Dereon Seabron’s incredible start begs the question on whether he’s the most improved player in the country.
The redshirt sophomore is 12th in the country in scoring (21.7) and tied for ninth in rebounding (10.9). Seabron averaged 5.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game last year. He had an incredible 39-point, 19-rebound performance in the four-overtime 104-100 victory over Nebraska on Wednesday. Seabron has five double-doubles this season for points and rebounds.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts pointed to Seabron’s performance against Notre Dame and Wake Forest last year as a sneak peek of what he’s achieving this season. He had 14 points and nine rebounds in a 80-62 win at Wake Forest on Feb. 20, 2021. He later had 17 points and 13 rebounds in a 80-69 win at Notre Dame on March 3.
“He has come out of his shell more than when we recruited him,” Keatts said. “The way he is playing is unbelievable. You aren’t going to find anybody — unless they came off a major injury — that will have stats as he does from one year to another.
“That being said, he was a big part of last year’s run when we won those five games at the end.”
Rivals.com ranked Seabron No. 124 in the class of 2019. He had played for Norfolk (Va.) Lake Taylor, but failed to qualify academically. He elected to attend Woodstock (Va.) Massanutten Military Academy as a post-graduate. The coach there was Chad Myers, who had been an assistant coach under Keatts at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy.
Seabron picked NC State over Georgia, Pittsburgh, Providence and Virginia Commonwealth, but had to redshirt his first year with the Wolfpack due to academics.
Keatts half-joked that Seabron didn’t say much of anything during his recruiting visit.
“He’s always been a quiet kid,” Keatts said. “From the time we recruited him, it’s the same as he is now. You never see him get too high and you never see him get too low. I think that is what helps him become a really good basketball player.”
Looking at the players ranked ahead of him in scoring, some have also made big jumps, but a case could be made that Seabron is the most improved player in the country.
Iowa sophomore forward Keegan Murray averaged 7.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last year. He has jumped to 24.6 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game this season.
Forward Jamal Cain was the No. 80 overall player in the country in the class of 2017. He played his first four years at Marquette and transferred to Oakland. He jumped from 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds per game at Marquette last year, to 22.1 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game this season. He’ll obviously play weaker competition in conference action, but has already played West Virginia, Oklahoma State and Alabama.
A pair of players had success at smaller schools and then made the jump to high major basketball, and have improved since last year.
Shooting guard Terrell Brown Jr. averaged 20.7 points per game at Seattle in 2019-20, and then transferred to Arizona. He fell to 7.3 points and 3.5 assists per game for the Wildcats last year. He elected to transfer back home, this time to Washington. Brown is averaging 21.9 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game this season.
Senior wing Javon Freeman-Liberty averaged 19.0 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game at Valparaiso in 2019-20. He transferred back home to DePaul and had a solid first year. He averaged 14.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game last year, but has jumped to 23.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game for the Blue Demons. The rebounding numbers are particularly impressive since he’s 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds.
NC State will return to action Saturday against Louisville to open up the ACC slate. Keatts said junior wing Casey Morsell will be a game-time decision after spraining his ankle against Nebraska. NC State played without Cam Hayes (ejection), Jericole Hellems (fouled out) and Morsell by the end of the Nebraska game. Due to the length of the Nebraska game, the Wolfpack did a film session Thursday rather than practice.
“We talked yesterday about turning the page,” Keatts said.
Keatts thinks his young team will be able to put the big win over the Cornhuskers behind them and adjust to playing a deep Cardinals squad. Keatts said UL is playing faster than in the past.
“We have a really talented Louisville team coming in and they are tough,” Keatts said. “They play hard and are a defensive-minded team. They play nine or 10 guys who can really score.”
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