Inside 40 years of NC State Wolfpack recruiting (part VI)

In the spring of 2006, Herb Sendek surprised many when he announced he was taking the head coaching job at Arizona State. A prolonged coaching search ensued before former Pack hero Sidney Lowe was hired.

The 2006 class would feature the last signee of Sendek: forward Dennis Horner. The remainder of the decade would consist of players recruited by Lowe.

Lowe definitely brought in some exciting recruiting classes, including a pair of McDonald's All-American's: J.J. Hickson and C.J. Leslie, a pair of forwards. Lowe also had three players he signed eventually make the NBA, four if you count Horner.

Here is a look at NC State's recruiting classes from 2006-10.

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• Farnold Degand (6-4, 170, Iowa State transfer); From Boston (Mass.) O’Bryant

• Dennis Horner (6-7, 190, SF, Absecon (N.J.) Holy Spirit)

• Marques Johnson (6-5, 205, PG, Tennessee transfer); From Ft. Wayne (Ind.) Snider

• Bartosz Lewandowski (7-2, 245, C, Bridgton (Maine) Academy)

Overview: Horner will always be one of the more unlikely NC State players to make the NBA. He managed to play in eight NBA games in 2011-12 with the New Jersey Nets. He had five points and five rebounds in 22 minutes played for the Nets.

Rivals.com ranked Horner the No. 83 overall recruit in the class of 2006. Horner steadily improved over four seasons at NC State and became a good inside-outside performer his senior year. He averaged 11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, and shot 46.8 percent from the field and 35.8 percent on three-pointers for the Wolfpack in 2009-10. His value to the Wolfpack was shown in that he ranked 14th in the ACC in minutes played (1,005).

Horner ended up starting 46 of the 128 games he played in at NC State and averaged 6.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He alternated between playing what is now the G-League and some stints overseas from 2010-2018.

Degand was a two-star Rivals.com prospect that originally signed with Iowa State. He elected to redshirt and then ultimately transferred to NC State, where he played for three years.

Degand’s end-to-end speed was rare, but he suffered a devastating knee injury (torn ACL) against Cincinnati on Dec. 23, 2007. NCSU was 7-3 at the time, and finished 15-16 in Degand’s first season.

Degand averaged 5.4 points and 2.5 assists per game in 63 career games (39 starts) at NC State.

Johnson was an intriguing prep prospect and was ranked No. 130 overall in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2006. He signed with Tennessee and only played four games before transferring to NC State, which was ironically the runner-up for Johnson coming out of high school.

Johnson only lasted one year at NC State before he transferred to Georgia State. He averaged 2.0 points and 1.2 assists per game during his 21 contests in Raleigh.

Johnson’s numbers weren’t much better at Georgia State. He finished his college career averaging 3.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game in 88 career games (49 starts).

Lewandowski had a heart issue and went on medical redshirt at NC State.

Interesting tidbits: Horner he proved to be the lone recruit to stick with NC State through the coaching change. Forward Dan Werner ended up at Florida and shooting guard Larry Davis played for Seton Hall and Loyola Marymount. Werner averaged 6.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 145 career games at Florida. Davis averaged 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds a contest in 108 games between Seton Hall and LMU.

• Javi Gonzalez (6-0, 170, PG, Miami (Fla.) Dr. Krop)

• J.J. Hickson (6-8, 220, PF, Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler)

• Tracy Smith (6-7, 225, PF, Durham (N.C.) Mount Zion)

• Johnny Thomas (6-5, 210, SF, Greensboro (N.C.) Day)

Overview: Hickson came in with the hype and proved to be a quality freshman performer, but it was Smith that had the better career in Raleigh.

Hickson was a McDonald’s All-American, a second-team Parade Magazine All-American and the No. 10 overall player in a loaded class by Rivals.com. He hoped to be a one-and-done at NC State, and he achieved that.

Hickson averaged 14.8 points, 8.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game during his 31 games in Raleigh. He was named to the ACC All-Freshman squad, and led the league in field-goal percentage at .591. That remains the fourth best mark for a single season in school history.

Hickson was second in the ACC in rebounds — he set a league single-game freshman record with 23 boards against Clemson — and he was eighth in total blocks.

Hickson opened his season with 31 points against William & Mary in the season opener, and closed it out with 27 points and 14 boards in a loss against Miami in the ACC Tournament. NCSU however finished with nine straight losses and struggled in gelling post players Hickson, Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley.

Hickson was the No. 19 overall pick in the first round to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 2008 NBA Draft. He played for five NBA teams from 2008-16, and then three years overseas. Hickson averaged 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game, and he shot 50.5 percent from the field in 534 NBA games (307 starts). His best year was when he averaged 12.7 points and 10.4 rebounds a contest for the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012-13.

Rivals.com ranked Smith the No. 47 overall player in the country coming out of Durham (N.C.) Mount Zion. The Detroit native had lost weight between his sophomore and senior years, which improved his quickness in the post.

Smith was slowed by a knee injury his senior year, but overall he was a productive low-post performer. He averaged 11.7 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest, and he shot 52.0 percent from the field in 106 career games (68 starts).

Smith averaged at least 10 points a game in each of his last three years after playing limited minutes his freshman year. His best year was when he averaged 16.5 points and 7.3 rebounds in a breakout junior season in 2009-10, which helped him earn second-team All-ACC honors. He led the ACC in field-goal percentage at 52.4 percent, and he was ninth in rebounds per game and seventh in the league in scoring.

Smith, who went on to play overseas, finished ranked No. 38 in points scored, 12th in rebounds grabbed and 15th in shooting percentage at NC State.

NC State landed the Rivals.com three-star prospect Gonzalez in the spring to try and fill the point guard void that plagued Lowe's coaching tenure. Gonzalez ended up starting 85 of the 119 games he played, with his best season as a junior. He averaged 9.5 points, 3.7 assists and 3.3 rebounds per contest in 2009-10. The arrival of guards Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown cut into his playing time senior year.

Gonzalez averaged 6.4 points, 2.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 21.6 minutes per game during his Wolfpack career. He’s been playing professionally in Puerto Rico since 2010, and was selected to his country’s men’s national basketball team in 2014 and 2015.

Thomas suffered a defect in his knee before arriving at NC State that affected blood flow. He had 39 points and 42 rebounds in 25 career games during his two years at NC State. Thomas transferred to Marshall and averaged 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds in 24.8 minutes per game in his lone year (30 games) in Huntington, W.Va.

Interesting tidbits: The great “what if” for the class of 2007 was Washington (D.C.) St. John’s point guard Chris Wright, who Rivals.com ranked No. 55 overall in the country. He verbally committed to NC State under Sendek, but after the coaching change to Lowe he eventually signed with Georgetown over the Wolfpack. He averaged 12.4 points and 4.0 assists per game in 110 contest with the Hoyas.

• C.J. Williams (6-5, 200, SF, Fayetteville (N.C.) Jack Britt)

• Julius Mays (6-1, 170, SG, Marion (Ind.) High)

Overview: If Horner making the NBA was a surprise, so was Williams, who proved he belonged in the league during his two-year stint with the Los Angeles Clippers and Minnesota Timberwolves.

Williams was ranked No. 144 overall by Rivals.com and expectations were high when he verbally committed early in his recruitment. As a junior, Williams averaged 24.2 points per game at Jack Britt High. He ended up having some injuries after that year that affected him for a while.

Williams never averaged more than five points per game his first three years, all under Lowe. He averaged 6.1 points and 2.6 rebounds in 21.5 minutes per game.

He flourished his senior year under head coach Mark Gottfried. Williams averaged 10.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game in 2011-12, and he shot 50 percent from the field and 34.3 percent on three-pointers. He started all 37 games and was entrusted with guarding the top wing scorer on the opposing team. NCSU reached the Sweet 16 during that senior year after missing the previous five NCAA Tournaments.

Williams made the Clippers after playing overseas and the G-League, and averaged 5.5 points per game in 38 games played in 2017-18. Williams averaged 4.7 points and 1.2 rebounds in 15.8 minutes per game in 53 NBA games (17 starts).

Rivals.com ranked Mays at No. 148 overall in the country, and he entered the program being able to play both guard spots. An all-state guard from Indiana, Mays was offered on the strength of his three-point shooting. He had made 42 percent of his three-pointers as a junior at Marion (Ind.) High before signing with NCSU.

Mays proved to be a capable outside shooter, but not a point guard during his two years at NC State. He averaged 4.7 points and 1.7 assists in 17.2 minutes per game in 58 contests (six starts).

Mays made the move to Wright State, where he averaged 14.1 points per game and he shot 42.4 percent from three-point land in one season. He got his degree and elected to transfer to Kentucky. Mays averaged 9.3 points and 2.9 assists in 33.0 minutes per game with the Wildcats in 2012-13.

Mays collectively started 62 out of 121 games he played in, and he averaged 8.3 points per game and he shot 39.1 percent from the field and 37.9 percent on three-pointers.

Interesting tidbits: Mays played with future NC State signee Scott Wood at Marion (Ind.) High, which was the home area of former star NCSU player Monte Towe, who was an assistant coach for the Wolfpack at the time. The last prep teammates who played for NC State were Damon Thornton and Kenny Inge in 1997-00, who played at Virginia Beach (Va.) Atlantic Shore Christian … Williams, who was always media friendly at NC State, won the 2018 G League Sportsmanship Award. He almost gave up playing basketball at NC State after his junior year, but the coaching change rejuvenated him.

• Josh Davis (6-6, 185, PF, Raleigh Athens Drive)

• Richard Howell (6-8, 230, PF, Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler)

• DeShawn Painter (6-9, 210, PF, Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy); Played at Norfolk (Va.) Booker T. Washington High

• Jordan Vandenberg (7-0, 230, C, Australian Institute of Sport) From Melbourne, Australia

• Scott Wood (6-6, 170, SF, Marion (Ind.) High)

Overview: NC State knew that the class of 2009 would be a large one, and specifically needed post players. The Wolfpack landed Painter, Vandenberg and Davis during the spring signing period.

Overall three of the five players were ranked in the Rivals150, and three ended up finishing their careers at NC State.

Rivals.com ranked Howell at No. 61 overall in the nation, and his success at NC State split along who his head coach was. Howell fell out of shape and weighed over 275 pounds when Gottfried was hired. Then Howell lost weight and had a quality last two years in helping the Wolfpack reach the NCAA Tournament twice, including the Sweet 16 when he was a junior.

Howell had a banner senior season, averaging 12.7 points and 10.9 rebounds pre game, and he shot 57.0 percent from the field. He was named first-team All-ACC, and led the league in rebounds per game and third in field-goal percentage that season.

Howell started 81 of the 132 games he played in, and averaged 9.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. He shot 51.8 percent from the field and 63.3 percent at the free-throw line. Howell ranks fifth all-time in school history with 1,055 rebounds and tied for 40th in career points with 1,214.

Wood was the first to verbally commit in the class, and he rejoined his prep teammate Mays, thanks to Towe. Rivals.com ranked the pure sharpshooter at No. 133 overall in the country. Wood immediately moved into the starting lineup and became a model of consistency.

Wood earned a spot on the All-ACC tournament team in both 2010 and 2013. He went 334 of 809 for 41.3 percent on three-pointers in his 138-game career (136 starts). Wood ranks fifth all-time in ACC history for made three-pointers and seventh in career three-point field-goal percentage. He ranks 19th in NC State history with 1,467 career points, first in three-point field-goals made and first in career free-throw percentage (88.6 percent).

Wood averaged 10.6 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game, including a little over 12 points a contest his last two years. Nobody ever played more games or made more starts in a Wolfpack uniform than Wood.

Wood has played overseas for the most part, but was part of the Santa Cruz Warriors in the NBA D-League in 2016-17, where he won the three-point shooting contest. He was with Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in the Turkish League this past season.

Vandenberg broke into the starting lineup at NC State during his fifth year of college. He averaged 4.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 22.3 minutes per game his senior year in 2013-14, helping NC State reach the NCAA Tournament.

Vandenberg shot 61.1 percent from the field, and averaged 2.2 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.9 blocks a contest in 108 career games (36 starts). Vandenberg spent 2014 playing for the Westchester Knicks in the NBA D-League, and then he played overseas.

Painter played his first three years at NC State and then transferred to Old Dominion for his senior year. He had originally signed with Florida, but after his senior year at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy, where he played under current NCSU coach Kevin Keatts, Painter opted out of his letter of intent. Rivals.com ranked Painter at No. 127 overall in the country.

He averaged 4.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game in his 89-game career (18 starts) at NC State. His career highlight was hitting a game-winner in what proved to be a valuable home win over Princeton during NC State's Sweet 16 season in 2011-12. He improved to 13.0 points, 8.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per contest during his one year at Old Dominion.

Davis proved to be a feel-good story, it just didn’t happen much in a NC State jersey. The relative unknown surprised many by playing in 31 games for the Wolfpack, where he averaged 2.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in 10.4 minutes per game. He had been a late find by the Wolfpack after he posted impressive numbers as a senior at Athens Drive — 25.4 points and 8.3 rebounds a game.

Davis transferred to Tulane and flourished in his two years there — averaging 14.6 points and 10.0 rebounds. Davis earned his degree and almost transferred back to NC State, but instead picked San Diego State. He averaged 7.7 points and 10.1 rebounds a contest for the Aztecs as a senior.

He played one year in the NBA D-League, and then overseas, with his most recent spot was in Japan in 2018-19.

Interesting tidbits: Top 40 point guard Lorenzo Brown of Roswell (Ga.) Centennial was also part of the class, but after not qualifying academically, he spent a post-graduate year playing at Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy under Keatts … The class of 2009 was also part of Wolfpack recruiting lore in who almost committed. NC State had the top three players in the class by Rivals.com all consider the Wolfpack — No. 1 John Wall of Raleigh Word of God, No. 2 DeMarcus Cousins of Mobile (Ala.) LeFlore and Derrick Favors of Atlanta (Ga.) South Atlanta. Wall and Cousins paired up at Kentucky, and Favors stayed home at Georgia Tech.

• Lorenzo Brown (6-4, 175, PG, Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy) From Roswell (Ga.) Centennial High

• Ryan Harrow (6-0, 158, PG, Marietta (Ga.) Walton)

• C.J. Leslie (6-7, 205, PF, Raleigh Word of God)

Overview: With the addition of Brown, this was easily the best recruiting class for coach Sidney Lowe.

Rivals.com ranked Leslie at No. 14 overall nationally, Harrow at No. 19 and Brown at No. 36. Leslie was named to the McDonald’s All-American game and was second-team Parade Magazine All-American. Harrow was third-team Parade Magazine, and Brown was fourth-team on the 2009 Parade Magazine squad.

The wait for Brown was worth it. He needed half a season to settle into the point guard position his freshman year. Brown blossomed as a sophomore under Gottfried, and he helped the Wolfpack reach the Sweet 16. He averaged 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, which helped him earn third-team All-ACC. He led the ACC in steals per game and was second in assists in the league, along with 12th nationally.

Brown improved to second-team All-ACC his junior year after he averaged 12.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 7.2 assists per contest. He led the ACC in assists and was sixth in the NCAA.

Brown turned professional after that and was the No. 52 overall pick in the second round to the Minnesota Timberwolves. He finished his three-year NCSU career averaging 11.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game.

Brown ranks 44th at NC State in points scored (1,167), fourth in assists (589) and seventh in steals (172).

Brown has spent five years in the NBA between four different franchises. He has averaged 2.8 points and 1.8 assists in 11.5 minutes per game in 103 career games. He has also played in the NBA G-League — MVP in 2018 with Raptors 905 — and overseas, including playing in Serbia this past season.

Leslie verbally committed to NC State following his freshman year at Holly Springs (N.C.) High. He later decommitted from the Wolfpack, only to create drama throughout the spring of his senior year at Raleigh Word of God. He was able to play with Wall and former Xavier/Maryland star Dezmine Wells there.

Leslie ended up starting 85 of 99 games he played in at NC State, before joining Brown and turning professional after his junior year. He averaged 13.7 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game, and he shot 49.7 percent from the field.

Leslie finished eighth in the ACC all three years in rebounds per game, and he was top 10 in scoring his last two years. Leslie also finished third (52.5 percent) in field-goal percentage his sophomore year, and seventh (51.9) his junior campaign.

Leslie averaged 15.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game — both season highs — during his junior campaign. He earned third-team All-ACC that season. He also was ACC All-Freshman in 2010-11 and second-team all-conference in 2011-12.

Leslie ranks 24th in NC State history with 1,359 career points and sixth in blocks (136).

He went undrafted, and he’s played in the NBA developmental league and also overseas. He was in Saudi Arabia this past season.

It took three different colleges before Harrow finally found his groove and outside jump shot. He started 10 out of 29 games and averaged 9.3 points and 3.3 assists per game his lone year at NC State.

Lowe was let go, and Harrow quickly transferred to Kentucky, where he averaged 9.9 points and 2.8 assists a contest. He managed to start 24 of 29 games with the Wildcats, but shot 41.4 percent from the field and 29.6 on three-pointers.

Harrow then made the move back home to Georgia State. He found his stride at GSU and averaged 18.0 points and 3.9 assists per game. He was back-to-back first-team All-Sun Belt. Harrow has played overseas from 2015-19.

Interesting tidbits: Leslie’s sister ended up making WNBA after transferring to NC State. Kiara Leslie spent two injury-riddled years at Maryland and then transferred back home for the 2017-19 seasons. The 6-foot wing became a first-team All-ACC selection her senior year, and went No. 10 overall in the 2019 WNBA Draft to the Washington Mystics. Leslie got hurt before her rookie year, but the Mystics won the WNBA title.

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