MONDAY PORTAL UPDATE: Edmead commits, bigs being targeted, is Paul McNeil Jr still on the table?

Ok, a lot has happened since our last update. So before we get into what’s coming up, let’s get into where we’re currently at.

– NC State landed a commitment from Santa Clara rising junior guard Christian Hammond last week. Hammond was a great first addition. He’s a 15.6ppg scorer who does it from all over. He’s 6’4, 195lbs and shot 39% from long range. He also shot a very impressive 48.4% from the floor. Thats very good for a guard who doesn’t have explosive athleticism and lives around the rim. In fact, to give you some context, Quadir Copeland led NC State guards last year, shooting 49% from the floor, and almost all of his attempts inside the arc were right around the rim. That tells you that Hammond can shoot it, and he can shoot it in traffic. When NC State landed him, it was unclear if they viewed him as a PG or not. He is a guy who played on the ball some at Santa Clara, but didn’t profile as a true PG. However, it was also thought at the time that Gainey would be bringing over Bishop Boswell from Tennessee. Boswell is another guard who is certainly more of a 2 guard. But Boswell went elsewhere after the Hammond commit, making it clear that NC State was likely targeting Christian in his more natural 2-guard position.

– They then landed PG Preston Edmead from Hofstra this past weekend. Now, this is one I loved. We mentioned him on April 7th in our Portal Update, and I believe we were the first to do so. We were told to keep an eye on him as he profiled almost identically to a young Ja’Kobi Gillespie (Tennessee PG). The backcourt now looks elite. Edmead creates chaos with the ball in his hands, constantly applying pressure and forcing defenses to react. At Hofstra, he averaged 16.1 points, 4.4 assists, and 3.5 rebounds, while shooting 39% from three, showing he can both create and knock down shots at a high level. In his Freshman season, Edmead earned 2nd Team All-CAA honors, while also being named the CAA Rookie of the Year. NC State hasn’t had a backcourt duo (PG/SG) who shot over 39% from 3 on over 200 attempts …EVER as far as I can tell (I’m going to go way back and double check that thought.) For now, let’s say this type of shotmaking at the guard position is super rare for NC State and gives us a foundation to build on.

 

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– That brings us to Paul McNeil Jr. We’re going to let this one play out, but we know the staff really wants McNeil and has competitive money for him if he wants to run it back in Raleigh. If you add McNeil to Hammond and Edmead, you are going to have one of the better offensive teams in the nation. Yes, ‘in the nation.’ Go look around. How many teams have a 1 through 3 that all shoot over 39% at volume? The amount of space created by that type of shooting would leave driving lanes wide open, and the great part about Edmead and Hammond is that they thrive in space, and they aren’t just catch-and-shoot guys. The idea of this has me giddy, but I’ll pump the brakes because we honestly don’t know what P2 is going to do.

– NC State hosted Charlotte big man Anton Bonke yesterday. He’s the 7’2 monster from Charlotte who has been going viral on Instagram and TikTok thanks to the highlight reel below. Bonke is coming off a productive season at Charlotte, where he averaged 10.6 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting an efficient 57.6% from the field.

It’s also becoming clear what Justin Gainey is going for. He’s putting together a roster of shotmaking guards who can handle the ball and putting massive rim protectors in the middle.

Charlotte has a 7’2 Demon that nobody knows about

Well, enjoy his most recent games highlights 😳

pic.twitter.com/vhS7KdGNrG

— Hoop Herald (@TheHoopHerald) January 29, 2026

– NC State also hosted Alabama transfer, Taylor Bol Bowe yesterday. He’s a versatile 6’10 forward. Bol Bowen began his college career in the ACC at Florida State before transferring to Alabama this past offseason. As a junior with the Tide, he averaged 6.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks in 19 minutes per game, starting 11 of 30 games last season. It was his sophomore season at Florida State that originally made him an intriguing transfer prospect. That year, Bol Bowen started 28 of 29 games, averaging 8.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 1.0 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game, flashing the length and defensive versatility that continue to draw interest.

He has also taken a visit to Oregon, and Kentucky is expected to be involved in his recruitment as well.

He profiles a lot like Jerry Deng did last season, but a little more defensive-minded and a little more physical. He had a 2.6 Defensive Box +/- at FSU and averaged 1.5 blocks per game that season. He shot 41% from 3 as well; however, last year, he increased his volume from 3, and his percentage dropped all the way down to 30%.

The interest in Bol Bowen hints that Gainey is looking for a versatile 4 who has elite size, but can also spread the floor. That syncs up with the addition of Anthony Goins coming over as the offensive coordinator and him setting records for 3s attempted at UGA last season.

– They were also supposed to host guard Malik Mack from Georgetown, but I don’t believe that happened since State landed Edmead two days ago. I believe the staff was looking at Mack as a backup option if they couldn’t reel in Edmead, who was their target since he entered the portal on April 6th.

– We’re told that NC State will welcome Kyle Evans from UC-Irvine to campus today. He’s 6’10, 210 lbs, and is coming off one of the most dominant defensive seasons in the country. He led the nation in blocks, averaging 3.3 per game, while also posting 12.1 points and 8.7 rebounds per contest. He shot an efficient 62% from the field and was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year, while also earning First Team All-Big West honors. The 2025-26 season marked a true breakout for Evans. Just one year prior, he averaged 4.4 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks, making this jump one of the more notable leaps in the portal.

Evans being scheduled to visit further shows you the type of big that Justin Gainey wants. A giant rim protector who is defense-first. However, both Evans and Bonke have shown the ability to score it, so that’s really just a plus. It’s pretty obvious this team isn’t going to be feeding the post for a majority of their offense.

– NC State will also host 6’11 Texas Tech C Luke Bamgboye, according to a source.  This past year, in 21 games (12 starts), Bamgboye averaged 4.5 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks in 16.8 minutes per game. However, his upside come more from his time at VCU where he earned a spot on both the Atlantic 10 All-Freshman Team and All-Defensive Team during the 2024–25 season. He averaged 2.1 blocks per game while also contributing 3.8 points and 3.3 rebounds in 16.8 minutes per game, starting 24 of 35 contests.

This is another guy in the same mold as Evans and Bonke, but a little more fast-twitch athletic. It feels like NC State has a vision for the roster and wanted to start with making sure they had the guards to run their system. Once they landed those guards, they were ready to jump in on a very specific type of big man.

I believe NC State will land one of these 3 guys, and I think it could happen fast.