We are now just a few days away from the season-opening exhibition game, so like every year, we’re going to go position by position and player by player to give you our thoughts on this year’s team. A few days ago we focused on the guards.

In our second installment, we’ll take a look at…

The Forwards

Jericole Hellems (Senior, F)

Jericole Hellems has had a great career thus far at NC State, and it’s really been fun watching this kid progress. When he came here, he was known as a scorer, but it took him a few seasons to get the type of confidence needed to become that at the ACC level. It wasn’t until last season when Devon Daniels went down that we finally saw Hellems step up and become a go-to scoring option for NC State. This year, Keatts is going to rely on Hellems to continue what he started last season, and become an all-around leader for the Pack.

What to expect:
Hellems is going to do what he does. We’ve seen it now for 3 years and to get a picture of what he’ll be doing this season, we think you can look at what he did to close out last season. He’s going to be a scorer for NC State, but he’s also going to be a defensive stopper, a rebounder, and an all-around hustle guy. He’s likely going to see a lot of minutes at the 4, in a sort of Torin Dorn type role.

The Questions:
There aren’t that many questions for Hellems, however, if you have to find one, it’s going to be whether or not he’ll be able to notch up his scoring a bit. Last season he averaged 13 points, but this year Keatts is going to hopefully have him in the 15-18 pt range. Is he able to do that? If so, NC State will have a solid #1 option to score, if not, they’ll need to hope someone else can step up and pick up those points.

Predictions:
We think Hellems will be a lot like we saw last season. We think he’ll have a few more shot attempts this season, but overall, he’s going to shoot in the high 30s from 3pt range and likely be the leading scorer for this basketball team.

Dereon Seabron (Sophomore, G/F)

Seabron saw a lot of action late last season (as a freshman), after Daniels went down. This year, he’s going to be relied upon a bit more with the hopes he can become a major mismatch problem for opponents. Seabron is listed as a guard, but in Keatts offense, he’ll likely be playing the 3 most of the time. We are listing him as a forward to even out these previews a little bit.

What to expect:
We know Seabron is going to come in better than he was last season. We say that because last year he was a freshman who had very little preseason, and was thrust into playing time because of injury. It took him a while to get his footing, but he really had some nice games. This season you can expect him to play a major role on this team, be a better defender than he was last season, be a little more aggressive, and likely attempt to get his game going from outside a little more.

The Questions:
Can he knock down shots? That is it for Seabron. If he can do this, he’ll keep defenders honest, and open up driving lanes where he can do the most damage. If he can’t, then defenders will continue to sag down and make it hard for him to get into the lane (where he is at his best).

Predictions:
We think you’ll see an improved Seabron in the sense that he’ll be more settled into a defined role and more confident in what the team needs him to do. We also think you’ll see an improved jump shot, however, we’re not sure it will be enough to force defenders to play up on him (at least at the beginning of the season.) We expect some huge performances from the sophomore, but we also expect there to be a few games where he just disappears (those will be the games his jumper isn’t falling.)

Ernest Ross (Freshman, F)

Ross is kind of the hidden gem of this class. A 6’9 4-star kid from Florida who really didn’t have a ton of buzz (or a ton of highlight reels on YouTube). What we have seen of him is that he’s very versatile. He is bouncy, coordinated, long, and he can step out and shoot it.

What to expect:
Honestly, we’re not quite sure what to expect of Ross. We know he’s got the size that Keatts will need at the 4, and we know he’s got the upside of a kid that’s going to make some noise in the ACC, but there are a lot of questions.

The Questions:
As we said, there are a lot of questions we have about Ernest Ross. How fast will he acclimate to the ACC? Will the physicality of the league bother him? Will he be able to mix it up on the block, or will he tend to float to the perimeter? How well will he rebound? How Ross answers these questions will go a long way in how much he plays, and really, how good NC State is going to be.

Predictions:
There are minutes to be had at the 4, and we think Ross will get his chance to prove he’s worthy of those minutes, but we’re flying in the dark here on predicting what exactly is going to happen. Going out on a limb, we see Ross as a guy who plays when NC State needs size. We think he’ll struggle a bit with the physicality of the ACC, and we think he may tend to float out to the perimeter more than Keatts wants him to early on. However, we also think he’s a kid who will start to see things click later in the season, and if he can prove he can knock down shots and spread the floor, he may push Hellems to the 3 at times, and allow the Pack to play even bigger than they plan to.

Greg Gantt (Junior, F)

The 6’8 Gantt is coming over from Providence, where he didn’t put up great numbers.  He played 21 minutes per game last season and averaged 4 points and 3 boards per game. He will be fighting with Ernest Ross to get minutes at the 4 behind Hellems and potentially could see some time at the 3 if he shows versatility and consistency.

What to expect:
Gantt is a big kid with a pretty diverse skill set. He’s not a back-to-the-basket kid, despite being 6’8. He’s more of a stretch 4. You can expect him to compete for minutes at the 4 and be forced to earn his minutes. He’s known to be a pretty good defender who can match up against bigger guys or smaller forwards.

The Questions:
The knock on Gantt is that he’s a little soft for his size, but this might be a decent system for him if he can knock down shots and stretch the floor. Is he physical enough? Can he knock down shot? Well, those are the questions. The over-arching question is, where does he fit in? Obviously, Keatts likes him and sees something in him, so we’ll have to wait and see what role coach puts him in.

Predictions:
Again, with Gantt, it’s hard to predict anything since he’s a newcomer, but we think he’ll get his chance to carve out some minutes. We think he will struggle with the physicality of the ACC and we think he’ll be a little unsure of his role early on. As the season progresses, we believe Gantt will be a kid you can bring in for some good energy minutes, and allow State to have a lineup with versatility and size.

Jaylon Gibson (Sophomore, F)

The 6’10 Gibson is somewhat of a project for Keatts. He’s got some amazing size, he’s got pretty good coordination for his size, and he’s can play at either the 4 or the 5 if needed. Last season he saw limited minutes and looked a little physically outmatched in those outings.

What to expect:
You can expect Keatts to continue to help Gibson grow. I think the key for him will be adding weight and playing through contact. He’ll be fighting for minutes with Gantt and Ross at the 4, behind Hellems.

The Questions:
For Gibson, size isn’t a question. He’s tall and he’s pretty versatile for his height. However, the question is strength, physicality and mindset. Keatts needs Gibson to play invite contact and be able to finish through it. If he can start to do that,  he’ll start to carve out minutes for himself this season.

Predictions:
We predict that Gibson gets some minutes early on, but we think the project is ongoing. With Ross and Dowuona in the mix, Gibson has some competition on the blocks. We think Gibson shows improvement, but not enough (yet) to warrant a major role this season.