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NC State 2020 Men’s Basketball Signee Josh Hall To Test NBA Waters

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It’s like deja vu.

Last year NC State’s Men’s Basketball team signed 4-star Point Guard Jalen Lecque, but do to doing 1 year of Prep School at Brewster Academy.

This year it’s 5-star Small Forward Josh Hall (6’9″/190).

This isn’t altogether shocking. Ever since Hall committed and signed with the Wolfpack, this was always a possibility, because 2019-20 was his 5th year of high school, spending the past two seasons at Moravian Prep.

As Hall made clear in his announcement, this decision doesn’t nullify his ability to play basketball for NC State next season. Like D.J. Funderburk and Devon Daniels are doing, he is able to go through the process and gain as much information as possible.

You would think that our current circumstances under a near national lockdown due to Covid-19 might make it more difficult for Hall to impress NBA Scouts through the typical process, but Corey Evans of Rivals thinks the odds of Hall ending up in Raleigh are pessimistic.

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts, on “The OG” on 99.9 The Fan last week, was optimistic that Hall would end up in Raleigh.

“It’s more likely that he’ll end up here,” Keatts said on the radio show on March 24. “With Jalen, from the time that we recruited him there was a lot of conversations about that. I haven’t heard that on Josh’s end. I think Josh is a young man that wants to play in college.

“He’s talented and any time you have a guy who is draft-eligible and talented anything can happen but I haven’t heard any of those rumblings, as much as I did when Jalen was coming through.” (WRAL)

Matthew is Publisher and Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He is also the Lead Pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Basketball

Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State

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Guard Michael O’Connell announced today that he will be playing his final year of eligibility at NC State next season.

 

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Today was the final day graduate players could enter the Portal.

This past season, O’Connell averaged 5.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists for the Wolfpack, starting 22 of the 41 games he played in.

O’Connell took over as NC State’s starting Point Guard on January 30th in a win against Miami.

He only scored in double figures in 9 of his 41 games this season, but 6 of those came in postseason play (5 in the ACC Tournament). O’Connell took things to another level in the ACC Tournament, playing aggressive on the offensive end, looking for his shot, and attacking the rim.

NC State played it’s best basketball of the season when O’Connell was running the show. He ranked 3rd in the ACC in Assist/Turnover Ratio (2.5).

Heading into next season, with a lineup filled with new faces, having the calming presence of a veteran leader like O’Connell is reassuring.

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ECU Transfer Forward Ezra Ausar to NC State is Trending Up

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ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.

Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.

Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.

Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.

Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.

Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.

Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)

At this point, it’s good news that Ausar has no visits scheduled after the visit to NC State.

Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State Signee Zamareya Jones Showed Out in the McDonald’s & Jordan All-American Games

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NC State 2024 signee Zamareya Jones has played in the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic over the past month.

In the McDonald’s game on April 2nd, Jones had 13 points, helping her East squad defeat the West.

 

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In the Jordan Brand Classic on April 21st, Jones had 15 points, 5 assists and 3 rebounds. She also hit the game winner for Team Flight.

Jones is a 5-star prospect in the Wolfpack’s 2024 recruiting class, ranked 21st overall nationally by ESPN.

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NC State’s Kevin Keatts and DJ Burns Sounded the Siren at the Canes Game Tonight

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NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts and the beloved DJ Burns were both Siren Sounders for the Canes this evening, with Carolina defeating the Islanders 6-3, winning the Round 1 series 4-1.

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