottfried with the task of hiring two new assistances, and having to replace Lutz, who was associate head coach.

With two spots open Gottfried elected to first hire Butch Pierre, a proven commodity out of Oklahoma State. Pierre is widely regarded as one of the top recruiters in the country and it seems that he has been hard of the recruiting trail as NC State has had a successful summer in gaining commitments. Not only did Gottfried bring in Pierre but he too hired Heath Schroyer, who is also a proven recruiter and has a history of turning around programs. The combination of Pierre and Schroyer has lead to the Pack signing 4 players this offseason for the upcoming season. Those players include Omer Yurtseven, Darius Hicks, Markell Johnson, and Ted Kapita.

What was once a one man class of Dennis Smith Jr, has suddenly become a top 10 class by many recruiting services. One thing that they have done is they have addressed the depth issue and gained talented players who are capable of growing into greater roles with time. Now it is not a question of talent but a question of what can NC State do with the influx of talent? The staff now has tools to work with but it will be up to them to mold roles, and make this group come together as a unit to accomplish something grand.

The ACC will be as talented as ever, and NC State now has some firepower to compete, if they can stay healthy, and develop chemistry it could be an exciting season.