4/18/2020 basketball Edit

Inside 40 years of NC State basketball recruiting (part III)

Jacey Zembal • TheWolfpackCentral

Writer

NC State had a new coach in Les Robinson and some tougher academic hurdles, due to fallout from NCAA sanctions, than its peers as recruiting hit the early 1990s.

NC State's class of 1992 was expected to be the signature class with four post players signed. However, Chuck Kornegay lasted one semester due to academics, and Todd Fuller of Charlotte (N.C.) Christian would end up being the lone starter from the group. Fuller ended up being the top signee of the Robinson era and worked himself into being an NBA lottery pick.

Unfortunately for NC State, none of the players signed in this time period ever played in a NCAA Tournament game or had a winning record in the ACC.

Here is the breakdown of NC Stat's recruiting classes from 1991-95:

NC State head coach Les Robinson was on the sidelines at Reynolds Coliseum from 1990-1996. (The Associated Press)

Class of 1991:

• Lakista McCuller (6-3, SG, Americus (Ga.) Sumter County)

• Curtis Marshall (5-11, PG, Omaha (Neb.) Creighton Prep)

• Mark Davis (6-5, 225, SF, Utica (Miss.) High)

• Victor Newman (6-7, PF, Dothan (Ala.) Houston Academy)

• Donnie Seale (6-5, PG, Anderson (S.C.) J.C.); From Eden (N.C.) Morehead High

Overview: Three of the four signees played all four years at NC State, but mainly as role players.

McCuller was easily the most productive and averaged double digit points per game his last three years. However, his biggest negative was shot selection led him to shoot just 38.9 percent from the field during his 111-game Wolfpack career.

Overall, McCuller averaged 9.5 points and 2.1 assists per game, and he did shoot a respectable 34.9 percent on three-pointers. He was top 12 in the ACC his last three years in three-point field goals made.

Marshall battled through injuries — he redshirted in 1994-95 after putting his right hand through a window — but the point guard still logged 116 career games and he averaged in double figures for points his sophomore and junior years. In the latter season, he paced the Wolfpack with 10.8 points and 4.5 assists per game, both career highs.

Marshall averaged 8.9 points and 3.7 assists per game in his NCSU career, and he shot 36.8 percent from three-point land.

Davis had the best freshman year of the quartet, averaging 11.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, and he shot an impressive 41.3 percent on three-pointers. Injuries maybe slowed his development, but he never approached his scoring and three-point shooting numbers again at NC State.

Davis finished his college career averaging 7.8 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Seale, who was a late August addition to the class, showed promise. He was named the high school player of the year in North Carolina in 1989, and he was an all-state player all four years.

However, his NC State career was limited to just 31 games played over two years. Academic issues cost him all but the first seven games of his senior year. He averaged 7.5 points and 4.0 assists, and he shot 43.1 percent from the field and 24.6 percent on three-pointers. He played in various minor league basketball leagues and overseas after his NC State career came to an end.

Newman played two years at NC State, where he scored 62 points and grabbed 22 rebounds in 44 games. He then transferred to North Carolina Asheville, where he averaged 7.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 55 contests.

Interesting tidbit: Seale was recently spotted at an ACC Barnstorming stop in Rockingham County where Torin Dorn, a former NC State wing, was participating.

Class of 1992:

• Chuck Kornegay (6-8, PF, Dudley (N.C.) Southern Wayne)

• Todd Fuller (6-10, C, Charlotte (N.C.) Christian)

• Marcus Wilson (6-8, 190, PF, Monroe (N.C.) High)

• Bill Kretzer (6-9, C, Greensboro (N.C.) Page)

Overview: Recruiting guru Bob Gibbons had Kornegay, Fuller and Wilson all ranked in the top 65.

Fuller, who was named North Carolina’s Mr. Basketball after his senior year of high school, followed the same path of development of Tom Gugliotta. He hit his stride during his sophomore season at NC State to get named third-team All-ACC, and became a star his junior and senior years.

He averaged 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.7 blocks his junior campaign in 1994-95 to earn second-team all-conference. He then went to a new level by leading the ACC in points (20.9), second in rebounds (9.9) and fourth in blocks (1.8) to get named first-team All-ACC.

In the NC State record books, Fuller is still fifth all-time in blocked shots (143), seventh in rebounds (887), 11th in career points (1,589), 11th in free throws made (400), 12th in free throw percentage (80.0 percent) and 13th in field goals made (586).

After NC State, he became the No. 11 overall pick to the Golden State Warriors in the 1996 NBA Draft. Fuller played five years in the NBA with the Warriors, Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and Miami Heat. He then embarked on playing overseas until he retired in 2006. He averaged 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 11.1 minutes per game in 225 NBA contests.

Kornegay will always be a sore spot among Wolfpack fans. He was forced to transfer from NC State after the first semester of his freshman year because of academics. NCSU had higher academic standards than the NCAA, and didn’t wait for a full year of grades, but rather after each semester.

Kornegay averaged 8.9 points and 4.9 rebounds per game during his seven-game stint with NC State, and then he transferred to Villanova. He went on to average 7.2 points and 5.7 rebounds a contest in 91 gams with the Wildcats.

Wilson proved to be a reliable reserve at NCSU. He averaged 4.9 points and 2.5 rebounds in his 91-game career with the Wolfpack.

Kretzer redshirted his first season, and he ended up scoring 34 points and grabbing 24 rebounds in 29 games played from 1993-96. He was a former prep teammate of Marc Lewis, who signed with NC State in 1990.

Interesting tidbits: Fuller declined a Rhodes Scholarship to the University of Oxford to play professional basketball. Fuller went on to become the athletic director at Charlotte United Faith Christian in 2009, which had one of the top boys hoops teams in the country at the time … Kretzer’s father, Bill Sr., played on a pair of ACC championship teams at NC State in the mid-1960s.

Class of 1993:

• Ricky Daniels (6-6, Anderson (S.C.) J.C.)

• Lewis Sims (6-8, Anderson (S.C.) J.C.)

• Jeremy Hyatt (6-6, SF, Jacksonville (Fla.) Fletcher)

• Jason Sutton (6-3, SG, Fayetteville (N.C.) Terry Sanford)

Overview: NC State went with a quick fix by signing a pair of junior college players, but the steady Hyatt ended up being the best player in the class.

Hyatt improved each season at NC State and averaged 10.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game his senior year in 1996-97. Overall, Hyatt logged 119 career games at NCSU, and he finished averaging 6.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.6 assists.

Daniels started 23 out of 25 games his senior year and finished his Wolfpack career by playing in 55 games and averaging 6.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest.

Sims played 12 games at NC State, where he averaged 8.4 points and 3.4 rebounds. He transferred to New Orleans, where contributed 13.3 points and 7.6 rebounds a contest in 1995-96.

Sutton played all four years at NC State, but he averaged a modest 2.2 points per game in 72 career contests. He played in 25 games his junior year, his best season, and chipped in 3.4 points and 1.5 assists in 11.4 minutes per game.

Interesting tidbits: Daniels and Sims both attended Anderson Junior College in South Carolina, which is also where former NCSU player Donnie Seale attended … Hyatt earned all-state honors in football while playing quarterback and defensive back at Jacksonville (Fla.) Fletcher High. He threw for over 1,860 yards his senior year, while playing with future Florida State wide receiver Andre Cooper.

Class of 1994:

• Ishua Benjamin (6-5, SG, Concord (N.C.) High)

• Clint “C.C.” Harrison (6-3, SG, Reidsville (N.C.) High)

• Al Pinkins (6-6, F, Chipola (Fla.) J.C.); From Camilla (Ga.) Mitchell Baker High

Overview: Benjamin arrived to NC State with much fanfare. He was fourth-team Parade Magazine All-America his senior year, and was selected Mr. Basketball for the state of North Carolina by the Charlotte Observer after averaging 20.5 points, 6.7 assists and 6.0 rebounds as a senior at Concord High.

Benjamin seized his spot right away with the Wolfpack, and averaged 14.0 points and 4.6 assists per game his freshman year in 1994-95. He was the leading vote-getter on the ACC All-Freshman squad, and he was named second-team Freshman All-American by the Sporting News.

Benjamin though averaged an identical 8.9 points per game his sophomore and junior years, and then bounced back his senior year. He logged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 1997-98. He also was fourth in the ACC with 2.0 steals a contest.

For his career, Benjamin averaged 10.7 points, 2.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Prior to NC State, Harrison led Reidsville High to a 30-0 record and NCHSAA 3A state title his senior year. He had 33 points in the state title game win over Winston-Salem Parkland, hitting the game-winning shot with two seconds left. He was named the state's Player of the Year by both The Associated Press and Greensboro News-Record.

Harrison ended up being the star of the recruiting class thanks to a strong finish in his junior and senior campaigns. He broke out to average 15.7 points and 3.8 rebounds a contest in 1996-97. Harrison followed up by averaging 16.6 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, and led the ACC with 43.7 percent on three-pointers his senior year.

Harrison earned second-team All-ACC both seasons for his efforts. Harrison finished sixth in the ACC in scoring his junior year and was seventh during his senior season. He even overcame a shooting in July 1996, where he got shot in the legs.

Harrison averaged 10.8 points and 2.8 rebounds in 115 career games, and shot an impressive 40.4 percent from beyond the three-point line.

Pinkins had averaged 12.4 points and 7.3 rebounds per game at Chipola Junior College as a sophomore, but that while he ran into some knee issues that would force him to redshirt his first year at NC State. During Pinkins' freshman year, he was named to the Blue Chip Illustrated’s junior college Dream Team after averaging 18.5 points and 6.5 rebounds.

As a redshirt junior at NC State, Pinkins chipped in 7.5 points and 4.8 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game in 1995-96, but he was limited to 10 contests as a senior.

Pinkins played overseas and in various minor league basketball operations in the U.S.

Interesting tidbits: Benjamin’s son, Jalen Benjamin, averaged 11.9 points and 1.5 assists per game his freshman year at UAB this season … Pinkins is currently an assistant coach at Florida, and has previously worked at Texas Tech, LSU, Tennessee, Ole Miss and Middle Tennessee State since 2003.

Class of 1995:

• Ivan Wagner (6-1, PG, San Antonio (Texas) Roosevelt)

• Danny Strong (6-6, SF, Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist J.C.); Great Falls (S.C.) High

• Steve Norton (6-11,C, Furman transfer); From Asheville (N.C.) High

Overview: NC State had hoped to have highly regarded forward Tyrone Outlaw of Roxboro (N.C.) Person as part of this class. Outlaw and Charlotte product Antawn Jamison were considered two of the top prospects in the state of North Carolina. Outlaw went to junior college, but ran into problems off the court.

Strong filled the void for NC State as an undersized power forward at 6-6 and 227 pounds.

Strong averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds at Spartanburg (S.C.) Methodist junior college, earning first-team JuCo All-American honors after leading his team in both categories en route to a national title game appearance.

Strong showed his game translated to the ACC and he proved to be a solid three-point marksman for the Wolfpack. He averaged 12.5 points and 4.9 rebounds in 63 games at NC State, and shot 42.1 percent from the field and 38.8 percent on three-pointers. He averaged 13.1 points his junior year, but fell a smidge to 11.9 points a contest as a senior. Strong played overseas until 2011.

The athletic Wagner proved to be a one-and-done the wrong way at NC State. He averaged 3.4 points in 9.0 minutes per game, playing in 30 contests for the Wolfpack. He transferred to Texas, where he averaged 6.7 points, 3.7 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game, playing in 82 contests. Wagner won the 1997 NCAA outdoor track title in the high jump with a leap of 7-feet, 6.5-inches.

Norton began his career at Furman, where he averaged 1.9 points and 1.9 rebounds per game for the Paladins. He transferred to NC State and sat out the 1994-95 season. Norton scored 35 points and 33 rebounds in 28 career games for the Wolfpack.

Interesting tidbits: An Outlaw did end up playing in the ACC one day, but it was Outlaw's son Tyrone Jr. He started off at UNCG, played a year at junior college and then played at Virginia Tech, where he averaged 7.5 points per game in two years.