as a senior:

Quote :

"Full Name: Marcus Antione Melvin. Position: Forward. Height/Weight: 6-8 / 235 "

as a freshman:

Quote :

"Full Name: Dennis Horner. Position: Forward. Height: 6-7. Weight: 200 lbs"

I couldnt find Melvin's vital stats from his freshman year, but I'm willing to bet that he was about Horner's size when he came here.

5/5/2007 9:08:14 AM

^ horner's already about 6-9

5/5/2007 12:28:41 PM

Horner doesn't have a middle name

5/5/2007 12:32:19 PM

was marcus a white dude when he was a freshman

5/5/2007 12:42:03 PM

marcus also didn't have that gayass basketball tattoo

5/5/2007 12:54:03 PM

the flames make him faster

5/5/2007 1:05:48 PM

yes, Marcus Melvin was white when he was a freshman


and also, when he was a freshman, Melvin's name was Dennis Horner

5/5/2007 1:17:50 PM

^ no shit? that's unbelievable.

5/5/2007 1:19:09 PM

cocaine's a helluva drug

5/5/2007 1:26:28 PM

Yeah, Horner is 6-9 / 208. But Johnson (6-5 / 200) will be challenging Horner for that first-off-the-bench SG slot. He's not really a PG, though he can play the point if needed. He is faster and also has a solid jumpshot. We dont know about his defense though, Horner played pretty good D towards the end of last season. Johnson is alot like Gavin, except that he isnt supposed to be such a turnover machine.

PG(1) - DeGand / Gonzalez / Johnson
SG(2,3) - Grant / Fells / Johnson / Horner

Fergie may be the only other guard that will see any PT.

5/5/2007 1:27:21 PM

why wouldnt Horner play SF or even PF? 6'-9" seems a little big for a guard

5/5/2007 1:29:24 PM

Big and slow.

He will only rarely play guard.

5/5/2007 1:30:17 PM

Horner really doesent fit well into our Post playing scheme now that we are stacked with McCauley, Costner, Hickson, and Smith.

ALSO DONT FORGET ABOUT THE GREAT BARTOSZ!!!

5/5/2007 1:38:28 PM

Coach Lowe is very high on Horner. He is a heady player with a nice shot, and will give us a spark and good shooting at the 3 spot off the bench. He is a classic 3.

5/5/2007 1:46:08 PM

horner is a dunleavy style small forward. has height but his game caters more to the 3 than anything else.

i don't see him in the mix for our post play unless we lose depth somehow.

5/5/2007 1:55:32 PM

If Horner keeps shooting as well as he does (44% from behind the arc), he'll get plenty of minutes in order to stretch the defenses. We need guys who can keep defenses honest and not collapse on our low-post players.

5/5/2007 2:00:37 PM

god i hope ferguson does not see time at the point, that kid sucks

5/5/2007 2:05:18 PM

Barring at least 2 injuries, I don't see Ferguson getting any time at point. Degand and Gonzalez will compete for time at point, as well as possibly Marques Johnson. Ferguson will not play point as long as those guys are available. I could see him getting lost in the depth chart if he doesn't substantially improve. If he gets any minutes, they will be at the 2.

What is really nice right now is that since we already have next years class filled up (barring some guys leaving), our staff can really focus on some freshmen and sophomores and get ahead of the curve.

5/5/2007 2:20:23 PM

Maybe Fergie and/or Bartosz will transfer? Would be nice to give Sid one/two more slots to fill up with the caliber of recruit he has shown the ability to attract....

[Edited on May 5, 2007 at 2:24 PM. Reason : ginger]

[Edited on May 5, 2007 at 2:24 PM. Reason : kids like fergie]

5/5/2007 2:24:07 PM

I doubt that Gonzalez will be any better than Fergie as a freshman.

It's not like he was a 4* recruit.

5/5/2007 2:29:36 PM

Horner will still be valuable to the team. He makes a lot of hustle plays, and he hit an unexpected amount of key shots (not just threes) in games for us. His length on defense also was helpful at times. This guy will be a solid sub for our forwards and will contribute good offensive and defensive numbers. Lowe will not be able to keep Horner off the court.

5/5/2007 2:32:45 PM

Quote :

"It's not like he was a 4* recruit."

it's not like stars mean anything either, though.

5/5/2007 2:58:21 PM

maybe, but certainly moreso in basketball than in football

5/5/2007 3:00:47 PM

Sidney hand picked Gonzalez after watching him play in Miami and made him an offer on the spot. Both Sid and Monte Towe openly stated that they were surprised he had flown under the national radar for so long. Remember that Sid did not recruit Degand or Johnson, so they may not have the same skill set / physical attributes that he's looking for in our #1 PG.

Yeah, Javy was only a 3* recruit but I think in the eyes of Sid he is a 4*. And its not like anyone else's opinion matters except that of our head coach, eh?

5/5/2007 3:06:08 PM

Well, it is apparent that Javi Gonzalez got noticed late in his HS career, but finished strong and was apparently impressive in all star games in Florida. He could be a late bloomer, and has obviously shown something to impress our staff. Regardless, he is a true point guard, which Fergie is not.

Some ratings are outright silly, as well. I can't wait to see Julius Mays on the court in 2008, but Scout still has him as a 3 star even as he is a frontrunner for Mr. Basketball in Indiana.

5/5/2007 3:18:00 PM

Starting lineup next year...

PG Grant
SG Ferguson
SF Horner
PF Simon Harris
C Lewandowski

ACC Champs
ACC player of the year- Ferguson
Early NBA entries- Ferguson, Lew

5/5/2007 3:32:38 PM

^good one

5/5/2007 3:40:16 PM

Didnt Ferguson just transfer here from Pitt last season? And that was why he couldnt start playing until ACC play began.

I doubt he would go through the whole transfer process again. He just looked unsure of himself and uncomfortable in our system last year, maybe he'll come around this year. He was a pretty high ranking recruit before he broke his wrists in high school

5/5/2007 3:46:43 PM

^ exactly. i'm sure the kid can shoot, and thus be an effective 2, but he's got to get some cock and balls out there. he doesn't have the confidence to really be a shooter yet. that's my take anyway.

[Edited on May 5, 2007 at 4:04 PM. Reason : oh, and yes he transferred here from pitt]

5/5/2007 4:03:49 PM

any news at all?

5/9/2007 4:33:06 PM

probably not relevant...but i was looking on scout and noticed that C.J williams from fayetteville who is in our '08 class was downgraded from a 4* to a 3*. when did this happen? any idea why?

5/10/2007 1:12:32 PM

thats what normally happens when any kid signs with NC State.

gets pretty normal after awhile when you see it happen, thats some NC State shit right there.

5/10/2007 1:17:13 PM

rankings will change a ton between now and when they graduate. they still have the summer and senior season to play.

5/10/2007 1:29:26 PM

Trust in Sid He will deliver the talent we require to avenge the last 20 years of basketball mediocrity we had to endure while Duke and UNC built dynasties.....

5/10/2007 1:33:35 PM

^^^^ CJ Williams never was a 4 star, as far as I know. I'm pretty sure he was always a 3 star recruit. Though, I'm not even sure evaluation is complete for the 2008 class.

5/10/2007 1:41:36 PM

^he was a 4* when they updated their rankings a few months ago

5/10/2007 2:15:37 PM

He was always a 3* on Rivals, buts he's in the top 150. As for Scout, they just dropped him.

http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/viewrank.asp?ra_key=1617

5/10/2007 2:22:28 PM

Quote :

"thats what normally happens when any kid signs with NC State. "

5/10/2007 4:33:06 PM

The only rankings I care about are the ones at the end of the year.

5/10/2007 6:35:31 PM

for the record, williams was promoted from 3* to 4 when he was already committed to us.

5/10/2007 10:35:52 PM

The difference between a top 3 star and a low 4 star is minimal at best. No need to be alarmed here.

5/10/2007 10:50:21 PM

Quote :

"The difference between a top 3 star and a low 4 star is minimal at bestusually dependant on how well coached that player is in college. No need to be alarmed here 'cause we got Sid, baby!"

5/11/2007 11:57:23 AM

Quote :

"The only rankings I care about are the ones at the end of the year. "

i have high hopes for this upcoming year.

5/11/2007 11:59:58 AM

^As do I, and it has more to do with Sid and staff's coaching ability and ability to evaluate and recruit talent than how many stars some guy at Scout who has never seen half of them play has given.

Quote :

"Star ratings are for restaurants."

-Tom O'Brien

5/11/2007 1:04:28 PM

5/11/2007 4:20:13 PM

^sweet, haha i like that

5/11/2007 10:11:33 PM

A look at some future NC State prospects

http://www.wral.com/sports/blogpost/1407766/

5/14/2007 6:00:29 PM

Quote :

" Smith signed and ready for Wolfpack Durham Mount Zion basketball forward Tracy Smith signed his national letter of intent with N.C. State three weeks ago and is fully qualified. Any notions to the contrary are simply not true, Mount Zion coach Antonio Fozard said Monday. "Tracy did really well in the classroom," Fozard said. "His last SAT got him up to 920 and his core grade point average is 3.2. He is signed, qualified and ready to go." Smith, a 6-7 forward ranked the 45th-best prospect in the class of 2007 by scout.com, averaged 24 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists during Mount Zion's 21-9 2006-2007 season. "

http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/index.php?title=smith_signed_and_ready_for_wolfpack&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1

5/21/2007 1:47:43 PM

great to see that its actually been accounted for

we knew he had signed when Sid said somethin but even better that its on record now

5/21/2007 1:54:53 PM

what about all these people who were saying he got like a 1200 on his SAT

5/21/2007 2:20:27 PM