Keatts traveled out to Prolific Prep in Napa Valley, CA to check out McNeil Jr. This tells us a lot.
Keatts is putting in some serious work trying to get a replacement for Terquavion Smith, who is almost surely headed to the NBA after this season.
So far, NC State has shown a lot of interest in 2023 4-star guards Silas Demary Jr, Davin Cosby Jr, and Braelon Green. McNeil can be added to the list, but he’s a 2024 kid, so he wouldn’t be here next season.
Demary Jr and Green are both more suited to be combo guards. They aren’t really shot hunters like Terquavion Smith. So it wouldn’t surprise me for Keatts to take one of those guys for next year and then focus on bringing in McNeil in 2024.
Just watch McNeil Jr in these highlights. He’s big, strong, and super smooth. His jumper has impeccable form and he scores it on all 3 levels, not afraid to stop and pop from mid-range.
McNeil isn’t some unkown kid, either. He’s a big time recruit. He was just the second sophomre in history to win the NC Gatorade Player of the Year. This past summer he was in NC dominating for Garner Road AAU. He finished with 19ppg, 3.3 assists and almost 7 rebounds. And let’s say this again…this is his sophomore summer.
While at Richmond High in Rockingham, NC, McNeil was a beast, averaging 24.5 ppg, almost 10 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.8 blocks and 1.7 steals. You’d think he’d be pretty happy with those results, but it seems he wants more.
“I have so much more to do,” McNeil told Sports Illustrated “I haven’t done anything yet. All of the awards and offers are cool, but I’m too busy working to think about that stuff.”
And NC State is far from the only school involved here. McNeil is also hearing from UNC, Georgetown, Clemson, FSU, Indiana, Ohio State and UCLA.
Give this kid another season and he’ll likley earn that 5th star.
“I’m gunning for the top,” McNeil says. “It keeps me working harder and harder. I want to be the No. 1 player. I think everyone does. I’m not satisfied with anything I’ve done so far because I have so far to go.” (SI.com)
5-Star 2025 Shooting Guard Darius Adams (6’4″/170) is taking an Official Visit to NC State this weekend. Rivals ranks Adams as the #16 overall player nationally in the 2025 recruiting class. ESPN and 247Sports both rank Adams as the #4 Shooting Guard nationally in the 2025 recruiting class. ON3 and ESPN both rank him as the #1 player in the state of Indiana in 2025.
Adams plays for La Lumiere School in La Porte.
He also has Official Visits scheduled with:
NC State – 9/6-9/8
Tennessee -9/13-9/15
Michigan State – 9/20-9/22
Alabama – 9/27-9-29
UConn 10/4-10/6
Notre Dame – 10/10-10/12
Certified bucket getter. 😤🔥 New Jersey’s own Darius Adams is about to show out at the SLAM Summer Classic Volume 6 presented by @NBA2K at Rucker Park on August 21. pic.twitter.com/aHzkNPqSLm
2025 combo Darius Adams was consistently excellent in scrimmages and drills at Nike Academy. Has terrific ball-skills and feel getting to the rim looking for contact and making shots from all over the floor. Has some real toughness. Seems to have made a nice jump this summer. pic.twitter.com/4oMaWPxSSw
NC State Head Men’s Basketball Coach Kevin Keatts and one of his Assistant Coaches were in to see 5-Star Guard/Forward 2027 Shooting Guard Jordan Page (6’4″/170) Yesterday.
Page plays AAU ball with Garner Road, and high school basketball at Broughton High School here in Raleigh.
ESPN ranks Page as the #8 overall player nationally in the 2027 recruiting class, the #2 Small Forward and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina in ’27.
Last year as a Freshman at Broughton, Page averaged 17.8 points and 9 rebounds per game, shooting 54% from the field and 34% from three.
4-Star 2025 WING Lauren Hurst (6’2″) took an unofficial visit to NC State on Thursday and Friday.
ESPN ranks Hurst as the #35 overall prospect in the 2025 recruiting class, and the #1 player in the state of Tennessee.
Hurst plays for Cleveland High School, and averaged 14.9 points, 8.7 rebounds, 2.3 steals and 1.7 blocs per game as a Junior last year. She shot 44% from the field and 36% from three.
Back in April, Hurst took an Official Visit to NC State, splitting the visit between basketball and volleyball.
Sounds like a good one