Injuries temporarily sideline NC State commits Ian Steere, Immanuel Bates
FAYETTEVILLE — NC State senior commits Immanuel Bates and Ian Steere are both excited to be signing with the Wolfpack this week, even if injuries are keeping them off the court.
Bates has battled a shoulder injury for several weeks and is aiming to return to the Fayetteville (N.C.) Northwood Temple Academy lineup in mid-November. Steere has had had a nagging knee injury and recently dislocated his non-shooting left thumb in practice.
Bates is able to get some cardiovascular work in and still can shoot with his right arm. He just can’t have any contact at the moment.
“I dislocated my [left] shoulder in October and it was a fluke accident,” Bates said. “It’s the tough thing in the world [to watch]. I want to help them really bad. I know I can help.”
Steere played against powerhouse Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy on Friday at Crown Arena in Fayetteville, but the game got out of hand early. Oak Hill jumped out to a 20-2 lead and eventually won 84-39, with Steere getting seven points.
“It was a tough game,” Steere said. “We came out kind of flat and they got a big lead. We all could have played better.”
Steere’s knee took a turn for the worse in Saturday’s game against Huntington (W.Va.) Prep, and he underwent an MRI on Monday. He was diagnosed with acute chronic patellar tendinitis with a partial tear in the tendon and is aiming for a late November return, but plans to be cautious.
When Steere returns to the court, he know what he’ll take away from the first two games of the season.
“We just have to come out hard,” Steere said. “We have to hit the other team in the mouth first before they hit you.”
Both Bates and Steere got a front row seat in watching Oak Hill senior shooting guard Keldon Johnson, who is down to NC State, Kentucky, Maryland and Texas, and is expected to decide any day now. Bates was able to work on last week’s commitment, senior small forward Saddiq Bey of Washington (D.C.) Sidwell Friends, and Steere has been in the ear of Johnson.
St. Louis (Mo.) Chaminade Prep senior forward Jericole Hellems officially visited for the Louisville at NC State football game, and later joined the Wolfpack recruiting class.
“We are getting all these recruits and building something special,” Steere said. “Why wouldn’t Keldon want to be a part of that. I am trying to get Keldon to come. It will be tough, but I think we can do it.”
Bates has also been working on Johnson some, texting him from time-to-time. Johnson and Bates officially visited NC State during the same weekend.
“I’m pretty happy about everything that is going on right now in recruiting,” Bates said. “This is getting me excited for next year. Hopefully, we can get Keldon, but if not, I’m excited about the class we have now.”
Northwood Temple has re-added the talents of junior shooting guard Josh Nickelberry, who is ranked No. 46 in the class of 2019 by Rivals.com. Nickelberry played at Northwood Temple his freshman year, then moved to Fayetteville Trinity Christian his sophomore year. He had 10 points against Oak Hill, where he started the school year at.
“Josh is a great player and he’s fast,” Steere said. “He knows how to play the game, so it will be good. We just have to learn how to play together.”
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