NC State freshman point guard Braxton Beverly was able to make his first appearance of the season with 13:51 left in the first half.
Beverly was greeted warmly by the 10,472 fans at PNC Arena, who have been following his plight for the last several weeks. NC State overcame a slow start to top overmatched Bryant 95-72 on Tuesday, with several players setting career-highs in categories, but it will be remembered as the game Beverly became eligible.
The journey started when Beverly attended Ohio State for summer school, but his life was thrown into a loop when head coach Thad Matta was fired June 5 and replaced by former Butler coach Chris Holtmann four days later.
Also during that time, NC State hired Beverly’s prep coach A.W. Hamilton of Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy as an assistant coach June 8. Beverly’s elected to leave Ohio State on June 30, and his burning desire to be reunited with Hamilton made for one of the easiest recruitments in Wolfpack history, sight unseen. All Beverly needed was for the NCAA to give him the rare waiver to be eligible this season.
The NCAA denied Beverly’s original case and then his appeal, and it seemed like he was destined to redshirt this season and have four years of eligibility. The crux of the case is that the NCAA has consistently ruled that once a student attends class whether in the summer or fall, he isn’t eligible right away if he transfers to a new college.
Beverly then hired attorney Scott Tompsett of Tompsett Collegiate Sports Law, who represents former Louisville coach Rick Pitino and ex-UConn coach Jim Calhoun. The Wolfpack filed a request for reconsideration nearly a week ago.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts received a call from his compliance office around 5 p.m. that Beverly was cleared to play Bryant, and he wanted to throw him right into the fire.
“I’m very, very excited to have Braxton Beverly,” Keatts said. “I called Braxton and he thought it was an April fool’s joke.”
Beverly, who is a listed 6-foot and 180 pounds, but likely closer to 5-10, missed his first three-pointer, but then made a reverse layup for his first Wolfpack points. The former Rivals.com three-star prospect from Hazard, Ky., is part of an interchangeable backcourt with sophomore Markell Johnson, freshman Lavar Batts Jr., fifth-year seniors Sam Hunt and Allerik Freeman. Sorting through the five guards is part of the Wolfpack’s undertaking in the non-conference slate.
Besides Beverly’s reverse layup, he later saved two likely points when he stripped Bryant star guard Adam Grant on his way up for a layup of his own. When one of his three-point attempts got stuck between the rim and basket, all Keatts could do is laugh.
Beverly finished going just 1 of 7 from the field and 0 of 3 from three-point land in 16 minutes, but he was glad he wasn’t in the matching gray sweatpants and sweatshirts of the other four players watching on the bench.
“I told him if I got cleared at 5:15 or 5:30 and I played a game at 7 p.m., I’d probably have 30 points, which makes me a little bit better player than Braxton right now,” Keatts said. “A little nervous and rightfully so. I put him in a tough spot, meaning I could have waited and played him Thursday. I was so excited, I wanted to see him out there.”
Beverly has been used to the underdog role. He played varsity basketball while in the seventh grade, and was recruited as a mid-major guard during the first of his three recruitments. He signed with Miami (Ohio), but after a good senior year at Hargrave Military Academy, he wanted more.
Beverly joined Team Loaded NC the summer going into his post-graduate year, playing with future NC State point guard Dennis Smith Jr., along with Edrice Adebayo (Kentucky), Jordan Tucker (Duke) and Brandon Robinson (North Carolina). Beverly committed to Ohio State, who ironically knew him from his time at Hargrave because of Buckeyes post signee Derek Funderburk. Instead of playing together at Ohio State, the two will now be teammates at NC State. Funderburk picked the Wolfpack on Tuesday.
It might take some time for Beverly shake off the rust, but he’ll be part of a young core with freshman point guard Lavar Batts Jr., five recruits in the class of 2018 and two transfers who are sitting out — Utah sophomore small forward Devon Daniels and UNC Wilmington junior shooting guard C.J. Bryce.
“It was really great to finally get out there and play my first game,” Beverly said. “The first two games I’d see the signs and the posters, ‘Free Braxton,’ and finally I’m free.”
Torin Dorn with early leader on dunk of season
NC State redshirt junior Torin Dorn knew when he last scored 26 points.
Dorn poured in 26 points plus 10 rebounds in a 74-66 loss at Western Kentucky on Jan. 8, 2015. Dorn had the highlight reel dunk of the game en route to 26 points in just 27 minutes of action.
“I attacked in both games,” said Dorn about his two 26-point efforts. “I was feeling it and my teammates did a great job. Markell did a great job and I had great point guards both times I got 26.”
Dorn was able to take a lob pass from sophomore point guard Markell Johnson and he cocked it back for the one-handed dunk.
“That is for you guys to decide,” said Dorn on whether his dunk will stand the test of time this season. “I just go out and play and win games.
“I saw the defense and my man was up high. Markell and I made eye contact, and he made an amazing pass. I just jumped and the rest is history.”
Dorn was able to get off to a fast start last year in non-conference action. He scored at least 16 points in seven of the first eight games, and he cracked double figures in each of that stretch. However, when sophomore wing Maverick Rowan settled into the lineup after concussion-like symptoms and the competition improved in the ACC, Dorn struggled. He reached double figures in just three league games, highlighted by a 14-point, 11-rebound effort against Wake Forest.
It remains to be seen how much small ball power forward Dorn plays when senior Abdul-Malik Abu returns, but he is enjoying his opportunities.
“It gives us mismatches that we can exploit,” Dorn said.
Darius Hicks sets new career high
Sophomore power forward Darius Hicks is another player taking advantage of Abu’s absence.
The 6-7, 230-pounder from Quitman, Miss., was added in the spring of 2016 when the Wolfpack were looking long and hard at numerous players to fill out the roster. Then assistant coach Heath Schroyer had a strong connection with Hicks’ traveling team coach with MBA Hoops, and gave him the opportunity. The former Mississippi State verbal commit had a trying freshman year, and the Wolfpack coaching staff was let go.
Hicks went 2 of 8 from the field for eight points on the season. He easily surpassed those numbers in one game, tallying 4 of 5 from the field en route to 10 points and five boards in 12 minutes of action against Bryant.
“It’s just the amount of work that I put in from the summer up until now,” Hicks said. “I just feel way more comfortable on offense than I did last year. Last year, I just wanted to play defense as much as I can and rebound as much as I can.”
Hicks has tried to soak in the knowledge from fifth-year senior center Lennard Freeman, who knows all the savvy veteran moves around the basket. Freeman also set a career-high with 20 points against Bryant.
“He tells me to stay positive because sometimes I’ll think too much,” said Hicks, who is trying to copy Freeman’s half hook shot. “He just tells me to play. Just do what I do.”
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