In a span of five days, NC State picked up one highly-touted 6-foot-9 basketball recruit and lost another.

First came the commitment of 2021 four-star power forward Ernest Ross on April 26. Five days later, incoming 2020 five-star small forward Josh Hall announced he was skipping college and would remain in the NBA Draft.

While Ross won’t be able to make up for the absence of Hall next season, his commitment proves a promising pattern of potential NBA talent wanting to play for the Wolfpack.

Ross, a 6-foot-9, 205-pound power forward from Alachua, FL, is ranked No. 47 nationally in the 2021 class according to Rivals. He chose NC State over Florida, LSU and Virginia Tech among others.

The No. 11 ranked power forward in his class, Ross averaged 16 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots per game for Sante Fe High (FL). He also played for Game Elite (FL) on the AAU circuit last summer alongside 2020 NC State commit Ebenezer Dowuona.

The Wolfpacker previously spoke with multiple Rivals recruiting analysts to get a scouting report on Ross. This week, we spoke with 2019 Game Elite (FL) coach Russell Powell to discuss what skillset Ross will bring to NC State.