A few weeks ago, it is reputed that many NCSU Basketball fans were seeing pieces of sky falling. A seeming mass exodus from Raleigh was about to happen as Rodney Purvis skipped town for Storrs (by way of twitter) and rumors of other defections were running rampant on a daily basis.
Now that some time has passed and it appears more likely that returning sophomores TJ Warren and Tyler Lewis will remain with the Pack however, and with the announcements of several recent newcomers including yesterday’s addition of big man recruit Lennard Freeman, things no longer seem quite as bleak.
And while next year’s edition of Wolfpack Basketball will likely not be the most overpowering squad ever fielded in Raleigh, it now appears that it won’t likely be the undermanned punching bag many of us feared either.
In this piece, Brett Friedlander (StarNewsOnline.com) gives us a nice overview of what the Pack has coming back and coming in for next year.
Yes, the Wolfpack will be lacking in both experience and depth next season. But that’s hardly a surprise, considering that neither Leslie nor Brown ever gave any indication that either was planning to return. With Wood and Howell running out of eligibility, the only unexpected loss was Purvis.
And Gottfried softened that blow almost immediately with the signing of junior college transfer Desmond Lee.
It’s a trade that could ultimately work out in State’s favor, despite Purvis’ stature as a McDonald’s All-America with so much potential that both the media and his rival coaches selected him as the ACC’s preseason Rookie of the Year last fall.
Better to have a proven performer who ranked fifth nationally last season with an average of 20.3 points per game than a possible prima donna whose desire to play the point – a position already well-stocked with the return of Tyler Lewis and the arrival of incoming freshman Cat Barber – could have become poisonous to team chemistry.
[snip]
Other than sophomores Warren and Lewis, State’s only returning scholarship players are seldom-used senior big man Jordan Vandenberg and junior swingman Ralston Turner – a former four-star prospect who sat out last year after transferring from LSU.
The rest of the roster will be comprised of Lee and a recruiting class ranked among the nation’s top 15 by most services. And that was before 6-foot-8 forward Lennard Freeman committed to the Wolfpack on Monday.
With Freeman joining a front court already bolstered by the signing of BeeJay Anya and Kyle Washington – a former prep teammate of Warren – State has at least a one-in-three chance of finding a serviceable big man capable of rebounding and defending in the low post.
A one-in-three chance, he said. For some reason I found that both humorous and comforting.
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