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NC State Basketball

All Signs are Pointing to Bates Returning to NC State

Published

1 year ago

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I want to preface this all with, no official word from either the school, program or Bates, himself. This is us playing detective and coming to the realization that there are a lot of things trending in the right direction for Bates to return.

Two weeks ago, the State Basketball world went haywire. The amount of texts and calls I got was insane. How in the world could Bates be out the door? How could we, in one week, lose two amazing players in Bates and Moore? Since then, here’s what has happened.

  • Bates’ name has not entered the transfer portal.
  • Bates’ name has not been linked to agent or declaring for NBA Draft.
  • Bates was at two team meetings, including the second of which, that State’s SID confirmed he was present.
  • Trequavion Smith, in an Instagram live video, was playing hoops with Bates and even made sure everyone watching knew, “He’s not going anywhere.”
  • Bates attends team steak dinner (But if we’re being honest? Closed circle, tell all? I’d take that steak dinner 10000%, regardless of situation).
  • The entire team has been at the practice facility (outside of Ross who is making his way up from Florida) for off-season workouts.
  • Georgetown insiders are hearing that Bates to Georgetown is a no go. See below.

It’s ALWAYS good news when the enemy is like “yeah, this is over.” We look forward to hearing it from the man himself. Until then, we’ll take the streak of recent news as a good sign.

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Passionate State fan that just wants to win...something...like anything...

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Papajohn
Papajohn
1 year ago

For a couple of weeks “all the signs” pointed to leaving, now to staying. Hope it’s true!!
The good news is, the team is on campus – excepting Ross – right now and working out together, hopefully building bonds. Ross comes in a month for second summer session. Terquavion Smith and Manny Bates are apparently friends, hope that encourages Manny to stay and be happy about it.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Men’s Basketball Will Face Difficult Odds in Battle 4 Atlantis

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3 days ago

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August 17, 2022

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NC State’s Men’s Basketball will be playing in the Battle 4 Atlantis Tournament on November 23-35, and the odds aren’t in their favor.

Here’s a rundown of the teams in the tournament:

Kansas
Wisconsin
NC State
Dayton
Southern California
BYU
Tennessee
Butler

According to Caesars Sports, NC State has the 2nd to worst odds to win the Battle 4 Atlantis.

The Wolfpack drew a no-nonsense first game, playing against Kansas, the defending National Champions. Then, they will either play Wisconsin or Dayton. Wisconsin finished last season with a 25-8 overall record, a #14 ranking in the AP Poll, losing in the 2nd of the NCAA Tournament to Iowa State. Dayton finished last season with a 24-11 overall record, losing in the 2nd round of the NIT to Vanderbilt.

 

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NC State Basketball

Terquavion Smith and Greg Gantt take over NC State’s Instagram for the Day

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6 days ago

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August 13, 2022

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A couple of days ago, Terquavion Smith and Greg Gantt were handed the camera to show State fans just what gameday is like through the player’s eyes. The guys chronicle a day in the Bahamas as they participate in walkthroughs, downtime at the hotel and pregame shootaround.

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NC State Basketball

VIDEO: Inside Look at the workouts of NC State’s new 7 foot wing, Mady Traore

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1 week ago

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August 12, 2022

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A few days ago, we went into depth about NC State’s newest addition, 7-foot wing, Mady Traore. As we were doing our research, we came across a couple workout videos that were posted.

Watching his highlights from games is probably a better indicator of what we’ll see on the court come November. bit watching these workouts (which are kind of showcasing his skills without any defenders) give a better glimpse of his potential.

Enjoy!

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NC State Basketball

Sooo, let’s talk about the 7 foot wing who just committed to play for the Pack this season

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1 week ago

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August 11, 2022

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While everyone was focused on the upcoming football season, or discussing NC State basketball’s coming trip to the Bahamas, something happened.

NC State landed a commitment from 7-foot stretch forward, Mady Traore. And he’ll be eligible to play THIS season.

Surely, a guy committing this late in the process isn’t going to be a difference maker, right? It’s probably a guy no one has heard of. Someone who has slipped through the cracks.

But what if I told you that Taore, a French native (who has moved around quite a bit in recent years) had offers from Auburn, Kansas, Oregon, LSU, Arizona, Illinois, Florida, and many, many more.

Intrigued?

Well, we are. Especially after watching some of his recent film.

NC State got in on Traore late after seeing him at the NBA camp in early July. But the story is kind of strange because after coming over to America midway through high school, he really jumped around to different schools. Maybe he was trying to find a place where he’d be showcased? But either way, all the moving made it hard to keep track of him. The one connection he does have to the Pack is LJ Thomas. The NC State incoming freshman, Thomas, played for Bull City prep and during all his moving, Traore spent a small amount of time with the AAU team at one point.

Whatever the story is, Traore committed to NC State on July 29th.

Here he is talking to Pro Insights, explaining what Pack fans can expect of him.

Traore wasn’t on campus yet, so he couldn’t make the trip to the Bahamas with the team, but he should be ready to go when the team returns.

What can we expect?

Well, we’re not sure. It’s likely Traore won’t be in the main rotation to start the season, but it wouldn’t surprise me for him to start seeing minutes at some point this season. He is 7 feet tall and can guard almost any position.

So is he a project player? Depends on your definition of that. I think this kid has all the tools necessary to be an eventual NBA talent. The question is, can he put it all together? He needs to bulk up, get more physical and just get more experience at a high level.

He’s got a 7’3 wing span. He can shoot it. He’s athletic, shifty, and has great footwork and coordination for a 7-footer. His handle is a little suspect, but he seems to have a pretty good court IQ. He looks like a coachable kid with a high motor. Pair that with his God-given tools, and well, Keatts and company may have just snatched up an eventual elite level talent under everyone’s nose.

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