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Wolfpack Recruit Showdown: 2021 commits Breon Pass & Terquavion Smith to face off in 3rd Round of State Finals

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3 years ago

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NC State. The school that’s made its modern living as an ACC underdog.

So how does an underdog team turn itself into a proverbial top-dog in one of the toughest conferences in the nation?

Well, you start by getting a group of guys whose motivation comes from being overlooked or underappreciated. Guys who themselves are underdogs. You get enough of those guys, who thrive with that chip on their shoulder and suddenly, you start to win. And once you start winning, those guys get to taste success. Once they get the taste of success, after all the work they’ve put in, well then you’ve created a player addicted to winning.

I only point this out because, on Saturday, two NC State recruits, Breon Pass. (see highlights) and Terquavion Smith (see highlights), will face off against each other in the 3rd round of the 2A North Carolina state playoffs.

Two players who no one was recruiting when Kevin Keatts started recruiting them. Both of whom are now 4-star players. Two players whose high school teams were seeded 5th (Breon Pass & Reidsville) and 9th (Terquavion Smith and Farmville Central) in the brackets and whose teams will now meet in the 3rd round, with the winner heading to the Final Four.

Breon Pass goes for 37, outplays UNC recruit in round 2 win
Reidsville may have been the 5 seed playing against a 13 seed in Kinston High, but the guys over at HoopState (in-depth Highschool basketball coverage) didn’t think Reidsville had much of a chance. This was Breon Pass vs. Dontrez Styles. An NC State commit vs a UNC commit. Of course, everyone was sure the UNC recruit was going to lead his team to victory. But Breon Pass had other plans.

The 2021 NC State PG commit went off, dropping 37 points and bringing in 12 rebounds while leading his team to the next round.

Terquavion Smith leads cinderella Farmville Central to win with 31 points in win over #1 seed South Granville High.
Meanwhile, 2021 SG commit, Terquavion Smith was busy knocking off the #1 seed, seemingly all by himself.

Now the two will meet. Both kids who were overlooked at the start of high school, and whose teams have been overlooked for most of this season are meeting head-on. Something has to give. However, whatever happens, NC State fans win.

The Pack is getting two elite basketball players whose skill set is advanced, but whose competitive nature is off the charts. Keatts isn’t strictly recruiting talent in Raleigh, he’s picking skilled kids with specific character traits. Low ego, hard-working, gym rats with a chip on their shoulder. Tomorrow we’ll get to see two of those guys in action.

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A pasta eatin', Wolfpack lovin' loudmouth from Raleigh by way of New Jersey. Jimmy V and Chuck Amato fanboy. All opinions are my own and you're gonna hear'em.

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travelwolf
travelwolf
3 years ago

we’re going to be the shortest team in the ACC that no one wants to play!

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Basketball Recruiting

2025 4-Star SF Jackson Keith was at the NC State vs. UNC Game

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4 months ago

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January 10, 2024

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Earlier today, I mentioned Wolfpack prospects 4-Star 2025 Power Forward Sadiq White Jr., 4-Star 2025 Point Guard Jordan Lowery, and 2026 Point Guard Kobe Edwards would be visiting for the NC State vs. UNC game.

4-Star 2025 Small Forward Jackson Keith (6’5″/175) was also in attendance.


Keith is a consensus 4-star prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, with Rivals ranking him as the #53 overall player in the class. The Southern High (Durham, NC) standout is ranked as the #2 player in the state of North Carolina in the 2025 class by ESPN.

Keith holds offers from NC State, Wake Forest, Mississippi St., Illinois, SMU, Virginia Tech, LSU and others.

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Basketball Recruiting

NC State Recruits that Will Be in Attendance for the UNC Game Tonight

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4 months ago

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January 10, 2024

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NC State (11-3) will host #7 UNC (11-3) tonight in PNC Arena, and they also will be hosting a couple of recruiting prospects.

4-Star 2025 Power Forward Sadiq White Jr. and 4-Star 2025 Point Guard Jordan Lowery both confirmed with me that they will be in attendance.



White, who plays for Myers Park (Charlotte) is the consensus #1 player in the state of North Carolina in the 2025 recruiting class, and he’s 4 spots away from being a 5-star prospect according to ON3. Lowery plays for Winston-Salem Christian School, and is ranked as the #7 overall player in the state of North Carolina in the 2025 recruiting class according to 247Sports.

White holds offers from NC State, South Carolina, Syracuse, Cincinnati, Wake Forest, LSU, FSU, Illinois, Virginia Tech, Alabama, Texas, Tennessee, Georgetown, Ohio State and others. Lowery holds offers from NC State, TCU, Virginia Tech, SMU, Oklahoma St., Kansas St. St. Louis and others.

2026 Point Guard Kobe Edwards also told me he will be in attendance.


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Basketball Recruiting

NC State is 1 of the Schools 4-Star PG Kayden Mingo is Hearing from the Most

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4 months ago

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January 6, 2024

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4-Star 2025 Point Guard Kayden Mingo (6’1″/160) stated that NC State is one of the schools most frequently reaching out to him, along with Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, Notre Dame, Penn State, Cal and Old Dominion.

Despite the Wolfpack’s interest in Mingo, they haven’t offered him yet. Mingo currently holds offers from Cal, Penn State, Saint Louis, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest.

Rivals and ESPN both rank Mingo as a 4-Star prospect, with Rivals ranking him as the #70 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class.

Mingo plays for Long Island Lutheran in New York, which is one of the top teams in the country. He is currently the Nike EYBL Scholastic’s leading scorer (20ppg).

 

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Basketball Recruiting

Highlights of NC State 2024 Signee Paul McNeil from the John Wall Holiday Invitational

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4 months ago

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January 6, 2024

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NC State 2024 signee Paul McNeil Jr. showcased his talent at the 2023 John Wall Holiday Invitational at the end of the year. Below are highlights from his first two games.

In Richmond’s 77-62 win over Jordan in their first game of the invitational, McNeil had 27 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals.

In Game 2, McNeil had 24 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists in Richmond’s 53-56 loss to Northwood.

In Game 3, McNeil had 21 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists in Richmond’s 68-84 loss to Cannon. I couldn’t find any highlights from this particular game.

Through 11 games this season, McNeil is averaging 29.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game. He is shooting 52% from the field and 35% from three.

 

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