Pack is back: Fresh look at Wolfpack men’s basketball

It’s everyone’s favorite time of the year: the start of the college basketball season. With NC State kicking off its games on Wednesday, Nov. 25 against Charleston Southern at Reynolds Coliseum, it looks to build upon its 20-12 finish from last season. To understand the Pack’s chances of achieving similar or greater success, all one needs to do is assess the roster for the coming year.

The program has definitely taken a hit with the loss of both leading scorer/rebounder from a year ago C.J. Bryce and stud point guard Markell Johnson. New and returning talent will have to make a splash this year to fill the holes created by these losses if the Pack hopes to climb the ACC ladder. Here is the roster breakdown and potential starting roster. 

 

PG – Cam Hayes

After losing out on Jalen Lecque a year ago, freshman Cam Hayes comes in as NC State’s next point guard prospect, who will have to fill a gap created by Markell Johnson’s departure. Ranked as the No. 3 prospect in the state of North Carolina, Hayes was a very successful high school player whose game is centered on efficiency. Averaging 10.1 points per game his senior year on 56% shooting, 36% from 3 and 88% from the charity stripe, he was able to lead Greensboro Day to a 31-5 record as well as a state semifinal appearance.

Hayes’s high school numbers are comparable to that of Markell Johnson in areas such as low-volume scoring and playmaking. Scouts consider Hayes to be a “true pass first” point guard, who is always looking to facilitate the ball to make plays. Where Hayes does have an advantage over Johnson is size: Hayes comes in at 6 foot, 3 inches and 175 pounds compared to Johnson’s smaller 6-foot-1, 175-pound frame.

SG – Devon Daniels

The Pack is returning a key piece to its team from a year ago in redshirt senior Devon Daniels. Daniels is a player who gets it done on both sides of the ball, averaging 12.7 points per game last season along with being second on the team and eighth in the ACC with 53 steals (1.66 per game).

Daniels will most likely be tasked with stepping up into the leading scorer role left vacant by Bryce’s departure. The cards on the table for Daniels could not be better, with the perfect opportunity to showcase his talent before deciding whether or not to enter the NBA draft at the conclusion of the season.

SF – Jericole Hellems

The returning junior from St. Louis, Missouri will look to improve his game this upcoming season to provide more scoring threats for the Pack. As a relatively quiet offense player, Hellems started 17 games last season, averaging 9.5 points and 3.4 rebounds a game. He has shown his ability to have impact performances, however, with a 23-point performance against Wisconsin on 8-of-13 shooting and a career high four 3-pointers made.

Hellems’ 6-foot-7, 205-pound frame makes him the ideal combo forward who can play comfortably in the three spot but will double as a small-ball four when necessary. This versatility will prove very useful for the Pack this upcoming season, when it will find new ways to make things happen after losing its primary playmakers from a year ago. Hellems’ play this season will likely be a big factor in the Wolfpack’s success, or lack thereof.

PF – D.J. Funderburk

Redshirt senior D.J. Funderburk is not only a strong candidate for the All-American last name squad but also a returning playmaker who has proved himself in tough matchups. Appearing in 30 games and starting half of them a season ago, Funderburk averaged 12.8 points on 60.9% shooting, which was the third-highest field-goal percentage in program history. Funderburk will look to improve his scoring numbers this season as the lead-scoring role for this Pack roster is for the taking. 

 

Funderburk played exceptionally well against tougher opponents, averaging 13.4 points per game in ACC play, along with a second best in the ACC with a 57.4 field-goal percentage. He has established himself as a reliable scorer in hard games, with a memorable performance against the ACC powerhouse Duke Blue Devils, where he put up 21 points and nine rebounds. Funderburk will most likely bloom into a reliable scorer role for this Wolfpack team, so expect to hear the name a lot. 

C – Manny Bates

Rounding out the starting lineup, Manny Bates is a redshirt sophomore who has established himself as a force to be reckoned with at the rim. Coming in at 6 feet, 11 inches and 230 pounds, Bates led the ACC and ranked sixth in the NCAA in blocks per game with 2.93. The fun facts don’t stop there, however, as it took Bates only 15 games to break the program’s single-season record for blocked shots by a freshman. He finished his freshman year with 83 blocks, putting him at third most for a single season by any NC State player.

With a lot of scoring threats throughout this lineup, it is likely that Bates will not be called upon to score the ball very often. Averaging only 5.1 points per game a season ago on 65.7% shooting, Bates will serve as a rim protector in the coming year. However, he does have the potential to attain a double-double on any given night, with his dominant size and great offensive awareness (especially on the offensive glass). He will certainly be an extremely valuable asset to the Wolfpack team. 

Other key pieces

As one of the best sharpshooters to come through NC State’s program, senior guard Braxton Beverly boasts the program record for most 3-pointers (136) through a player’s sophomore year. Leading the team in 3-point percentage a year ago at 37.3 while battling injury, Beverly will look to take a step up as a deep threat.

Thomas Allen will begin his career at NC State following his transfer from Nebraska. He was forced to sit out for the 2019-20 season to satisfy NCAA transfer requirements, but is now poised to make an impact for this Wolfpack roster. He showed steady growth through two seasons at Nebraska, where he averaged 8.7 points per game on 44% shooting, along with a 36% three-point clip. His career came to an abrupt halt with a season-ending injury in 2018-19, and he is ready to return to action, this time under head coach Kevin Keatts. 

To complement Cam Hayes in this year’s recruiting class, the No. 5 prospect in North Carolina, Shakeel Moore, will look to make an immediate impact for this Wolfpack roster. Moore is slightly smaller than Hayes at 6 feet, 1 inch and 180 pounds, but given the opportunity, he can pop-off on anyone. In the 2018-19 season, Moore averaged 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game for Piedmont Classical, numbers that suggest he’s a grinder on both sides of the ball.

 

Rounding Out the Lineup

Some more Pack players to look out for this season include four-star recruit Ebenezer Dowuona, a 6-foot-11, 235-pound center with exceptional talent on the glass. Dowuona got the job done throughout high school, especially in the biggest moments. He scored 13 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Heritage School in its GISA Class AAA state championship victory.

Redshirt freshman guard Dereon Seabron will likely also see minutes in the coming season as a primary ball handler with an explosive first step. Seabron has a lot of room and time for improvement, especially in areas such as strength and becoming a deep threat. Expect Keatts to show him some minutes throughout the year to begin his development.

Remaining members of the Wolfpack squad are freshmen Jaylon Gibson and Nick Farrar, as well as sophomores Chase Graham and Max Farthing.  

The first look at this new NC State roster will come on Wednesday, Nov. 25, when the Pack faces off against Charleston Southern at Reynolds Coliseum in Raleigh as part of the Mako Medical Wolfpack Invitational. This game can be watched live on ACC Network Extra or streamed through the Watch ESPN app. Make sure to follow @TechSports on Twitter for updates on this game and all things NC State athletics.