Pack target Manny Bates (2018 PF) climbing in the rankings

Manny Bates is one of the major targets NC State head coach Kevin Keatts is keying on for his 2018 class.

Bates is a PF/C out of Jack Britt HS in Fayetteville, NC who started a bit under the radar but lately has been picking up steam. In fact, he recently jumped 21 spots in the rankings to become a 4 star on ESPN.

Keatts is currently competing with Georgia Tech, Louisville, Georgetown, and Depaul (to name a few) for his services, but most analysts believe the Wolfpack is sitting pretty and 247 Sports has him as 100% to NC State in their crystal ball prediction. Bates listed NC State in his top 7 just a few weeks ago.

We believe this won’t be the last time you see Bates making a big move in the rankings. As more and more coaches start showing interest, we think the analysts will follow suit and Bates could eventually end up in the top 60 range.

The main point to take away here is that Kevin Keatts is showing us a couple things here. For one, he’s identifying talent before others are. Secondly, he’s making sure no big time talent leaves the state. All good news for Wolfpack basketball fans.